Good keyword research tools are easier to find now than when I first wrote this post in 2016, and you can do most of the job without paying. This guide covers the free options worth using, in the order I’d reach for them, and a simple workflow that combines them.
Updated October 2026. Free tiers and limits change often, so check each tool’s own site for what you get today.
Table of Contents
Start With Search Console
If your site already gets impressions, Google Search Console is the best free keyword source because it shows the queries Google really shows your pages for, with clicks, impressions, CTR and average position. Look for pages with plenty of impressions but a poor average position or low CTR. Those are the quickest wins, because Google already considers them relevant. This is also how you spot queries you never meant to target.
Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner lives inside Google Ads. You need an Ads account to use it, but you don’t need to run a campaign. It suggests related keywords and shows search volumes. Without active ad spend, the volumes are often shown as broad ranges rather than exact numbers, which is still enough to compare topics. Use it to expand a seed keyword into a list of ideas.
Google Trends, Autocomplete and People Also Ask
- Google Trends compares the relative popularity of terms over time and by region. It is good for seeing whether a topic is rising, seasonal or fading, and for choosing between two phrasings.
- Autocomplete: type your seed keyword into Google and read the suggestions. They reflect real searches.
- People Also Ask and related searches on the results page show the questions and variations searchers use, which are good headings for a post.
Free Tiers of Paid Keyword Research Tools
Several paid platforms offer a limited free plan or a free keyword generator. They are worth a look for a second opinion on volume and difficulty:
- Semrush: has a free plan with restricted use. It is useful for seeing keyword ideas and a difficulty score, and for running a site audit.
- Moz Keyword Explorer: offers a limited number of free searches. Type a keyword and it returns related terms you can sort by volume.
- Ahrefs and Ubersuggest: both offer free keyword tools with capped results.
Treat their volume numbers as estimates and compare them to each other rather than trusting any single figure. A keyword with a few hundred searches a month and weak competing pages is often better than a big term you can’t rank for.
Browser Extensions and Question Tools
- AnswerThePublic turns a seed keyword into the questions and comparisons people ask. It has a free allowance, so use it for topics that matter.
- Keyword Surfer is a browser extension that shows keyword data beside Google results as you search.
A Simple Keyword Research Workflow
- Seed: list the topics you want to be known for, in plain words.
- Expand: run each seed through Keyword Planner, autocomplete and People Also Ask to collect variations and questions.
- Check demand: compare search volume and trend with Google Trends and a free tier of a paid tool.
- Check the results page: search the keyword yourself. If the top results are big brands or a format you can’t match, pick a more specific phrase.
- Match intent: if searchers want a how-to, write a how-to. If they want a comparison, write a comparison.
- Assign one main keyword per page, put it in the title, URL, headings and first paragraph, and track it in Search Console.
A spreadsheet works well for this. List keywords, estimated volume, difficulty and the page you’ve assigned to each. Re-check the queries in Search Console every few weeks and refine.
What Your SEO Plugin Does and Doesn’t Do
SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO and Rank Math check how well you’ve used a focus keyword you have already chosen: whether it’s in the title, description, URL and content. They don’t tell you which keyword to choose, so do the research first and enter the result.