Best Answer the Public Alternative Tools

Posted by Lindsay Pietroluongo, in Blog

If you’re looking for a keyword research tool that tells you what your audience is asking about, AnswerThePublic is a top choice. After plugging in a keyword or keyword phrase, ATP presents you with related questions and other search queries in a visually appealing way.

When you click on a query, you’ll be brought to the Google results page for that keyword. For example, if I click on “what is a smart kitchen,” it takes me to this page:

That makes it easier to conduct Google-based keyword and audience research. There are a lot of other benefits to AnswerThePublic, too:

• Aesthetically pleasing
• Ease of use
• Free option
• Keyword data
• Idea generation

Still, it’s not the right tool for everyone or for every purpose.

What To Look For in an Answer the Public Alternative

There are a few reasons why ATP may not be the right match for your needs. Here’s what you may want to look for in an Answer the Public alternative:

• Additional SEO tools with a paid account
• Better pricing for mid- or high-tier plans
• Data from search engines other than Bing and Google
• In-depth, technical keyword research
• More free features before you have to upgrade

One of the biggest drawbacks of ATP is that you have to pay for a Pro account, which costs $99 per month, if you want unlimited searches.

You may also be looking for an Answer the Public alternative because you simply don’t like how it works. Personal preference is a totally acceptable reason to look for a different tool. Different interfaces and functionality appeal to different people.

12 Answer the Public Alternative Tools

If AnswerThePublic isn’t the best option for your business, consider these competitors and alternatives. We included three types of competitors:

1. Full-suite SEO tools that offer keyword research and more.
2. Question-based keyword research tools that are very similar to ATP.
3. Keyword research tools that have limited functionality but go beyond the basics.

Let’s get into them!

Ahrefs Free Keyword Generator

Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO tool that can help you increase search traffic and direct your audience to an optimized website. Ahrefs also has a handful of free SEO tools, including the Keyword Generator.

Unlike ATP, the Ahrefs Keyword Generator pulls data from Amazon, Bing, Google and YouTube, adding two very important search engines to the mix. However, you can’t search for keyword data from all of them at once — you have to select which one you want. (This is normal for keyword research tools that pull from multiple sites, but it’s still worth mentioning.)

Like with most other keyword research tools, you get some data for free but have to upgrade for the rest. And no matter which plan you use, you don’t get unlimited access to Keywords Explorer.

While pricing is higher than ATP, you get more in terms of question-based keyword research from AnswerThePublic. On the other hand, Ahrefs has a broader set of SEO tools that you can use with a paid plan.

What you get for free from the Keyword Generator is impressive in terms of keyword quantity, though. When I search for “smart kitchen appliances,” I’m able to see 75 phrase-match keywords plus five question keywords. Depending on the query, you may be able to see up to 150 phrase-match keywords and 50 questions.

For the first 10 phrase-match keywords, you can see difficulty and volume data. After that, you have to upgrade for more.

However, here’s what makes the free Ahrefs Keyword Generator a great Answer the Public alternative: If all you’re doing is keyword research to find related queries, you get a lot here in skimmable list form. There’s plenty to work with, it’s not overcomplicated, and it’s easier to read than ATP, which has a smaller font in a circular format.

Here are a few more considerations when deciding if Ahrefs is a good Answer the Public alternative:

• Ahrefs isn’t a great option if you need content suggestions or are researching question keywords.
• The free user interface is simple to use, but the full-scale tool can feel clunky, especially if you’re new to SEO.
• You can discover how many backlinks you’ll need to rank for a certain keyword.

You may be interested in our article with a list of the best free websites for backlinking.

AlsoAsked

If you’re after an Answer the Public alternative that feels similar in layout and is more cost-effective, check out AlsoAsked.

With the free version, you get three searches per day. Note that expanding a result brings you to a new page with more results for that keyword, which counts as a new search.

Here are some of the results for “smart kitchen appliances”:

The way the results are separated by question types is reminiscent of ATP. From here, you could get a lot of topic ideas for articles and article headers. By clicking the Plus Sign next to a result, a new search page opens up with related keywords.

In terms of pricing, there isn’t an unlimited option, but you can get 1,000 searches a month for $59. If you don’t need nearly that many, you can pay $15 per month for 100 searches or $29 per month for 300 searches.

Keyword Tool

Keyword Tool is exactly what it sounds like — a keyword research tool. The standout feature of Keyword Tool that makes it a strong Answer the Public alternative is that you have a lot of search engines and services to pull data from, including the App Store, Etsy, Instagram and Pinterest.

Where it can lose you is with the strong sales messages. As soon as you perform a free search, you’re met with a “Subscribe” banner and blurred-out stats. The landing page for Keyword Tool Pro is very sales-y, too, and you have to scroll through a lot before getting to the actual pricing.

That said, its mid-tier plan is comparable to AnswerThePublic’s at $79 per month. However, it’s unclear if that comes with unlimited searches or not.

Truthfully, there’s not much that you get for free with Keyword Tool. But if you’re looking to generate ideas and don’t care too much about stats, you may find what you need here. I had 190 keyword results for “smart kitchen appliances.”

Other than that, though, the over-promotional messaging, especially for a tool that’s actually priced fairly, can make you feel like you’re not getting the quality you want. That makes it a great free Answer the Public alternative but maybe not a reputable enough paid alternative.

Keyword Tool Dominator

Keyword Tool Dominator is another Answer the Public alternative that branches out from Google by also letting you search Amazon, Bing, eBay, Etsy, Home Depot, Walmart and YouTube.

I used the YouTube Keyword Tool to search for “smart kitchen appliances.” Here are some of my 122 results, which are ranked by “Score” (on the right).

