The Best Free Keyword Research Tools in 2024

Teacher of SEO
6 min readJun 10, 2024

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Keyword research is a crucial part of any successful SEO strategy. It helps you understand what your audience is searching for and how to tailor your content to meet their needs. While there are plenty of premium tools available, you don’t necessarily have to spend money to get quality keyword data. Here, we’ll explore the best free keyword research tools available in 2024, so you can optimize your content without breaking the bank.

Table of contents

  • Introduction to Keyword Research
  • Why Use Keyword Research Tools?
  • How to Use Keyword Research Tools
  • The Best Free Keyword Research Tools in 2024
  • Google Keyword Planner
  • Ubersuggest
  • AnswerThePublic
  • Keyword Sheeter
  • Google Trends
  • Keyword Tool
  • Soovle
  • Keywords Everywhere (Free Version)
  • Ryrob Keyword Tool
  • Conclusion

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the process of identifying and analyzing the search terms that people enter into search engines. This research helps marketers and content creators understand what their target audience is looking for, enabling them to create content that meets these needs and ranks higher in search engine results.

Key Components of Keyword Research:

  1. Search Volume: Indicates how often a keyword is searched for within a specific timeframe.
  2. Keyword Difficulty: Reflects how hard it is to rank for a particular keyword.
  3. Cost Per Click (CPC): Shows the average cost advertisers pay for each click in paid search results.
  4. Intent: Understanding what the searcher aims to accomplish with their query.

Why Use Keyword Research Tools?

Keyword research tools simplify the process of finding relevant keywords by providing data on search volume, competition, and more. They help you:

  1. Optimize Content: Ensure your content includes the keywords your audience is searching for.
  2. Boost SEO: Improve your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
  3. Identify Trends: Stay updated on emerging trends and changes in search behavior.
  4. Competitive Analysis: Understand what keywords your competitors are targeting.

How to Use Keyword Research Tools

Using keyword research tools effectively involves several steps:

  1. Identify Seed Keywords: Start with broad topics relevant to your niche.
  2. Generate Keyword Ideas: Use tools to find related keywords and phrases.
  3. Analyze Metrics: Look at search volume, competition, and keyword difficulty.
  4. Select Target Keywords: Choose keywords that are relevant, have good search volume, and manageable competition.
  5. Incorporate Keywords: Use the selected keywords naturally within your content, including titles, headings, and body text.

The Best Free Keyword Research Tools in 2024

1. Google Keyword Planner

Best for: Comprehensive keyword data directly from Google

Google Keyword Planner is a staple in the world of keyword research. As part of Google Ads, it provides a wealth of information straight from the source of most search traffic. While primarily designed for advertisers, it’s incredibly useful for SEO purposes as well.

Features:

  • Search volume and trends
  • Bid estimates for paid campaigns
  • Related keywords
  • Geographic data

Pros:

  • Directly from Google, ensuring accuracy
  • Detailed insights into search volume
  • Useful for both organic and paid search strategies

Cons:

  • Requires a Google Ads account
  • Data can be more ad-centric than SEO-focused

2. Ubersuggest

Best for: Broad keyword suggestions and SEO analysis

Ubersuggest, developed by Neil Patel, offers a robust suite of SEO tools, with keyword research being a standout feature. It provides a user-friendly interface and a generous amount of data even in the free version.

Features:

  • Keyword suggestions
  • Search volume, CPC, and competition data
  • SEO difficulty score
  • Backlink data

Pros:

  • Comprehensive keyword metrics
  • Easy to use
  • Additional SEO tools (site audit, backlink analysis)

Cons:

  • Free version has daily search limits
  • Some advanced features require a paid subscription

3. AnswerThePublic

Best for: Content ideas and understanding user intent

AnswerThePublic is unique in its approach to keyword research. It visualizes search queries in a way that helps you understand what questions and topics are on the minds of your audience.

