How Do I Do Free Keyword Research?
There are many ways to research keywords for free. There are even a few free keyword tools (with limited functionality).
We will be discussing both but first we will start with the basics.
What Is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing search terms that users enter into search engines so that online marketers and bloggers can promote their content based on user intent.
Keyword Research is mostly done for SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Based on the search you will find out more data on questions and phrases people ask, how popular those terms are, how hard it is to rank for those terms, etc.
What is the Point of Keyword Research?
The purpose of Keyword Research is to find out more about your target audience and what they are actually searching for when they use the search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
This helps creators to tailor their content accordingly.
It also helps search engines to discover, sort, and rank content.
How Do I Do Free Keyword Research?
When you begin your website, you will want a plan of action in place. The first thing you will want to do is brainstorm topics and categories that your website/ business is about or will be about. No need to stress this as this will be an extremely rough draft of keywords but it will help you to progress in your online journey.
For demonstration purposes, we will be using this site as our example.
Brainstorming, for this site would look a little like this…
Step 1:
Topics I Want To Cover
- Internet Marketing
- Internet Marketing Tools
- Affiliate Marketing
- Internet Marketing Courses
- Internet Marketing Programs
- Marketing On/With Social Media
Now this is a short list but I just wanted to give you an idea of what this process looks like.
Then under these main titles add subcategories. Add the topics you want to cover in each of these sections. This does not need to be perfect or an exhaustive list just get what you can down.
Step 2:
Topics I Want To Cover
Internet Marketing
- How To Market Online
- How To Promote Online
Internet Marketing Tools
Keyword Research Tools
- Jaaxy
- Hrefs
- SeoRush
- Moz
Free Keyword Research Tools
Affiliate Marketing
- Affiliate Marketing Programs/Courses/Education
Wealthy Affiliate
Internet Marketing Programs
- Internet Marketing Courses
- Wealthy Affiliate
Marketing On/With Social Media
- Facebook Marketing
- Twitter Marketing
- Pinterest Marketing
- Instagram Marketing
I could go on for days with just the different social media sites but I will leave it at the big 4 for now.
Look how many keywords I just came up with just writing this article!
Repeat the earlier steps and drill down even further or as they say “niche down”.
At this point if you are stuck start using a search engine. Type in your main keyword and see what it autosuggests and/or check the search results and see what comes up. Do this for every topic and subtopic. Keep drilling down on repeat until you start to see specific and targeted results.
Step 3:
Let’s Just Focus on One of those topics. I am choosing “Facebook Marketing”.
Facebook Marketing
(Other keyword phrases to try: “Marketing On Facebook”)
- Marketing On Facebook 2021
- Marketing On Facebook Marketplace
- Marketing On Facebook Messenger
- Marketing On Facebook Groups
- How To Use Facebook Groups For Marketing
Facebook Marketing Tutorial
- Facebook Marketing Tutorial For Beginners
- Facebook Marketing Tutorial Free
- Facebook Marketing Tutorial Free For Beginners
Facebook Marketing Strategy (Strategies)
Facebook Marketing Analytics
Facebook Marketing Analytics Tracking Tool Tutorial
Facebook Marketing Benefits
What Are The Advantages Of Facebook Marketing?
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Using Facebook Marketing?
See how easy that was!?! And That was just one keyword!
Research will take time but you will be glad you started with your keyword plan. (Especially if you tend to get writer’s block like I do! Its super handy to have ideas ready to go.)
Of course, you won’t use all your keyword phrases, but it will give you the idea of which direction you will want to take your site in. It might even make you change your direction once you see what people are actually looking for in search.
By now you should be drilling down so much that you are even coming up with headlines for your content. And these are phrases people are actually searching for!!!!!
Congratulate yourself as you have just planned your site with keyword phrases and questions! You are ready to start writing and making content!
Keyword Tools
To investigate these keywords further I have some good news and bad news.
If you want to find out more about the individual stats for these keywords you will to use a keyword research tool.
The good news?
I found a couple of places you can get some limited stats.
The bad news?
For truly detailed data you will actually need to invest in a dedicated keyword research tool.
There are several keyword tools you can choose from if you decide to go this route.
Jaaxy (Our Pick), Ahrefs, Semrush, and Ubersuggest to name a few.
*We here at Internetmarketingtoolsandprograms.com are members of Wealthy Affiliate (An Affiliate Marketing Educational Platform) and use the provided keyword research tool Jaaxy. You can purchase Jaaxy separately, but we happen to love the wealthy affiliate total package. Click the link above to find out more about Wealthy affiliate and/ or Jaaxy!
Free Keyword Tools
Rank Tracker Has 3 plans one of which is FREE.
Google Adwords: Ie Keyword Planner
Conclusion
Where there is a will there is a way.
If you want to get started for free this is the best way to go.
As your business moves along you can invest in to one of the keyword research tools for greater detail and data. They are well worth investing in for the long term, but there is no need to dip in to the pocket book before you or your business is ready.
Using the brainstorming session from above, you can get away without investing and you will have enough keywords to carry on forever just by using google autosuggest.
We recommend this method even if you have a keyword tool at your disposal. The big difference with having one of these tools will be that you can check the question or phrase for stats like search volume, popularity, and competition. You can even spy on your competition’s keywords.
Questions? Comments? Feedback? Leave a reply below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
