How to do keyword research for free

Keyword research sounds like something that needs a $129 a month tool. For most small sites, blogs and businesses, it doesn't. Google tells you what people search for, for free, every time you type in the search box. You just need a process to collect it and decide what's worth writing about.

What keyword research actually is

Keyword research is finding the words and questions people type into Google about your topic, so you can create pages that answer them. Good keywords share three traits:

1. People actually search for them. Real demand, not what you assume people say.
2. They match what you offer. Ranking for something unrelated brings visitors who leave.
3. You can realistically rank. Very broad terms ("marketing") are dominated by giant sites. Specific ones ("email subject lines for cold emails") are winnable.

Step 1: start with seed topics

Write down five to ten broad topics your audience cares about. For a bakery: sourdough, birthday cakes, gluten-free bread, catering. For a SaaS tool: the problem it solves, the job your customer is doing, and your category name.

These are your seeds. Each one will grow into dozens of specific keyword ideas.

Step 2: harvest Google's suggestions

When you type in Google, autocomplete suggests what other people searched. Those suggestions are based on real searches, which makes them one of the best free keyword sources there is.

Doing this by hand is slow: you'd type your seed followed by every question word and every letter of the alphabet. A keyword tool does it in seconds.

1. Type a seed into the free keyword ideas tool.
2. Pick your country, since searches in Portugal differ from searches in the US.
3. You get hundreds of ideas grouped into popular suggestions, questions, prepositions ("for", "without", "near"), comparisons ("vs", "alternative") and A to Z.
4. Sort by most popular to see what Google pushes hardest.
5. Select the promising ones and export them as a CSV.

Step 3: check the search results

For each promising keyword, search it yourself and look at page one:

• What kind of pages rank? Guides, product pages, videos, forums? Match that format.
• Who ranks? If it's all huge brands, pick something more specific. If you see forum threads, small blogs or outdated pages, that's an opportunity.
• What does Google add? "People also ask" boxes are a goldmine of related questions. Videos at the top mean video content may work better.

Step 4: estimate demand for free

You don't need exact monthly volumes to make good decisions. Free signals work well:

• Autocomplete position and frequency. If a phrase appears near the top and for several different prompts, many people search it. That's what the popularity score in our keyword tool is based on.
• Google Trends compares interest between a few keywords over time, and shows seasonality.
• Google Search Console, if you have a site, shows the exact queries already bringing you impressions. Look for queries where you appear on page two: those are the quickest wins.
• Google Keyword Planner is free with a Google Ads account. Without ad spend it shows wide ranges like "1K to 10K", which is still enough to compare options.

Step 5: group keywords into pages

Don't write one page per keyword. Group keywords that share the same intent into one page. "How to make a QR code", "QR code maker free" and "create QR code online" all want the same answer, so they belong on one page.

A simple spreadsheet works: one row per page, with the main keyword, related keywords, the search intent and a priority.

Step 6: prioritise

Score each page idea on three things: how many people search it, how closely it matches what you offer, and how easy page one looks. Start with the ones that score well on all three, even if their volume is modest. Ten pages that rank beat one page that doesn't.

Then, when writing, make the headline count. Our headline analyzer checks titles for length, clarity and click appeal before you publish. See also how to find the questions people ask on Google.

Frequently asked questions

Can you do keyword research for free?

Yes. Google autocomplete, People also ask, Google Trends, Search Console and the free mktbox keyword ideas tool cover most needs for small sites and blogs.

How do I know how many people search a keyword?

Free tools give estimates rather than exact numbers. Autocomplete ranking, Google Trends and Keyword Planner's ranges are enough to compare keywords and choose the best ones.

What are long-tail keywords?

Longer, more specific phrases like "gluten free birthday cake near me". Each has fewer searches, but they're easier to rank for and the people searching know exactly what they want.

How many keywords should one page target?

One main keyword plus the closely related variations that share the same intent. Group similar searches into one strong page rather than many thin ones.