You don’t need a £97/month subscription to do smart keyword research.
You need clarity. Confidence. And tools that work, without sucking up your time, budget, or will to live.
Because here’s the truth: SEO isn’t just for the experts. It’s not just for agencies or bloggers or techy types who love spreadsheets and Semrush dashboards. It’s for founders like you.
Women running businesses between school runs, work calls, and dreams of inbox enquiries that show up while you sleep.
Keyword research is the starting point of that. It’s how you get found by people already searching for what you do. Not just more traffic, but qualified clicks. People with intent. People who are typing full questions into Google and praying your blog post, sales page, or offer is the one that pops up.
So if you’re building a business that deserves visibility, this list is for you. These are the five free keyword research tools I recommend to every female founder who wants to stop relying on Reels reach and start stacking search traffic instead.
I’ve tested them. I use them. And they’ll save you time, not waste it, so you can spend less energy second-guessing what keywords to use in your content strategy and more time showing up where it actually counts.
Ready? Let’s get to it.
1. Google Keyword Planner
💡 Best for: Foundational keyword research and paid ad prep
Let’s start with the OG. Google Keyword Planner has been around forever, and there’s a reason SEO pros still use it today.
It’s Google’s own data, pulled straight from the source. So, when you want to know what your audience is actually typing into the search bar? This tool delivers. No guesswork. Just keyword ideas, average monthly search volumes, and how competitive each term is.
Yes, it was built for Google Ads, but don’t let that put you off. You can use it 100% for free without running any ads, and it’s still one of the most reliable ways to:
- Find search volume ranges for the keywords your dream clients are using
- Spot low-competition terms you can rank for faster
- Discover new long-tail variations you hadn’t thought of
✨ How to use it:
- Create a free Google Ads account (you don’t have to run a campaign).
- Head to Tools → Keyword Planner → “Discover New Keywords”.
- Type in a phrase related to your offer, service, or niche.
- Explore the results—then filter by volume, competition, or keyword theme.
⚠️ What to watch out for:
- The numbers are range-based, not exact (e.g. 100–1K searches/month).
- It doesn’t always show super niche terms (that’s where tools like Google Search Console or Ryrob’s tool come in, stay tuned for those).
💬 Pro tip:
Use this tool to sanity-check your keyword before you write the blog. If it has decent volume and aligns with your offer? It’s a green light. Pair it with Google Search Console to see what you’re already showing up for, and build a smart strategy from there.
2. Google Search Console
💡 Best for: Real-life data on what your site is already ranking for
If Keyword Planner is where you start, Google Search Console (GSC) is where you get strategic. This free tool tells you what’s already bringing people to your website, so you can double down on what’s working and fix what’s not.
New to GSC? Not to worry, I’ve written a post about how to use GSC.
Unlike most keyword tools that guess what might perform, GSC shows you actual search queries that triggered impressions of your site in a Google search. It’s your real-life data. No hypotheticals. Just clarity.
Here’s what you’ll see:
- The exact search terms people used before clicking your link (or scrolling past 👀)
- How many times your page showed up in search (impressions)
- What position you ranked in for each query
- Your click-through rate (CTR) so you can improve underperforming posts
✨ How to use it:
- Set up GSC and verify your site (it’s a one-time step).
- Go to the “Performance” tab.
- Click on a specific page to see what keywords it ranks for.
- Look for:
- Keywords where you’re on page 2 or low on page 1 (room to climb)
- Keywords with high impressions but low CTR (your title/meta might need work)
- Keywords you’re ranking for but haven’t optimised around yet
💬 Pro tip:
If you’re sitting on a blog post that ranks #11 for a great keyword, don’t write a new post, optimise the one you’ve already got. A simple refresh (adding a section, tweaking the title, or rewriting the intro) could be all it takes to jump to page 1.
⚠️ Heads up:
GSC shows you where you’re showing up, but not how competitive that keyword is. Use it with tools like Keyword Planner or Sistrix to decide what’s worth chasing.
3. Exploding Topics
💡 Best for: Finding emerging keywords before everyone else
If you’re tired of choosing between “wedding planner London” (10,000 monthly searches) and “eco wedding tips” (zero data available), Exploding Topics is your new secret weapon.
This tool surfaces fast-growing search terms before they show up in mainstream keyword tools like Ubersuggest or Keywords Everywhere.
It’s powered by real-time Google data, so you can spot rising trends, then build blog posts, digital products, or freebies around them before the market catches on.
Perfect if you:
- Want to get ahead of the curve in your niche
- Are creating content around trends, tools, or topical ideas
- Need fresh, low-competition long-tail keywords
✨ How to use it:
- Head to explodingtopics.com → Free Tools.
