I bought a expensive SEO tool but found better results with a free Chrome extension for keyword gaps

I was using Ahrefs for months to find keyword gaps, but spending $180 a month felt crazy for my small business. Then I tried a free extension called Keywords Everywhere that cross-checks competitor pages against your own, and it showed me 30 low-competition terms I missed entirely. Has anyone else dumped a paid tool for a free one that actually works better?

3 comments

3 Comments

jasonf1711d ago

Paid tools like Ahrefs give you way more than just keyword gaps. You get backlink profiles, site audits, rank tracking at scale, and historical data. That free extension might surface a few terms today, but it can't tell you which ones are actually worth targeting based on search volume trends or how hard it would be to outrank the sites already ranking. I've tried those free tools too and found they miss a ton of nuance. Your mileage may vary, but for me the $180 felt like an investment in data I could actually trust and act on rather than guesswork. Paid tools justify their cost when you need consistency and depth beyond surface level suggestions.

the_william11d ago

Is it just me or does this same pattern show up everywhere in life, not just SEO tools? @jasonf17 hit it on the head. My buddy spent $200 on a fancy meat thermometer for grilling, swore by it because it linked to his phone and kept a log of past cooks. I got a $10 one from the grocery store that works fine for telling me if the chicken is done. But you know what, if I was running a BBQ catering business, I'd probably want that expensive one too because I'd need to get it right every single time for a bunch of customers who are paying me. Same goes for these free keyword tools versus Ahrefs. Free stuff gives you a taste, maybe a decent starting point if you're just messing around. But once you're trying to make money or track real progress, you need the tool that can back up its guesses with hard numbers and history, even if it stings the wallet a little.

jasonf1711d ago

I heard a marketer say free tools are fine for getting started but paid ones give you the full picture.