Optimizing a website for search engines begins with keyword research. There is no way to accurately guess what terms a website should target, therefore one must use a keyword research tool in order to see what terms are popular and to get suggestions for additional keywords.
Keyword research tools vary in abilities, features, and pricing, however the following keyword tools are all free.
Google Adwords Keyword Tool
Google Adwords Keyword Tool is useful for those running pay per click campaigns so they can estimate how many people will be searching for the terms they choose to bid on. The tool also estimates how many advertisers are bidding on the particular phrase or keyword so one can determine where they should focus based upon their budget and the likely results.
Still, webmasters who purely use SEO can benefit from this tool as well by simply looking at the search volume results.
Simply enter a keyword and leave the “use synonyms” option checked. The Google Adwords Tool will then show the search volume for the previous month in terms of both Local and Global search volume for the term entered as well as similar terms.
The tool can also suggest keywords based upon a website's content by entering the URL under the Website Content tab.
SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool
The keyword suggestion tool for SEOBook.com estimates the search volume for terms in Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Additionally it links to other useful tools including Google Trends, Google Suggest, and Yahoo! Suggest for the terms searched for.
Unlike the Google Adwords Keyword Tool, the tool from SEOBook.com just has one simple box to enter terms in and it the daily search volume, as opposed to the monthly search volume.
This tool is powered by Wordtracker which requires a subscription for further analyzation of the results.
Wordtracker
Wordtracker is a subscription based tool that allows for keyword research and analysis. A subscription costs $329 a year, or $59 a month.
For those on a budget, Wordtracker offers a free tool that has fewer features than the paid version. Wordtrackers free tool generates up to 100 related keywords and gives the estimated daily search volume. The free tool is a great starting point, but SEO Professionals will find the free tool to be a bit basic and may opt for the 7 day free trial of the paid version.
For more information on on search engine optimization tools please see Free SEO Tools.
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