# searchterms.com

> How to get found in AI search — Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity — plus independent reviews of the keyword tools that help you do it.

Independent reviews, head-to-head comparisons, and plain-English guides for keyword and search-term research tools — plus a section on AI search optimization.

## Tool reviews
- [Semrush review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/semrush/): Agencies & serious marketers; rated 4.8/5.
- [Ahrefs review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/ahrefs/): Backlinks & competitive research; rated 4.7/5.
- [SE Ranking review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/se-ranking/): Freelancers & small business; rated 4.6/5.
- [Mangools review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/mangools/): Bloggers & long-tail terms; rated 4.5/5.
- [Surfer SEO review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/surfer-seo/): Writers optimizing to rank; rated 4.4/5.
- [Moz Pro review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/moz-pro/): Trusted difficulty & DA scores; rated 4.3/5.
- [Serpstat review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/serpstat/): Budget all-in-one suite; rated 4.2/5.
- [Keywords Everywhere review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/keywords-everywhere/): Quick on-page volume data; rated 4.1/5.
- [Ubersuggest review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/ubersuggest/): Low-cost starter; rated 4/5.
- [Google Keyword Planner review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/google-keyword-planner/): Free PPC volume data; rated 3.9/5.
- [AnswerThePublic review](https://searchterms.com/reviews/answerthepublic/): Questions & content ideas; rated 3.8/5.

## Comparisons
- [Semrush vs Ahrefs](https://searchterms.com/compare/semrush-vs-ahrefs/): Two heavyweights — Semrush for all-in-one breadth, Ahrefs for competitor and backlink depth.
- [Semrush vs SE Ranking](https://searchterms.com/compare/semrush-vs-se-ranking/): Semrush has the bigger database; SE Ranking delivers ~90% of the job for roughly half the price.
- [Semrush vs Moz Pro](https://searchterms.com/compare/semrush-vs-moz-pro/): Semrush for depth and competitor data; Moz Pro for readable metrics and a gentler learning curve.
- [Semrush vs Mangools](https://searchterms.com/compare/semrush-vs-mangools/): Semrush is the full suite; Mangools is the friendly, affordable way to find winnable long-tail terms.
- [Semrush vs Surfer SEO](https://searchterms.com/compare/semrush-vs-surfer-seo/): Different jobs: Semrush finds the search terms, Surfer optimizes the page you write for them.
- [Ahrefs vs Moz Pro](https://searchterms.com/compare/ahrefs-vs-moz-pro/): Ahrefs for the deepest competitor and link data; Moz Pro for trusted, easy-to-read scores.
- [Ahrefs vs SE Ranking](https://searchterms.com/compare/ahrefs-vs-se-ranking/): Ahrefs for data depth; SE Ranking for value and daily rank tracking on a budget.
- [Ubersuggest vs Semrush](https://searchterms.com/compare/ubersuggest-vs-semrush/): Ubersuggest is the low-cost starter; Semrush is the tool you grow into.
- [Mangools vs SE Ranking](https://searchterms.com/compare/mangools-vs-se-ranking/): Mangools for the simplest research experience; SE Ranking when you also need tracking and audits.
- [Ahrefs vs Ubersuggest](https://searchterms.com/compare/ahrefs-vs-ubersuggest/): Ahrefs for serious, accurate data; Ubersuggest for a cheap, beginner-friendly start.

## Best tools by use case
- [Best keyword research tools for bloggers](https://searchterms.com/best/keyword-research-tools-for-bloggers/)
- [Best keyword research tools for agencies](https://searchterms.com/best/keyword-research-tools-for-agencies/)
- [Best keyword research tools for e-commerce & Amazon sellers](https://searchterms.com/best/keyword-research-tools-for-ecommerce-sellers/)
- [Best keyword research tools for YouTube](https://searchterms.com/best/keyword-research-tools-for-youtube/)
- [Best keyword research tools for local SEO](https://searchterms.com/best/keyword-research-tools-for-local-seo/)
- [Best keyword research tools for PPC & Google Ads](https://searchterms.com/best/keyword-research-tools-for-ppc-google-ads/)
- [Best keyword research tools for beginners](https://searchterms.com/best/keyword-research-tools-for-beginners/)
- [Best keyword research tools for small businesses](https://searchterms.com/best/keyword-research-tools-for-small-business/)

