Top 10 Free Keyword Research Tools Every Digital Marketer Should Know About

Did you know that global digital marketing was estimated at $350 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $786. 2 billion by 2026?

Are you having challenges identifying keyword phrases that would help rank your website higher? It is commonly heard that there are many paid tools, but are there free keyword research tools to success? Keyword research is a fundamental part of any digital marketer’s business plan as it provides an understanding of what people are looking for and on what networks they can find. 

This blog will explain the ten free keyword research tools every digital marketer should know. These tools provide you with all this information, which often comes with a prohibitively costly subscription plan but allows you to generate content that ranks better in search results, attracts more traffic, and can push the audience to convert. 

Let’s get started! 

Why Is Keyword Research Necessary? 

Keyword search is used in digital marketing and search engine optimization. Here’s why: 

• Understanding Your Audience: It allows you to determine what the target audience wants to obtain relevant content. 
• Improving Search Engine Rankings: This is because correct keyword selection assists in having better rankings, hence the right level of exposure to create more traffic. 
• Identifying Content Opportunities: Use the information and data in existing content to create valuable and authoritative content. 
• Enhancing Paid Campaigns: Determine the proper keywords to use in PPC advertisements to maximize spending and returns on investment. 
• Tracking Trends: Be alert when posting and be aware of seasonal shifts in the searches. 
• Competitive Analysis: Understand the competitors’ activities, what they are planning, and where the openings and chances of outdoing them are most likely to be. 

Top 10 Free Keyword Research Tools in 2024 

In 2024, the best free keyword research tools are essential for any digital marketer looking to optimize their content strategy. These SEO tools provide valuable insights into search trends and competition, helping marketers identify high-impact keywords. Utilizing the top free keyword research tools can significantly enhance your website’s visibility and drive more organic traffic. Let’s check!

1. Keyword Generator

Looking for an effective way to boost your SEO strategy without spending a lot of time? The “Keyword Generator” tool is one of the best free keyword research tools available, designed to help you discover high-impact keywords that can significantly enhance your content’s visibility. But why should you settle for just any keyword tool when you can use one of the best keyword research tools on the market?

The Keyword Generator tool is an essential asset for anyone serious about SEO. It allows you to identify the most relevant keywords, optimize your content, and ultimately drive more organic traffic to your site. Unlike many other SEO tools, this tool is completely free, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting, the Keyword Generator tool offers the insights you need to compete in today’s digital sector, helping you stay ahead of the competition and achieve your SEO goals effortlessly.

Key Features: 

1. Keyword Suggestions: Enter a topic, and the tool provides a list of relevant keywords to enhance your content.
2. Search Insights: Get data on how often each keyword is searched and how competitive it is, helping you choose the most effective ones.
3. Filtering Options: Easily sort and filter keywords based on criteria like search volume or relevance to focus on what matters most.
4. Long-Tail Keywords: Discover specific phrases that attract targeted audiences with less competition.

How to Use:

1. Create a free account on the Keyword Generator platform.
2. Type in a primary word or phrase related to your content.
3. Look through the generated keywords, using filters to narrow down the best options.
4.  Integrate the selected keywords naturally into your website or articles to improve SEO performance.

2. Answer The Public 

Yes, almost 64% of marketers use AnswerThePublic for content ideas. AnswerThePublic is the free keyword research tool that displays the questions, prepositions, and comparisons for a particular name. AnswerThePublic creates a keyword map of the data and popular questions. The option of entering a specific word allows for a vast array of associated questions and topics, which helps to create valuable content that should interest readers. 

Key Features: 

• Able to present the collected keyword data in a form that others understand. 
• Assist: find out the most frequently asked questions and issues concerning your keyword. 
• Offers information on the number of searches and competition. 
• Offers real-time data updates. 
• Creates options of keywords that are relevant to the user search. 

How to Use: 

• Type in a word or phrase regarding your trade. 
• Choose your target country and language of communication. 
• Notably, this study proposes an analysis of the results to identify the frequently asked questions and corresponding topics. 

3. ChatGPT 

ChatGPT by OpenAI is another promising tool that can help you with keyword research, such as generating content ideas and recommending the keywords to focus on. As you know, Keyword analysis with AI can save up to 40% of your time on research. Let’s find out how AI functions can improve the keyword research methodology. 

ChatGPT is a way to get a new perspective, as the application provides keyword and content suggestions explicitly targeted to your niche. It is possible to ask for ideas and tips for a topic or keyword and get results that are unavailable in general keyword research. It turns your approach outside in, and you discover new trends and opportunities in your content strategy. 

