I’m trying to improve SEO for a small website on a zero budget, and the paid keyword tools are too expensive for me right now. I’ve used Google Keyword Planner, but it feels limited without running ads. Can anyone recommend a reliable, genuinely free keyword planner (or a combo of tools) that helps with search volume, keyword difficulty, and content ideas?
Short answer from my own zero-budget phase: use a stack, not one “best” tool.
Top free options that work without paying:
- Google Keyword Planner
You already use it, but you can squeeze more from it.
- Create a fake campaign, set it to paused, then you still see ranges, but they get a bit more useful over time.
- Use “Discover new keywords” with:
- your main keyword
- your homepage
- a competitor’s URL
- Export the ideas, sort by “Top of page bid (low range)” as a rough value signal. Higher bids usually mean more commercial intent.
- Google Search Console
Most ignored free gold.
- Go to Performance → Search results
- Filter: Positions between 5 and 20
- Sort by impressions
You get keywords you already rank for.
Those are easiest wins.
Steps: - Take those queries
- Add a small section or FAQ on the page using the full phrase
- Tighten title tags and H1 around what already brings clicks
This alone moves traffic for small sites.
- Keywords Everywhere (free version)
Chrome/Firefox extension.
- Free version shows related keywords and “People also search for” on Google SERPs
- Use it for ideation, ignore the volume numbers if they look off
Great for finding long-tails like “how to X without Y” or “best X for Z”.
- AlsoAsked or AnswerThePublic (free tier)
For question ideas.
- Plug in a seed keyword
- Grab the “how”, “what”, “why” questions
Turn those into H2s or separate posts.
- Ahrefs Free Tools
- Use Ahrefs Free Keyword Generator and Free SERP Checker
- Limited, but enough to:
- Check top 10 keywords around a topic
- See Keyword Difficulty for a few terms
If KD is low and results are weak sites, target it.
- Manual SERP mining
Cheap but strong.
- Search your main keyword
- Look at:
- People also ask
- Related searches at the bottom
- Drop those phrases into your content as sections or FAQ.
If I had to pick one “core” tool for free, I would use Google Search Console for targeting plus Google Keyword Planner for volume rough checks. Everything else supports those.
Focus your time on:
- Long-tail phrases 4+ words
- Topics where top 10 results have small sites or forums
- Updating pages that already get impressions according to GSC
This works better than hunting for the perfect free keyword tool.
If you’re on a true $0 budget, I wouldn’t even bother hunting for a “best” free planner. There isn’t one. They’re all crippled in different ways. @jeff covered a solid stack, but I’d tweak the approach and add a few that hit different gaps.
I’d lean on this combo:
- Bing Webmaster Tools instead of only GSC
Yeah, traffic is smaller, but the keyword data is sometimes way more transparent.
- Connect your site
- Go to Search Performance
- Look at queries where you get impressions but low clicks
It’s like a second opinion on what you already “almost” rank for. Sometimes it surfaces stuff GSC is weirdly stingy about.
- Google Trends for “real” interest
Everyone worships volume numbers, but free tools’ volumes are often junk.
- Put in your main term
- Check “Related queries” and “Rising”
- Prioritize “Breakout” ideas, even if volume looks small elsewhere
This catches stuff before tools even have stable numbers.
- LowFruits free tier
Not perfect, but pretty handy if you’re targeting long tail.
- Plug in a seed keyword
- It shows keywords and how many weak sites (forums, Quora, etc.) rank in top 10
You get a quick “can I realistically beat this?” vibe without deep Ahrefs access.
- Ubersuggest free version (careful with this one)
Not amazing, but:
- You get a small number of daily searches
- Use it only to cross check difficulty and who ranks
Ignore most of the exact volumes, use it relatively: term A vs term B.
- Reddit + niche forums as “keyword tools”
Honestly, this can outperform most free software.
- Search your topic on Reddit / niche communities
- Look at how people actually phrase problems and complaints
- Lift those exact phrases for titles, H2s, FAQs
These are real queries people type, just not polished “SEO keywords.”
- Google Autocomplete scraping (manual)
I disagree slightly with @jeff on leaning heavily on browser extensions. A lot of them clutter your SERPs and slow you down.
Instead:
- Start typing your seed in Google
- Add letters a, b, c, etc. at the end
- Copy interesting autosuggestions into a sheet
You’re getting “live” language from actual searchers without any plugin noise.
- Your own site search (if you have it)
If your site has a search bar:
- Hook it up in GA4 or log queries
- People literally tell you what they can’t find
Those are perfect content / keyword ideas with built-in demand.
