What is Keyword Discovery? Here’s My Honest Verdict After Using It for a Year
Wondering what is keyword discovery and if this tool is for you? After a year on AppSumo, I'm updating my honest verdict with new features and customer feedback.
A year ago, I tested a new keyword research tool, Keyword Discovery, when it first hit AppSumo. Now that it’s been on the market for a while and is still available, I’m revisiting my original review to see what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what actual users think.
For more info, feel free to watch my full video review below.
What is Keyword Discovery?
Keyword Discovery is a keyword research tool that introduces a unique metric: a return on investment (ROI) score for keywords. It positions itself as an alternative to major players like Ahrefs and Semrush. Instead of just focusing on keyword difficulty, it calculates the potential ROI of targeting a specific keyword. This gives you a different perspective on which keywords to prioritize. The tool was created by Josh, an SEO professional with over 25 years of experience.
Why I Decided to Try Keyword Discovery
I first tried Keyword Discovery because of its unique approach. The concept of an ROI measurement for keywords is something I hadn't seen before. It promised a more business-oriented metric for choosing keywords. The lifetime deal on AppSumo was a compelling reason to give it a shot, and now, a year later, that deal is still running, making it a good time to see if it has lived up to its initial promise.
How I Used Keyword Discovery
I put the tool to work by exploring its core functions to see if it delivers on its promises.
Identifying profitable keywords
I started by testing a local SEO keyword, "Plumbing in Dallas." The tool provided a list of keywords along with their search volume and a calculated ROI score. The goal is to find keywords with not just search volume, but a high potential return. The tool’s focus on commercial intent is a great starting point for any business.
Expanding your keyword lists
For a broader niche, I used the seed keyword "work from home." Keyword Discovery generated a massive list of over 4,400 keywords. This showed its ability to expand on a topic and provide a wide array of long-tail keyword ideas. You can then use filters to narrow down this list based on word count, search intent, or other factors.
Understanding search trends
A feature I find useful is the "year-over-year change" metric. This shows a keyword's trend over the last six months compared to the previous six. For instance, finding a keyword with a 200% increase in traffic points to an emerging topic you can capitalize on.
What are the Main Features of Keyword Discovery?
Keyword Discovery has expanded its feature set over the last year.
Huge Keyword Database
The tool taps into a large database, providing a substantial number of keyword suggestions. My search for "work from home" yielded over 4,400 keywords, demonstrating its capacity for extensive lists.
Range of Keyword Tools
Beyond keyword lists, it provides several analytical tools.
Historical Trends
The year-over-year change feature offers a look at a keyword's popularity, helping you see if a topic is growing or declining in interest.
Keyword Effectiveness
The main selling point is the keyword ROI score. This metric combines search volume, traffic potential, CPC, and trend data to give you a "final ROI" score, helping you gauge a keyword's potential profitability.
PPC Bid Values
The tool displays average CPC data from Google Ads. This is a strong indicator of commercial intent.
AI-Powered Content Creation
Keyword Discovery now includes an advanced AI writer to help create content that meets the latest standards. It also features an "AI Spy" to uncover insights specific to your niche.
Integrations
The tool offers integrations with Google Keyword Planner, WordPress, and Zapier, allowing for a more streamlined workflow.
XML API access
For developers and agencies, Keyword Discovery offers XML API access. This allows you to integrate its data directly into your own applications or custom workflows.
Keyword Projects
You can save your searches as projects to keep your research organized and easily accessible.
Import and Export Keywords
The tool allows you to import your own list of keywords for analysis and export the reports it generates.
What I Liked About Keyword Discovery
The standout feature is still the keyword ROI score. It’s a fresh approach to evaluating keywords. The year-over-year trend data is also a great addition. User reviews on AppSumo frequently praise the tool for its comprehensive research capabilities and accurate difficulty scores. The addition of an AI writer and useful integrations adds more value.
What I Didn’t Like About Keyword Discovery
My main frustration a year ago was the speed of the keyword difficulty checker, and it seems this can still be an issue. Some users have reported minor problems with report generation. A bigger point of confusion, evident from the questions on the AppSumo page, is the distinction between Keyword Discovery and the larger Keyword Spy/SEO Co-Pilot suite of tools. The lifetime deal only includes Keyword Discovery, which some users feel is incomplete without the other modules.
How Much Does Keyword Discovery Cost?
