Free SEO Tool for Keyword Research – A Beginner’s Guide
While looking up the best SEO Tool Free, you have likely come across ten articles that give you a “top 10 list” featuring the same five SEO tools but never tell you how to actually use them. For years, I’ve been working with keywords for my clients and myself, and through all that time, there is one free SEO tool that has proven its worth as the best of its kind – Google Keyword Planner.
Table of Contents
Google Keyword Planner is not very fancy – unlike other SEO tools it doesn’t have a fancy dashboard full of colorful charts. However, since the information is provided directly by Google, the keyword ideas and estimations of their search volumes that the tool provides are pretty accurate for being completely free. In this article, I will show you how I use this tool, give an example of its successful application for one of my clients, and highlight the mistake most beginners make.
Why Is Google Keyword Planner the Best SEO Tool free for Beginners?
The very first free SEO tool that I recommend to those who ask about this topic is Google Keyword Planner. It sounds obvious since it gets its data from Google’s own search index. In other words, you won’t have to deal with a third-party estimation of the keyword popularity.
Of course, there is one important limitation. First of all, Google Keyword Planner was designed for Google Ads, not for SEO. Volume estimates can be too wide and, besides that, it doesn’t provide any SEO difficulty score, like many paid tools do. But still, I start with it and then use a manual check of search results that I will tell you about.
Case Study: One Forgotten Keyword and the Results
I once worked on a keyword research project for a digital marketing business in Kerala. At the beginning of our work, we chose obvious keywords such as “SEO company in Kochi” – a keyword that is being pursued by all marketers in this market. Therefore, competition is extremely high.
While analyzing the data provided in the Keyword Planner, I came across an alternative phrase “affordable SEO services in Kochi.” This keyword had some search volume and, most importantly, it expressed buying intent. The person using this phrase is not just surfing the Internet; he/she has already compared several companies and is going to contact one of them.
We created a specialized page with all the necessary optimization and launched it on the Internet. In just a few months, our page appeared in the top positions in Google Search, and the client saw an increased amount of inquiries.
In other words, that forgotten keyword with lower competition turned out to be more efficient than the obvious one.
Case Study: One Forgotten Keyword and the Results
Best SEO Tool Free
I once worked on a keyword research project for a digital marketing business in Kerala. At the beginning of our work, we chose obvious keywords such as “SEO company in Kochi” – a keyword that is being pursued by all marketers in this market. Therefore, competition is extremely high.
While analyzing the data provided in the Keyword Planner, I came across an alternative phrase “affordable SEO services in Kochi.” This keyword had some search volume and, most importantly, it expressed buying intent. The person using this phrase is not just surfing the Internet; he/she has already compared several companies and is going to contact one of them.
We created a specialized page with all the necessary optimization and launched it on the Internet. In just a few months, our page appeared in the top positions in Google Search, and the client saw an increased amount of inquiries.
In other words, that forgotten keyword with lower competition turned out to be more efficient than the obvious one.
The Biggest Beginner Error with Free Keyword Tools
There is one mistake I often see being made, and it has something to do with selecting keywords based only on the high search volume number associated with them. Just because the search volume is high doesn’t mean you’ll ever be able to rank for the term or that it aligns with the needs of your visitors.
Using high search volume keywords will most likely require you to compete with authoritative sites who have been in operation for many years. This is a fruitless path for a relatively new site. Long-tail keywords, such as the longer phrase “affordable SEO services in Kochi” instead of just “SEO Kochi” are less competitive but have higher intent. These convert better since the searcher knows exactly what they’re looking for.
Tip: Don’t overlook step 3 from the procedure described above. It’s important to understand the intent behind the search instead of looking at just the numbers.
Free and Paid Keyword Research Tools Comparison
Feature
Google Keyword Planner (Free)
Typical Paid Tools
Best SEO Tool Free
Source of data
From Google directly
Estimated or modeled
Accuracy of search volume
High, but ranged
Depends on tool
Keyword difficulty score
Best SEO Tool Free
No difficulty score
Conclusion: How to Get Started with the Best SEO Tool Free
There is no need to spend a fortune on subscriptions to begin conducting proper keyword research. For a beginner, the best SEO tool free option remains Google Keyword Planner, but only in case you complement it with a manual intent check and some patience. Start with your seed keywords, use the planner, check the intent in Google, and finally sort your keywords into a single primary one and long-tail ones.
It is the same method that helped me rank one previously ignored keyword on page one and get additional leads from it. Try it on your next page, but focus on low volume, more specific terms.
On-Page SEO Considerations
Linking opportunity: Internal link to the post “How to Conduct a Complete SEO Audit for Free” or “Local SEO Checklist for Small Businesses.”
Reference: External do-follow link to the official Keyword Planner support page at Google.
Recommended images:
Mockup of the Keyword Planner results page (screenshot) — Alt text: “Keyword Planner results best seo tool free screenshot”
4-step graphic of the process (seed keywords → Keyword Planner → intent check → final keywo