Keyword research without expensive tools: How to find the keywords that actually matter (2026)

You don't need a subscription costing thousands a month to do good keyword research. You need to understand what your customers are actually asking — and Google gives you that for free.

What is keyword research, and why do you do it?

Keyword research is the process of figuring out which words and questions your target audience uses when they search on Google, and which are realistic for your website to rank for.

The point isn't to stuff keywords into your texts. It's to produce content that actually answers what people are looking for, so Google considers you the best answer to a given question.

Without keyword research, you're writing for yourself. You assume people search for what you think they search for. Sometimes that's correct. Often, it's not, and you've wasted time on content no one will find.

Start here: Google is the best free tool you have

Before you open a single paid tool, spend 30 minutes on these four sources. They will give you a surprisingly good picture of what people are actually searching for.

1. Google Autocomplete: what does Google itself suggest?

Go to google.co.uk in incognito mode (so your search history doesn't influence the suggestions). Start typing a keyword related to your business and stop without pressing Enter.

The suggestions that appear aren't random. They are based on what people actually search for, in order of volume. It's a direct insight into what your market cares about.

2. "People also ask": free question data

Do a Google search for one of the terms you've found. Scroll down to the "People also ask" box. Click on one of the questions, and the list will expand with more.

This is gold. You get direct insight into the sub-questions and nuances people have about a topic. Every question here is a potential H2 or an FAQ section in an article.

3. Related searches: find clusters of terms

Scroll to the very bottom of the Google results page. Below the results, you'll find "Related searches" — eight suggestions for similar terms. Click on one of them and repeat the process. You'll quickly build up a cluster of related keywords that naturally belong together.

4. Google Search Console: what are you already ranking for?

If your website has existed for more than a few months, this is the most important source of all. Google Search Console shows you exactly which keywords are already bringing you traffic, what position you have, and how many people are clicking.

Go to Search Console → Performance → Search results. Sort by Clicks. This is the list of keywords you are already relevant for, but may not have optimised your content for. They are low-hanging fruit.

Volume data: Google Keyword Planner is free (with a caveat)

Google Keyword Planner is part of Google Ads and is free to use. You need a Google Ads account, but you don't need to run a campaign. The tool gives you estimated monthly search volume for any keywords you put in — for the UK, in English.

Need more? Get a one-month subscription to a paid tool

The free tools give you a lot. But they don't give you competitor analysis, precise volume figures, keyword difficulty scores, or historical trends. If you want that, you need a paid tool.

My advice is simple: don't buy an annual subscription. Pay for one month, do a thorough analysis, export everything to a spreadsheet, and cancel. You're paying for the work itself, not for perpetual access you'll use twice a year.

SE Ranking is the tool I most often recommend for small businesses that want more than what the free tools offer. It's affordable, UK-friendly, and covers what you actually need for a thorough analysis.

What about "prompt analysis"? Let's demystify it

You've probably heard the term by now. Prompt analysis is one of this year's buzzwords in SEO and GEO, and it sounds more advanced than it is.

Prompt analysis is basically the same as keyword research, just shifted to AI tools. Instead of asking, "What are people searching for on Google?", you ask, "What are people asking in ChatGPT and Perplexity?". And you look at which sources are cited when the answers are generated.

Dedicated tools for AI visibility: interesting, but in their infancy

There are now dedicated tools designed to monitor whether your brand is mentioned in AI-generated answers. Promptwatch, Otterly, and Profound AI are among the best known. They let you see if you're being cited in ChatGPT and Perplexity, and which competitors are showing up instead of you.

But — and it's important to say this openly — these tools are in their early stages. The data is incomplete, the methodology varies between tools, and the best practices for what you actually do with the information are still being established. They are interesting to keep an eye on, but not something you need to subscribe to today — unless you are genuinely curious or work in an industry where AI visibility is already critical. Read more about how LLMs find and cite content.

What do you do with the keywords afterwards?

Collecting a list of 200 keywords is not keyword research. It's a keyword list. The analysis is about what you do with them.

Prioritise by relevance, volume, and realism

• Relevance: Does the keyword match what you actually sell or help with? High search volume for a keyword that doesn't convert is wasted traffic.
• Volume: Are there enough searches to make it worth creating content for? A keyword with 20 monthly searches is rarely worth an entire article.
• Realism: Can a website of your size and age actually compete for this keyword? A new website won't win "insurance". But "what is affordable contents insurance for students in London" might be realistic.

Group them into topics

Keywords that are about the same thing should be grouped together and covered by one page, not spread across many. Google rewards pages that cover a topic in depth, not pages that superficially mention many keywords.

Match to existing pages or plan new ones

Go through your website and see which pages already exist. Do any of them cover the keywords you've found? If so, they should be updated and strengthened. Are you missing pages that cover important keywords? Those are candidates for new content production.

The result of this process is a content plan: a prioritised list of what to write, update, and optimise. That's where keyword research actually starts to deliver a return.

What I often see go wrong with keyword research

They optimise for keywords nobody searches for

They use the company's own terms and internal jargon, assuming customers search for the same things. This is rarely the case. Customers search for the problem they have, not the solution you sell.

They chase high-volume keywords they can never compete for

A new website with low domain authority will not rank for "insurance", "accountant", or "solicitor". These are dominated by major players with years of link building and content production behind them. Hunt for niche keywords you can actually win, and build authority from there.

They do the analysis once and forget about it

Search behaviour changes. New competitors emerge. AI search creates new question patterns. Keyword research from 2022 is not necessarily relevant in 2026. Set aside time to update it regularly.

They buy annual subscriptions to expensive tools

And use them twice. Ahrefs and Semrush are powerful tools, but they are built for agencies and large marketing departments that use them daily. For a small business doing one or two analyses a year, it's paying for much more than you need. Get a one-month subscription, do the work, and cancel.

Action plan: Keyword research in five steps

1. Brainstorm seed keywords. Write down 10-20 terms you think your target audience uses. Think about the problems they have, not the products you sell.
2. Use Google. Autocomplete, "People also ask", and related searches for each seed keyword. Note everything in a spreadsheet.
3. Check Google Search Console. Which keywords are already bringing you traffic? For which ones do you have a position of 5-15? Those are your first priority.
4. Check the volume. Use Google Keyword Planner for free, or get a one-month subscription to SE Ranking for more accurate numbers. Export, sort, prioritise.
5. Create a content plan. Connect the keywords to existing pages or new content ideas. Prioritise by relevance, volume, and realism.

Where you can read more about keyword research

• search.google.com/search-console — the most important free tool for seeing which keywords already bring you traffic
• ads.google.com — free volume data via your Google Ads account
• Google: How to use Keyword Planner — official guide to the volume and forecast tool
• seranking.com — an affordable and good paid tool for a thorough analysis
• My guide to Google Search Console — how to actively use Search Console in your keyword efforts

I stay updated on these sources daily, so you don't have to.