33 Free Keyword Research Tools (Checked & Reviewed)
SEO pros never limit their search to one tool – it’s much better to use a variety of tools which each have unique features.
You don’t need to use all these tools, but choose some which will help you create an effective content plan.
Remember that free tools are good, but paid tools are great. Learn more about them in the next lesson.
I made a big mistake creating my first list of keywords in 2008… I chose high-volume keywords.
Traffic didn’t come to my website because I didn’t consider the following:
- Competition
- Users’ intent
- Customers’ journey
- Priorities.
I learned quickly that high-volume, generic keywords are not the way to success. I now constantly improve and update my methods because Google changes its algorithms over 5,000 times a year – but the foundation is the same.
Keyword research tools save so much time in finding the right keywords, but you should understand all the features that most marketers ignore while chasing nice-looking metrics.
Let’s figure out how to improve our results.
I spent many years filtering out existing tools to curate my list of free keyword research tools:
Wordstream sells paid marketing services on Google and Facebook ads. Their tool only shares insights about PPC (pay per click). SEOs can use this data to choose keywords with volume and users’ intent.
Pros:
- Registration is not required
- Fast searching
- Filter by industry and country
Cons:
- Absence of SEO keyword difficulty
- Getting downloads on email
- No grouping a list of keywords
- No data for a specific location (city, state)
This is a popular and powerful tool because of sharing trending data and hot topics for specific regions and categories.
Pros:
- Registration is not required
- Filter by country, location, and industry
- Custom time range back to 2004
- Comparison keywords
- Suitable to download on CSV
Cons:
- No searching keywords
This tool is the foundation of almost all keyword research tools. There are so many unique features that many multifunctional tools can’t provide.
Pros:
- Able to search for a specific location
- Many languages
- Custom time frame
- Comparison periods
- PPC data
- Searching keywords for a particular website
- Hints
- Downloads on CSV and Google sheets
Cons:
- Registration on Google ads is required
- No grouping a list of keywords
GSC is a must-have because it shares a lot of valuable insights: ranking positions, technical errors, UX, etc. Of course, it’s not standard keyword research, but you can get your keyword ranking positions directly from Google.
Pros:
- Accurate data (total clicks, impressions, positions, CTR)
- Custom time and compare periods
- Search on web, image, video, news
- Able to filter by pages, queries, countries, devices, search impressions, dates
- Export CSV, Excel, Google Sheet
Cons:
- No researching new keywords
- No competitors’ analysis
- Registration of your websites is required
Bing has keyword research features that GSC doesn’t share. You can sign in with your Google account to learn about your website.
Pros:
- Impressions and trends of your website
- Questions and newly discovered keywords
- Searching for new keywords
- Filtering by country, language, device
- Download CSV
Cons:
- No competitors’ analysis
- Registration of your websites is required
This tool is a Chrome extension that shares volume and CPC on Google search.
Pros:
- No registration is required
- Simple to use
- Sharing similar keywords
- Able to create an article outline
Cons:
- Fewer data compared to paid tools
This tool takes keywords from Reddit that users search with when they can’t find related information on Google. This provides an excellent opportunity to fill this gap with your content.
Pros:
- Export CSV
- Reddit search on Google
Cons:
- Volume is inaccurate compared to other tools
Welcome back to 20 years ago. This website has an obsolete design, but this tool saves time searching for highlights. Who cares about design when you have great data.
Pros:
- Highlights for Amazon, Google, Reddit, Yahoo, Bing, Answer, Wikipedia
- Download CSV
- Registration is not required
Cons:
- No volume and other data
This tool combines related words and phrases. It helps you brainstorm various combinations to find a list of keywords.
Pros:
- No registration required
- No search limits
- Downloads in txt
Cons:
- No volume and other data
Group a list of 40,000 keywords in just a few seconds. This tool provides what most multifunctional tools ignore.
Pros:
- Grouping a massive list of keywords
- Upload and download CSV, Excel, text
- Extra clustering features: exact phrase, exclude, ignored list, include, synonyms
Cons:
- No researching features
If you have no idea how to search for keywords, this tool is for you. Choose related industries and combine associated keywords with your products.
