Top Tools / December 20, 2022
StartupStash

The world's biggest online directory of resources and tools for startups and the most upvoted product on ProductHunt History.

Top 18 Free Keyword Research Tools

Want to know why free keyword research tools are important? Finding the correct keywords to add to your blog or e-commerce content to help it rank higher on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) would be like finding a needle in a haystack without keyword research tools. You'd find it only once in a blue moon, but most of the time you'd end up going in circles.

Keyword research tools help you develop your SEO strategy in a variety of ways. They, along with SEO software may assist you in generating keyword ideas, revealing how many people actively use a search term, identifying trends, and determining how competitive a phrase is to rank for.

In this top tools list, we have compiled the top 18 free keyword research tools along with their features for you to choose from.


1. Keyword Surfer

Keyword Surfer is a more recent tool that integrates with the Chrome browser. When you turn it on, results appear on the right side of your results page whenever you enter a search query.

It's a powerful keyword research tool that gives you results right in your browser. There may be some glitches to iron out as a new tool. The data provided by the plugin may differ from that provided by other Google search tools. It is, however, a quick and simple technique to generate content ideas.

Key Features:

  • Keyword Surfer will provide the monthly search volume for your keyword as well as other related keywords you might employ in your plan. Before you even glance at the search results page, figure out what your top keywords are.

  • For even more ranking prospects, look for keywords that are comparable to yours. Use the same piece of content to target many keywords, or prepare fresh articles and landing pages for months in advance.

  • For your top 10 rivals, find out how much traffic they get each month, how many words they have in their content, and how many precise keywords they have.

  • Based on your rivals' sites and Surfer's NLP-powered algorithms, Content Editor provides a set of rules. To guarantee that your material is relevant, high-quality, and competitive, follow these guidelines.

Cost:

This is a free tool.


2. TagCrowd

TagCrowd is one of the greatest free keyword research tools for SEO is TagCrowd.

Its value proposition is straightforward: you may visualize word frequency by constructing word/text/tag clouds without paying the exorbitant prices charged by Buzzsumo and Ahrefs Keywords Explorer.

On-page SEO continues to emphasize keyword frequency.

If you target particular keywords but only use them infrequently, you'll have a hard time ranking for them. Stuffing keywords on a page with a high frequency, on the other hand, may result in a Google penalty for what is considered a black hat SEO tactic.

Key Features:

  • Under the Creative Commons Attribution License, TagCrowd word clouds are free to use. That means you may use them for both commercial and non-commercial reasons as long as you include a name and a link to TagCrowd.com.

  • The text you submit into TagCrowd is encrypted and sent over SSL, then stored on our server for the few moments it takes to produce the word cloud before being destroyed. Your information is never shared with other parties.

  • By clicking the 'Save as...' option under the cloud and selecting PDF, you may save your word cloud as a PDF. A download link will be sent to you.

  • To keep word clouds topical, TagCrowd employs language-specific collections of frequent terms. Setting the Language to 'none' will always turn off this function.

Cost:

This is a free tool.


3. Semrush

Semrush offers a Keyword Magic Tool that is a straightforward keyword research tool that gives a wealth of data. Users with a free account can make up to 10 requests per day but bear in mind that each query you make in this tool counts toward your daily limit of 10 searches in Domain and Keyword Analytics.

You may view wide match keywords, phrase match keywords, exact match keywords, similar keywords, and questions regarding the keywords in each query. It's also possible to see how many advertisers are bidding on a certain term in their PPC ads. This index indicates how tough it would be to outrank your competition in Google's top 20 results for a certain phrase.

Key Features:

  • In just a few clicks, you may explore keywords in topic-specific subgroups, apply rapid exclusion, and retrieve semantically related long-tails.

  • To assist you to restrict or widening the results, there's a questions-only filter, different match kinds, related phrases, and configurable criteria.

  • Manage your keyword list in one location with the most up-to-date analytics. Integration with other tools is simple and direct.

