Keyword research sounds technical, but I promise it is not. Every SEO guide out there eventually tells you to "do keyword research" and then recommends some tool that costs $99 a month. That is not helpful when you are a small business owner trying to get found online without spending a fortune on software.
Here is the good news: you can do solid keyword research using entirely free tools. The data might not look as fancy as what you get from premium platforms, but it is more than enough to build a real SEO strategy. And I am going to walk you through every step, one at a time.
Let's start with the easiest method first.
Start With Google Autocomplete
This one requires nothing but a browser window. Open Google in an incognito or private window — this keeps your personal search history from influencing the suggestions.
Now start typing a search related to your business, but stop before you finish the phrase. Google will show you a dropdown list of suggestions based on what real people are actually searching for. These are not random guesses — they reflect real search demand.
For example, if you own a landscaping company, type "landscaping services" and pause. You might see suggestions like "landscaping services near me," "landscaping services cost," and "landscaping services for small yards." Each one of those is a keyword people are searching for right now.
Try different starting phrases too. Type "best landscaper in," "how much does landscaping," or "landscaping tips for." Write down every relevant suggestion you see. This whole process takes about 15 minutes and gives you a wonderful real-world snapshot of what people want.
Great, now let's move on to the next method.
Mine the "People Also Ask" Box
After you run a search on Google, scroll down a little and look for a section called "People Also Ask" with expandable questions. This section is pure gold for keyword research, and most people scroll right past it.
Each question represents something a real person wanted to know. Here is the really cool part: click on a few of those questions and even more will appear. You can keep clicking to uncover dozens of related questions. Every single one of these makes an excellent blog topic or FAQ entry for your website.
For instance, if you search "roof repair Tampa," the People Also Ask section might show questions like "How much does roof repair cost in Florida?" or "Is it better to repair or replace a roof?" Each of those is a keyword phrase you can target with content on your site.
You are doing great — this next one is even easier if you already have a website set up.
Check What You Already Rank For With Google Search Console
If your website is connected to Google Search Console, you already have access to valuable keyword data that most business owners never even look at. It is sitting right there waiting for you.
Go to Search Console, click on "Performance," and look at the "Queries" tab. This shows you every search term that triggered your website in Google results, along with how many impressions and clicks you got. Sort by impressions to find keywords where Google is already showing your site but you are not getting many clicks. These are keywords where a little optimization could make a big difference.
Here is an example of why this matters. If you see that your website appeared 500 times for "affordable pool cleaning Pinellas County" but only got 5 clicks, that tells you two important things: there is real demand for that keyword, and your page needs improvement to earn more of those clicks. Maybe a better title tag or meta description would do the trick.
Alright, let's try the next method. This one uses a Google tool you might not know about.
Use Google Keyword Planner for Free
Google Keyword Planner is technically part of Google Ads, but here is something many people do not realize — you do not need to run any ads to use it. Just create a free Google Ads account, skip the campaign setup process, and go directly to the Keyword Planner tool.
Enter a keyword related to your business and Google will show you a list of related keywords along with estimated monthly search volumes. The free version shows ranges instead of exact numbers, but that is absolutely enough to tell you whether a keyword gets 10 searches a month or 10,000.
This tool also shows you how competitive each keyword is for paid ads, which gives you a rough idea of commercial value. High-competition keywords are ones where businesses are willing to spend money — which usually means those searches lead to paying customers.
Nice work so far. Let's keep going with another free tool.
Try AnswerThePublic for Question-Based Keywords
AnswerThePublic is a free tool that takes a keyword and generates a visual map of questions, prepositions, and comparisons people search for. The free tier gives you a limited number of searches per day, but that is plenty for most small businesses.
Type in your main service or product and the tool will give you dozens of question-based keywords organized by who, what, when, where, why, and how. These are perfect for blog content and FAQ pages. You will be amazed at how many content ideas come out of just one or two searches.
Analyze Your Competitors for Free
This method is really satisfying because you do not need any software at all. You just need to be curious.
Visit a competitor's website and look at their page titles, headings, and content. What phrases do they use on their homepage? What topics do they blog about? What services do they list? These give you strong clues about the keywords they are going after.
You can also search for your main service in Google and study the top-ranking results. What words and phrases appear in their titles and meta descriptions? If the top five results for "wedding photographer St. Petersburg" all mention "affordable" and "beach weddings," those are keywords worth including in your own content.
See how straightforward this is? One more method and then we will put it all together.
Use Google Trends to Spot Patterns
Google Trends does not give you exact search volume numbers, but it shows you something just as valuable — how interest in a keyword changes over time and how it varies by region. This is especially useful in Florida, where tourism and seasonal businesses create very predictable search patterns.
Search for your main keywords in Google Trends and filter by your state. You might discover that "lawn care" searches spike in March and April, which tells you exactly when to publish content and ramp up your marketing. Or you might find that "hurricane shutters" searches jump every August through October. That kind of timing information is incredibly powerful for planning your content calendar.
A Practical Workflow You Can Follow
Wonderful — you now know seven free methods for finding keywords. Let's put them together into a simple process you can complete in one afternoon:
- Brainstorm 5 to 10 core services or products your business offers.
- Run each one through Google Autocomplete and write down every relevant suggestion.
- Search each one in Google and collect questions from the People Also Ask section.
- Enter your top keywords into Google Keyword Planner to check search volume ranges.
- Check Google Search Console to find keywords you already rank for but could improve.
- Visit your top three competitors' websites and note the keywords they use in their page titles and headings.
- Run your most important keywords through Google Trends to understand seasonal patterns.
At the end of this process, you will have a list of 30 to 50 keywords organized by search volume, intent, and relevance to your business. That is a stronger foundation than most small businesses ever build — and it did not cost you a single dollar.
What to Do With Your Keywords
Having a keyword list is only useful if you put it to work. Here is how to make that happen.
Assign your top keywords to specific pages on your website. Make sure each important page targets one primary keyword and a few related ones. Use those keywords naturally in your page titles, headings, meta descriptions, and body content. Do not stuff them in awkwardly — just work them in where they fit.
For question-based keywords, create blog posts that directly answer those questions. This is one of the fastest ways to start showing up in Google search results, especially for longer, more specific phrases where competition is lower.
And remember, keyword research is not a one-and-done task. Come back to this process every few months to find new opportunities and track how your rankings are changing. The tools are always free, and the time you invest pays off every single month.
Once you have your keywords ready, check out our guide on how to rank #1 on Google to put them to work. And if you are ever ready to invest in a paid tool, read our comparison of SEMrush vs Ahrefs vs Ubersuggest to find the best fit for your budget. If you want to jump straight into a paid platform, SEMrush is a strong starting point.