Pros:
- Brainstorming for local SEO
- Combining locations with keywords
Cons
- No SEO data
Get an extensive list of questions, suggestions, research, comparison, and alphabet. Very simple to use.
Pros:
- Filters by country and language
- Grouping a list of keywords
- Using without registration
Cons:
- No volume and SEO data
Free tools are great, but you can also use freemium tools which have limited access but are good enough for small projects.
Check out these useful freemium tools:
This tool can help find a list of keywords on Amazon, YouTube, and Google. In addition, some valuable features filter out a list of keywords.
Pros:
- Filtering a list of keywords with simple settings
- Registration is not required for limited searches
- Download features
Cons:
- Only two searches without registration
- No volume
Get endless keyword ideas – helpful for brainstorming.
Pros:
- Searching for a long list of keywords
- Positive and negative filters
Cons:
- Long search
- Obsolete design
- Additional data is not free
Ahrefs shares this tool because they get so much related organic traffic. Use this tool if you’re not yet ready to buy a paid subscription.
Pros:
- Sharing volume and KD (Keyword Difficulty)
- Fast search
- Filters with phrase match and questions
- Google, Bing, Amazon, YouTube keyword ideas
Cons:
- Limited by 100 results
- Hiding important metrics
- No grouping a list of keywords
Find a bunch of related questions in your niche. This is a good tool for creating a content plan.
Pros:
- Get prompts related to your search
- Download CSV
Cons:
- No volume in a free version
- Max 50 results per search
- Keyword Magic Tool from Semrush
This tool shares almost all SEO insights, but the free version is limited to ten variants.
Pros:
- Get trend, keyword difficulty, CPC
- Filters by questions, broad, exact, phrase match
- Various popular languages
- Searching by countries
- Advanced settings
Cons:
- Limited results by subscription
This tool shares valuable insights: volume, CPC, paid, and SEO difficulty. In addition, if you promote local websites, you get accurate data for your specific area.
Pros:
- Free data for 25 raws
- Filters by propositions, questions, suggestions, related, comparisons
- Ability to choose a specific location (country, state, city)
- The paid version is cheaper than other popular tools
Cons:
- Limited results by subscription
Neil Patel bought this popular tool. I expect that more valuable features are to come. Currently, it offers many other great insights: propositions, questions, prepositions, alphabet, and comparisons.
Pros:
- Searching in many countries and languages
- Nice-looking infographics
- Grouping a list of keywords
- Download images and CSV
Cons:
- No SEO metrics in the free version
This tool shows volume, difficulty, organic CTR, and unique feature – priority. The best part is that Moz doesn’t hide a list of keywords.
Pros:
- Filtering by countries
- Filtering out results
- Export CSV
Cons:
- No data for local SEO
This tool provides suggestions from Google, Amazon, Bing, YouTube, Etsy, eBay, Pinterest, etc. In addition, deep searching can help you find unique ideas.
Pros:
- Searching for various popular platforms
- Getting volume, CPC, PPC, score
- Bulk check, export, compare
Cons:
- Registration is required
- Limits on free searches per day
This tool shows the organic traffic that you can get with ranking keywords. There is also lot of other SEO data which you can view.
Pros:
- Unique features such as traffic, QSR (Quoted search results or the number of websites that compete), KQI (Keyword quality indicator)
- Related and brainstorming ideas
Cons:
- Registration is required
- Limits on free data
I love this tool because you can create pillar pages that most tools can’t provide. This saves you time brainstorming ideas for your blog.
Pros:
- A quick way of creating a content plan
- Nice-looking infographic
- Filters by country and language
Cons:
- CSV download is on the paid version
- No SEO data.
Conclusion
SEO pros never limit their search to one tool – it’s much better to use a variety of tools which each have unique features.
You don’t need to use all these tools, but choose some which will help you create an effective content plan.
Remember that free tools are good, but paid tools are great. Learn more about them in the next lesson.