Key Features: 

• Produces keyword and content ideas and potentially search phrases. 
• Offers information or suggestions based on a software analysis. 
• It may be employed to improve creativity and contenting strategies. 
• Context awareness and ability to reach the user’s goal. 
• It provides options for real-time interaction and feedback. 

How to Use: 

• Give ChatGPT a topic or a keyword related to your business or a segment. 
• You can ask for the keywords they’d recommend or content topics they propose. 
• Please review the generated suggestions and try to incorporate them into your strategy. 

4. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools 

Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is freeware of the full-fledged Ahrefs SEO toolkit, from which you can obtain basic keyword research and SEO metrics. Curious to know how your website’s keywords are doing? This tool scans your site for the keywords, and it helps offer details on the volume of that particular keyword, how much competition there is for that keyword, and the current performance of the keyword. 

If you want to explore keywords and SEO problems on your site, you can sign up for a free account in Ahrefs and verify your site. Then, you can use Ahrefs Webmaster Tools. This all-round assessment assists you in enhancing the work done on the website for higher search engine results. 

Key Features: 

• Translates keyword rankings and other metrics of your website. 
• Offers keywords to use in a database and the number of searches done. 
• Determines what needs to be fixed/changed due to current SEO problems and what can be enhanced and improved on the website. 
• Offers backlink analysis. 
• Analyzes the specific keywords regarding their impact through periodical tracking. 

How to Use: 

• Go through a registration process on Ahrefs’ official web page to get an opportunity to use Webmaster Tools at no cost. 
• It is a guide about how to add your website and verify ownership. 
• Employ the results of the keyword research tools to measure your site’s keyword efficiency and find new keywords to use. 

5. Google Keyword Planner 

Google Keyword Planner is one of the best keyword research tools under the Google Ads platform that allows users to know the keywords related to their business and the average number of searches it garners. How can one use Google’s extensive data to improve your keyword strategy? Google Keyword Planner is adopted in digital marketing by more than three-quarters of marketers. 

Google Keyword Planner gives keyword ideas based on search volume, competition, and bid for the particular inserted keyword. Here, you get the information necessary for content and advertising planning by providing your site’s initial seed keyword or URL. Every digital marketer should use this tool to leverage their strategy using data from Google. 

Key Features: 

• Offers keyword options based on what the user puts in. 
• It estimates the primary metrics: search volume, competition, and bid. 
• It enables narrowing options by location, language, and network of the SearchSearch. 
• Complements Google Ads, making for easy campaign planning. 
• Provides statistical data from the past and possible future ranges. 

How to Use: 

• To create & manage your ads, log in to your Google Ads account. 
• Open up the Keyword Planner tool. 
• Type a seed keyword or your website URL. 
• Check the keywords, their suggestions, and the general performance. 

6. Google Search Console 

Google Search Console is an application created by Google to help site owners manage and ensure the status of their site’s presence in Search. Do you know the ranking of your site in Search? About 88% of the websites rely on Google Search Console for search engine optimization information. 

This tool works for keyword-diversified sites and allows the detection of which keyword a site ranks for, the number of clicks, Impressions, and the average ranking position. Google Search Console can help you understand issues related to your site in the search environment and discover potential problems by verifying your website by adding it. This helpful information lets you fine-tune your website and materials for improved search ratings. 

Key Features: 

• Displays information on the search terms your site is optimizing for. 
• It displays the total number of clicks, the number of times the link has been seen, and the average position of the keywords. 
• Helps in determining the problems that may cause your site to rank poorly. 
• Provides index and crawl errors. 
• It also has Mobile Usability and AMP reports. 

How to Use: 

• Go to the Google search console, sign in, and add your website. 
• Confirm your site. 
• Switch to the “Performance” report to get information on keywords. 

7. Google Trends 

With the help of analyzing Google Trends, the proportion of organic traffic can be increased to 20%. Undoubtedly, one of the best tools that Google has developed that anyone can use is Google Trends; it is a frequently used tool since it provides information on the trends in the search volume over time. 

Additionally, the question arises: how do we follow the developments of search trends? Google Trends also shows the dynamics of the popularity of specific keywords throughout a given period, which enables the comparison of the trends in the popularity of the selected keywords. 

Suppose you type in a keyword or a topic. In that case, you can see which keywords are hot, trending, or famous, putting you in a good position compared to your rival. Overall, this tool is excellent for finding the topics that are trending at the moment and the keywords essential for your content. 