Keyword Discovery has been available on AppSumo for about a year with a lifetime deal that is still active as of June 2025. You can stack up to three codes, and there's a 60-day money-back guarantee.
| Plan (Codes) | Price | Keyword Difficulty Lookups/Month |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 (1 Code) | $49 | 2,000 |
| Plan 2 (2 Codes) | $98 | 5,000 |
| Plan 3 (3 Codes) | $147 | 10,000 |
How to Get Started with Keyword Discovery
Getting started is simple. Once you log in, you enter a seed keyword, select your target country and language, and hit "get results." You can also toggle modifiers, like whether you use AI content, which adjusts the difficulty algorithm. From there, you can dive into the report, filter the results, and start analyzing the ROI and difficulty scores.
Keyword Discovery Alternatives
While Keyword Discovery brings a unique ROI metric to the table, it’s important to know what other tools are out there. It positions itself as an alternative to giants like Ahrefs and Semrush, but depending on your specific needs and budget, one of these other options might be a better fit.
Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is the free, foundational tool from Google itself. I think it’s a great alternative for those on a tight budget or who want data straight from the source. While it lacks the advanced ROI score or in-depth difficulty metrics of Keyword Discovery, it provides reliable search volume ranges and CPC data, which are great indicators of a keyword's commercial intent.
A practical use is for a new blogger to validate content ideas. You can plug in a list of potential keywords and get a quick read on their popularity and potential value without spending a dime. It’s also indispensable if you plan to run Google Ads, as that is its primary purpose.
Semrush
Semrush is a great alternative if you need an all-in-one SEO suite. Keyword Discovery is very focused on the initial research phase, but Semrush covers the entire workflow from research to rank tracking and site audits. It’s for the user who wants a single platform to manage their entire SEO strategy.
For instance, an agency could use Semrush not only to identify valuable keywords but also to track their client's ranking for those keywords over time, conduct a technical SEO audit to find site errors, and analyze a competitor's complete backlink profile.
If you’re curious to learn more, check out my full Semrush review for an in-depth breakdown of its features and performance.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is another industry leader that’s known for two things: its massive backlink database and its highly trusted keyword difficulty score. If you find Keyword Discovery's difficulty checker to be slow or you want a second opinion, Ahrefs is often considered the gold standard. It’s a powerful alternative for those who want to dive deep into competitive analysis.
A practical feature I like is the "Content Gap" tool. You can enter your domain and a few of your competitors' domains, and Ahrefs will show you the keywords your competitors are ranking for that you aren't. This is an incredibly effective way to find proven, traffic-driving keywords in your niche.
Moz Keyword Explorer
Moz provides a "Priority" score that is similar in concept to Keyword Discovery's ROI score. It combines search volume, difficulty, and estimated organic click-through rate into a single number to help you prioritize your efforts. This makes it a strong alternative for users who like the idea of a simplified, all-in-one metric but want to see a different company's approach.
A practical use of Moz is its SERP analysis feature. When you research a keyword, it breaks down the top 10 ranking pages, showing you their Page Authority and Domain Authority. This gives you a quick, at-a-glance understanding of the true difficulty of ranking on page one.
AnswerThePublic
This tool is a fantastic alternative if your goal is to understand user intent and find long-tail, question-based keywords. While Keyword Discovery is more quantitative, focusing on metrics like volume and ROI, AnswerThePublic is qualitative. It visualizes all the questions people are typing into Google around your topic.
For example, if your seed keyword is "coffee maker," you can use AnswerThePublic to instantly find dozens of blog post ideas like "how to clean a coffee maker," "what is the best coffee maker for home," and "can coffee makers make tea?" It's a goldmine for building topical authority.
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is a very user-friendly tool that offers a great balance of features and affordability. It's a solid alternative for those who find Google Keyword Planner too basic but aren't ready for the high price tag of Ahrefs or Semrush.
A practical use for a small business owner is its simple competitive analysis feature. You can just type in a competitor's website address and get a clear report on their estimated monthly traffic, top keywords, and most popular pages. It makes high-level SEO analysis accessible to everyone.
My Keyword Discovery Verdict
After a year on the market, Keyword Discovery has shown it has staying power and continues to offer a unique value proposition with its ROI metric. The lifetime deal remains an attractive offer. However, the performance hiccups and the confusion surrounding what's included in the deal are still points of concern.
Overall, it's a solid tool that has found its footing. If you're looking for a different angle on keyword research and can overlook some of its quirks, the lifetime deal is worth considering. Be sure to check out my full review earlier in this post for more details and a further breakdown.