  • Estimation of monthly searches to aid in the evaluation of possible search engine traffic for a certain phrase.

Cost:

This is a free tool.


4. AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic is a fantastic resource for gaining access to raw search data. It displays the questions people are asking about that topic when you input your search term(s). All of the who, what, where, when, why, and other inquiries that users ask are displayed in a visual display.

It's a great technique to come up with keyword ideas and figure out what your potential buyers want to know. You may save the information as a graph or a list.

There is one disadvantage to using this tool: you only get three free searches every day, so you have to be careful what you search for.

Key Features:

  • Examine your keywords from every possible viewpoint. Allowing the free daily restriction to get in the way of discovering the greatest content ideas and topics for your audience when you need them is never a good idea.

  • Be the first to respond to new, emerging subjects by tracking shifts in brand perceptions, spotting seasonal patterns, and tracking fluctuations in brand perceptions.

  • Set up Search Listening Alerts to receive weekly email digests that illustrate what fresh inquiries are being asked on any given topic.

  • With Collections, you can keep track of all of your project or client terms in one location. Add new searches to your Collections quickly, or use a new search to start a new folder.

Cost:

Paid packages start at $99 per month.


5. Bulk Keyword Generator

Bulk Keyword Generator, by Higher Visibility, is a local SEO keyword research tool. It produces keywords based on the type of industry. Small companies and marketers can use our free local SEO keyword tool. Choose a business type and a location, and it will produce local keywords for your industry that potential customers can use to locate you.

Higher Visibility was recently voted Search Engine Land's SEO Agency of the Year, and they have been acknowledged as a leader in the field by several third-party review sites. This software has been featured in several publications, including Search Engine Journal, Inc., Forbes, The Huffington Post, and many others.

Key Features:

  • Analyze the architecture of your website. Their team examines a website to ensure that the pages intended for the general audience can be found by search engines.

  • Focused keyword targeting. They conduct research to determine which keywords work best in your industry and assign them to the right pages on your website. They identify the terms that are most effective in driving sales.

  • Content tactics that work. They will not only optimize the material on your existing web pages but will also teach you how to create content that will keep people coming back.

Cost:

For their paid services, you can request a quote on their website.


6. Google Trends

Google Trends is a free tool that provides graphs and data on specific Google and YouTube search phrases.

By default, when you input a search keyword on the homepage, it will return a list from Google. You can adjust your selections on the results page to see results from YouTube instead. It also includes Google Shopping, Images, and News trends.

Google Trends assists you in identifying keywords that are gaining traction and avoiding ones that are losing traction. It doesn't give you information on monthly search volume or how competitive each keyword phrase is.

Key Features:

  • Identifying what's ‘hot’ right now.

  • Isolating hot themes or subtopics within an industry or in relation to a subject.

  • Local search trends are being discovered.

  • Identifying keywords that are becoming more popular.

  • Graphing the public's interest in a subject through time.

  • Identifying the most popular topics.

Cost:

This is a free tool.


7. Google Ads

Google Ads is a powerful keyword research tool. Keep in mind that Google Ads data is skewed toward pay-per-click advertising, but it's still a wonderful source of keyword suggestions. It is best to have access to a Google Ads account in order to use it to gather keyword suggestions for a website. If you don't have access to one, Google will provide you with a wide range of keyword traffic rather than more precise information.

However, If you're doing keyword research from an account that doesn't spend money on Google Ads, Google may not always provide you with the finest data.

Key Features:

  • Google estimated a monthly traffic range of 1000 to 10,000 queries - which is an extremely broad range and can provide a wide idea of results.

  • You can receive results as accurate as 5400 inquiries every month if you use the paid plans.

  • Simply pick "Discover new keywords" and enter your website URL, and Google Ads will provide a list of terms they believe are relevant for your site.

Cost:

For paid packages, you can request a quote on their website.


