How to Do Keyword Research Without Expensive Tools

Most small business owners assume keyword research requires expensive software. It doesn't. Here are the free and near-free methods that give you 80% of the value at zero cost.

Start With Google's Own Suggestions

Type your service or product into Google and watch the autocomplete suggestions. Every suggestion is a real query that real people have searched for. These are gold. Also scroll to the bottom of the results page and look at "Related searches" — another set of free keyword ideas.

Google Search Console Is Free and Invaluable

If your site is already live, Google Search Console shows you exactly which queries are bringing visitors to your site — and which pages they land on. This is real data from your actual audience, not a tool's estimate. Filter by queries where you're ranking in positions 5–20. Those are your fastest opportunities to move to page one.

Study Your Competitors

Type your competitor's URL into Google's free keyword planner (requires a Google Ads account, but you don't need to run ads). It shows you which keywords Google associates with their site. Take the most relevant ones for your own content.

Answer the Public and Reddit

Answer the Public (free tier available) shows you questions people ask about any topic. Reddit searches show you what your target audience actually discusses, in their own language. Both are free and incredibly useful for content ideas.

The fix: Spend 30 minutes with Google Autocomplete and Search Console before buying any tool. You'll find more actionable keywords than most paid tools provide.