What’s particularly helpful about Keyword Tool Dominator is that the results page has suggestions for how to use the data. It suggests downloading the keywords and then importing the CSV file into a tool like Google Keyword Planner to get search volume and other information. It also suggests using the keywords in your YouTube descriptions.

Also, you get a lot for free if you don’t want to pay for this tool. You can search for two keywords each day per search engine.

And if you want to pay, the cost is super affordable. You can either make a one-time payment of $35 for lifetime access to the keyword tool of your choice, or you can get multiple keyword tools bundled together for one-time, lifetime-access payments starting at $68.

Learn more about Keyword Tool Dominator pricing here.

Moz Keyword Explorer

Moz is another powerhouse in the SEO field, offering marketing software to help with several aspects of your campaigns:

• Content marketing
• Inbound marketing
• Link building
• SEO

Its Keyword Explorer tool pulls from a database of over 1.25 billion keywords, according to the landing page. It’s free to access for 10 queries per month, but you’ll need to create an account to use it (that’s not out of the ordinary for these tools).

The dashboard balances complexity with usability. It’s not as stylish as AnswerThePublic, but it’s not as overwhelming as some other SEO dashboards you’ll come across. Color-coding and clearly defined sections make it easy to work with.

You also get a ton for free, making this a major competitor when looking for an Answer the Public alternative. I used one of my 9 monthly queries to search for “smart kitchen appliances.” For that keyword, I was able to see:

• Difficulty
• Monthly volume
• Organic click-through rate
• Priority (determines which keywords to target first)

By clicking See all suggestions at the bottom of the Keyword Suggestions box, I was brought to a page with 1,000 keyword suggestions. You have access to all of them, and they can also be filtered and exported.

The SERP Analysis page shows page one’s top 10 organic results so that you can do competitor research. This data can be exported too.

The free Moz Keyword Research tool is so rich that you may not need to upgrade at all, especially if you’re looking for a simple Answer the Public alternative. If you’d like access to more keyword research or other Moz tools, here’s how much Moz Pro costs:

You’ll appreciate that the Keyword Research tool doesn’t push you to upgrade to a paid plan, like some of the other tools on this list. It’s even a little difficult to find the pricing page because it doesn’t nudge you to upgrade.

Consider using AnswerThePublic and Moz Keyword Research together. You can get a lot when combining each tool’s free features.

For example, plug a keyword into ATP. Then, take one of the results and put that into Moz Keyword Research. Instead of only clicking over to the SERP, like AnswerThePublic does, Moz will give you a more workable SERP analysis so you can dive into those top-ranking pages.

Semrush Keyword Magic Tool

Unless you’re completely new to the world of online marketing and SEO, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Semrush. A leader in the industry, Semrush has an all-in-one platform that lets you handle every aspect of your marketing strategy, including:

• Competitor research
• Content marketing
• PPC
• SEO
• Social media marketing

It also has standalone tools that you can use for free, then upgrade if you want to. With the Keyword Magic Tool, you enter your keyword and then click Search.

(Note that you’ll have to create an account to access this. I used Google to sign up for my account, which makes signing in a breeze.)

You’ll see related keywords and their stats, including data like keyword volume, difficulty, CPC, etc.

If you click a result, you’ll be brought to a page that shows you more stats for that keyword:

Unfortunately, you only get data for 10 keywords before you have to upgrade. And pricing for Semrush is costly, starting at $129.95 per month.

There are a lot of add-ons you can opt for that will increase the price, and to get access to other Semrush tools like the Content Marketing Platform, you’ll need the Guru plan or higher.

Here are a couple more considerations when comparing ATP to Semrush:

• Semrush only considers Google searches, not queries from other search engines. With ATP, you get data from Bing and Google.
• The Semrush platform can be complex to view and use, while AnswerThePublic has a simpler, more attractive and highly usable layout.

Still, if you have the budget and need for a rich online marketing tool, Semrush has more features than the paid version of ATP, possibly making it a worthwhile Answer the Public alternative.

Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a tool from the same creator as AnswerThePublic, and if what ATP is missing is a full SEO suite, you may find what you need from Ubersuggest. Pricing is competitive when you stack it against other SEO suites, too, with the highest price being $99 for the Enterprise level.

Regarding keyword research, you get a lot of info when you plug in a keyword, even with the free version of Ubersuggest:

• Content ideas
• CPC
• Keyword ideas
• Search volume
• Paid difficulty
• SEO difficulty

Ubersuggest also has tools for backlinks, traffic and website audits. Plus, it has an AI content generator if you want an article created about a chosen keyword.

More Answer the Public Alternative Tools to Consider

• Keyword Chef: Find and filter keywords with low competition, which can make it easier for your pages to rank when you’re starting out.
• Keysearch: Get keyword search results from various platforms, including Bing, Yahoo and social media platforms.
• KWFinder by Mangools: Use the question-based keyword research feature for results similar to ATP and also access other SEO software, like a backlink checker and a SERP analyzer.
• LowFruits: The standout feature is that you can see weak spots and gaps in top-ranking positions, like when a forum or a low-authority website has a top spot for your keyword.
• Search Response: The People Also Ask tool shows you related PAA questions when you enter a keyword, and you can click on the related URL to do competitor research.

Final Thoughts About Finding an Answer the Public Alternative

When it comes to a suitable (and free) Answer the Public alternative, we love the Moz Keyword Research tool. While you only get 10 free queries per month, the keyword information you get from each query is so rich that you can do a lot with it.

Unless you have heavy keyword research needs, you may not need more than this. Or, it may work well when used along with other free tools, including AnswerThePublic.

There are also a host of other Answer the Public alternative options to choose from, whether you can make do with the free versions or opt to upgrade. Since most of them offer a free trial period, you can play around until you find the service that’s the best fit for you, your needs and your budget.

You also don’t want to skip these 14 Google SEO tools to add to your list of favorites.