8. QuestionDB

QuestionDB isn't your average keyword research tool. It has the potential to be extremely useful and effective for authors and marketers wanting to expand a blog, but it must be used appropriately.

To begin, choose a wide term. If you're a marketer, for example, you might want to start with "SEO" or "backlinks." Start with a term like "summer" or "fashion" if you're a fashion blogger.

If you use the proper term, you'll get a long list of questions in reply.

You can then go deeper, whether you're using the free or premium version of QuestionDB.

You can make a list of seed keywords based on your experience or the results of your initial search.

Key Features:

  • QuestionDB search for specific keywords separately gives a list of particular questions about these topics that you may use as blog post ideas.

  • To make it easier to write those topics, turn on the "source" button, which allows you to go back to the original query (and see what others answered).

  • Since new questions are uploaded all the time, QuestionDB will assist you to come up with content ideas on a regular basis - that's the beauty of it.

Cost:

Paid packages start at $10 per month.


9. Keyword Tool Dominator

Keyword Tool Dominator is a keyword tool that lets you spot search trends in real-time. It uses Google, YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, Bing, Etsy, and eBay's autocomplete databases to find the most recent keywords and search queries.

It's a fantastic tool for sellers and multichannel marketers who wish to rank in search engines other than Google and Bing.

The free edition of this quick and simple tool only allows you to conduct two searches every day. You'll need to pay for a plan if you want to do more inquiries.

Key Features:

  • Because these keyword recommendations are continually updated depending on search patterns and subject popularity, you may identify fresh hot phrases before the competition.

  • Keyword Tool Dominator simulates a real user repeatedly entering search phrases with minor modifications to generate hundreds of keyword recommendations in a short amount of time.

  • Because Keyword Tool Dominator uses Google, Amazon, Walmart, Bing, and eBay's Autocomplete databases, you can get hundreds of amazing long-tail keyword phrases from a single search query.

Cost:

Paid services are priced at $50.


10. Amazon Autocomplete

Amazon Autocomplete is a JavaScript plugin that allows you to tap into the full power of Amazon's autocompletion engine directly from your search box. We don't need to tell you how many people purchase on Amazon; we all know, but just imagine how many searches are conducted on their site every day. They recommend keyword phrases as autocompletes, which is a treasure of information that anybody may exploit. This tool assists you in making the most of these autocomplete recommendations.

Key Features:

  • Many instances: On the same page, you can have multiple search boxes, all of which are driven by Amazon Autocomplete. When querying the Amazon autocompletion endpoint, don't worry about using distinct callbacks. Simply create a new instance for each search box, and this plugin will take care of the rest.

  • Debounced keyup: When you have a lot of power, you also have a lot of responsibility. You don't want to overwhelm the Amazon autocompletion engine server by sending a GET request every time the user writes a character. Amazon Autocomplete debounces the keyup event, requesting new words only if it has been a while since the prior request.

  • The file is 3.9 kilobytes in size. When gzipped, it's only 2.8kb.

Cost:

This is a free tool.


11. Soovle

Soovle is ideal for e-commerce companies and multi-channel marketers. It can help you locate popular terms on Amazon, Wikipedia, YouTube, and eBay, among other mega sites.

Soovle is a keyword generator and a keyword research tool. It autogenerates sentences to assist you to broaden your thoughts as you put in your goal terms.

Soovle gives you access to an infinite number of searches for free. On the negative, it's confined to an idea generator and lacks analytics like keyword difficulty and search traffic.

Key Features:

  • The items gathered can be utilized to conduct more searches in the future. To do so, hit enter after clicking on the stored suggestion (which fills the search field).

  • A list of the objects collected in the bucket can be printed. To do so, go to the bottom of the words list and click the printer icon.

  • Google Keyword Analytics may be used to research the things on the list. To try it out, click on the graph icon.

  • The list's entries can be saved to a file and then manipulated by a desktop program. To do so, click on the downward arrow icon, which is located to the left of the graph icon.

