Here are a number of free and subscription-based tools you can use to research keywords for Pay Per Click and Search Engine Optimization projects.

Free Tools

Google AdWords

Just type in one or more keyword phrases and you'll get a list of recommendations. Google generates a broad list that includes both singles and plurals (e.g. “Philadelphia apartment” and “Philadelphia apartments”) of your keywords. Google also produces keywords that it thinks are synonymous with the ones you typed in. For example, “Philadelphia apartment” yields “Manayunk apartments” because Manayunk is a neighborhood in Philadelphia. The research for “Philadelphia apartments” yielded 201 recommendations and provided a bar graph for each that lets you approximate which keyword phrases are typed in the most frequently and how much competition you will have from other advertisers.

Yahoo Search Marketing, click on Keyword Selector Tool

Yahoo Search Marketing’s keyword research tool lets you type in one keyword phrase and returns a list of related search terms and how many times that keyword phrase was typed in the prior month. All of the keyword suggestions will include your keyword phrase, but also includes the singular and plural version of each word. Unfortunately, the list will not include keyword phrases typed in less than 25 times the prior months, so it’s not a complete list. The search for “Philadelphia apartments” yielded 56 suggestions. Interestingly, you’ll find that the most popular search phrase is not always the same from tool to tool. In this case, it was “apartment rental philadelphia pa”.

Subscription-Based Tools

Keyword Discovery


Keyword Discovery is not cheap, $69 per month or $49 a month if you prepay for the year. However, a free trial is available, so you can check it out and see if it’s worth the cost for you. It is for us, because it provides the most comprehensive list of keywords – including keyword phrases typed in less than 25 times per month. In particular, there are 1353 results for “Philadelphia apartments”. Keyword Discovery also lets you create and store your keywords into different “projects.” Projects can be exported into Excel. Keyword Discover is my primary keyword research tools. It isn’t cheap, but it’s been worth it for me because it provides me the most efficient way to produce a comprehensive and complete list of keyword phrases.

WordTracker

WordTracker is a profession keyword research tool. The major advantage is you can buy access to this tool by the day (about $8). It lets you type in one keyword phrase and control if you want to see results that include synonyms or “lateral” keywords. You can choose keywords to put in a virtual shopping “basket.” My search for “Philadelphia apartments” yielded 285 suggestions.

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