Can Keyword Research Be Done Without a Tool?


If you’re like most people, you’re probably wondering: Can keyword research be done without a tool? 

But what if I told you that you CAN do keyword research without a tool?

Yes, it’s possible — but I don’t recommend it.

Here’s what you need to know, including tips for finding the best keywords for your website.

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Can Keyword Research Be Done Without a Tool?

Can keyword research be done without a tool?

Yes, keyword research can be done without a tool; however, it may be more difficult and time-consuming to do so.

There are several ways to conduct keyword research, and a tool can help streamline the process.

Additionally, a tool can provide insights and data that you may not be able to obtain otherwise.

Why Is Keyword Research Important?

Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing the words and phrases that people are using to search for information on the internet.

Without keyword research, it would be very difficult to determine which words and phrases to target in your content to attract the right audience.

Additionally, keyword research can also help you to understand what type of content your audience is looking for.

Keyword research is a vital part of any content marketing or SEO strategy. It can help you to understand your audience and target your content more effectively.

What Are the Different Types of Keywords?

Keyword research is important for any business with an online presence. 

There are different types of keywords that businesses can target.

These include short-tail keywords, long-tail keywords, and local keywords. Short-tail keywords are general keywords that are not very specific.

Long-tail keywords are more specific and are often less competitive. Local keywords are keywords that are specific to a certain location.

Businesses should choose keywords that are relevant to their products or services. Targeting keywords that are too general will result in a lot of competition.

Targeting too specific keywords may result in few people searching for them. The best keywords are ones that are specific enough to be relevant but not so specific that there is little competition.

Steps for Performing Keyword Research With or Without a Tool

Here are a few steps you can take to perform keyword research:

1. Define Your Goals

Before you start your research, it’s important to define your goals.

  • What are you hoping to accomplish with your research?
  • Are you trying to increase traffic to your website?
  • Or are you trying to rank for certain keywords?

Knowing your goals will help you focus your research and make it more effective.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Who are you trying to reach with your website? Knowing your target customers is essential to effective keyword research.

3. Brainstorm Potential Keywords

Once you know your goals and target audience, it’s time to start brainstorming potential keywords. What terms would your audience use to find your website?

4. Use Keyword Research Tools

There are a number of free and paid keyword research tools available online. These SEO tools can be helpful in identifying potential keywords, as well as estimating the search volume and competition for those keywords.

5. Analyze the Results.

Once you’ve identified a list of potential keywords, it’s important to analyze the results. Which keywords have the highest search volume? And which keywords have the lowest competition?

This information will help you prioritize your keywords and determine which ones are most likely to help you achieve your goals.

Keyword research is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy. And while a tool can certainly make the process easier, it is still possible to do keyword research without one. 

Choosing the Best SEO Keywords for Your Website

If you’re running a website, the most important thing is to make sure you’re using the right keywords.

But how do you know which keywords are the right ones?

There are a few things to consider when choosing keywords for your website:

First, think about what your website is about.

  • What are the main topics of your website?
  • What are the products or services you offer?

Once you understand your website’s topics, you can start to brainstorm potential keywords. Try to think of different ways to describe your website or your products.

For example, if you sell shoes, you might want to use keywords like “shoes”, “footwear”, “sandals”, “flats”, or “heels.” Once you have a list of potential keywords, you can start to research which ones are most popular.

There are a few different ways to do this. One way is to use a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner.

Another way is to simply do a Google search for your potential keywords. Look at the search results and see which websites come up most often.

This can give you an idea of which keywords are most popular. Once you’ve narrowed down your keyword list, you can start to optimize your website for those keywords.

This means using those keywords in your website’s title, in your website’s description, and in the content of your website.

Using the right keywords makes sure your website comes up more often in search results, which can help you attract more visitors.

 
Key Takeaway: To choose the right keywords for your website, consider your website’s topics and the products or services you offer. You can also research which keywords are most popular. Once you have a list of keywords, you can optimize your website for those keywords.

