Free keyword research & content idea tools
There are many ways you can find interesting keywords related to your topic or business without using expensive keyword tools. It may take a bit more time and effort, but it’s a great way to get started with your website or blog for little or no cost.
The disadvantage of free tools is that they don’t always give you the search volume or difficulty, or they limit your results or the number of searches per day. So you may need to check multiple sources or do some more digging with manual searches to understand better which keywords and topics are suitable for you.
This article is part of the Get Started Hub.
Free Keyword Research Tools
Keyword Surfer
Keyword Surfer is a browser extension that allows you to see search volumes when searching in Google. It’s an easy to use tool that will allow you to search in different languages and shows related keywords with their volumes, right in the search results.
Ahrefs Keyword Generator
We know Ahrefs from their comprehensive All-in-One SEO toolset, but they also provide a range of free tools, the Keyword Generator being one of them.
Keyword Generator allows you to search not only Google, but also Bing, YouTube, and Amazon, for a range of countries. The results are limited to 100 keywords, and the keyword difficulty is shown for the top 10 of those.
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is a strong tool with a surprisingly wide range of functions for a free tool. Get started with your keyword and Ubersuggest will give you the monthly search volume, average CPC, PPC competition and SEO competition for your keyword, as well as a variety of long-tail versions you may want to consider.
This does mean there are limits on your results (around 30) and you can only do 3 searches per day.
Moz Keyword Explorer
One of the original SEO software guru’s, Moz Keyword Explorer is still going strong, with a free version available.
To make use of this tool you do need to sign up for a free account, which will give you access to 10 free searches per month.
Free Content Idea Tools
Soovle
This tool is based on all the suggestions search engines provide when you start typing in the search box. instead of trying it across different search engines, Soovle will let you search a majority at once, returning the suggested results for Google, Bing, Wikipedia, Amazon, eBay, and more.
You can use this tool with both generic keywords and more long-tail keywords, a great start to building out your content topics.
Answer the Public
Question DB claims they can find ideas that traditional keyword generators cannot. To do so they suggest you follow their instructions (clearly laid out on the homepage), but the generator is fairly straightforward to use, just like the other tools: plug in your keyword, let the results roll out, and dive deeper into your chosen ideas.
HubSpot Blog Ideas Generator
This blog idea generator is clearly less based on data, but that does make it more creative. This tool is best used in combination with a keyword research tool: let HubSpot give you some wacky ideas based on your chosen keywords, and spur your creativity from there!
Free Keyword Research Trials
A majority of the tools mentioned above offer limited options for their free versions. However, before you switch to the paid version, depending on how much you need, you can always look for a free trial. Most tools have a 7-day free trial available, which will allow you to try the full functionality before committing.
Do your research before you start the trial so that you don’t only choose the best-suited tool, but that you can also make the most out of it for the days you have free access. Usually, you can only sign up once for the free trial, so make sure you get to the bottom of the data you need to help move your keyword and content strategy forward.
Personally, I use an all in one software called SE Ranking, which I’ve been happy to use so far. Full disclosure: the SE Ranking links are affiliate links, meaning that if you do choose to spend money on SE Ranking, I get a small reward at no extra cost to you. However, they offer a 14-day free trial for which you need no credit card to sign up, so you can still use it for 14 days to do your keyword research, completely free.
