Keyword research is vital. It is an essential tactic for developing a powerful content strategy, targeting advertising campaigns and improving search engine optimization. Small business owners may begin with an idea but lack huge financial resources. Therefore most are reluctant to spend money on something as basic as keyword research and tools. Below are 5 free keyword tools small business owners can take advantage of.

Google Adwords

The most popular tool made it on this list again. If you want your ad to appear at all, you have to bid against other marketers on how much you’re willing to pay Google AdWords every time a searcher clicks on your ad. Google looks at how relevant and useful your ad is to the searcher and the search terms they’ve used. It also looks at how many clicks your ad has received previously, also known as its click-through rate and how relevant your landing page is. Obviously the more you pay-per-click the more likely your ad will appear in the search results.

More information here.

WordStream

WordStream provides a bunch of PPC tools, although it depends on how much of a volume you use it for, what kind of profit margins you have for the leads you generate, and how much you inherently value your time for the time savings it gives you. If the potential cost savings, leads generated and converted, or time savings do not match up, do not bother. If they do, and it is by a healthy margin, then unless you have a better alternative, you should use WordStream’s tools.

More information here.

Google Correlate

Google Correlate is a tool that Google rolled out in 2011. It is a close cousin to Google Trends it is actually Google Trends in reverse. In Google Correlate, you can find correlations across time AND space. If you trying to define your target personas for a new product or service, you can use each correlation to get deep insights into your audience.

More information here.

UberSuggest

Having accessed their website, you will be faced with a screen comprising of a search box wherein you will be required to type in your keywords and specify the language as also the source from the respective drop-down menus. Not only does Ubersuggest enable you to save time on the tedious activity of searching and identifying keywords, but it is also more efficient, thus ensuring that you end up with an extensive and comprehensive list. The fact that keywords are sifted from multiple sources is a big advantage since it reveals unique ideas and so is the provision of copying and pasting of keywords in case they need to be scrutinized further.   

More information here.

Wordtracker Scout

It is a keyword research tool that provides you with the measurable data you were used to back in happier times prior to Google’s keyword encryption. It’s also really simple to use, too. To get started, just type the term in question into the search bar. 

More information here.