Starting and growing a blog requires proper use of keywords on your blog posts to rank on search engines.
However, quality keyword tools like SEMrush, Moz, and Ahref can be expensive. You may not have a budget for the annual or monthly subscription.
Is your blog doomed to fail? No. Because today, I will show you how to conduct free keyword research without using any tools.
Indeed, you can use free versions of tools such as Ubersuggest and Keyword Tool Dominator. However, they only allow you a few searches.
So how do you go about finding trending keywords without using keyword tools? Let’s begin.
If you are a beginner to blogging, I encourage you to read this article about the 11 Blogging Mistakes you should avoid and increase your success.
9 Unique Ways to Do Keyword Research Without Tools
Keyword research does not have to be expensive. You can find low-competition keywords with high search volume with the right strategy and patience.
Here’s how to find unique keywords without tools:
1- Look Up The Wikipedia Table Of Content
Although some people view Wikipedia negatively, it is a keyword research goldmine. Here you will find articles curated by various industry experts and organized into sub-categories.
But how can you use Wikipedia to find ranking keyword ideas?
- First, go to the Wikipedia site and type your target keyword.
- For instance, assuming you are targeting “tea.”
- If you click on search, it will take you to the article below.
- If you scroll to the table of content, you will see the subtopics that can provide alternative keywords you can use in your blog post.
You can see keywords like health effects of tea, tea bags, instant tea, and compressed tea, which you can use in your article.
2- Google And YouTube Suggestions
What do you see if you start to type your blog topic on the Google search bar? The Search Engine Result Page (SERP) will offer numerous related suggestions. What do you think those suggestions are?
These are what many people are actually searching for on Google.
You will see long-tail keywords and short-tail keywords in the list. You can collect these keywords and use them appropriately in your blog post.
Google even shows you the most popular queries and their context, thus helping you better understand what and how your target audience searches on Google.
You do not need to look at the volumes since Google helps you know the most popular searches. Furthermore, you can target long-tail keywords with limited competition.
YouTube also provides a similar feature, suggesting long-tail keywords you can use on your blog.
You might also enjoy reading: How to Optimize Your Blogs for Google’s Featured Snippet (With examples)
3- Check Google Ads
Advertisers who buy Google ads spend much time researching the best possible keywords so that they can appear on Google’s first page and above other competitors’ ads.
Therefore, you can examine ads that appear on the first page when you type your topic on the Google search bar to collect high-quality keywords.
Since Google earns from the ads, it expects advertisers to use ranking keywords. You can get trending keywords without tools by simply paying attention to Google ads.
For example, let’s assume that your blog is about fashion, and you want to write a blog post on where and how men can wear sneakers.
Type any keywords that come to mind and see which ads appear on the first page.
If you type “buy cheap sneakers,” you may find keywords like cheap shoes, men’s fashion at low prices, and cheap sneakers for men.
These keywords did not appear on these ads by accident; these companies did their research, so “steal” and use them in your article.
4- Related Search Words (LSI Keywords)
Google employs the Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) technique to determine how words are often grouped in predictable patterns.
LSI keywords are words related to your main keyword, helping search engines know the context or search intent within a query.
Assuming your main keyword is “bone broth” and you type it on Google, you will see a section called “related searches.” And in my case, I got the following keywords:
- Best bone broth
- Bone broth vitamins
- Bone broth for dogs
- Bone broth recipe
- Bone broth benefits
- Where to buy bone broth
These are relevant keywords that you can use within your page to provide search engines with more context on the blog you want to publish. Furthermore, it will help your blog to rank higher for your main keyword.
Google will also show your content when internet surfers use other search variations, even though these words are not your main keyword.
5- Use The People Also Ask Box
When you search your main keyword on Google, you will notice the People Also Ask box, and it functions like featured snippets, where one can get quick and straightforward answers to their queries.
This section is designed for answering questions directly without clicking on the blog post. It acts like a trailer for a movie.
The people also ask box can improve your SEO strategies because it is related to your main keyword. Google algorithm enriches your results by pointing to this box.
It shows you what people are looking for related to your keyword. You can even use the questions in this section as a sub-section in your blog post.
Users with the same intent are asking these questions, and by using them in your article, you stand a chance of driving them to your site.
6- Free Keywords on Amazon
You can also turn to Amazon for suggested keywords. This eCommerce platform has millions of visitors every month, and its page is a great keyword source.
When people go to Amazon to buy a product, where do they go first?
They will click the search icon and type whatever product they want for a refined result.
If you run a product or product review blog, Amazon provides you with a wealth of keyword ideas. Like Google, it suggests to you the most popular products related to your main keyword that people are looking for.
These keywords will rank higher, and you increase your ranking chances by including them on your blog.
7- Get Your Keywords From Reddit
Reddit is a community of people with varied interests. The platform is divided into numerous sections according to one’s interests.
People come here to ask questions about anything that bothers them. It is a great source of keywords because it helps you know the following:
- What people want to learn
- People’s preoccupation, depending on their industry
- The number of people looking for similar information
- How the topic unfolds through the discussion.
Check out conversions with lots of comments or engagement. They often show that people are interested in the topic or keyword.
For instance, if you are writing about the Mediterranean diet, you can type this keyword on the Reddit search bar and see similar conversations.
You may identify people’s concerns with the diet and tweak your content to address them.
Reddit also has a free keyword tool called keyworddit that scan the platform for related keyword people use and their search volume. This tool can help you know which word to use.
8- Join Social Media Group
Are you on LinkedIn or Facebook? Join groups related to your industry or niche and get insight from meaningful conversations in the forum.
These platforms are excellent sources of free keyword research without tools. I have gathered unique keywords from these forums and used them to write content that addresses real problems.
So, if your niche is Digital marketing, you can join various LinkedIn groups on Digital marketing.
Using the right keywords, you can also generate high-demand blog topics that interest your target audience.
9- Get Free Keyword Research From The First Landing Page
If you type your main keyword on Google, you will see organic results on Google’s first page. Ignore the ads, they are a source of keywords, but we have already discussed them.
Organic results provide you with even better keywords because competition for these results is stiffer.
For an article to rank on the first page of Google, the writers must have done an excellent job with their keywords. You want to examine what keywords they ranked for and “steal” those keywords for your blog post.
But how do you know these keywords without any tools?
Let’s take an example:
- Assuming you want to write an article on “personal finance.” Follow this procedure:
- Type this word on Google and open the first four articles on the first page.
- Read the articles while collecting generic keywords used in them that you can include in your article.
- You will also see these keywords on the blogs’ titles, meta descriptions, h1, and h2.
The bottom Line
I hope this article sheds light on unique ways you can conduct keyword research without tools you can implement.
Many bloggers are concerned when they don’t have the latest SEO tool. Although these tools can make your work easier, they are not the only source for keywords.
Personally, I have used these methods to select suitable keywords for my articles on this blog site.
Writing one article this way takes time, but it is worth it. So, don’t be scared; keywords are everywhere, and you can get them for free.
P.S.
What methods do you use for keyword research without tools? Kindly share your strategies in the comment section below.
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