Cost:

This is a free tool.


12. Internet Marketing Ninjas

Internet Marketing Ninjas offers a tool that helps you to compare URLs and get information about other sites' keyword strategies. You can readily detect another site's on-page keyword tactics if they consistently score highly for phrases you desire.

In the headlines, what keywords do they use? What are the most common sentences they use?

The data from the on-page analysis provides a wealth of information about how they use keywords. How many keywords are on each page, how many related keywords are there, how many keywords are in the head tag elements, and how many meta descriptions are there?

Key Features:

  • On-page analysis: Displays the total amount of words on a page, including both connected and unlinked text, as well as the number of links and page size.

  • Text in the title tag, meta description, and meta keywords tags are shown using the metadata tool.

  • Headings: This shows the text used in the h1> and h2> tags.

  • Tool for determining keyword density in non-linked text.

  • Internal, subdomain, and external link structure tool: Displays the number and kinds of the internal, subdomain, and external connections.

  • Page text tool: Displays the overall text as well as particular, non-linked content on the pages.

  • Quick access to on-page HTML code is provided through the source code tool.

Cost:

This is a free tool.


13. Keyworddit

Keyworddit is a one-of-a-kind application that scrapes Reddit for keyword suggestions. If you enter a subreddit, it will mine the post titles and comments for up to 500 keywords. If you know little or nothing about a specialty, this tool is a great place to start.

For example, if you want to establish a blog on the covid virus but have no clue where to start, look through /r/covid for inspiration. This will give you results of everything that’s trending about Covid. It also reveals the vocabulary people employ to describe such occurrences.

In addition to brainstorming ideas, the application calculates monthly search volumes in the United States for each keyword. This will give you an indication of how popular each subtopic is.

Key Features:

  • According to Grepwords, the "Monthly Search Volume" column shows the average number of monthly searches for that keyword. This is pretty close to the quantities provided by Google's term planner.

  • The link in the "Context" column is a basic aid that takes you to a Google search for that term (and your chosen subreddit). When you're not sure how to utilise a term, this will come in handy.

  • You can also run a keyword list through additional keyword research tools to generate an even larger list of keywords that you would not have found otherwise. Finally, the data might be used to develop appropriate audience personas.

Cost:

This is a free tool.


14. Moz Keyword Explorer

Moz Keyword Explorer is a visually appealing and well-designed keyword research tool. For each search word, you can view monthly volume, organic difficulty, organic click-through rate (CTR), and a priority score.

The organic click-through rate (CTR) shows how many individuals who search for the phrase actually click on one of the results. The priority score combines the difficulty, opportunity, and volume to determine how likely you are to rank for that search phrase in a single number.

For each phrase, Keyword Explorer provides a long list of keyword recommendations with monthly search volume and relevance.

Key Features:

  • Predict the amount of search volume a term will receive with greater than 95% accuracy.

  • Comprehensive scoring allows you to organize keywords by subject or emphasis and utilize them as a keyword planner in one spot.

  • Export keyword research recommendations, analyses, and lists into well-formatted CSVs with metrics.

  • Target long-tail keywords with high relevance, widely connected themes, or keywords in the form of questions to stay ahead of the curve.

  • The Keyword Difficulty, Volume, and Expected Organic Click-Through Rate ratings can help you anticipate how well you'll rank and drive traffic.

  • For improved international SEO techniques, search keyword recommendations and rank keywords by country.

Cost:

Pricing for paid packages can be requested on their website.


15. Uber Suggest

Uber Suggest is a Content Intelligence platform that helps content teams build brands, organic traffic, and income by combining content planning, development, and optimization into one simple process.

Surfer's objective is to help everyone produce the greatest, most relevant content possible and improve the web's quality. We think that marketing outcomes and user pleasure are inextricably linked and that you should never put one ahead of the other.

Thousands of content, SEO, and marketing professionals rely on Surfer to boost their digital marketing efforts.

