Keyword Research Tools for Small Websites

Starting a small website can feel like shouting into an empty room. You have a great product, a helpful blog, or a beautiful portfolio, but no one seems to hear you. The problem often isn’t your content—it’s the words you’re using.

This is where keyword research comes in. It’s simply the process of discovering the exact words and phrases your future customers type into Google.

For a small website, this isn’t about competing for huge, generic terms like “shoes.” It’s about finding the specific, less crowded phrases that real people use when they’re ready to buy or learn. These are called long-tail keywords.

The best part? You don’t need a big budget to do this. There are powerful keyword research tools for small websites that are either free or very affordable.

This guide will walk you through the best tools and a simple strategy to find the golden keywords that will bring your first loyal visitors.

Why Keyword Research is a Superpower for Small Sites

Imagine you sell handmade leather wallets. You could try to rank for “wallets,” but you’d be competing with giant corporations like Amazon and Walmart. You’ll lose that battle every time.

Instead, what if you targeted these phrases?

• “durable leather wallet for men”
• “handmade bifold wallet”
• “how to break in a new leather wallet”

These are long-tail keywords. They have three key advantages for small websites:

1. Less Competition: Fewer big websites are trying to rank for these specific phrases, giving you a real chance to be seen.
2. Higher Intent: Someone searching for “best wallets” might just be browsing. Someone searching for “handmade bifold wallet” is much closer to making a purchase.
3. Easier to Rank For: With less competition, your new or small site can rank on the first page of Google much faster, giving you a crucial early win.

The Best Free & Affordable Keyword Research Tools

You don’t need a $200/month tool to get started. Here are the best keyword research tools for small websites that deliver huge value without a huge price tag.

1. Google Keyword Planner: The Industry Standard (Free)

What it is: A free tool within Google Ads. You don’t need to run ads to use it; you can just create a free account.

What it tells you:

• Keyword Ideas: You seed it with a basic idea (e.g., “yoga mat”), and it suggests hundreds of related keywords.
• Search Volume: It shows you how many times a keyword is searched per month on average.
• Competition: It indicates how competitive (and expensive) that keyword is for advertisers, which is a good proxy for how hard it will be to rank organically.

Best For: Getting reliable, direct-from-Google data on search volume and finding a wide range of keyword ideas. The Small Website Advantage: It’s perfect for finding those mid-to-low volume long-tail keywords that are your sweet spot.

2. AnswerThePublic: The Question Finder (Free & Paid)

What it is: A visual tool that shows you the questions people are asking about any topic.

What it tells you:

• It creates a “mind map” of questions starting with Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.
• It also shows prepositions (for, with, without, near) and comparisons (vs, and).

Best For: Content creation. This tool is a goldmine for blog post ideas, FAQ pages, and video topics. The Small Website Advantage: By creating content that directly answers these questions, you are almost guaranteed to match a real searcher’s intent. It’s like having a direct line to your audience’s curiosity.

3. Ubersuggest: The All-in-One Workhorse (Freemium)

What it is: A user-friendly tool created by marketer Neil Patel. It has a very generous free plan.

What it tells you:

• Keyword ideas, search volume, and SEO difficulty.
• It also shows “Keyword Suggestions” which are great related terms.
• You can even see the top pages that rank for a keyword, so you know what you’re up against.

Best For: Small website owners who want a simple, all-in-one dashboard without the complexity of bigger platforms. The Small Website Advantage: The “SEO Difficulty” score is incredibly helpful. You can instantly filter for keywords with a low difficulty score, which are perfect for a new site.

4. Google Search Console: Your Personal Keyword Coach (Free)

What it is: A free tool from Google that shows you how your website is performing in search results.

What it tells you:

• The actual search queries that people used to find and click on your website.
• Your average ranking position for those queries.

Best For: Finding low-hanging fruit and understanding what you’re already doing right. The Small Website Advantage: This is your most valuable data. If you’re ranking on page 2 for a certain keyword, that’s a huge opportunity! You can focus your efforts on that phrase to push it to page 1 and get more traffic.

5. AlsoAsked.com: Uncover the “People Also Ask” Goldmine (Freemium)

What it is: A tool that visualizes the “People Also Ask” questions from Google’s search results.

What it tells you:

• It shows you how questions branch out and relate to each other, revealing the entire structure of a topic.

Best For: Creating comprehensive, in-depth content that covers a topic from every angle. The Small Website Advantage: By building content that answers a whole cluster of related questions, you can create a “pillar” page that becomes the ultimate resource on that topic, signaling great authority to Google.

Your Simple 4-Step Keyword Research Plan for Small Websites

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be. Follow this simple process.

Step 1: Brainstorm Your “Seed” Topics List out 5-10 broad topics related to your website. If you have a website about indoor plants, your seeds might be: “houseplants,” “plant care,” “succulents,” “watering plants,” “best soil for plants.”

Step 2: Use the Tools to Expand Your List

• Plug each seed topic into Google Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest.
• Export or write down all the suggested keywords, focusing on ones that are specific (long-tail) and have a low-to-medium competition score.

Step 3: Find the Questions Take your most promising seed topics and plug them into AnswerThePublic or AlsoAsked.com. Add these questions to your list. These will be your future blog posts or video titles.

Step 4: Analyze and Choose Your Targets Look at your final list. Prioritize keywords that have:

• Low Competition: (Easy to rank for)
• Clear Intent: (The searcher likely wants exactly what you offer)
• Relevance: (Perfectly matches your page’s content)

What to Do With Your Keywords

You’ve found your golden keywords. Now what?

• Page Content: Use your main product or service keywords on your sales pages. (e.g., “handmade leather bifold wallet”).
• Blog Posts: Use your question-based keywords as blog post titles. (e.g., “How Often Should I Water a Succulent?”).
• Meta Tags: Place your primary keyword in your page’s title tag and meta description.

Conclusion

For a small website, the goal of keyword research isn’t to win the internet. It’s to find your niche audience and serve them exactly what they’re looking for. By using these keyword research tools for small websites, you can stop guessing and start intentionally attracting visitors who are pre-disposed to love what you do.

Start with one tool, follow the 4-step plan, and be patient. Your first 1,000 visitors are out there, searching for you with the very words you’re about to discover.

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