Keyword research with free tools
Before you cook, you look in the fridge to see what you already have. Before you write, you look at what words people already use to find you, and what words they are starting to use.
Before this course: SEO Basics: Get Found on Google (course 3.8). You should already know crawling, indexing, serving, search intent and the basic on-page items. This course applies and combines them.
- The Performance report in Google Search Console shows four measures: clicks (times a user clicked your site from Google Search results), impressions (how many times your site appeared in Search results), CTR (clicks divided by impressions) and average position (the position of the topmost result from your site).
- You can look at the data by query, page, country, device, search appearance and date. The default view covers the past three months.
- The report does not show everything. Tables show a maximum of 1,000 rows, and queries searched very few times, or containing personal or sensitive information, may not be tracked.
- Data normally becomes available within 2 to 3 days. A newly added site can take up to a week to show data.
- A query with many impressions but few clicks is a chance: you appear, but people do not choose you. Better titles, snippets or a more focused page may help.
- Google Trends shows values from 0 to 100 that reflect a topic's share of all searches. They show relative popularity, not absolute search volume. Terms with very few searches can appear as "0". It is not a scientific poll.
- Google Trends is good for comparing two topics, seeing seasonality and noticing growth. It does not tell you how many searches a keyword gets.
- Autocomplete suggestions and the "People also ask" box (from the beginner course) still help you find real wording.
| Tool | Best for | Careful about |
|---|---|---|
| Search Console | Words people already use to find your site | Only shows your own site; hidden rare queries |
| Google Trends | Comparing topics, seasons, growth | Relative scale, not search volume |
| Autocomplete and People also ask | Real phrases and questions | Suggestions change and are filtered |
- Open Search Console for your site and go to Performance, then Search results.
- Set the date range to cover at least three months.
- Open the Queries tab and sort by impressions. Copy the top 20 into a sheet.
- Add the clicks, CTR and average position for each query.
- Mark queries with many impressions and few clicks as "improve".
- Open Google Trends and compare your two best topic ideas. Note which is higher and whether either has seasons.
- Add three autocomplete phrases for each topic.
- Check: you have a sheet with query, impressions, clicks, position and one note per row. If you have no site yet, use a practice site or only do steps 6 and 7.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "You do not need paid tools to start keyword research. You need two free ones."
[Screen: Search Console Performance report, Queries tab] "Search Console shows the real words people typed before they clicked your site. Look at impressions, clicks, CTR and position."
[Text on screen: Many impressions, few clicks = chance] "Lots of impressions but few clicks? You show up, but nobody picks you. Fix the title and the page."
[Screen: Google Trends comparing two topics] "Google Trends compares topics. The numbers are relative, from zero to one hundred. They are not search counts."
[Host] "Use both together: real queries to improve, Trends to choose."
Export or copy your top 20 queries from Search Console. Mark three "improve" queries and write what you would change on each page. If you have no data yet, compare 3 topic ideas in Google Trends and write which you would write about first and why.
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I'm learning "SEO Content & Keywords: research and on-page work" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Keyword research with free tools". What the lesson teaches: - The Performance report in Google Search Console shows four measures: clicks (times a user clicked your site from Google Search results), impressions (how many times your site appeared in Search results), CTR (clicks divided by impressions) and average position (the position of the topmost result from your site). - You can look at the data by query, page, country, device, search appearance and date. The default view covers the past three months. - The report does not show everything. Tables show a maximum of 1,000 rows, and queries searched very few times, or containing personal or sensitive information, may not be tracked. - Data normally becomes available within 2 to 3 days. A newly added site can take up to a week to show data. - A query with many impressions but few clicks is a chance: you appear, but people do not choose you. Better titles, snippets or a more focused page may help. - Google Trends shows values from 0 to 100 that reflect a topic's share of all searches. They show relative popularity, not absolute search volume. Terms with very few searches can appear as "0". It is not a scientific poll. - Google Trends is good for comparing two topics, seeing seasonality and noticing growth. It does not tell you how many searches a keyword gets. The exercise I'm working on: Export or copy your top 20 queries from Search Console. Mark three "improve" queries and write what you would change on each page. If you have no data yet, compare 3 topic ideas in Google Trends and write which you would write about first and why. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Keyword research with free tools" from the course "SEO Content & Keywords: research and on-page work". Here's what the lesson says: Before you cook, you look in the fridge to see what you already have. Before you write, you look at what words people already use to find you, and what words they are starting to use. The activity: Export or copy your top 20 queries from Search Console. Mark three "improve" queries and write what you would change on each page. If you have no data yet, compare 3 topic ideas in Google Trends and write which you would write about first and why. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- Search Console Help, Performance report (Search results): support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553?hl=en
- Search Console Help, Performance data: support.google.com/webmasters/answer/96568?hl=en
- Google Trends Help, How Trends data is adjusted: support.google.com/trends/answer/4365533?hl=en
Read the search results before you write
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Plan a content cluster and internal links
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Titles, snippets and headings that earn clicks
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Images and structured data
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Duplicate pages, canonicals and content refresh
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Using AI safely, measuring and a 90-day plan
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Final project
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Quiz
What does the Performance report measure?
Clicks, impressions, CTR and average position.
What does a query with many impressions and few clicks suggest?
People see the page but do not choose it; improve the title, snippet or page.
Does Google Trends show search volume?
No, it shows relative popularity from 0 to 100.
How do you check search intent before writing?
Search the keyword and study what types of pages Google shows.
What is a content cluster?
A hub page plus support pages, linked together with descriptive anchor text.
Which link kind can Google generally crawl?
An a element with an href attribute.
Is there a limit on title length in Google Search?
No limit, but titles are truncated to fit the device width.
Which image attribute does Google call the most important metadata?
Alt text.
Which structured data format does Google recommend?
JSON-LD.
Is rel canonical a command?
No, it is a strong signal; Google may choose differently.
What should you do with AI-generated content before publishing?
Fact-check and review it, including titles, alt text and structured data.
Final exam
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Certificate
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