Tools for keyword analysis

Free keyword analysis tools

Successful SEO results are created based on a thorough keyword analysis. This can go a long way if you use the right SEO tools. In this article, you will be presented with some exercises as well as free SEO tools that we recommend you use. 

We also recommend that you read our detailed guide to making a keyword analysis.

A keyword analysis consists of selecting the exact keywords that are relevant to your website, services and products. It's a stage where you, as a business, need to look at yourself and think carefully about what it is you want to be found on and what actually adds value to your business. Is it the generic keywords with many monthly searches, or is it the long tail keywords with few searches but high relevance - or maybe a mix?

The possibilities are many, but one thing is certain: There is no definitive answer, as the "right" keywords vary from industry to industry and, of course, from company to company.

Get the process started

To kick-start the process of identifying and selecting the right keywords, try these three exercises:

• Brainstorm keywords: What words do you associate with your company, the products or services you offer? Write down the words that come to mind.
• Visit the competitors: Take a look at your competitors' websites. What keywords are they using, and are there any you hadn't thought of? Write down the words you find.
• Put yourself in the user's shoes: Imagine that you are your customers. What words and phrases might people without the same professional insight as you find themselves searching for? Write down everything you can think of.

If you have done the three exercises, you should now have a list of words and phrases. You can use these in the subsequent work of researching keywords in the 5 free tools you are introduced to below:

Google Keyword Planner

Google's own research tool, Google Keyword Planner, is a well-known tool in the SEO industry. The tool is effective as it gives you a quick estimate of how many people are searching for your particular keywords.

Once you have created a free Google Ads account, you can start using the tool called "Keyword Planner". Here you can enter the words you found from the three exercises, as well as any others you may come up with, and Google will suggest related keywords and the estimated number of searches per month. There's no limit to how often and how much you can search, so just get searching.

The tool has several features that may be useful when searching. For example, you can filter by language and country, and filter out searches below or above a certain number, if you are not interested in keywords with fewer than 100 searches per month. You can also deselect or select specific words. A clever feature of filtering is that you can filter for local searches, so you can see the most searched keywords in cities and regions.

Another smart feature of Google Keyword Planner is that you can enter a URL instead of a keyword and it will extract the keywords associated with the website. The great thing about this tool is that you can easily export all keywords to, for example, Excel, so you can work on them in a more flexible tool.

SEMrush

SEMrush combines several of the best features from the other SEO tools and provides a really good overview of a website or keyword. There is both a free and paid version, but the free version gives you a huge amount of useful information. The paid version of SEMrush contains more tools and there are even three variants of the paid version. However, we think that the free version of SEMrush is good and contains the most necessary tools that you should have.

Just like in Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush also allows you to search for a keyword to find related keywords, and even see which websites are currently dominating the search results for that exact keyword.

If you choose to search for a URL instead, you will find a wealth of information. This is everything from the most important organic keywords to paid keywords, examples of Ads, overviews of backlinks and much more than that.

SEMrush is simply a very powerful tool when it comes to getting an overview of your own website, or to spy on your competitors. Moreover, SEMrush is very easy to use, so if you are unsure about which free SEO tool to start using, SEMrush is a good starting point.

Searchmetrics

Searchmetrics is promoted as one of the world's leading SEO tools, and it's also one of the most expensive. However, if you're satisfied with just a sampling of the results Searchmetrics brings, you can get a lot of value from a free account with them.

There are good findings to make, even in the free version. Among other things, you can check which keywords your competitors are being found on and how they rank for those particular keywords. You can of course get the same information about your own website. Searchmetrics can also show how much visibility you have on the search engines and hold it up against your closest competitors.

Searchmetrics, for example, can be a powerful tool to convince your boss that you need to increase your budget if you want to match - or beat - your competitors. Conversely, it can also be a powerful tool to show how successful an SEO effort has been.

Keywordtool.io

Keywordtool.io together with Ubersuggest.org, are among the most effective when it comes to finding long tail searches related to selected keywords. These are keywords that you are unlikely to find using only Searchmetrics and Google Keyword Planner.

According to Keywordtool.io, their SEO tool is also a better alternative to the many other free SEO tools available on the Internet. That's because Keywordtool.io can generate up to 750 long tail keyword suggestions, and you don't need to create an account to use the tool.

Keywordtool.io is available in both a free and paid version. The free version gives you all the many long tail keywords, while the paid version also gives the number of searches, CPC, as well as an estimate of how tough the competition is. In addition, you also get the option to filter the keywords by their volume, trend and competition level.

In both versions you have the option to export the desired keywords to another tool.

Google Search

One of the simplest and often overlooked ways to find keywords is to use Google's own search function - yes, the one you use yourself when you search on a daily basis.

When you search for a word or phrase on Google, you will often get a series of related searches at the bottom of the first page. For example, if you search for a word such as "cake", it will look like this:

You can also get suggestions when you start typing a word or phrase, as suggested searches will automatically appear:

It may be words you haven't thought of yourself, and it's a quick and easy way to find related keywords - for free!

If your target audience is locally based, you can refine your analysis by including city names such as Aarhus, Copenhagen and Odense in the searches.

Boost results by combining multiple tools

If you have the time, resources and skills to combine several of the above tools in the analysis process, you will be able to get a really strong output. It will give you great insight into not only your own website, but also your competitors' websites, as well as an understanding of your potential customers' online behaviour.

As mentioned earlier, a thorough keyword analysis is crucial to the success of your SEO efforts. If you're serious about SEO and want to make sure you're hitting the right keywords to get the most out of your resources, it pays to have a professionally done keyword analysis.

Do you need a thorough review of your existing keyword portfolio, or help defining which keywords can boost your business? Then contact us today for a no-obligation chat.

Frequently asked questions about keyword analysis tools