How to Find the Most Searched Keywords: 5 Free Tools for SEO

Download Article

The best ways to find out what keywords you should target for SEO

Co-authored by Ross Taylor and Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: June 6, 2024 Fact Checked

Download Article

Using Google Trends

|

Using Google Keyword Planner

|

Using Google Autocomplete

|

Using the Wordstream Free Keyword Tool

|

Checking your Website Analytics

|

Q&A

|

Tips

This wikiHow teaches you how to find popular and trending keywords using free tools on the web. Keywords are used in online marketing to improve search engine optimization (SEO), create meta descriptions, create ad campaigns, and boost social media relevance. Finding the most popular keywords of the moment can increase the effectiveness of your marketing.

Things You Should Know

The easiest way to find the most searched keywords is to use Google Trends, which provides up-to-date information on keyword popularity.
To find the most searched keywords for your ad campaigns, try Google Keyword Planner.
Your website's analytics tool can help you find the most searched keywords bringing people to your website.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Using Google Trends

Download Article

Go to https://trends.google.com/trends/ in a web browser. Google Trends is one of the most reliable tools for up-to-date information on what the world is searching for. You can use several tools on the site to find popular keywords.
The menu is at the top-left corner of the page. This page gives you lots of information about keyword popularity for specific periods of time.

Advertisement
3
Scroll down below the map to find popular topics and keywords. You'll see two columns: "Search topics" and "Search queries." Popular keywords appear in the "Search queries" column.^{[1]
X
Research source}
- Click the menu that says Rising at the top of the "Search queries" column and select Top to display the most searched keywords.
- Filter the most searched keywords by location, date, category, or Google product using the menus at the top.
- To check a keyword's popularity or find other keywords relating to a topic, use the search bar at the top of the page. You can then filter the results by date, region, and category to see how interest has increased or decreased over time.
4
Click the ☰ menu and select Trending Now. The menu is at the top-left corner of the page. This displays the top search trends of the day based on data collected by Google. The number of searches for each keyword appears on the far right of its entry.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- Scroll down to see popular trends from yesterday. Continue scrolling down for previous days.
- To see results by country, click the country menu in the blue bar (it should say your current country) and choose another.
5
Click Realtime Search Trends. It's in the blue bar at the top of the page. This displays up-to-the-minute updates to the popularity of various keywords for the past 24 hours.^{[3]
X
Research source}
- Click the All Categories drop-down to select a specific category to peruse.
- To see results by country, click the country menu in the blue bar (it should say your current country) and choose another.

Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Using Google Keyword Planner

Download Article

1
Open Google Keyword Planner. If you have a Google Ads account, you can use Keyword Planner to research popular keywords. To get to Keyword Planner, go to https://ads.google.com/aw/keywordplanner/home and log in with your Google account.
- Your Google Ads account must be set to Expert Mode to use Keyword Planner.^{[4]
  X
  Research source} If you see a wrench icon at the top-right corner of your Google Ads account, click it, then select Switch to Expert Mode.
You can search for any topic you want to find popular searched keywords for. Enter multiple keywords and topics to really narrow things down.
4
Find the most searched keywords in the "Avg monthly searches" column. The keywords at the top of the list are the most popular options.
- Pay attention to the value of the "Three month change" column. If there's a 0% or other low value, those keywords will likely continue being popular. If you see a high drop, such as -90%, using those keywords on your website or in your ad campaigns may not be beneficial.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Using Google Autocomplete

Download Article

1
Go to https://www.google.com in a web browser. One of the easiest ways to find trending keywords is to use Google's search autocomplete feature on their website.
- To come up with the best keywords, look at the auto-suggest feature in Google.
- When you type a question or something in the search panel, it autocompletes what you are typing. Those are the things other people are searching. They are keywords of high volume.
- For best results, you can get an account on Google ads and use their planning tool to find keywords with a high volume of searches called the Google Keyword Planner.
2
Start typing your search term(s). As you type, Google will report some popular searches based on what you've entered.^{[5]
X
Research source}
- Look for "head" keywords. These are the most popular terms. They are fairly general and the most expensive terms to bid on for pay-per-click (PPC) ads.
- Also look for long-tail keywords that relate to your site or products. These are the longer groups of 3 to 5 terms and phrases. They are the terms people use to search for a very specific item. They are less expensive to use in PPC ads and result in fewer searches, but result in the best targeted marketing.
Unlike other tools, there is no limit to how many times you can use this tool to find keywords.^{[6]
X
Research source}

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Using the Wordstream Free Keyword Tool

Download Article

1
Go to https://www.wordstream.com/keywords in a web browser. Wordstream's free keyword suggestion tool can help you establish the most effective words and phrases you can use in your campaigns.
- If you're using a third-party web browsing privacy extension like Privacy Badger, you'll need to disable it to use this tool.
- You can view 25 of the most popular keywords in Wordstream without paying for the service. There are also many alternatives to this site if you run out of searches, such as https://www.wordtracker.com.
2
Search for a keyword or category. Type a keyword or general topic into the search bar to find the most searched keywords relating to that topic.
- If you want to narrow down the results, you can set filters using the "Choose industry" and "Select Country" menus when prompted.
- To see how well some of the keywords on your website are performing, enter your URL into the search box instead.
Write down the new long-tail keywords to use with PPC (Pay Per Click) ads and SEO.

Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Checking your Website Analytics

Download Article

1
Find the section of your analytics program that logs incoming search terms. Your analytics tracker can provide information about what terms people use to find your site.
- If you are using, there is an automated analytics tool through the "Jetpack" program, as well as a more basic reporting tool that appears on your site's main dashboard.
- If you're using Google Analytics, you'll want to use Google Search Console for keyword research. Log in to the tool, click Performance, and then click Queries to see the most popular keywords bringing users to your website.
2
Keep track of these popular keywords. If a keyword brings you traffic, you'll want to keep including it in your SEO and PPC marketing. As you improve your SEO through the use of popular keywords, you can also see how these terms change or how searches decrease or increase in popularity.
- Your research into popular terms may change the search term listed in this area week by week. As you use hot topic keywords, launch marketing campaigns, and use long-tail keywords in your PPC ads, your popular search terms are likely to change.
- If the search terms listed in this area are extremely general, you can deduce that you have more competition for clicks with that search term. Targeting other keywords or producing higher-quality content can improve your search engine ranking.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

How do you find the top search result?

Community Answer

Finding out what your target audience searches for requires keyword research. Get to work on your content creation. Make your content more on-page SEO-friendly. Monitor your ranking for your desired keywords. Acquire backlinks. Make technical SEO optimizations.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 1 Helpful 0

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Tips

Try searching for keywords that bring traffic to your competitors' websites. Head over to https://www.wordstream.com/keywords and search for a competitor's website to see which keywords are working for them.

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0