No, you don’t need to pay for much when you first get started on your blogging journey, as everything you need is freely available, including free keyword research.
Google Search Console
Hands down, my #1 free SEO tool – period.
It shows you:
- what keywords your site already ranks for
- impressions, clicks, CTR, and average position
- indexing issues
- sitemap status
- mobile usability issues
This is real search demand data from Google – not a guess, and if you’re not checking this weekly, you’re flying blind – check “Pages” and “Queries” every week and optimize the posts that are close to ranking higher.
Google Analytics (GA4)
Not strictly SEO, but still essential.
It will show you:
- which pages keep people on your site longest
- where traffic comes from
- user behavior flows
SEO isn’t just about ranking – it’s also about engagement and conversions, so make sure you look at “Engagement” metrics (e.g., average engagement time) and improve pages where people leave too fast.
And remember, a high bounce rate isn’t automatically a bad thing.
Google Keyword Planner
This will show you:
- approximate search volume
- keyword ideas
- related queries
It gives you real search volume ranges from Google, even without an ad campaign – use it to validate niche terms like “how to fix X problem” vs broad terms like “tool reviews.”
Google Trends
Not a traditional SEO tool, but massively useful.
This will show you:
- rising topics
- seasonal patterns
- regional interest
Great for spotting trends before they become competitive – plug in your niche terms to see which queries are gaining interest year-over-year.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Yes, Bing. And it matters.
Similar to Search Console, but:
- different keyword data
- backlinks report
- site scanning tools
With Bing, you get free keyword and backlink insights that Google doesn’t show, and make sure you verify your site there too – double the data, zero cost.
PageSpeed Insights (Google)
Quick and free. Google cares about mobile.
Shows if your page is “mobile OK,” plus.
- issues to fix
- usability insights
Mobile usability matters, and many new sites tank here, so make sure you contantly test your pages.
It doesn’t have to be 100, or even 70, just make sure it is not taking ages and you don’t have big errors to fix.
Screaming Frog (Free Lite Version)
The free version has a crawl cap, but it’s still useful.
It will crawl your site and show:
- broken links
- missing titles
- duplicate content
- Little issues easy to miss
Run it once a month to catch issues.
Google Alerts
Free, and underrated.
Google Alerts will sens you notifications when your keywords (or your brand) show up online – you can track mentions, opportunities, trends, and backlink chances.
Google People Also Ask Boxes
Not a tool – but a tool.
Search a term and expand the “People Also Ask” questions, as these are real related queries Google considers relevant.
Answer 3–5 of them inside your post.
Reddit + Niche Forums (Free Research Tools)
Not traditional SEO, but Reddit is an SEO goldmine, where you get to see real questions and real phrasing – the terms people actually use.
These are rankable queries are often buried in natural language – not tools, where you can turn hot questions into posts with long-tail titles
SERP Scraping With AI Prompts (Free or Very Cheap)
Did you know you can prompt AI to analyze page one titles and generate unmet angles?
Example prompt to use:
“Here are the top 10 ranking titles for [keyword]. What questions are they ignoring?”
Then you write what those pages didn’t answer, and uncover gaps which = low competition pockets.
If You’re Starting With No Authority…
Free tools matter more than paid ones.
Paid tools are faster – but free tools teach you intuition, and will do more for your learning in the long run than paid tools.
Because once you learn search intent, SERP patterns, and real user language, you really don’t need a subscription to find ranking opportunities.
