How to Do Keyword Research for Free

Paid keyword tools are great, but you don't need them to start. Ahrefs, SEMrush, and the rest are built for scale. If you're just getting going, the process matters more than the data, and the process costs nothing.

Here's how to do keyword research properly without spending a penny.

What Keyword Research Actually Is

It's the process of finding the words and phrases your audience types into Google, then using that to shape your content. Simple in theory, but most people skip it, and then wonder why their pages don't get found.

The difference between writing "starting a vegetable garden" and "how to grow vegetables in pots for beginners" might seem minor. In practice, one is how people search and one isn't. That gap is what keyword research closes.

Before you write anything, keyword research should tell you: what to write about, how to frame it, and whether you can realistically rank for it.

Start With a Seed Keyword

A seed keywordiA short, broad word or phrase that describes your topic. It's your starting point for research, not the keyword you'll actually target. is a short, broad term that describes your topic. "Budgeting", "home workouts", "natural skincare". It's your starting point, not your target. Almost every seed keyword is too broad and too competitive to rank for directly. The goal is to use it to find the more specific phrases branching off it.

Pick something that describes your niche in one or two words. Don't overthink it.

Example keyword paths:

Finding Real Keywords From Your Seed

This is where the actual research happens. You're looking for longer, more specific phrases, three or more words, that real people actually search for. These are called long-tail keywordsiKeywords that are three or more words long. They get less traffic individually but are far easier to rank for and attract more specific, ready-to-act visitors., and they're where new sites can actually compete.

Use a free keyword tool

Run your seed through a keyword tool and scan the results for phrases that feel specific and searchable. You're not collecting everything, just flagging ones that clearly describe a piece of content you could write and that sound like something a real person would type.

Use Google itself

Google's autocomplete is free keyword research that most people walk straight past. Start typing your seed and look at what it suggests, every suggestion is a real search real people make. The People Also AskiA box that appears in Google search results showing questions related to your search. Each question represents a real thing people are searching for. box on results pages is even better: each question is a specific intent you could answer with its own piece of content. And the "Related searches" at the bottom of the page gives you another set of variations worth noting.

Look at related and semantic terms

Beyond exact variations, there are terms that are connected to your topic by meaning rather than wording. If your seed is "budgeting", related terms might be "expense tracking", "spending habits", or "financial planning". These matter because Google now understands topics, not just keywords. Covering a subject with natural, related language signals genuine depth, and that's what gets rewarded. This is often called topical authorityiWhen Google recognises your site as a genuine, thorough source on a subject because you cover it with depth and related language, not just one keyword..

Search Intent, Don't Skip This

This is the part most beginners miss, and it's the reason a lot of well-written content doesn't rank. Every keyword has an intentiThe reason behind a search. Are they trying to learn something? Buy something? Find a specific website? Matching your content to the intent is one of the most important ranking factors. behind it, what the person actually wants. Get that wrong and it doesn't matter how good the content is. If you want to go deeper on this, we have a full guide to search intent that covers every type and how to match your content to each one.

There are four types:

The quickest way to check intent: Google the keyword and look at what's already ranking. If the top results are all guides, write a guide. If they're all comparison posts, write a comparison. Google has already figured out what kind of content satisfies this search, match it, then try to do it better.

Picking the Right Keywords

You now have a list. Here's how to choose from it.

Long-tail over short

"Budgeting" as a new site is a waste of time, it's dominated by brands that have been building for years. "Budgeting tips for single income families" is achievable. Lower search volumeiHow many times a keyword is searched per month. High volume sounds good but usually means high competition. Lower volume keywords are often easier to rank for and more valuable. doesn't mean lower value. Someone that specific knows what they want, and if you deliver it, they'll actually read and engage rather than bouncing straight back to Google.

One keyword per page

Pick one primary keyword per piece of content. Everything else, related terms, variations, semantic languageiWords and phrases that are related in meaning to your keyword, not exact copies of it. Using these naturally shows Google your content covers the topic fully., gets woven in naturally as you write around it. Trying to target five keywords at once usually means ranking for none of them.

Relevance over volume

500 visitors a month who are exactly your kind of reader is better than 5,000 who aren't. Always ask: is the person searching this actually someone I can help? If yes, it's worth pursuing.

Plan the Content Before You Write It

Once you have a keyword, don't just open a blank doc and start writing. Figure out the structure first. What headings will you use? What sub-questions does someone searching this keyword probably also have? What related terms should appear naturally throughout?

This is called a content briefiA planning document you create before writing. It outlines your target keyword, headings, related terms to include, suggested word count, and meta description. Keeps your content focused from the start., and it doesn't need to be complicated, even a quick bullet list of headings and key points before you start will make the final piece more focused and easier to write.

Mistakes Worth Knowing About

Targeting head keywords too early. "Fitness", "recipes", "marketing", these aren't for new sites. Go specific first and earn your way up.

Keyword stuffingiRepeating your target keyword unnaturally throughout your content to try and rank for it. Google caught onto this years ago and it now does more harm than good.. Jamming your target keyword into every paragraph tells Google nothing useful and makes the content worse to read. Use it where it fits naturally, and let related language do the rest.

Ignoring what's already ranking. If the top three results are from major brands or government sites, find a more specific angle where competition is weaker. You can't outmuscle authorityiHow much Google trusts a website based on its age, the quality of its content, and how many other sites link to it. New sites have low authority and need to target less competitive keywords first., but you can outmanoeuvre it.

Doing it once. Search trends shift. What people search for and how they phrase things changes. Revisiting your keyword strategy every few months, and paying attention to what's already bringing traffic, is how you keep improving.

That's the Process

Seed keyword, expand into specific phrases, check the intent, pick one target per page, plan the structure, write it. Repeat for every piece of content.

It doesn't require expensive tools. It requires doing it consistently. Sites that grow through search aren't doing anything magical, they've just gone through this process more times than the ones that haven't.