What’s the best free keyword research tool for 2020?

General
1

I’m just getting serious about SEO for a small blog and I’m overwhelmed by all the keyword tools out there. I’ve tried a few free options but most feel limited, hide data, or push hard for paid upgrades. I need a truly useful free keyword research tool for 2020 that can help me find low-competition keywords, estimate search volume, and plan content topics without blowing my budget. What tools are you using that actually work, and how do you use them for maximum SEO impact?

2

Short answer for 2020: use a combo, but start with Ahrefs Webmaster Tools + Google tools. No single free tool gives you everything.

Here is a simple stack that works for a small blog without paying.

  1. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT)
    • Free account
    • Connect your site
    • You see real keywords your pages rank for
    • Position, impressions, clicks, CTR
    • Use it to:
    – Find what you already rank on page 2–3 for
    – Update those posts, add missing subtopics, improve titles
    This gives you “real” data, not guesses.

  2. Google Search Console
    • 100 percent free
    • Search Results → filter by page → queries
    • Export to Sheets
    • Sort by impressions, then look at positions 8–20
    • These are your easiest wins
    Example: If a post sits at position 12 with 3k impressions, improve that post first.

  3. Google Keyword Planner
    • Needs a Google Ads account, no need to spend
    • Set to “Exact match”
    • Use it to get:
    – Rough volume ranges
    – Related terms
    Ignore the “competition” column for SEO. That is for ads.

  4. Free version of Keywords Everywhere
    • Install the browser extension
    • Use the free “People also search for” and related keywords ideas
    • Great for expanding a seed keyword into subtopics and FAQs

  5. AnswerThePublic or AlsoAsked
    • Free tier is limited but usable
    • Plug in your main topic
    • Grab long tail questions for H2s and FAQ sections

Simple workflow you can follow:

Step 1: Start in Search Console
• Find a page that already gets impressions
• List the queries where you rank between 10 and 30

Step 2: Validate in Keyword Planner
• Take 5–10 of those queries
• Check volume range
• Focus on 10–100 or 100–1k ranges for a small blog

Step 3: Expand with AnswerThePublic or AlsoAsked
• Grab question keywords
• Turn those into subheadings in the same article

Step 4: Spy on the SERP, no tool needed
• Google the main keyword
• Check:
– Titles and H2s of the top 5 results
– “People also ask” questions
• Make sure your article covers every key angle they cover, plus some gaps

Step 5: Track with Ahrefs AWT
• After updates, check again in 2–4 weeks
• Look for better positions and more clicks

If you want a single free “research” tool, Ubersuggest was the easiest in 2020, but the free limit and paywall get annoying fast. The combo above gives you more data and no hard upsell in your face every 5 minutes.

You do not need huge volume. If your blog is new, target long tails like “best [topic] for [group]” or “how to [niche task] without [pain]”. Volume 10–100 is fine. 5 posts that get 50 visits a month each still get you 250 targeted visitors, and those are much easier to rank for than some fat head keyword.

3

If you’re looking for one “best free keyword tool,” you’re kinda chasing a unicorn. @reveurdenuit’s stack is solid, but I’d approach it a bit differently, especially for a tiny blog.

If I had to crown a single “best” free-ish tool for 2020-style blogging: Google itself + Search Console + manual SERP analysis beats most of the fancy UI toys.

Here’s what I’d do that’s not just repeating their steps:

  1. Start with Google autocomplete
    Type your seed topic and slowly add letters:

    • “best running shoes” + “f” → “for flat feet,” “for beginners,” etc.
      Every suggestion is a real query. Copy them into a sheet. No tool will be fresher than that.

  2. Abuse “People also ask” and “Related searches”

    • Click open a bunch of “People also ask” questions
    • New ones appear as you click
    • Scroll to the bottom for “Related searches”
      This is where the weird long-tails show up that tools usually under-report.

  3. Use Search Console less like a report, more like a content radar
    Slight disagreement with @reveurdenuit: I wouldn’t only chase positions 8–20.
    Also watch:

    • Queries with low impressions but super-relevant intent
    • Queries that hint at a slightly different post (“how to X faster” vs “how to X”)
      A small blog can win micro-intent searches that tools think are “too small.”

  4. Try Keyword Surfer instead of Keywords Everywhere
    If KE’s free tier annoys you, Keyword Surfer (Chrome extension) gives:

    • Rough volume in the search bar
    • Side panel with related keywords
      Works directly in Google so you never leave the SERP.

