In digital marketing, a key tool of any strategy is a keyword research tool. As a blogger, business owner, or SEO professional, the choice of the keywords to target can be the difference between the success of your online presence. The correct keyword research tools can help you know the words and phrases that people are searching for so that your content matches user intent and is well-ranked on search engines.
The need to conduct efficient and accurate keyword research has never been as critical as it is going to be at the beginning of 2025. Nevertheless, budget-friendly, high-quality tools may be unaffordable to many small business owners, startups, or individual designers. The nice thing is that there are a few good free keyword research tools that can assist you in enhancing your SEO plan without causing an outburst.
In this blog, we are going to discuss the top 10 free keyword research tools in 2025, their features, advantages, and how they can assist you in getting the best keywords to use in your content.
What Are Keyword Research Tools?
We should first briefly describe what keyword research tools are and what is their importance before plunging into the list.
Keyword research software or online tools are software programs that guide users in determining suitable and traffic-driven keywords to aim at in their websites, blogs, or marketing campaigns. The tools give information on search volume, competition, and relevance of various keywords and are thus used by content creators and marketers to find the most suitable terms to use as targets.
With such tools, you can learn:
- Search Volume: The number of people who are searching for a certain keyword.
- Keyword Difficulty: The competitiveness of the keyword at the search engines.
- Search Intent: Search intent is the purpose behind a search query to enable you to make content that suits the user.
- Long-Tail Keywords: such are more targeted and generally less competitive, being easier to rank.
The right keyword research tools will enable you to develop content that appeals to your audience, ranks better on search engines, and ultimately pushes more traffic into your site.
1. Google Keyword Planner
One of the most popular and popular free keyword research tools is Google Keyword Planner. It is mostly specific to advertisers who utilize Google Ads campaigns, though it can also be a great tool in organic search optimization.
Features:
- Search volume data and trends.
- According to the words you enter as a keyword, keyword suggestions will be provided.
- Competition information to know the number of other competitive ad writers bidding on a keyword.
- The options to filter keys in terms of location, language, and device.
Why Use It?
Although Google Keyword Planner is more of an instrument used in Google Ads, it offers useful data on the use of SEO. It is excellent in finding out keywords with high search volume and relevancy, and that is paramount in any SEO campaign. It is also easily tracked in regard to the performance of the keywords across campaigns because it can be integrated with Google Ads.
2. Ubersuggest
Created by Neil Patel, Ubersuggest is a complete SEO-focused tool that allows researching keywords along with the information about the traffic statistics, backlinks, and the health of SEO. It offers free and paid versions, the former of which has a lot of useful features.
Features:
- Recommendations of keywords upon your input.
- Search volume and competition data.
- Trend analysis to define seasonal keywords.
- Concepts of content on high-ranking pages.
Why Use It?
Ubersuggest can be used by novices because it has an easy-to-use interface. It not only assists in researching keywords but also gives suggestions on topics to be covered in the blog and competitive analysis. It is a balanced instrument in the hands of any site that intends to boost its search engine optimization.
3. Answer the Public
The free tool Answer the Public assists in finding out what questions people are asking about a specific keyword. It pays attention to search intent, which is why it is a great tool to use when content creators need to optimize their content to voice search or long-tail keywords.
Features:
- Suggestions of keywords by user query.
- Illustrated information within a wheel or list.
- Covers questions, prepositions, comparisons, and more.
- Assist generates content that is in a direct response to user queries.
Why Use It?
What makes this tool unique is that it targets the questions and concerns that users have in reference to your keywords. The result of maximizing your content to answer these questions will be a better relationship between your content and the intentions of the user, resulting in higher rankings and more visitors.
4. Google Trends
Google Trends is an effective tool that demonstrates the popularity of search terms in the course of time. It lets you rank several keywords and view which ones are on the upward trend in your industry or niche.
Features:
- Real-time search data for keyword trends.
- Geographical information to view where people are searching on specific terms.
- Related topics and queries.
- Seasonal trends for better content planning.
Why Use It?
Google Trends is an excellent utility to know the current popularity of a keyword and identify trending topics. It comes in particularly handy when trying to figure out what keywords are trending during a specific time of the year and what content to publish that would fit the current trend.