Tips for Effective Keyword Research

 Here are a few tips to help you get started with keyword research:

1. Know Your Audience

This is critical when doing any type of research, but especially when trying to figure out the best keywords to target.

  • Who are you writing for?
  • What are their needs and wants?
  • What are they searching for online?

2. Use Keyword Research Tools

While you can technically do keyword research without any tools, it will be much more difficult and time-consuming. Many great tools are available that can help you find the right keywords, including Google Keyword Planner and Moz Keyword Explorer.

3. Think Like a Searcher

When you’re doing keyword research, it’s important to think like someone who is actually searching for information online. What terms would they use? What type of results are they looking for?

4. Use Long-tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer and more specific phrases that are less competitive and easier to rank for. For example, “how to do keyword research” is a long-tail keyword.

5. Don’t Forget About Local Keywords

If you’re targeting a local audience, be sure to include local keywords in your research. For example, “dentists” is a general keyword, but “dentists in Plano TX” is a local keyword.

6. Keep Track of Your Keywords

Once you’ve identified a few potential keywords, tracking them over time is important to see how they’re performing. Tracking your keywords will help you determine which keywords are worth targeting and which ones you should ditch.

7. Get Help From an Expert

If you’re still struggling to do keyword research on your own, consider working with an experienced SEO professional. They can help you identify the best keywords for your business and ensure that you’re using them effectively.

10 Best Keyword Research Tools in 2023

As a marketer or SEO professional, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends in your industry. This includes understanding the different keyword research tools available and which ones might be the best fit for your needs.

Here are 10 of the best keyword research tools available in 2023, including both paid and free options.

  1. Google Keyword Planner
  2. KWfinder
  3. Moz Keyword Explorer
  4. Semrush
  5. Ahrefs
  6. Serpstat
  7. Keywordtool.io
  8. Wordtracker
  9. Soovle
  10. Google Trends

Which keyword research tool is best for you will depend on a number of factors, including your budget, the needs of your business, and your personal preferences.

Google Keyword Planner is a good option if you’re just getting started with keyword research. It’s free to use and provides a good amount of data, including keyword search volume, CPC, and competition.

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive keyword research tool, KWFinder, Moz Keyword Explorer, and Semrush are all excellent choices. They offer a wide range of features and data, including keyword difficulty, SERP features, and organic click-through rate.

Finally, if you’re on a tight budget, many free keyword research tools are available, including Soovle, Google Trends, and Q&A sites like Quora and Reddit.

No matter which keyword research tool you choose, the important thing is to use the data you gather to improve your search engine optimization and content marketing strategies.

Conclusion

So, can keyword research be done without a tool? Yes — keyword research can be done without a tool. However, it’s important to choose the right keywords for your website to ensure it is visible to potential customers.

Thanks for reading, and we hope this blog post was helpful!

Looking for Content?

Creating lots of great content — and scaling your content marketing — has never been easier.

With Content at Scale, you can add 1, 20, 50, or even 100 keywords that you want to rank for. Then, within minutes, CAS will write high-quality long-form blog posts for each keyword — from start to finish!

creating content in content at scale

That means everything: title, meta description, introduction, all the way to the conclusion, with minor human intervention. Just like THIS post! That means you can get content published daily to your blog for as low as $0.01/word.

Ready to try it out? Check out how simple it is to scale your content marketing.

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About the author

Julia McCoy

Julia McCoy is an 8x author and a leading strategist around creating exceptional content and presence that lasts online. As the VP of Marketing at Content at Scale, she helps marketers achieve insane ROI (3-10x their time back at 1/3rd the cost) in a new era of AI as a baseline for content production. She's been named in the top 30 of all content marketers worldwide, is the founder of Content Hacker, and recently exited her 100-person writing agency with a desire to help marketers, teams, and entrepreneurs find the keys of online success and revenue growth without breaking.

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