Why didn't you tell me about WordZe? Why didn't somebody tell me about WordZe? I thought I'd used and reviewed all the best keyword research tools available? So I was pretty confused yesterday when reading a comment on an SEO website praising a keyword tool called "WordZe". "Wordwho? I've never heard of them".

So I did what every good researcher does - I googled them. I was expecting this tool be either a hoax or a victim of some web 2.0-like bubble burst. Nope, wrong again. WordZe has a clean, professional website making powerful claims to some really impressive keyword research tools. "WordWHO? Maybe they're new in the keyword market?"

So next I did what every good reviewer does - I wrote to WordZe and asked for a test account. They were good enough to give me access. And my surprise turned to amazement the second I logged in. If you've never heard of WordZe, read on. If you've never used WordZe, definitely read on! You'll be surprised to learn what we've been missing out on.

Members Area
They say first impressions last. Well my first and second impressions for WordZe have both been, "Wow, this is SO clean and easy." Logging into the Members Area is no different, opening up the same well-designed, user-friendly, uncluttered workspace. Only now you have 12 keyword tools at your instant disposal, plus some help center resources.

This web-based toolset is so user-friendly; one page, all the tools, instant access to everything. It's the best working environment I've seen online and WordZe have won me even before I try their tools.

Yes, first impressions do last. But do their tools match their clean, classy workspace?

Here's a look at the main tools.

Keyword Research:
As the name implies, this tool is a great place to start keyword research for any SEO, niche mining or PPC campaigns. Using a search box, some filtering options and match types, keyword research just doesn't get any easier than this.

I'm using our standard test keyword so I can make a fair comparison of WordZe's data to other keyword tools we've tested.

So I simply enter "fly fishing", set my options and WordZe returns search volume data, future traffic estimates and KEIs for 809 keywords. And it returns them fast! So fast they even tell me: "Results loaded in 0.021 seconds."

The results are super easy to read and digest. And even better, I can instantly access the other reporting tools (History, WordRank and Dig) to further evaluate individual keywords. No "check-boxing" or "adding to projects" is necessary. This saves heaps of time and makes for super-productive research.

I click the History icon to run further tests on "fly fishing rods" and a new page opens displaying all the historic and trend data. Sorry to repeat myself, but keyword research doesn't get any easier than this.

Keyword History & Trends:
As keyword competition grows, regional and seasonal data is more important now than ever before. WordZe reports data trends and regional variations using graphs and visual indicators, so you can see exactly where and when keywords are performing.

Using the "1 year" graph, I can immediately see that "fly fishing rods" peaked in December and troughed in February (a popular Christmas present? Or the opening of fly fishing season?). I can also see that the US, Australia and the UK are the most avid fly fishing rod searchers (45%, 18% and 12% respectively).

Traffic and trends can change quickly and you must move with them. This tool gives you the vital insight and performance indicators you need to act accordingly. Knowing this, I certainly won't be targeting "fly fishing rods" in the UK market next February. Not unless these trends start to indicate otherwise. I will be checking back on this tool regularly.

WordRank
You can tell a lot about a keyword from search engines alone. After all, the best ranking pages rank well for very good reasons. But after knowing who ranks best, you're left wondering why. WordRank uses real data and good filters so you can evaluate your competition's strengths and weaknesses.

If information is power, then WordRank is a Super Power. Every search returns the following data on your best competition:
 

• Links Per Month
• Total Links
• Age in Months
• Domain PR and URL PR.
• Search engine results
• Back links
• Authority sites recognition
• InTitle and InUrl data
• R/S Ratio
• Average Monthly Links
• Average URL PageRank

My "fly fishing rods" search paints a tough picture - it could be a hard market to crack. There are some really established and aged competitors. The average PageRank is 4, average domain PR is 4, the InURL and InTitles are both stacked with high percentages and the main players all have more then 15,000 total links. The most important thing is, I know this BEFORE I make any decisions.

This tool is like a hot tip for every keyword venture. You are better off spending time now to eliminate markets that are too competitive, than spending time and money later fighting to compete where there's no room. Using WordRank you will just as easily identify markets that are under-competitive.

The rest of the Tools
There are still plenty of other tools in WordZe's toolset. Some are to organise and report your keywords, others include importing, expanding and filtering.

Here's a brief look at what's else WordZe offers:

• Dig - Digging is a simple tool with great depth. 10,000 deep in fact - that's how many websites it searches to return the most popular page and meta tag keywords.
• Expand - You can take your Dig keyword results and blow them up into mega lists. Then refine and filter your keywords into high quality, relevant keyword lists.
• Import - I have a lot of keyword data files, so this import tool lets me import them straight into WordZe to refresh the data values. 
• Download Top Searches - you can download the latest keyword searches directly to your desktop in text or excel format.
• Keyword Density - Do you want to know which keywords your competitors are using and how densely they've packed them? This is the tool to tell you all.
• Misspells - the WordZe database reports misspellings on your keyword, along with the search volume, KIE and sub-match numbers. It appears that the letter "o" is often omitted from "rod", because there are 848 instances of "fly fishing rd".
• Keyword Thesaurus - this tool is in Beta and reports only the first word of any phrase. It's still a valuable tool and I advise using the filters wisely.
• API - Given how modern the entire WordZe experience is, I'm not surprised they offer an API. For those geeky enough, you're free to use it with the standard account limits applied.
• Download Manager - This super feature automatically files all the reports I've been running. So my data is safe and reusable.

Summary
The design and usability of WordZe are so refreshing that I find myself doing extra keyword research work just to use their tools more. This superb design is backed up by a huge range of tools that provide powerful, reliable keyword data.

WordZe makes keyword research easy. They proclaim to be the "King of Keywords" and they definitely rule my keyword kingdom.

Pros

• User friendly - this is the easiest web-based keyword tool to use.
• Powerful and reliable keyword data - you can gather reliable data from really impressive keyword fields. The WordRank tool especially provides truly unique datasets.
• Performance - WordZe performs as well or better than any other tool I've tested. The entire experience is very smooth and modern.
• Pay as you go - WordZe charge monthly, so there's no big money outlay, no contract and you can leave at any time. Membership is only $35 per month.

Cons

• I'd like to see the daily limits for the WordRank Search tool increased - I think that 20 a day is too restrictive. It's a really powerful tool and when I use it, I use it properly. Perhaps a monthly limit would balance things out - allowing the same number of searches per month, while not restricting you on the days you need to use it?

Overall: WordZe is fit for any keyword rookie or keyword expert. It offers instant access to all the keyword data you need to research, optimize and strategize your keyword campaigns.

You can save *more than 20% per month by signing up here (*only while this offer lasts).