Key Features:

  • Keyword Surfer is a completely free extension that lets you see search volumes right in the Google search results.

  • In Google Search, Keyword Surfer is the quickest way to uncover search statistics, do keyword research, and obtain content guidelines. Forever and ever, everything is free.

  • Comprehensive keyword research and data-driven content standards are just two clicks away with Keyword Surfer.

  • You'll get search volumes, CPC, keyword recommendations, related keywords, visibility metrics, and on-page statistics for each new search in Google.

  • You can also create a Content Editor with NLP-driven content standards and get started right away.

  • Without ever leaving Google Search, go through the whole article production process—researching, writing, and optimizing.

Cost:

Paid packages start at $12 per month.


16. Also Asked

Also Asked was intended to assist marketers in comprehending how queries are categorized. These questions can provide you with keywords and related keywords, as well as give you ideas for content questions to respond to. If you're writing about SEO services, going through all of these questions may help you figure out which terms to emphasize and which topics to address in your article.

Key Features:

  • AlsoAsked collects, organizes, and displays data from Google search results known as "People Also Ask." You may browse the data on the site, convert it to picture graphs for rapid client presentations, or save it to CSV format for processing with other tools, saving a lot of time.

  • Paid memberships come with a lot more monthly searches, the option to export data as CSV or unbranded photos, and the ability to verify keywords in bulk. User management, search history, and cache management are also included.

  • You can conduct picture graph exports of keyword data after creating an account, which increases the number of monthly searches you can do. You'll also have access to basic account features like your search history.

Cost:

For paid plans, you can request a quote on their website.


17. SpyFu

SpyFu markets itself as a comprehensive domain and keyword analysis tool without the cumbersome dashboards stuffed with information. Smaller companies that wish to concentrate on the critical KPIs that will propel them to page one of Google should consider this option.

For more prominent brands that want a picture of rival activity, SpyFu is also fantastic. A great plus in this regard is the availability of previous data. SpyFu will likely work with a more comprehensive set of SEO tools for these more influential organizations.

Key Features:

  • The rival tab displays additional websites that are ranked for your keywords, along with their historical fluctuations. You can stay ahead of escalating risks by doing this.

  • By copying the content and keywords of your competitors, you can lessen your workload.

  • Over 114 million domains and over 7 billion results are being indexed.

  • By entering your domain, it provides you with a "multi-competitor keyword tool" that instantly informs you of the most critical terms your rivals are ranking for.

  • You may just paste the keywords into the "keyword group and bulk upload" box, and the system will group them and let you add search volume and CPC information.

Cost:

Spyfu package starts at $33/month.


18. Keyword Chef

Finding profitable keywords that are simpler to rank for than other search phrases in the same niche is made easier with the aid of the keyword tool Keyword Chef.

This software searches for these phrases based on your input while removing any irrelevant terms. To indicate how reachable each relevant keyword is, it can even examine the SERPs. You'll adore the user-friendly and straightforward Keyword Chef dashboard if full-stack SEO and marketing solutions that operate from a convoluted dashboard leave you perplexed.

Key Features:

  • The fact that learning to utilize Keyword Chef doesn't take very long is one of its key advantages.

  • Direct access to instructions is available inside the dashboard.

  • More easily than most tools, it quickly finds usable long-tail keywords.

  • Cost-effective

Cost:

The keyword chef package starts at $20.


Things To Consider When Choosing A Keyword Research Tool

Competitive Analysis

Being given a list of your top rivals and visiting their websites to discover what keywords they're focusing on is extremely important. To help determine the keywords they're targeting, read the text and look at the metatags. Examining your competitors' keywords can not only reveal what you may be overlooking, but it will also help you expand your range of possibilities. Make sure the keyword research tool you choose offers this capability.

Long-Tail Keywords

Long tail keywords basically include keywords that are 3 words or more in lenght. You should always give priority to the tool that provides suggestions for these keywords.

