Last updated: April 2026 | By ToolCrush

Most beginner bloggers and content creators write about topics they find interesting and then wonder why nobody finds their content on Google. The answer is almost always keyword research or the lack of it. Writing without checking keyword difficulty first is like opening a restaurant without checking whether anyone in the neighborhood is hungry.

Mangools is a suite of five SEO tools built around KWFinder its keyword research tool that is widely regarded as having the most accurate keyword difficulty scores available at its price point. It is not as deep as Semrush or Ahrefs but for bloggers and small sites trying to find rankable keywords it is more practical and significantly more affordable.

Mangools plans start at around 29 dollars per month billed annually which is roughly half the cost of entry level Semrush or Ahrefs plans. A 10 day free trial is available with no credit card required giving new users full access to every tool before committing. For bloggers and affiliate marketers who rely on organic search traffic Mangools pays for itself the first time it helps you find a keyword you can actually rank for.

Start your free Mangools trial here: Mangools

What you will need

  • A free Mangools trial account (Mangools)
  • A niche or topic you want to create content about
  • A basic understanding that lower keyword difficulty scores mean easier to rank (Mangools explains this well)
  • 30 minutes for your first keyword research session

The five Mangools tools and what each one does

Before diving into the step by step process it helps to know what each of the five tools does so you are not confused when you see them in the dashboard.

KWFinder is the flagship tool and the reason most people choose Mangools. You enter a seed keyword and KWFinder returns hundreds of related keywords with search volume keyword difficulty scores and the top ranking pages for each term. The keyword difficulty score from 0 to 100 is the most important number on the screen lower means easier to rank.

SERPChecker analyzes the top 10 pages currently ranking for any keyword. It shows you domain authority page authority backlink counts and social signals for each competing page. Use this to understand what you are up against before committing to writing a full article on a topic.

SERPWatcher tracks your keyword rankings over time. Enter the keywords you are targeting and SERPWatcher shows you your current position and how it changes week by week. This is how you know whether your content strategy is working.

LinkMiner analyzes backlink profiles for any URL or domain. It shows you who is linking to competing pages and how strong those links are. This is useful for understanding what kind of link building effort your target keywords require.

SiteProfiler gives you a complete SEO overview of any domain including authority score top content best keywords and backlink profile. Use this to quickly assess competitor sites and find gaps your content can fill.

Part 1 - Finding your first rankable keyword with KWFinder (15 minutes)

Step 1 - Enter your seed keyword

Log into Mangools and click KWFinder from the dashboard. Type your broad topic into the search bar this is called a seed keyword. For example if you run a blog about productivity tools you might start with productivity apps or best note taking app or time management tools.

Set the location to your target country and the language to match your content.

KWFinder returns a list of related keywords on the left side of the screen with columns showing monthly search volume trend data cost per click and most importantly the keyword difficulty score labeled KD. On the right side you see the current top 10 results for whichever keyword is selected. Spend a minute understanding this layout before moving on.

Step 2 - Understand the keyword difficulty score

The keyword difficulty score is the single most important number in KWFinder. It runs from 0 to 100 and represents how hard it would be to rank on the first page of Google for that term based on the strength of pages currently ranking.

KWFinder difficulty score guide

  • 0 to 29 (green): Easy. New sites and fresh content can rank here with good on page optimization and minimal backlinks.
  • 30 to 49 (yellow): Possible. Requires solid content and some backlinks. Achievable for sites with a few months of history.
  • 50 to 69 (orange): Hard. Requires strong domain authority and active link building. Not recommended for new sites.
  • 70 plus (red): Very hard. Reserved for established sites with significant authority. Avoid these entirely as a beginner.

If you are starting a new blog or site target keywords with a difficulty score below 30 exclusively for your first three months. This feels limiting but it is the fastest path to your first Google rankings which builds domain authority that makes harder keywords achievable later.

Step 3 - Filter for low competition keywords

Click the Filters button above the keyword list. Set the maximum keyword difficulty to 30 and the minimum monthly search volume to 100. This filters out impossible keywords and keywords with no meaningful traffic leaving only the realistic opportunities.