## Guides
- [How to do keyword research (step by step)](https://searchterms.com/guides/how-to-do-keyword-research/): A practical, step-by-step guide to keyword research in 2026: find seed terms, expand them, judge difficulty and intent, and turn them into a content plan.
- [How to find the exact search terms your customers use](https://searchterms.com/guides/how-to-find-the-search-terms-your-customers-use/): Five reliable ways to uncover the real phrases customers type — from Search Console and the Ads search-terms report to keyword tools and autocomplete.
- [Long-tail keywords: how to find and use them](https://searchterms.com/guides/long-tail-keywords/): What long-tail keywords are, why they convert, and how to find low-competition long-tail search terms you can actually rank for.
- [Keyword difficulty, explained](https://searchterms.com/guides/keyword-difficulty-explained/): How keyword difficulty scores are calculated, why they differ between tools, and how to use them to pick winnable search terms.
- [Search intent: the four types and how to use them](https://searchterms.com/guides/search-intent-explained/): Informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional intent — what each means, how to tell them apart from the SERP, and how to match your content.
- [Keyword research for YouTube](https://searchterms.com/guides/keyword-research-for-youtube/): How to find the search terms people type into YouTube — using autocomplete, question tools, and volume data — and turn them into videos that get found.
- [Keyword research for Amazon](https://searchterms.com/guides/keyword-research-for-amazon/): How Amazon search differs from Google, and how to find the buyer-intent product search terms shoppers use — for listings and PPC.
- [Free ways to do keyword research](https://searchterms.com/guides/free-ways-to-do-keyword-research/): You don’t always need a paid tool. Seven free sources of real search-term data — from Search Console and autocomplete to the Google Keyword Planner.

## AI search optimization
- [AI search optimization](https://searchterms.com/ai-search/): Your guide to AI search optimization (GEO): how to get your content cited in Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AI answers — plus the tools and terms to know.
- [What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?](https://searchterms.com/ai-search/what-is-generative-engine-optimization/): GEO explained: optimizing content to be cited in AI-generated answers like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity — and how it relates to traditional SEO.
- [How to optimize for Google AI Overviews](https://searchterms.com/ai-search/optimize-for-google-ai-overviews/): Practical ways to make your content more likely to be cited in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode — content structure, search intent, schema, and the queries that trigger them.
- [How to get cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity](https://searchterms.com/ai-search/rank-in-chatgpt-and-perplexity/): How AI answer engines like ChatGPT Search and Perplexity pick their sources, and what you can do to become one of the answers they cite.
- [GEO vs SEO](https://searchterms.com/ai-search/geo-vs-seo/): Generative engine optimization vs classic SEO — what genuinely changes for AI search, what stays the same, and how to do both at once.
- [AI keyword research](https://searchterms.com/ai-search/ai-keyword-research/): How keyword research changes in the AI era — finding the conversational prompts and questions people ask, and which tools help you research them.
- [How to track your AI search visibility](https://searchterms.com/ai-search/track-ai-search-visibility/): How to measure whether your brand and pages show up in AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity — the metrics, methods, and tools that make AI visibility measurable.

## Glossary
- [Search intent](https://searchterms.com/glossary/search-intent/): The goal behind a search — what the person actually wants to find or do when they type a query.
- [Long-tail keyword](https://searchterms.com/glossary/long-tail-keyword/): A longer, more specific search phrase with lower volume but clearer intent and less competition.
- [Keyword difficulty](https://searchterms.com/glossary/keyword-difficulty/): A score (usually 0–100) estimating how hard it is to rank on page one for a given search term.
- [Search volume](https://searchterms.com/glossary/search-volume/): The average number of times a search term is queried in a given period, usually shown per month.
- [SERP](https://searchterms.com/glossary/serp/): The search engine results page — the list of results, ads, and features Google shows for a query.
- [Keyword clustering](https://searchterms.com/glossary/keyword-clustering/): Grouping related search terms that share intent so one page can target many of them at once.
- [Seed keyword](https://searchterms.com/glossary/seed-keyword/): A short, broad starting term you feed into a tool to generate hundreds of related search ideas.
- [Branded vs non-branded keywords](https://searchterms.com/glossary/branded-vs-non-branded-keywords/): Branded terms include a company or product name; non-branded terms describe a need without one.
- [CPC (cost per click)](https://searchterms.com/glossary/cpc/): The average amount advertisers pay for one click on a keyword — a useful proxy for commercial value.
- [Keyword cannibalization](https://searchterms.com/glossary/keyword-cannibalization/): When two or more of your pages compete for the same search term, splitting their ranking signals.
- [Generative engine optimization (GEO)](https://searchterms.com/glossary/generative-engine-optimization/): Optimizing content so it gets cited in AI-generated search answers, not just ranked in the blue links.
- [Answer engine optimization (AEO)](https://searchterms.com/glossary/answer-engine-optimization/): Optimizing content to be the direct answer an AI or answer engine returns to a question.
- [AI Overviews](https://searchterms.com/glossary/ai-overviews/): Google’s AI-generated answer shown above the regular results for many searches.
- [Large language model (LLM)](https://searchterms.com/glossary/large-language-model/): The AI model behind tools like ChatGPT that generates text — and, increasingly, search answers.
- [llms.txt](https://searchterms.com/glossary/llms-txt/): A proposed plain-text file that points AI crawlers at the pages on your site that matter most.