People Also Ask tools for keyword research
Compare AlsoAsked and KeywordsPeopleUse if your team needs a question map and a spreadsheet with answers and source links. AlsoAsked includes those spreadsheet exports on Lite and Pro. Try MCP Scraper if you need structured question records and a separate step to extract the cited pages.
What does your team need to hand off?
MCP Scraper publishes this comparison. The feature table uses each vendor’s documentation. Below, inspect a vendor-published AlsoAsked spreadsheet and a completed MCP Scraper job. The captures used different seeds and settings.
| Tool | What you get | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| AlsoAsked | A visual question graph with image export, plus API and MCP access. Product features | Free and Basic exports list questions. Lite and Pro add the displayed answer and ranking URL. Keep that ranking URL separate from AI Overview URLs, which the export lists in their own field. Check the export fields by plan. Open the public sample export. Check the API response separately if you use it. The MCP setup guide specifies a Pro account. |
| KeywordsPeopleUse | A question map and data view. The CSV includes the seed, question levels, displayed answer, source URL, and page title. PAA workflow and CSV fields | Run a seed in your target market. Check that the source columns and question relationships stay intact in the worksheet your writer uses. For an AI client, its MCP setup requires API access and an API key. |
| MCP Scraper | Structured question records with captured answers, source links, and an incomplete-expansion flag when applicable. Recorded fields | Check terminal status and usable fields. If your application will collect questions directly, check the People Also Ask REST workflow before choosing. If the team needs a visual map of parent and follow-up questions, verify that requirement separately. |
AlsoAsked vs AnswerThePublic for a content brief
Use AlsoAsked for Google People Also Ask follow-ups and their relationships. Its Lite and Pro spreadsheet exports include the displayed answer and source URL. Use AnswerThePublic’s Google Web search to explore how people phrase a topic. It groups autocomplete suggestions into categories such as questions, prepositions, and comparisons.
In the brief, label which feed each question came from. Keep useful autocomplete phrasing as a writing lead. For claims the writer plans to make, attach a source and verify the passage before assigning it. The recorded examples below show what you can check in a People Also Ask export.
What a captured question tells a writer
The historical conveyancer example includes question wording, displayed answers, source URLs and positions in the question tree. In the first question row, the source link opens a section that covers fees and timing, two topics mentioned in the answer.
Try that check before handing a question to a writer. Keep the source URL and the relevant section with the question, so they can verify the answer in context.
Open the AlsoAsked spreadsheet · Check the first row’s source
The seed mcp server for web scraping returned 30 questions. Each had answer text and at least one source link. The response omitted the expansion flag on all 30 rows, so answer expansion completeness is unknown. The question “Which MCP server should I use?” returned answer text and six source entries across five distinct URLs.
That wording widens the topic beyond scraping. Keep it as evidence of a broader tool-selection question. Look for a narrower question before assigning a section about choosing a scraper.
Read the captured fields and scope · See how to group questions for keyword research
Run the same first test in each tool
Pick one seed from a client brief. Request the same market and language where supported. Record what each result confirms and mark any unverified setting. Treat the trial as an exploratory handoff check if the settings cannot be matched. Record the time and any expansion settings. Before testing, decide whether you need the question relationship, the answer snippet, the source link, or all three.
Find a question that appears in more than one result. Check each tool for the fields you marked as required. If you require question relationships, trace the question back to the seed. If you require source evidence, open the cited page and find the passage a writer could use. If no question overlaps, compare the first usable row from each tool against the fields you picked. Raw question counts are harder to interpret when tools expand questions differently.
Keep a record from each run. Copy one row per tool into your brief.
Tool and plan · Seed · Market and language · Run date · Expansion setting · Question · Required fields present or missing · Source URL and supporting passage · Decision
Check every field you marked as required. If you require source evidence, have a teammate open the source and verify the supporting passage. Mark Review if any required check fails. If the evidence passes, mark Keep when the settings match or Exploratory when the settings differ or are unverified. Compare coverage only when the settings match.
Already have a question map you trust? Keep it for exploration. Collect source passages when the writer needs evidence, then use the People Also Ask content brief workflow to make the assignment.
Check the returned fields before you choose
See how a completed MCP Scraper job records the question, answer, and sources. Use the field list to decide what your team would keep.