A keyword with 200 monthly searches and a difficulty of 15 is more valuable to a new site than a keyword with 5000 monthly searches and a difficulty of 60. Most beginners chase volume and ignore difficulty which is why most beginner content never ranks. Flip that priority and your first rankings happen significantly faster.

Step 4 - Evaluate the SERP for your target keyword

Click on any keyword in the list that meets your difficulty criteria to load its SERP data on the right side of the screen. Look at the pages currently ranking in positions 1 through 10. You are looking for signals that the competition is beatable.

signs a keyword is winnable

  • Multiple results with domain authority below 30 (shown as DA in the SERP panel).
  • Results from forums like Reddit or Quora appearing on page one this signals that Google has not found a great dedicated resource yet.
  • Pages with few or zero backlinks (shown as LPS in the panel) ranking in the top 5.
  • Results from generic sites that only partially answer the query rather than dedicated in depth resources.
  • No results from major media brands or high authority domains dominating the top 3.

Step 5 - Find related keyword variations

Once you find a promising keyword click the arrow next to it to load related keyword suggestions. KWFinder surfaces hundreds of variations questions and long tail versions of your seed keyword. These variations often have even lower difficulty scores while covering the same topic.

A long tail keyword like best note taking app for students with ADHD has lower search volume than best note taking app but far lower competition and much higher purchase intent from exactly the right reader. For affiliate marketing and content sites long tail keywords convert better than broad terms because the reader has already narrowed down exactly what they need.

Part 2 - Analyzing the competition with SERPChecker (10 minutes)

Step 6 - Open SERPChecker for your target keyword

Click SERPChecker from the main dashboard or click directly on a keyword in KWFinder to load its SERP data in SERPChecker. The tool shows you a detailed breakdown of every page in the top 20 results including domain authority page authority number of backlinks referring domains and social share counts.

The most important columns are DA (domain authority of the whole site) PA (page authority of the specific ranking page) and LPS (link profile strength which combines multiple backlink signals). A page ranking in position 3 with a DA of 18 and zero backlinks is a target it means you can outrank it with better content and modest effort.

Step 7 - Identify content gaps in the top results

Click through to the top 3 ranking pages for your target keyword and read them. You are looking for what they cover well and what they miss what questions they answer and what questions they leave unanswered. Your article needs to be more complete more specific and more useful than what is already ranking not just longer.

The most common gap in ranking content is depth on specific subtopics. A page ranking for best productivity apps that lists 10 apps with two sentences each can be beaten by a page that covers 7 apps with genuine detail honest pros and cons and specific use cases. Depth on fewer topics consistently beats breadth across many topics for SEO in 2026.

Part 3 - Tracking your rankings with SERPWatcher (5 minutes)

Step 8 - Add your target keywords to SERPWatcher

After publishing your first piece of keyword targeted content go to SERPWatcher and click New Tracking. Enter your domain select your country and add the keywords you targeted in that article. SERPWatcher begins checking your rankings daily and shows you movement over time.

A brand new article on a low competition keyword typically enters Google index within one to two weeks and may start ranking anywhere from position 30 to position 80 initially. Rankings then move upward over four to twelve weeks as Google assesses the page quality and user signals. Patience is not optional in SEO the sites that win are the ones that keep publishing and tracking while others quit.

Step 9 - Interpret your ranking data and take action

Check SERPWatcher weekly rather than daily ranking fluctuations are normal and distracting. What matters is the trend over four to six weeks. A page moving from position 45 to position 22 over a month is working even if it has not reached page one yet.

If a page has been indexed for more than three months and is stuck below position 30 the article likely needs improvement rather than more time. Go back and expand the content add more specific detail on the main subtopics improve the introduction and make sure the page answers every question the reader might have. Updating existing content is often faster than publishing new content for improving rankings.

Part 4 - Building a keyword research workflow (ongoing)

Step 10 - Create a keyword research spreadsheet

As you find rankable keywords in KWFinder save them to a spreadsheet with columns for keyword monthly search volume keyword difficulty target URL once published and current ranking from SERPWatcher. This simple system keeps your content strategy organized and shows you at a glance which keywords you have covered and which are still opportunities.