  5. Use Ubersuggest only as a pattern finder
    I kinda disagree with calling it the easiest single tool. The limits and nagging are maddening.
    What it is useful for:

    • Looking for clusters of similar long-tails
    • Getting ballpark volume buckets, then you validate via Google/your own brain

  6. Don’t obsess over “best” keyword, obsess over “best angle”
    For each topic:

    • Check top 5 results
    • Ask: “What are they not covering that a real beginner would ask?”
      That missing angle is more valuable than trying to find a “secret” keyword volume number.

If you absolutely need a “tool answer” in one word:
Google Search Console is the closest thing to “best free tool,” because it is your real traffic, not guesswork. Everything else is just helping you interpret and expand what GSC is already telling you.

And honestly, for a small blog in 2020 or now: volume 10–100 + laser-focused intent > chasing some shiny free tool with pretty graphs.

4

If you’re hunting for a single “best free keyword research tool for 2020,” I’d actually nominate Google Search Console plus Google Trends as the real core, and then layer other stuff around them.

Since @reveurdenuit already laid out a smart stack focused on Google itself and SERP mining, I’ll come at it from a slightly different angle: less about finding initial ideas, more about prioritizing and validating them so you don’t waste time on a small blog.

1. Why I’d put Google Search Console at the center

For a tiny site, your biggest problem is not data quantity, it is noise. Third-party tools estimate “what people might be searching.” Search Console shows what people actually used before landing on your pages.

Pros of building around Search Console:

  • Direct data from Google, no guesswork
  • Shows impressions + clicks + CTR + position
  • Reveals weird long-tail queries you would never type into a tool
  • Perfect for uncovering content refresh opportunities

Cons:

  • You need some existing traffic first
  • No fancy “difficulty” metrics
  • Interface can feel clunky for deep analysis
  • Data capped at 16 months without exporting

A small but powerful workflow that is different from the usual “grab positions 8–20” advice:

  • Sort by clicks, filter by a specific page, and see which queries already work. That tells you what angle Google trusts you for.
  • Then sort by impressions for the same page and find related queries with very low CTR. Often, the keyword is mentioned only once or not at all. Add a section or subheading that addresses that query properly.
  • Finally, export queries for a whole content category, cluster them by hand in a sheet, and you’ll see “topic families” for future posts that fit your site’s existing footprint.

This is the closest thing to a “best free keyword research tool” you’ll get because the data is about your blog, not some generic database.

2. Pair it with Google Trends to avoid dead topics

Where I slightly disagree with the “Google/autocomplete only” approach: for 2020 and beyond, you really do not want to build a content plan on topics that peaked five years ago.

Use Google Trends to compare topic interest over time:

  • Check if your main theme is stable, rising, or tanking
  • Compare two variants of a keyword (for example, “how to start a blog” vs “blogging for beginners”) and see which has a stronger or more stable interest curve
  • Spot seasonal spikes so you know when to publish and republish

No other free tool does trend-vs-trend comparisons with this level of reliability. Third-party tools often lag or smooth over seasonality in ways that mislead small blogs.

3. Where simple third-party tools still help

While I agree that UIs and freemium limits can be annoying, I would not throw out third-party tools completely. They are useful for relative comparisons, not absolute numbers.

Use any free or “free-ish” keyword tool to:

  • Group similar long tails into clusters
  • Get very rough volume brackets: “almost no one,” “some search,” “decent search”
  • See which competitor pages rank for a big chunk of related phrases

Treat those numbers like weather forecasts, not physics.

4. Choosing the “best” keyword is overhyped

The other thing I partially disagree with: it is not just about the “best angle.” For a small blog you need the intersection of:

  1. Real search behavior (Search Console + SERPs)
  2. Non-dying interest (Trends)
  3. Something you can cover uniquely well (your actual experience)

Sometimes that means writing the “obvious” topic but going obsessively specific for a certain audience segment, rather than hunting bizarre ultra-long tails only tools see.

Bottom line: If you need a single name to hang your hat on, call Google Search Console your “best free keyword research tool for 2020,” then layer Google Trends and occasional third-party checks on top. @reveurdenuit is right that Google’s own ecosystem beats most flashy dashboards, but the real win is using that data to decide what not to write, which is where Trends and ruthless pruning of weak topics come in.