These keywords tend to have lesser competition, bring in relevant visitors, and there is a good chance of getting ranked up by including these keywords.

Location-Based Keywords

Location-based searches are another important thing to consider when optimising for the proper keywords. Users of search engines typically add their location in their search while seeking contractors and services in their region. As a result, "best plumbing services" changes to "best plumbing services in Boston".

If you just operate in one geo-location, you should consider adding location-based keywords to all of your pages, as visitors from other places won't benefit you much. If your company has many locations, it's also a good idea to build a distinct web page for each one so that your brand is visible when consumers search for specific places. Your keyword research tool should provide you with such analytics.


Conclusion

We believe these 12 tools will assist you in identifying keywords and phrases that will aid in the development of great content and marketing campaigns. You can try out each of these tools to figure out which one works for you the best.


FAQs

What Is Keyword Research?

Keywords, essentially, are:

  • words and phrases that help folks find what they're looking for

  • Describe the topics you write about with words and phrases.

These keywords, in a perfect world, would be the same, bridging the gap between your content and your audience and assisting them in finding it.

Keyword research is the process of identifying a list of terms and phrases that your target audience uses while discussing or researching a topic or idea that is related to your company or website. Many marketers believe keyword research is as simple as going to Google and seeing what your potential consumers or leads enter into the search box. However, social media activity may also be used to do keyword research (understanding how people discuss your topic on social media).

When Should You Consider Using Keyword Research Tools?

The importance of keyword research in SEO cannot be overstated. Keywords are a crucial SEO ranking component that Google considers when determining where your content should appear in search results. If you get them correctly, Google will understand what your material is about and will make it simple for it to appear in answer to a search at the proper moment.

By identifying themes to include in your content strategy, keyword research allows you to get inside your clients' thoughts. You may optimise your content to give the answers your target audience is seeking once you know what they're looking for.

Overall, keyword research is beneficial to all marketing and promotional efforts, including email marketing. It will also aid pay-per-click advertising and market research.

Examining the keywords that your rivals are using might assist you in fine-tuning your own content strategy. In the list of our top tools, you'll find various tools to assist you with competitive keyword research.

Can Keyword Research Increase Conversion Rates?

Keyword research is useful for a lot more than just driving traffic to your website. It ensures that the correct individuals see your website. And having the proper individuals visit your site, who have a genuine need for your house construction services, equals more conversions. More conversions equal more money and a higher return on investment. The more keyword research you carefully include into your website and marketing material, the more quality traffic you'll receive.

How Can Keyword Research Improve Organic Google Rankings?

The all-important Google search rankings are one of the most crucial advantages of good keyword research. Isn't it true that you've always wished for first-page results? Keyword research is simply one of the methods for getting your website noticed. Google's search bots will recognize those strategic keywords and categorize your website accordingly if you incorporate them into your website. The greater the number of related searches you have, the higher your organic search ranking will be.

How Can Keyword Research Help With Organizing Time?

Keyword research may help you figure out which aspects of your marketing plan are boosting your profits and which aspects of your business customers are most interested in. For example, you're a tech blogger, are you receiving more conversions from individuals Googling "top tech bloggers" or "best bloggers that specialize in technology" When you know which keywords are the most effective for your business, you can create additional content to go along with them because you know they work. This means you'll spend less time writing content that you hope will work and more time creating content that you know will convert.

Is the Google keyword tool free

Using a keyword planner, you can find the keywords you need for your search campaigns. Using this free tool, you may find new keywords associated with your company, get an idea of the number of searches they receive, and find out how much it will cost to target them.

Which 4 categories best describe keywords?

It is possible to group keywords based on a user's motivations to search four types:

  • Commercial.

  • Informational

  • Transactional

  • Navigational

Top 18 Free Keyword Research...
StartupStash

The world's biggest online directory of resources and tools for startups and the most upvoted product on ProductHunt History.