The Best Keywords Tools | Keyword Research and Trends

There are a variety of good methods to find the latest trends of what people are searching for, buying, and doing.

This is an important part of SEO and Marketing.

You can use these free keyword reports and tools for not only improving your website or pages so they come up better in the searches, but also for coming up with the most searched for topics, thus leading to potentially more traffic.

You can use Google Trends to find the latest searches for each day.

Google Trends analyzes a portion of Google web searches to compute how many searches have been done for the terms you enter, relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time. We then show you a graph with the results -- our search-volume graph -- plotted on a linear scale.

Below the search and news volume graphs, Google Trends displays the top cities, regions, and languages in which people searched for the first term you entered.

Hot Trends reflects what people are searching for on Google today. Rather than showing the most popular searches overall, which would always be generic terms like "weather," Hot Trends highlights searches that have sudden surges in popularity. Our algorithm analyzes millions of web searches performed on Google and displays those searches that deviate the most from their historic traffic pattern. The algorithm also filters out spam and removes inappropriate material.

For each search, Hot Trends shows related searches, a search-volume graph, and the top cities. We also display news, blog, and web results to help give context about why a search may be appearing on the Hot Trends list today. Hot Trends is updated hourly. You can also choose a date in the past to see what the top Hot Trends for that date were.

With Google Trends you can see key search behaviors such as:

* "fireworks" spikes right before 4th of July
* "Costume" spikes a few weeks before Halloween
* "Gift" or "present" trends before Christmas
* "Valentines" spikes right before Valentines Day
* "Egg" spikes before Easter
* "Dad" shoots up before Fathers Day

Google Trends

This tool is based upon actual Google search queries. They are matched to specific pages within your website with your ad and search share.

As Google states, the tool "generates keyword and landing page ideas highly relevant and specific to your website. In doing so, the tool helps you identify additional advertising opportunities that aren't currently being used in your AdWords ad campaigns. The tool goes one step further by tailoring the keywords and other data (such as the amount of competition for the keyword, the suggested bid, and more) based on your language or country/territory settings."

What is the difference between the Search-based keyword tool and the Google Adwords tool?

"The main difference between the Search-based Keyword Tool and the Keyword Tool currently in AdWords is that the former generates keyword ideas based on your website, and identifies those currently not being used in your AdWords account. Additionally, the Search-based Keyword Tool provides more detailed data for each keyword, such as category information, suggested bid that may place the ad in the top three spots of a search results page, and ad/search share. Both tools, however, offer the option of browsing all keywords across all categories."

Google Search-based keyword tool

One thing you will find is that the best tool to use is the google search box. Not on googles home page but in your browser.

Use Firefox browser and use the google search box (located in the upper right corner of the Firefox browser).

Example:


Begin typing any one letter like "f". It will automatically fill the search box with first, all the searches you've made starting with that letter but under that will be "suggestions", that's what you want.

With "f" you'll find "facebook, firefox, friendster" etc. These are the top searched for sites.

Next type in a second letter, like "a". Now you see the most popular search terms that start with "fa", like "family guy, fandango", etc.

You continue on using this method to determine the best keywords.

We can't forget the always reliable Google Adwords Keyword Tool. It is tied to data from Google searches, Google Adsense, and Google Adwords.

This is truly the best tool out there, in my opinion. If you sign up for Adwords you get even more information. It will show you the keywords, but also suggest alternatives, and then will also show you how many clicks per month those keywords generate.

Google Adwords Keyword Tool

Use the Keyword Tool to get new keyword ideas.

With Google Insights for Search, you can compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, time frames and properties.

Google Insights

As you type your search, Google's technology provides alternative suggestions to your queries in real time.

The keyword search suggestions will display beneath your current search.

Google Experimental Search

Found here for the Google Labs site.

A Google battle between two keywords. It is a comparison of the keywords and provides a smily face representation, and a nice chart. It's more entertaining than informative.

Google Battle

Although not hugely informative, there are some gems of information from Hitwise. This is from their Retail Section of Hitwise.

Combine this with other trend and keyword research tools.

Hitwise

Get 230% More Traffic than any keyword research alone. You can acquire relevant keywords, LSI, misspellings of Long Tail keywords, competitor keywords for SEO, PPC and AdSense.

Keyword Country Tools or Free Keyword Tool from Keyword Country

There is an excellent keyword tool that is freely available from Wordtracker.

You can enter a starting keyword to generate up to 100 related keywords and an estimate of their daily search volume.

Wordtracker Free Keywords

Also, if you use Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 2 you can add the Wordtracker Keywords search to your browser. If you don't have Firefox, please click here to download.

This tool forecasts the impression count and predicts demographic distributions of keywords.

Keyword Forecast Tool

Another tool to learn about keyword usage on the search engines.

Keyword Discovery Tool

Trends Buzz provides up to the minute information about top search and topic trends across multiple platforms.

These include Google Hot Trends, Yahoo Buzz, Twitter, The New York Times, and Search.com.

Trends Buzz

You can see the top sales on Amazon for a variety of categories. These are the biggest gainers in Amazon.com sales rank over the past 24 hours. This provides you with great information as to what is selling and what is not. Not only that, but as you type in a search Amazon's A9-powered search engine will give you top search suggestions.

Amazon Movers and Shakers Search

The eBay merchandising team combs trade magazines, gathers predictions from respected industry experts, and looks at eBay sales data to determine what's in demand.

Here's the scoop on which hot products will be promoted on the home page, emails, and buyer catalog this season.

Ebay What's Hot and Ebay Pulse

TrendHunter.com is the world's largest community dedicated to trend spotting & cool hunting. The community was launched in 2005 by Jeremy Gutsche, an innovation expert who wanted to build a community for new business ideas and creativity.

Routinely sourced by the media, Trend Hunter is a source of inspiration for industry professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs and the insatiably curious.

Breakthrough ideas and strategic advantage hinge on the ability to anticipate trends and identify the next big thing. By tracking the evolution of cool, Trend Hunters generate ideas, stimulate creativity, and ultimately unlock cool.

Trend Hunter