In the initial stage of SEO, it is quite difficult for all to invest in expensive keyword research tools. People find something free that serves their purpose, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. We all have done that, right?
Keywords are one of those SEO factors that can give you the best chance to rank high on Google. If you are after organic traffic, keywords are the key. So, choosing the right keyword is essential because it can change your game anytime(of course, in a positive way).
In this blog, I am going to tell you how to do keyword research in 2025 and which free keyword research tools you can use to start your SEO journey.
But First, You Should Know What a Keyword Is.
You must have a basic idea of what a keyword is, but I will still give you a brief overview without taking up much of your time.
A keyword can be a word or phrase that people use to find relevant information online. For example, you want to find the “meaning of SEO”. You will enter the term into a search engine like Google or Bing, and they will show you all the possible results that are related to your query.
Now, you might wonder why we have to be careful when choosing a keyword.
Keywords are very important for search engines as they use them to understand what kind of content you are providing on your webpage, or if the keywords are relevant to users’ search queries.
The right keywords can help improve your site’s visibility in SERPs(search engine result pages) and drive more organic traffic.
How Would You Do Keyword Research in 2025?
It is no rocket science to find the right keyword. Let me tell you how.
You just have to follow a basic format, and you will get the perfect keyword for your business.
First, you will have to get a topic related to your business. And for that, you can use Google’s “Related Searches” section, Reddit discussions, or YouTube’s auto-suggest feature. These sources will help you get an idea of the topic.
Now that you have the topic, it is time to confirm your keywords. This is where you will need a keyword research tool.
When you search your topic in the tool, you will find some key metrics. That will make it easier for you to analyze the keyword.
- Search volume: This shows the average number of times users search for the keyword in a month on Google. Search volume gives you an insight into how popular the keyword is.
- Keyword Difficulty: Mostly termed as KD, this shows you how hard it would be for your website to rank organically on the first page of Google for the analyzed keyword. The lower the percentage, the easier it will be for your website to achieve higher rankings.
- Cost per click(CPC): This is the average amount advertisers pay when someone clicks on their ads for the particular keyword in Google Ads.
- Search trends: You will get an insight into how search interest in the keyword fluctuates over time. It shows whether users’ interest is growing or declining.
Apart from these, you will also get to see search intent beside each keyword, which shows why a user is searching for the keyword. The main types of search intent include:
- Informational: The user wants to find an answer to a specific question.
- Commercial: Users want to research brands or products before buying.
- Transactional: Users want to complete an action or conversion.
- Navigational: Users want to find a specific page or site.
Key tips: Try to target long-tail keywords if you are a beginner. Long-tail keywords tend to have higher search volume and lower keyword difficulty. That means you will have low competition and a high chance of ranking on the SERPs.
Now, Find the Right Free Keyword Research Tools.
I hope you have gotten a basic idea of what a keyword is and how to find the right one. Now, it’s time to look at the best free keyword research tools you can use.
1. Google Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner is Google’s keyword research tool. You don’t have to pay a penny to use it, which is great. However, it is mostly used for paid search advertising, and you will need a Google Ads account. You can use it to find new keyword ideas and research existing keywords.
I have used this tool hardly once or twice.
In this tool, you can see the average monthly searches for different locations you want to target and get monthly search volumes, competition levels, bidding range, YoY change, and more. You can get hundreds of keyword ideas in seconds.
All of these are great, but what I don’t like about Google Keyword Planner is that it gives vague search volume estimations.
If you notice, you will see most of the keyword research tools give a precise estimation, but it only shows a range. For example, it shows results like 2k to 10k monthly searches or 30k to 100k monthly searches. It is quite difficult to estimate whether the keyword will work or not for SEO purposes. But I think if you are running ads, this data will be good to go.
2. Answer The Public
I love the Answer the Public tool—not because it’s free(I mean, I obviously love using a free tool), but because of how it shows keywords.
Unlike other keyword research tools, it displays circular graphs that show all possible related questions and search queries to the keyword. It uses data from search engines like Google, Bing, or YouTube.
It gives you searches related to prepositions(blinds for sliding doors), comparisons(blinds vs. shades), alphabeticals, and other related searches. You can also find long-tail keywords here to start with.
The pros of this tool that I find interesting are that it has a unique user interface and shows question keywords.
But what I don’t like about this tool is that it doesn’t show keyword difficulty, and it has a daily keyword search limit(3 per day) for free.
My trick: I use multiple Google accounts to get more keyword research limits (3 per account).
3. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a big name in the SEO tools market. Its dedicated keyword research tool is Keyword Generator. You will get all the information you need for keyword research here. From search volume in a target country, keyword difficulty, and global search volume to the number of clicks per search and traffic potential, you will get all the important metrics. But it doesn’t show you the intent of the keyword.
But the catch is that you cannot see all the information in the free version. Ahref’s free keyword generator tool will show you only the first 20 keywords with the keyword difficulty and search volume of the country you target. If you want to explore more, you have to buy one of their plans. Otherwise, it’s a good tool for keyword research.
4. Google Trends
Google Trends is a great tool for keyword research as it is completely free, and you can use it to find trending keywords. I find it a little underrated, and not many people use this tool. But I find it very useful because it shows the popularity of search queries, and I can get an idea of public interest.
However, I would suggest using other keyword research tools alongside Google Trends as it doesn’t give you an estimate of the monthly search volume of the keywords. You can get a general idea of what is trending, and then you can use other tools to research and analyze the keyword.
The “Interest over time” graph will show you if search volume is increasing or decreasing. From there, you will get to know if the keyword is good to use or not.
5. Keyword Intent
Another completely free keyword research tool is Keyword Intent. It has a very user-friendly interface. What I find interesting about this tool is that you can decide what kind of keyword analysis you want to have. There are multiple options, like questions, comparisons, ideas, how-tos, etc, that you can choose from their dropdown menu.
There is also a language option you will get, which lets you search keywords based on language preferences. It is quite a fascinating option that not all keyword tools offer you.
Like all the other keyword research tools, Keyword Intent also shows you the search volume, keyword difficulty, and CPC of the keyword. You get unlimited keyword options, which is great for beginners to get the right keyword idea.
This tool also shows a graph of 12 months of how many times people have searched for the keyword over time.
For me, this is overall a good and easy-to-use keyword research tool to start with.
How Would You Know Which Is The Best Keyword Research Tool?
I have given you a basic idea of the 5 free keyword research tools. They all serve the same purpose of giving you an insight into easy-to-rank keywords with high search volumes and business potential, but differently.
Though it doesn’t provide the data of keyword difficulty, I like to use Answer Your Public the most. The interface is unique, and you get different types of keyword ideas(questions, prepositions, and alphabeticals) related to search queries.
What I would suggest is that you don’t limit yourself to one particular keyword research tool. Explore different tools and compare all the metrics to research. This is the best way to find the unique keyword ideas that your competitors might miss.