There are a lot of great keyword research tools out there but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do some basic research for free? Good news! You can do so using good old trusty Google. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how!

There are many other tactics, strategies and methods for both free and paid keyword research but these methods are the easiest to learn and implement.

Here are my top 5 methods for using Google for free keyword research:

We’ll start with what is probably the most obvious method…

1. Method #1 – Google Search Bar suggestions

   That’s right, typing your keyword or key phrase into Google and seeing what it suggests is the first method and easiest way to do basic and free, keyword research.

   

   Using Google for free keyword research – Method 1 using the search bar suggestions

    

2. Method #2 – Alphabetical Google Search suggestions
   
   This is by far my favorite method, perhaps because it’s a slightly less obvious method, dare I say even slightly hidden method…and that is to go through the alphabet with a more detailed search via the Google search bar.By typing “a”, “b”, “c”, etc after your keywords, it’ll bring up a whole new set of suggestions that normally you’d need a premium tool to uncover!
   

   Using Google for free keyword research – Method 2 detailed alphabetical suggestions in search bar

    

3. Method #3 – “People also ask” suggestions
   
   Typically mid-way down on a SERP (search engine results page), you’ll find the “People also ask” section which shows related questions. These are usually full questions rather than short tail terms or phrases.

    

   

   Using Google for free keyword research – Method 3 “People also ask” section

4. Method #4 – “Related searches” suggestions
   
   At the very bottom of a SERP, you’ll see a super handy section called “Related searches” which are similar to what you’d find in the search bar, however these are typically the most popular searches, which is really handy for keyword research and knowing what titles you might consider using for blog posts, videos, tutorials, etc.
   
   
   

   Using Google for free keyword research – Method 4 “Related searches” section

    

5. Method #5 – Suggested Videos
   
   And finally, a section that you might not think of as keyword research…the related videos. Videos, particularly hosted on YouTube (because Google owns YouTube), will always show up on the results page and can be used for knowing what to title and optimize YOUR videos for. Side note: this has been a key strategy for my SEO success, using both videos and written blogs, so I highly recommend you consider it as well!
   
   
   

   Using Google for free keyword research – Method 5 suggested videos

So there you go! My top 5 methods for using Google for free keyword research.

I hope this has helped give you some ideas of how to use Google the next time you’re looking for the best keywords to optimize your content for.

Again, there are a plethora of tools (both free and paid) that can assist with this and I’m sure there are other free strategies as well so if you know of one, feel free to drop a comment below!

Related articles, videos or podcasts:

• Podcast 107 – How to do free keyword research with my personal SEO guru Michelle Bourbonneire
• Podcast 162 – How Google algorithm updates can effect your SEO strategy with Julian Goldie

And for those of you ready to learn a little more about SEO, be sure to sign up for my free SEO Masterclass “A Beginners Guide to SEO for Web Designers” below!