There’s a lot of work that goes into creating a website. 

From finding the right photos to ensuring visitors can easily access and understand the interface, websites are the window into your business and brand – which is why it only makes sense to use the right words to help people find it. 

This is where keyword research tools come in. 

Keyword research isn’t just about words, but questions and phrases that your target audience uses to find products, services, answers and help they need. As a digital marketing agency, we understand the importance of using “keywords” in your content so that when someone is trying to find information about your field, they’re led to you. 

While before, businesses could get away with things like “keyword stuffing” (or an overload of keywords in your website or metatags as an SEO technique) to draw search engines, today’s keyword research is focused on quality content and topical keyword search not only meant to attract visitors, but keep them interested. 

How Google suggests keywords 

This post can help digital marketers and businesses figure out how to find the best SEO (search engine optimisation) and PPC (pay-per-click) keyword research tools for their websites that are no less than their paid alternatives, without paying a fortune. 

• Rank Tracker 

To get all the possible keyword variation possibilities and analyse their SEO profitability, Rank Tracker has 23 different research tools in one. It takes suggestions from Google, Amazon, popular misspellings, Google Ads Keyword Planner, and even has a database for SEO keywords your competitors might rank for. 

• Keyword In

This is one of the easiest keyword research tools you can use, taking just a few minutes to put in your keywords, choose options, and give you a long list of potential results. 

• Google Correlate

Though sometimes overlooked, Google Correlate is a powerful tool to generate a long list of keyword ideas from adjacent niches. Its primary ability is to check which keywords get searched together, so you can grow your keyword list and make it more specific. 

For example, if “exercise” is your primary keyword, Google Correlate can give you other, frequently-searched keywords in that niche to focus on too. 

• AnswerThePublic

This is a great tool to find words you might have otherwise forgotten or overlooked. It gives you a visual depiction of questions and phrases asked around your primary keyword – even down to propositions, as shown below. 

Keyword: Digital Marketing 

Or even related searches: 

Keyword: Digital Marketing

This is efficient, because people are used to phrasing questions as queries rather than separate words, especially with the rise of voice search.

• Soovle

If you’ve ever used Google’s autocomplete feature to generate a blog title or keywords, Soovle has a lot to offer you. The tool gives you autocomplete suggestions from various sources, not just Google. Once you choose a source, the autocomplete suggestions show up and change accordingly. Quick and efficient, Soovle is best used by experimenting with many keywords and paying attention to results from each source. 

• QuestionDB

This research tool has created a massive database off of the 48+ million questions asked on Reddit, so we suggest using broad keywords while using QuestionDB. In essence, this tool finds questions people are asking about a particular topic and allows you to sort by category, popularity, and topic. 

• Google Search Console

Search Console is a way for businesses to analyse their current SEO keywords and website performance in organic searches. It shows a lot of data for keywords that you already rank for and gives great insights into whether you need to focus on rank or impressions. If your URL is on Google’s second page it’s already considered relevant for the keyword, and might just need an SEO boost to get onto page one. 

• Bulk Keyword Generator

This is a keyword search tool for local SEO, or local service companies. You choose a category, service type, and generate keywords. This is great because while many businesses mention their services on their website, they fail to optimise individual pages for service-type queries and risk being outranked by those who do. 

• Google

Google is undeniably one of the most powerful research tools out there. Besides its autocomplete feature, it has a “people also ask” box that shows up for searches. The more “people also ask” queries you click, the longer the list becomes until you have an infinite list of potential keywords at your disposal. 

Image Source: SEO Scout

Furthermore, Google can help if there’s a keyword you want to rank for – look at the search intent. For example, don’t rank a zumba class homepage under “how to lose weight” or “how to dance”, because people who perform that search aren’t in buying mode, they’re in learning mode. 

Keyword research is unquestionably one of the most important SEO tasks while website building. 

Free research tools are great when you’re starting out, and Tribe of Brands can help you stay on top of trends to effectively navigate the complex waters of the internet. Our marketing agency can help you with further ideas of how to design world-class websites, seamless user journeys, and digital marketing campaigns.