Method of Keyword Research
Keyword research is one of the most important digital marketing tasks. Furthermore, it lies at the foundation of any business strategy or campaign you are planning.
Keyword research provides useful insight into organic ranking opportunities, persona building, competitive research, product development — you name it!
Another reason why I love keyword research is that it’s a highly creative process. There is never such a thing as “enough tools” when it comes to keyword research. Each data source and the way the data is presented brings something new to the table. Sometimes when I feel stuck, all I need is to play with a new keyword intelligence tool.
With that in mind, I decided to create a roundup of free (and freemium) keyword research tools, i.e. those tools you can run right now, without the need to pay first.
Some of those tools are freemium (meaning you can pay for the upgrade) but all of them are quite usable for free (which is what I recommend doing first before deciding if you need to upgrade). Finally, I am not going to include obvious tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner and Google Search Console as I am sure SEW readers are well aware of.
New tools inspire new tactics which is what I hope you’ll end up with.
The 8 Best Keyword Research Tools
In this article, we’ll look at my eight favorite keyword research tools, plus some fancy tricks you can use to get a wooden peg leg up on your competition. Some are free, and some are not (but well worth the money).
1. WordStream’s Keyword Tool (free)
Ahhh yes... Of course, I could never forget WordStream’s very own keyword tool for both SEO and PPC keyword research.
The WordStream keyword tool allows you to target certain niches (groups of related keywords), gives you further suggestions, and also allows you to group them based off of a common theme for easy ad group launches.
Keyword analytics WordStream Free Keyword Tool screenshot
This keyword research tool gives you 30 searches for free, after that you’ll have to sign up for their WordStream Advisor to use it additionally.
Hidden bonus? You get a free 7-day trial on top of the 30 free searches you already did!
2. Soovle (free)
If you have multiple channels you wish to do keyword research for and want to sound like an idiot explaining the pronunciation of this tool to your watercooler buddies, then Soovle is a perfect fit.
Soovle allows you to explore the most typed in keywords on multiple search engines based on the keyword root you give it. It even includes Amazon and eBay.
Not only is it a great keyword research tool to use, but it’s also a great brainstormer as you can slowly start typing in your ideas and allow it to auto-generate its own ideas.
I would’ve never thought to call a bounce house an inflatable castle, but now I do :)
3. Ubersuggest (free)
Meet the keyword research tool on steroids, Ubersuggest.
Ubersuggest takes any keyword you give it and immediately gives you an almost unlimited list of alphabetized and numerical keyword variations of your original keyword.
You can even take it further by adding “bounce house ab, ac, ad” to uncover more keywords that you could potentially bid on or use for SEO purposes.
4. Serpstat ($19)
Serpstat is an all-in-one SEO platform, and keyword research is one of its functions. This tool has some unique features that can help you optimize your website and get ahead of your competitors’ sites as well.
Unlike similar tools, Serpstat is a page-oriented platform for in-depth competitive analysis. You can find competitors and define missing keywords for a single URL or even entire domains. You can also view historical position data for a range of pages organized by phrase, as well as see which pages have dropped in rank and their rank distribution as a percentage, which is very handy if you want to compare data from two different time periods or observe changes over time based on algorithm updates and other factors.
Serpstat search questions screenshot
Serpstat also allows you to view search questions and suggestions. This data is based on real search queries, meaning you can use this feature to come up with fresh ideas for creating traffic-driving content that people are actually searching for.
Serpstat has a unique "tree-view" algorithm. You can use it to check your pages’ positions, improve the ones that are just behind the first page, and gain more traffic.
Serpstat tree view screenshot
This tool has advanced filtering options that allow you to set your own custom parameters and get exactly what you’re looking for. Although Serpstat is primarily intended for SEO, you can research PPC keywords using the tool and content marketers may find the search questions feature quite helpful, making it a solid, cost-effective all-rounder.
5. Search Term/Query Reports
Now even though you won’t be expanding your keyword net by using search query report mining, you’ll at least be improving your Google Ads or Bing Ads account by patching up holes.
One common thing I notice in PPC accounts is the lack of attention and detail in which the account owner or previous agency allows one or a couple of keywords to be the “catch-all” for everything. A common example would be to have the keyword +bounce +house or “bounce house” and leave it at that.
The only problem is that you can’t possibly laser-target every ad to the search query, and your landing page will definitely not be as targeted as it could be either. Not even dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) would help, because who wants to click on an ad with the headline of just “Bounce House”? Let’s just say it gets tricky, and you’re a little lazy if that’s all you do.
The search term/query report is a PPC report that shows you what search terms have actually triggered your ads based on the current keywords you’re bidding on. So it won’t expand your reach since your ads are already showing for those terms, but it will help you improve your quality scores and granularity within your account.
6. Google Keyword Planner (free)
The Google Keyword Planner is sometimes regarded as the alpha and omega of keyword research tools. You must have an AdWords account to access it, and that doesn’t mean you have to pay anything to use it, it’s still free.
The Google Keyword Planner will show you some pretty neat stats like average monthly searches, competition level (high, medium, or low), the average cost per click, and more.
It doesn’t give you exact keyword suggestions but it actually takes it a step further and suggests more synonyms and variations than many other tools available.
Is it accurate? Sort of. I always tell people to take the suggested keyword stats with a grain of salt.
Here’s how to find it. Log in into your Google Ads account and go to the Tools and Analysis tab:
Keyword Planner
You can find more great tips for using Keyword Planner here.
7. Competitor Source Code (free)
This might not be the best and most fruitful keyword research tool but it allows you to see what meta keywords your competitors could be using to try to rank organically.
Since I use Google Chrome as my browser, it’s super simple to right-click on a site and select “View Page Source.”
The Value of Keywords
Keyword value is one of the things you need to consider when doing keyword research, and you can do this from two perspectives — objective and subjective.
The objective value of a keyword refers to the general parameters provided by various tools. There are many parameters that describe the objective value of a keyword, but the two most important are:
Search Volume — this is the keyword’s popularity; how often users search for it.
Keyword Difficulty — this is how hard it will be to achieve high positions for this particular keyword.
The subjective value of a keyword tells you how much it might be worth to your site and your business profile. To figure this out, you need to answer some questions first.
Does this keyword fit your site?
Will users be satisfied when they get to your site looking for this phrase?
Will the traffic created by this keyword be financially beneficial?
If you answered YES to all those questions, then using this keyword might turn out to be profitable and you can try to optimize your site around it.
Types of Keywords
As not all keywords are created equally, they can be divided into two main groups, depending on how often users search for them: head keywords and long tail keywords.
Head Keywords
The most common search terms are called head keywords. While these keywords may be popular, most of these queries are very general; thus making it much harder to achieve high positions in the search results for them.
Long-Tail Keywords
The second group of search terms is long-tail keywords. These are more specific and usually longer than head keywords and should be the main part of a keyword research strategy. They are not as popular as head keywords, but if we put them all together they take up 70% of all internet searches and most of the overall search volume.
Discovering Keywords
There are many problems inexperienced marketers face when searching for new keywords to rank for
Sometimes, they choose keywords with a high search volume and don’t get an opportunity to rank high for them.
Others target obscure and generic search terms no one actually uses to find their products. Consequently, their rankings suffer.
You can always begin with a simple brainstorming process and write down all keywords you consider relevant. This is a great way to build a foundation for your research and expand on these initial ideas using the right keyword tools and resources.
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