Aim to have 20 to 30 validated low difficulty keywords in your spreadsheet before you start writing. This means you never sit down to write without knowing exactly which keyword to target. The biggest time waster in content creation is writing first and doing keyword research second the content rarely matches what people are actually searching for.

Step 11 - Use SiteProfiler to analyze competitors

Go to SiteProfiler and enter any competitor blog or site in your niche. The tool shows you their top ranking keywords their best performing content and their overall authority metrics. This tells you which topics are working in your niche and gives you a direct content roadmap based on proven demand.

Find a competitor blog that is ranking well in your niche and run it through SiteProfiler. Look at their top 10 pages by organic traffic. For each one run the target keyword through KWFinder and check whether the difficulty is low enough for you to compete. This competitor analysis method produces a list of validated content opportunities faster than brainstorming from scratch.

Mangools vs Semrush vs Ahrefs - which should you use?

Mangools versus Semrush: Semrush is more comprehensive with stronger data on competitor advertising social media and content marketing. But it starts at around 130 dollars per month for meaningful access and the interface takes weeks to learn properly. For bloggers and small site owners doing keyword research and rank tracking Mangools covers the same core workflow at a fraction of the cost.

Mangools versus Ahrefs: Ahrefs has the most accurate backlink data available and its site explorer is unmatched for link analysis. But at 129 dollars per month for entry level access it is priced for agencies and serious SEOs not beginner bloggers. Mangools keyword difficulty scores are comparable in accuracy for most use cases and the price difference is hard to justify until you genuinely need the depth that Ahrefs provides.

Bottom line: If you are a blogger affiliate marketer or small business owner doing your own SEO Mangools covers everything you need for the first 12 to 18 months of building organic traffic. Upgrade to Semrush or Ahrefs when you have an established site a content team and the budget to justify the investment.

Mangools pricing - what plan do you need?

  • Entry plan (29 dollars per month billed annually): 100 keyword lookups per day 200 SERP lookups 200 tracked keywords and 20 site lookups. It covers most solo blogger and small site needs comfortably. This is the plan most ToolCrush readers should start with.
  • Basic plan (44 dollars per month billed annually): Higher lookup limits and 700 tracked keywords. It is worth considering if you are managing multiple sites or tracking a large keyword list.
  • Premium plan (89 dollars per month billed annually): Unlimited keyword lookups and 1500 tracked keywords. It is for agencies and professional SEOs managing multiple client sites.

Start your 10 day free trial with full access to all tools here: Mangools

Frequently asked questions

Is Mangools accurate enough for professional use? Yes for the vast majority of keyword research and rank tracking use cases. The KWFinder difficulty scores are widely regarded as among the most reliable available at this price point and are used by thousands of professional bloggers and SEOs. Where Mangools falls short of enterprise tools is backlink data depth and competitive intelligence features.

How is Mangools different from Google Keyword Planner? Google Keyword Planner shows search volume but does not show keyword difficulty or competing page analysis. Without knowing how hard a keyword is to rank for the search volume data is almost useless for content planning. Mangools combines volume with difficulty and SERP analysis which makes it a complete keyword research workflow rather than just a data lookup tool.

Can I cancel Mangools after the free trial? Yes the 10 day free trial requires no credit card so there is nothing to cancel if you decide not to continue. If you sign up for a paid plan you can cancel any time from your account settings. Mangools does not lock you into annual contracts if you pay monthly.

How many keywords should I track in SERPWatcher? Track the specific keyword you targeted in each article plus two or three close variations. For a new site tracking 20 to 50 keywords across your published content gives you enough data to understand what is working without overwhelming you with numbers. Add more as you publish more content.

The fastest way to get value from Mangools is to start with KWFinder today enter the topic of their next planned article and check the difficulty score before writing a single word. If the difficulty is above 40 find a lower competition variation first. That one habit of checking before writing changes the trajectory of a content site more than any other single practice.

Want to create SEO optimized content once you have your keywords? Read our NeuronWriter review for the tool that tells you exactly what to write once you know what to rank for.

Browse all SEO tools in the ToolCrush directory

Start your free 10 day Mangools trial: Mangools