- Choose a category (like marketing, fashion, or wellness).
- Explore trending topics with steep growth curves.
- Take your favourites into Google Keyword Planner to check search volume and variations.
💬 Pro tip:
Don’t treat this like a typical keyword tool; it’s more of a content idea generator. Use it to find early-stage keywords you can rank for now and build authority around before they become saturated.
Example? “Pinterest SEO” exploded long before traditional tools started showing search volume. Exploding Topics flagged it early, and the early adopters? They’re on page one now.
⚠️ Free vs paid:
The free version is limited to category browsing and trending terms, but it’s still gold. Especially when paired with a Google Trends or Keyword Planner check to validate interest.
4. Ryrob’s Free AI Keyword Tool
💡 Best for: Fast keyword inspiration with real data (no login required)
This one’s a total hidden gem.
Ryrob’s AI Keyword Tool is powered by a 25+ billion keyword database (yep, same one Semrush uses), but the interface? Dead simple. No account needed. No logins. No overwhelm.
You pop in a topic or keyword idea, and it serves up:
- Real keyword phrases people are searching for
- Monthly search volume
- Keyword difficulty (so you can spot easier wins)
- Suggested content ideas based on your term
It’s everything a founder with no time and no tolerance for SEO jargon needs.
✨ How to use it:
- Visit https://www.ryrob.com/keyword-tool/
- Type in a seed keyword like “branding coach” or “sell digital products”.
- Scan the list for long-tail phrases with lower competition.
- Use these keywords to shape blog titles, product descriptions, service pages, and CTAs.
💬 Pro tip:
Try running the same keyword through this and Google Keyword Planner. Use Ryrob to discover blog post angles and real phrasing, then sanity check volume/competition in GKP.
Example:
Ryrob might give you “how to launch a low-ticket offer” or “best email platform for digital products”, phrases your dream clients are actually searching, not just industry-speak.
⚠️ Limitations:
It doesn’t track your site or show current rankings (like Google Search Console), so it’s best used at the brainstorming and validation stage, not for audit or optimisation.
5. SISTRIX Free Keyword Tool
💡 Best for: Quick keyword checks and beginner-friendly content prompts
SISTRIX is best known for its pro-level SEO software, but its free keyword tool is a low-key powerhouse for solopreneurs who want clarity fast.
Pop in any keyword, and it returns:
- Related keyword ideas
- Keyword difficulty scores (1–100 scale)
- Estimated search volume
- A bonus list of real questions people ask around that term
What makes it stand out? It’s tidy, it’s visual, and it doesn’t ask for your email before delivering value.
✨ How to use it:
- Go to sistrix.com/keyword-tool
- Type in a term like “email welcome sequence” or “pricing strategy for coaches”
- Scan the results:
- Use related keywords to expand your SEO strategy
- Use the question-based terms to build content that answers your audience’s real needs
- Check the difficulty score to spot phrases you can rank for faster
💬 Pro tip:
SISTRIX is especially helpful when you’re writing blog content and want:
- Question-based subheadings (great for People Also Ask)
- A clear sense of how competitive a keyword is (without diving into a full SEO audit)
Use it to reverse engineer your headline by comparing multiple terms. For example, if “launch checklist for course creators” has a lower difficulty than “course launch plan,” go with the easier one. That’s how you start stacking wins.
⚠️ Free vs paid:
The free version gives you 10 searches a day, which is plenty if you’re doing focused research or batch-planning content in Notion or Airtable.
Bonus: Niche Tools Worth Mentioning (But Not Top 5 Material)
Answer Socrates
- Like a gentler, still-free version of Answer the Public (which is now paid).
- Simple UI. Great for beginner-friendly, question-based blog topic inspiration.
- But… it’s surface-level only. No volume, no competition score = limited strategic value.
- Defo worth checking out if you’re a beginner with zero SEO experience.
AlsoAsked.com
- Great for visualising search intent branching from a single query.
- Useful for understanding People Also Ask content structure.
- But again, more helpful for advanced planning and cluster strategy than beginner research.
- If you’re looking for more FAQs for your service pages, this is worth checking out, but not essential.
Ready to take your keywords further?
You don’t need to become an SEO expert overnight. You just need the right tools, a clear strategy, and someone to show you where to start.
These five keyword research tools will help you stop guessing and start growing. Whether you’re planning your next blog post, refining your offers, or just trying to get your website actually seen by the right people, this is how you take control of your traffic.
Not sure which keywords make the most sense for your business?
Book a free 20-minute discovery call with me and let’s talk it through where you’re stuck. No jargon. No overwhelm. Just clarity, confidence, and a proper plan.