Features:

  • Visualization of search queries
  • Questions, prepositions, comparisons, and alphabeticals
  • Data export options

Pros:

  • Great for brainstorming content ideas
  • Helps understand user intent
  • Easy to interpret visualizations

Cons:

  • Limited to a few searches per day in the free version
  • Visualization can be overwhelming with large data sets

4. Keyword Sheeter

Best for: Generating large volumes of keyword ideas quickly

Keyword Sheeter is a straightforward tool that pulls autocomplete suggestions from Google. It’s excellent for generating a massive list of keyword ideas quickly.

Features:

  • Unlimited keyword suggestions
  • Export to CSV
  • Positive and negative filters

Pros:

  • Fast and efficient
  • Unlimited keyword generation
  • Simple and easy to use

Cons:

  • Lacks detailed metrics (search volume, competition)
  • Raw data requires further refinement

5. Google Trends

Best for: Understanding keyword popularity and trends over time

Google Trends allows you to see how search interest for specific keywords changes over time. It’s particularly useful for identifying seasonal trends and understanding the relative popularity of different keywords.

Features:

  • Trend analysis over time
  • Comparison of multiple keywords
  • Geographic data
  • Related topics and queries

Pros:

  • Real-time data
  • Insight into keyword seasonality
  • Great for comparing trends

Cons:

  • Lacks detailed search volume numbers
  • Best used in conjunction with other tools

6. Keyword Tool

Best for: Long-tail keyword suggestions from multiple search engines

Keyword Tool is a versatile tool that generates long-tail keyword suggestions from various sources, including Google, YouTube, Bing, and more. The free version provides a good amount of data for SEO purposes.

Features:

  • Keyword suggestions from multiple platforms
  • Search volume, CPC, and competition data (paid feature)
  • Question, preposition, and hashtag suggestions

Pros:

  • Supports multiple search engines
  • Useful for finding long-tail keywords
  • Generates a large number of suggestions

Cons:

  • Detailed metrics require a paid subscription
  • Free version limited in data access

7. Soovle

Best for: Aggregating keyword suggestions from various sources

Soovle is a unique tool that aggregates keyword suggestions from multiple search engines, including Google, Bing, Amazon, YouTube, and Wikipedia. It’s perfect for brainstorming and diversifying your keyword list.

Features:

  • Aggregates suggestions from multiple platforms
  • Customizable search engines
  • Simple interface

Pros:

  • Broad range of keyword sources
  • Useful for brainstorming
  • Fast and easy to use

Cons:

  • Lacks detailed metrics
  • Interface is very basic

8. Keywords Everywhere (Free Version)

Best for: On-the-go keyword metrics while browsing the web

Keywords Everywhere is a browser extension that provides keyword data as you search the web. While the full feature set requires a paid subscription, the free version offers useful metrics like search volume and related keywords.

Features:

  • Keyword data directly in your browser
  • Search volume, CPC, and competition data
  • Related keywords and people also search for

Pros:

  • Convenient and easy to use
  • Provides data in real-time as you browse
  • Integrates with Google, YouTube, Amazon, and more

Cons:

  • Advanced features require a paid subscription
  • Only available as a browser extension

9. Ryrob Keyword Tool

Best for: Finding keyword ideas for blog content

The Ryrob Keyword Tool is designed with bloggers in mind, offering an easy way to discover relevant keywords for your content. It’s particularly useful for finding keywords that can drive traffic to your blog.

Features:

  • Keyword suggestions based on seed keywords
  • Search volume and competition data
  • Related keyword ideas

Pros:

  • Simple and intuitive interface
  • Tailored for blogging
  • Provides actionable keyword data

Cons:

  • Limited advanced features
  • May require combining with other tools for comprehensive analysis

Conclusion

While premium keyword research tools offer a wealth of features and data, there are plenty of free alternatives that can help you achieve your SEO goals without spending a dime. From comprehensive tools like Google Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest to specialized options like AnswerThePublic and Soovle, there’s a free tool for every need. By leveraging these resources, you can uncover valuable keywords, understand search trends, and create content that resonates with your audience.

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Teacher of SEO

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