5. Moz Keyword Explorer (Free Version)
Moz also has a keyword research tool that can help provide some important information about the volume of keywords, difficulty, and organic click rates. Moz Keyword Explorer is free, but it has a restricted monthly search capacity, which can still be useful in small SEO projects.
Features:
- Search volume and difficulty analysis.
- Keyword suggestions and SERP analysis.
- Opportunity score that assists in the identification of the most effective keywords to target.
- SERP includes analysis to describe any other content types that are ranking (snippets or maps).
Why Use It?
Moz Keyword Explorer is a great tool to use when one wants to know how difficult it is and how many opportunities are ranked. The free edition is suitable enough when it comes to smaller campaigns or those that are new to the field of SEO.
6. Keyword Surfer
Keywords Surfer is a free Chrome extension that provides search volume and keyword suggestions on the Google search engine search page. It is an immensely convenient research-on-the-fly tool.
Features:
- Keyword volume data directly in Google search.
- Search results have keyword suggestions provided.
- Search intent indicators and cost-per-click (CPC) data.
Why Use It?
When you are already searching on Google, Keyword Surfer makes it easier because you can get the data on the keywords in real time without leaving the search page. It is ideal when doing quick and on-the-fly research on specific keywords.
7. Soovle
Soovle is an excellent keyword research tool to find out key suggestions of a wide range of sources, such as Google, YouTube, Bing, and Amazon. This may assist you in targeting keywords that may be trending in more than one platform.
Features:
- Multi-platform keyword suggestions.
- Search volume data from different sources.
- Suggestions for a variety of search engines and e-commerce platforms.
Why Use It?
Soovle is best suited to the marketer who wishes to diversify their keyword research across platforms. It will allow you to find appropriate keywords not only on Google but also on other popular sites, such as Amazon or YouTube, which are essential to content creators and e-commerce companies.
8. Keyword Tool.io (Free Version)
Another good tool to consider is Keyword Tool.io, which extracts keyword ideas based on a number of different websites such as Google, YouTube, Bing, and Amazon. A free version will provide the simplest data on keywords, and the paid ones will open more capabilities.
Features:
- Keyword suggestions from multiple platforms.
- Search volume data.
- Long-tail keyword suggestions.
- Basic SEO insights in the free version.
Why Use It?
KeyWord Tool.IO is ideal for locating long-tail keywords that may not be revealed by more traditional keyword research tools. It is also an excellent tool in the identification of keywords in more than one platform, which could assist you in enhancing your presence on the internet.
9. SEMrush (Free Version)
SEMrush is considered by far one of the most popular SEO tools, and there is a free version of it, with the help of which one can perform some basic keyword research. Although the free will only allow a set number of searches, it can still offer some important insights on the keywords.
Features:
- Keyword analysis and suggestions.
- Keywords: competitor research.
- Inaccessibility to backlink information.
- Keyword difficulty analysis.
Why Use It?
SEMrush is a potent SEO tool, though its free version already provides some helpful information about the competition and volume of the search on a particular keyword. It is ideal for those users who would like to enjoy the interface and functionalities of SEMrush before making a decision to upgrade to a paid version.
10. SpyFu (Free Version)
SpyFu is also referred to as competitive intelligence, and this enables you to have a glimpse of the keywords your competition is ranking. The free version allows only a few of the searches, and that can also give quite meaningful information about the keyword strategies of your competitors.
Features:
- Competitor keyword analysis.
- Keyword search volume data.
- Historical data on keyword performance.
- Competitor PPC and organic rankings.
Why Use It?
SpyFu can be used to get insights into the use of keywords by your competitors. By knowing what keywords they are chasing, you can discover new avenues to enhance your SEO.
Conclusion
With the inception of the year 2025, it is important to have the right keyword research tools in your possession to remain competitive in the constantly changing digital environment. The above-mentioned tools have a variety of options that would respond to various portions of the keyword research, such as, but not limited to, the search volume and the competitor data, long-tail keywords recommendations, and competitor analysis.
You may be a small business owner seeking to enhance your website’s SEO or a content writer in need of a more effective approach in targeting keywords. These free keyword research tools will assist you in maximising your content, increasing organic traffic, and eventually reaching your marketing objectives.
With the help of selecting the appropriate tool that suits your purpose, you will be able to perform comprehensive research on keywords that will result in the increased visibility of your site, a better approach to content, and you will not be left behind by your competitors.