Most keyword research advice assumes you have $99 a month to spend on Ahrefs or Semrush. Most bloggers don’t have that budget, and honestly don’t need it starting out. The free tools that exist in 2026 are good enough to do real keyword research without paying for anything at all.
This post is the process worth using if you were starting from scratch today.
What keyword research actually is
Keyword research has two goals worth keeping in mind at all times:
- Find phrases real people search for. If nobody searches it, ranking for it doesn’t help you at all.
- Pick phrases you can realistically rank for. If everyone with a bigger site is already ranking, you’ll struggle to break through.
That covers the core of it. Everything else is detail layered on top.
Start with seed terms
List 10 to 15 broad phrases that describe what your blog is about: “vegan recipes,” “travel on a budget,” “WordPress for bloggers,” or whatever your actual topics happen to be.
These are seeds. They’re too broad to target directly since they’re far too competitive, but they’re the starting point for finding the longer phrases you can actually rank for.
Expand with free tools
Google itself
The best free keyword tool is the Google search box itself, through two features worth using deliberately:
- Autocomplete. Type your seed term and look at the suggestions that appear. These are real searches people actually make.
- “People also ask” box. Partway down the results, Google surfaces 4 to 6 related questions. Click any of them and more appear below it, which makes this a genuine goldmine for topic ideas.
- “Related searches” at the bottom. Eight more related phrases wait at the end of the results page.
Spend 15 minutes on each seed term working through these three sources. You’ll generate 50 or more candidate keywords fairly easily this way.
Google Trends
Trends shows search interest over time, and it’s useful for a few specific things:
- Seeing whether a topic is rising or declining.
- Comparing two phrases to see which one gets searched more.
- Finding seasonal patterns you’d otherwise miss.
- Spotting related rising queries in the “Related queries” panel.
Answer the Public
Answer the Public generates question-based and preposition-based variations of a seed term. The free version gives you a few searches per day, which is still useful for surfacing the “how,” “what,” “why,” and “vs” variations you might not think of on your own.
Keyword Surfer (Chrome extension)
This free Chrome extension shows estimated monthly search volume directly inside Google’s search results. It’s not as accurate as the paid tools, but it’s more than enough for general orientation while you’re still narrowing candidates down.
Google Search Console
If your blog already gets some traffic, Search Console, which is free, shows which queries you’re already showing up for. Sort by impressions with low click-through rate. Those are keywords you almost rank for already, where small improvements to the post could win you meaningful traffic.
Understand search intent
Each keyword carries an intent behind it. Match your content to that intent or you won’t rank, no matter how well the post is written.
- Informational: “what is X,” “how does Y work.” The reader wants to learn something.
- Navigational: “WordPress login,” “Aurora theme demo.” The reader wants a specific page.
- Commercial: “best X for Y,” “X vs Y.” The reader is comparing options before deciding.
- Transactional: “buy X,” “X discount code.” The reader is ready to act right now.
Blogs win mostly on informational and commercial intent. Look at the top 10 results for your candidate keyword before you write anything. If they’re all listicles, your post needs to be a listicle too, or genuinely better than one. If they’re all how-tos, write a how-to instead. Don’t fight the intent the results are already telling you about. For more on matching content to what a search actually wants, see our guide on what SEO actually is for bloggers.
Gauge competition
Once you have a candidate keyword, check who’s currently ranking for it. Just search it and look closely at the top 10 results.
Ask yourself:
- How big are the sites ranking? If the top 10 are all major publications and Reddit threads, that keyword is genuinely hard.
- How recent are the posts? If most of the ranking posts are three or more years old, the topic is likely winnable with fresher content.
- How thorough are the posts? If the ranking posts are short and thin, you can realistically outwork them.
- Are any of them from smaller bloggers? If yes, the keyword is realistically winnable for a site like yours.
The honest test is this: look at the smallest site in the top 10. Is your site comparable to that one? If yes, you have a real shot at ranking. If the smallest site in the top 10 is ten times bigger than yours, pick a less competitive keyword instead.
The long-tail rule
New blogs win on long-tail keywords, meaning specific, multi-word phrases with lower search volume but far easier competition to break into.
- “Recipes” is impossible for a new blog. Major sites own this term outright.
- “Vegetarian recipes” is still very hard to break into.
- “Easy vegetarian dinner recipes” is possible but still competitive.
- “Easy vegetarian dinner recipes for picky toddlers” is realistically winnable.
The longer and more specific the phrase, the lower the competition tends to be. Total traffic per keyword is lower this way, but conversion is higher, and the cumulative traffic across many long-tail wins adds up fast over time.
The simple process
- List 10 to 15 seed terms.
- For each seed, generate 20 to 50 candidates using Google autocomplete, People Also Ask, related searches, and Answer the Public.
- Filter for intent, keeping only keywords you can actually answer well in a blog post.
- For each shortlisted candidate, look at the top 10 results and cut anything dominated by sites ten times your size.
- Pick 5 to 10 winnable keywords. These become your next 5 to 10 posts.
- Repeat this exercise quarterly as your site grows.
A focused afternoon is usually enough time for the first full pass.
Once you have rankings
After six or more months of consistent publishing, your Google Search Console becomes the most valuable keyword tool you have access to. It shows what you’re already ranking for, including phrases you never deliberately targeted. Use this data to:
- Update existing posts to better answer queries you’re almost ranking for.
- Find new post ideas from queries that bring impressions but no clicks yet.
- Identify which topics on your blog are pulling their weight, then double down on those.
If you’re updating older posts based on this data, it’s worth reading our guide on how to update old posts without losing rankings first, since the wrong kind of edit can undo the gains you’re chasing.
What the paid tools add
Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz add several things free tools genuinely can’t match:
- More accurate search volume estimates.
- Backlink data on competitors.
- Faster bulk research across large keyword lists.
- Difficulty scores per keyword.
All useful, none essential when you’re starting out. Ahrefs itself offers a free keyword generator that covers a surprising amount of ground before you’d ever need the paid plan. If your blog is generating real revenue, the monthly cost of a paid tool becomes a reasonable expense. Until then, free tools are enough to do this properly.
If you’re picking keywords for a brand-new blog on a theme like Aurora, resist the urge to target your absolute favorite topic first. Start with whichever winnable keyword has the least competition, publish it, and let that early win build momentum before you tackle harder topics.
Where this leaves you
Keyword research is finding phrases real people search for and picking ones you can win. Free tools (Google itself, Trends, Answer the Public, Keyword Surfer, Search Console) cover the work. Look at the actual top 10 results to gauge competition, not just volume numbers. Go long-tail until you’ve built authority. Once you have rankings, Search Console becomes your best free keyword tool. Skip paid tools until your blog is making money.