If I had to pick ONE “core” free thing that’s closest to a real planner on zero budget, I’d honestly say: a combo of GSC + Bing Webmaster Tools + Google Trends, and then validating via manual SERP checks.
Most important:
- Stop obsessing over exact search volume
- Hunt for terms where top results are weak, outdated, or small sites
- Double down on long tail and stuff you already half-rank for
You’ll get way more out of that approach than burning time searching for a magical free alternative to the paid big guns.
Short version: there isn’t a single “best” truly free keyword planner, but you can get surprisingly close to paid-tool value by treating your site itself as the keyword engine and the web as your database.
Since @jeff already covered a strong external stack, I’ll lean into the stuff most people ignore:
1. Turn your own content into a “keyword planner”
Instead of only looking outward, mine what you already have:
How to do it
- Crawl your site with any free crawler (Screaming Frog free tier works up to 500 URLs).
- Export all titles, H1s, and URLs to a sheet.
- Normalize them:
- Strip brand mentions
- Remove fluff words like “ultimate,” “guide,” “best”
- Group them into topics (clusters).
Now check:
- Which topics get impressions in Search Console but weak clicks.
- Which topics have only 1 weak article when they deserve a whole cluster.
You basically create your own “keyword list” anchored to what Google already knows you for, instead of chasing random new phrases.
Pros
- Perfectly relevant to your niche
- No limits or paywalls
- Directly tied to pages you can improve today
Cons
- Needs some spreadsheet patience
- Does not surface brand new topics by itself
2. SERP pattern analysis instead of “volume worship”
I’ll push back a bit on both you and @jeff here: you’re both still giving search volume too much mental weight. With tiny sites, SERP patterns matter more than numbers.
Pick a candidate phrase (from GSC, Bing, Trends, Reddit, whatever) and look at:
- How many results are:
- Forums / Q&A
- Very short articles
- Old content (3+ years)
- Completely off intent (e.g., product pages for an informational query)
If 3+ of the top 10 results are weak or mismatched, that keyword is probably “winnable” for a small site, even if every tool claims low volume.
Turn this into a simple internal scale:
- 3+ weak results → Green
- 1–2 weak results → Yellow
- 0 weak results → Red
Tag terms in your sheet instead of obsessing over 90 vs 140 searches.
3. Use competitor pages as “reverse keyword planners”
Instead of relying on someone’s tool limits, use Google itself as the engine.
Pick 3–5 sites that:
- Rank for your main topic
- Are roughly your size or a bit bigger
- Clearly rely on content, not just brand power
For each page of theirs that ranks:
- Plug the page URL into:
- Search Console “Inspect URL” if it is on your site as a similar topic
- Free on‑page analysis tools for semantic hints
- Look at:
- H2 and H3 headings for secondary keyword ideas
- FAQ sections for exact question phrasing
- Internal links pointing to that page (anchor text is a clue)
This gives you keyword candidates + structure in one shot, no planner needed.
Pros
- Mirrors what already works in your niche
- Helps with content format, not just keywords
- No tool logins needed in many cases
Cons
- Easy to fall into copycat mode if you are not deliberate
- Needs discipline to add your own angle and better UX
4. Treat user intent as your main “difficulty metric”
Where I diverge a bit from @jeff: I think too much reliance on free “difficulty” scores or “weak sites in top 10” is a trap. Those signals are often noisy or laggy.
Instead, manually classify every keyword idea into:
- Problem / question: “how to…,” “why does…,” “fix…,” “tutorial”
- Comparison / “best of”: “best X for Y,” “X vs Y,” “review”
- Navigation / brand: “brand name login,” “product name”
- Transactional: “buy X,” “X pricing,” “X coupon”
For a small site on zero budget, stack your roadmap in this order:
- Problem / question
- Comparison
- Transactional
- Brand (only if it is your own)
Problem and comparison queries tend to be less dominated by mega brands and more open to useful content.
5. Build a lightweight “poor man’s keyword planner” sheet
Tie all of the above together into one working doc:
Columns to include:
- Seed topic
- Exact phrase idea
- Source (GSC, Bing WMT, Reddit, own content, SERP, etc.)
- Intent (problem, comparison, etc.)
- SERP strength (green / yellow / red)
- Current rank (if you have a page)
- Page URL (if exists)
- Priority (1–3)
This single sheet becomes your truly free keyword planner tool. It is not trying to be Ahrefs; it is built for your site and your constraints.
What @jeff and others suggested gets you ingredients. This approach turns those ingredients into a small, focused system that replaces the “one magical free tool” you are searching for. It is not glamorous, but on a zero budget, it is usually what actually moves rankings.