Top 10 Best Free Keyword Research Tools
Keyword research is critical to digital marketing. If done right, your content will attract more high-quality traffic, which will likely convert. But if done wrong, your content will be as ineffective as a paper hammer, and all your digital marketing efforts will fail.
Keyword research tools can help you research and find the best keywords. But there are tens of options with different features, interfaces, sources of data, and prices, and each claims to be the best.
Which do you pick?
Premium keyword research tools have more advanced features than free tools, obviously. But does that mean you must pay expensive monthly subscriptions for the best keyword research results?
Nope, it doesn’t.
Several free keyword research tools produce the same results as, and some even better results than, premium plans. You can use them for all types and forms of digital marketing campaigns to increase traffic.
In this guide, we highlight the ten best free keyword research tools you can use to boost your content marketing efforts by helping you conduct keyword research successfully.
1. AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic is a keyword research tool that uses Google and Bing autocomplete suggestions to find the best keywords related to a topic.
It is perfect for ideation. Once you key in your seed keywordsin the search box and hit search, it shows all the questions related to the seed word together with the who, what, where, when, and why. It also displays preposition keywords and comparisons between the target keywords and other related keywords.
The downside of this excellent tool is you are limited to three free searches per day.
2. Keyword Sheeter
If you want to generate lots of keyword ideas quickly, Keyword Sheeter might do it for you. It generates up to 1000 ideas per minute from Google autocomplete suggestions.
The free version of Keyword Sheeter is quite basic and has limited features, such as no access to keyword search volume and data on the competitiveness of ranking for the phrase. The results only contain relevant keywords with no additional data.
But it gets the job done and has some notable key features like the negative and positive filters. The negative filter excludes results containing a particular word or phrase, and the positive filter does the opposite.
3. Keyword Surfer
A notable feature of the Keyword Surfer research tool is its convenience. It is a browser extension, so it plugs into the Chrome web browser and displays results to the right side of the results page when you search for a seed keyword. The results are delivered as you use your browser, so you don’t have to exit.
The results contain several critical details and data. It includes keyword ideas, search volume estimates, the cost per click for each term, pages that rank for the term, and organic traffic to the top ten results pages. It is a very efficient keyword research tool.
4. Keyworddit
Keyworddit is unique in its working. Instead of looking for keyword information on search engines like most other keyword research tools, it mines Reddit.
You only need to enter a specific subreddit relevant to your business and a seed keyword. It then generates a list of related keywords, their context, and search volumes. The subreddit must have at least 10,000 members.
Although you can find some keyword information on Reddit that you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere, Keyworddit can’t be your only keyword research tool. You can use it alongside others to power your campaign.
5. QuestionDB
If you are looking for blog titles or blog topic ideas, QuestionDB is perfect for you. It finds the topics people are asking about a particular topic from question-answer websites such as Quora and Reddit. It informs you on what your target audience wants to know.
QuestionDB allows unlimited searches. The results are in the form of questions sorted by popularity but you can sort the keywords by topic. You can use this information to answer them in the form of a blog. And because these questions are almost always answered, you can begin your content research by reading the answers.
The free version only allows you to see the first 50 question-type queries, which could be enough. You will have to subscribe to see more.
6. Ahrefs Keyword Generator
For a free tool, Ahrefs KeywordsExplorer is loaded with features. To use it, you enter the seed keyword and search, and then it presents the top 100 results from one of the biggest keyword databases of billions of keywords from almost all countries.
The results, which are pulled from Google, contain details like the search volume, the keyword difficulty, list of related questions, average cost per click, traffic potential, and how recently the result was updated. It also shows the domain rating and page backlinks. You can focus your search on a specific geographical area.
7. Moz Keyword Explorer
Moz keyword explorer can give you keyword information such as the related keywords, monthly volume, priority, SEO difficulty, and organic CTR. It also gives you information on the top ten pages that rank for the keyword.
The organic CTR is a valuable metric that lets you know whether it is worth targeting a certain keyword. It does so by showing the traffic potential, which means how many clicks you will get if you rank for the term. It also has a handy Ranking Keywords feature that shows which terms you already rank for.
The downside to Moz Keyword Explorer is that you are limited to ten queries per month.
8. Keyword Tool Dominator
How your customers search on different platforms and search engine varies. For example, customers may search Google for a place to shop and Amazon for the product they need. You will miss valuable keyword information from other platforms if you base your keyword research on Google alone.
Keyword tool dominator sources information from YouTube, Google, Walmart, Etsy, Bing, eBay, Amazon et al, to give you access to relevant content and search terms. It is perfect if you want to rank on other platforms and search engines.
On the downside, the results don’t contain any information other than a list of keyword ideas, and with the free version, you are limited to two searches a day.
9. Google Trends
Google Trends is a valuable keyword research tool that gives information on the popularity of specific keywords over time in various regions worldwide. You can use it to spot new trends and take advantage of them, and know when a trend is dying and abandon it. It has a beginner-friendly user interface.
Because search patterns vary by location, the ability of Google Trends to show search volume by location is very handy. It also allows you to search for any mentions of a specific keyword on a website.
Google Trends doesn’t limit the number of searches.
10. Google Adwords Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is one of the most popular keyword tools. Searching for the seed phrase presents the keyword list, bulk search volume analysis, seasonal traffic fluctuations, cost-per-click data, and the three-month and year-over-year change.
Google Keyword Planner also allows you to conduct competitive analysis by searching competitor websites for all the keywords they rank for. Using the results, you can use it to decide how to split your keywords between search engine optimization and PPC.
Have Professionals Research Your Keywords For You
Whatever your reason for preferring free over paid keyword research tools, you will find one that suits your needs from the above list. Some of the tools discussed can be used alone, while others only specialize in one function and must be used in conjunction with others.
But why would you go through all that trouble finding keywords and creating the content yourself without any guarantee of success while you could have professionals do it for you? A professional writer has full access to the important keyword research tools and, because they have been doing it for a while, can leverage them in the best possible way for the most relevant results.
If you decide to outsource, Zoey Writers has the professionals you need. We can perform the keyword research for you and, if you want, write high-quality content, from blog posts to white papers and everything in between.
Contact us today for all your content needs.
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Photo by Dan Cristian Pădureț on Unsplash. Thank you Dan!