Key Features: 

• Explain the trend data and break down the figures of the keyword frequency. 
• Designed to compare the number of monthly searches for two or more words/phrases. 
• Recognition of combined keywords and growing trends. 
• Gives geographic and demographic information. 
• Provides information on the regional search interest. 

How to Use: 

• Open Google Trends and type in the keyword or a subject with this search engine. 
• Choose your preferred location for your target audience and the time they will be active. 
• Describe the usage of the trend data to reveal significant keywords and their trends. 

8. SERP Checker 

SERP Checker is a tool that is one of the best free keyword research tools that helps you review the number of results for the specific keywords and the degree of competition. This is how competitive your target keywords are. SERP Checker is utilized by 70% of SEOs for competitive analysis. 

There is a SERP checker that estimates the current position of a keyword in SERP, as well as statistics of domain authority, backlinks, and on-page factors. By entering a keyword, you can define the competitiveness of a particular keyword and the possibility of ranking your website for it. It assists you in pinpointing areas where you can outcompete your rivals and fine-tune your keyword plan. 

Key Features: 

• Studies the websites that are ranked for a keyword. 
• It can output details of domain authority, backlinks, etc., and has features related to on-page SEO. 
• Used to compare its suitability in determining a particular keyword’s competition level. 
• Offers visual SERP analysis. 
• It helps in determining the areas where the content is poor and where there is a lot of potential. 

How to Use: 

• Please type a keyword that you wish to get the analysis of. 
• Look at the main page and the values of the leading indicators of its SEO efficiency. 
• Then, refer to the data as the basis for how possible it is to rank for that keyword. 

9. Also Asked

Also Asked is one of the best free keyword research tools available for discovering valuable insights into user search behavior. This tool is an excellent addition to your SEO tools arsenal, allowing you to uncover related questions people are asking online. By using this tool, marketers can easily gather essential data to optimize content for better rankings and user engagement. 

Also Asked helps in understanding user intent, which is crucial when implementing SEO strategies. It provides detailed question-based suggestions that align with search engine queries, ensuring your content is tailored to meet the needs of your audience. 

As one of the most efficient free keyword research tools, it aids in identifying trending topics and enhancing your site’s visibility. When you’re looking for SEO tools that offer comprehensive keyword research, Also Asked stands out for its simplicity, effectiveness, and accessibility.

Key Features: 

• Easily export your keyword and question data into CSV format for further analysis and planning.
• Access up-to-date question trends and keyword insights to stay ahead in SEO.
• Explains which keywords could be considered easy or difficult targets based on the rank. 
• Compare your content strategy with competitor queries to identify gaps and opportunities.
• Simple and user-friendly design, making it accessible for beginners and experts alike.

How to Use: 

• Type in the keyword you want to research.
• Select the language and area you’re targeting.
• Explore the questions and insights to improve your content for SEO.

10. Google Gemini 

40% more digital marketers use Google Gemini. Google Gemini is relatively new in the Google tool series, and it enhances keyword research and analysis. What strategies can be applied when using the latest Google tool for keyword research? Google Gemini supplements data from different tools offered by Google, giving an overview of the keywords’ performance. 

It can help you get the search volume of a keyword or topic or the level of competition and related keywords. It also enables you to refine your content and marketing with data from Google, combined with the strategy it provides. Google Gemini is turning out to be a magnificent tool for any digital marketer who wants today’s trends. 

Key Features: 

• Collects data from several other Google tools to give a complete picture. 
• It offers options for getting keyword suggestions, the average monthly searches for a given keyword, and information on each keyword’s competition level. 
• It complements the other Google applications well so that you can work efficiently. 
• Has enhanced features of filtering and segmentation than other software. 
• Provides real-time data updates. 

How to Use: 

• You must first log in with your Google account to access Google Gemini. 
• Type in a keyword or a topic of your choice that fits your particular category. 
• The data should be analyzed to determine keyword opportunities to ensure fruitful SEO. 

Conclusion 

Keyword research is fundamental to every advertising campaign carried out online. Thus, with the help of the best free keyword research tools, digital marketers can learn more about trends and audiences and create better content to achieve the top ranking. Apart from finding beneficial keywords, these tools are also helpful when evaluating competitors, improving advertising initiatives, and generally improving SEO activities. 

Are you ready to level up your online marketing career? These are some of the powerful resources, and by sharpening the skills with the help of courses provided under the roof of GCX Academy, the best digital marketing institute in Kerala, which provides all the digital marketing-related solutions, one can attract more organic traffic, perform better and outcompete others. Are you ready to step up your keyword research and your digital marketing profession? 

Let’s connect for your upcoming plans.