Leveling the Playing Field with Free Keyword Research Tools for Local SEO

Local SEO is the backbone of digital visibility for businesses that serve specific geographic areas. Whether you’re a small business owner or a marketing manager, ranking higher in local search results can significantly impact your website traffic and revenue. However, many local businesses face challenges such as budget constraints and a lack of in-house SEO expertise. 

Want to make sure you’re getting the absolute most out of this? I’ve got a great resource for you: Paul’s article ‘How to Do Keyword Research for Local SEO.’ It’s a perfect companion to this guide!

Keyword research is the foundation of any successful local SEO strategy. Knowing what your local customers are searching for helps ensure your business appears at the right time with the right solutions. Fortunately, several free keyword research tools for local SEO can provide valuable insights without requiring a hefty investment.

In this guide, we’ll review, compare, and provide actionable tips on using five of the best free keyword research tools for local SEO:

• SEMrush
• Google Keyword Planner
• Ubersuggest
• Answer the Public
• Google Trends

By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to leverage these tools to boost your local SEO strategy.

Why Keyword Research is Non-Negotiable for Local SEO Success

Understanding Local Keywords

Local keywords are the words and phrases people use when searching for nearby services or products. For example, instead of searching for “plumber,” a user might type “best plumber in [city]” or “emergency plumber near me.”

These keywords are crucial because they help local businesses connect with potential customers who are ready to make a purchase.

Benefits of Local Keyword Research

• Understanding Local Audience Behavior: Discover what your local customers are actually searching for.
• Identifying Content Opportunities: Create blog posts, service pages, and FAQs based on popular local queries.
• Refining Content Strategy: Focus on high-value keywords that align with your business goals.
• Improving Local Search Rankings: Rank higher for relevant local search terms and appear in Google’s Local Pack.
• Driving More Conversions: Reach customers at the exact moment they’re looking for your services.

Reviews of the Best Free Keyword Research Tools for Local SEO

SEMrush

SEMrush is a powerful all-in-one SEO tool with features for keyword research, competitor analysis, and content optimization. While its free plan has limitations, it is still one of the best keyword research tools for local SEO on the market.

Free Features for Local SEO

• Keyword Overview: Check search volume, trends, and competition levels.
• Organic Research: Analyze what keywords your local competitors rank for.
• Keyword Magic Tool: Discover related and long-tail keywords.

SEMRush offers a comprehensive summary of keyword metrics, including volume, CPC, and competition in paid search.

The Keyword Magic Tool is powerful for in-depth keyword analysis and building lists of related and long-tail keywords broken down into topic-specific subgroups, which is vital for creating your overall keyword strategy. 

The free plan does have limitations on the number of reports you can pull per day and the number of keywords you can track.

SEMRush is an incredibly robust keyword research tool for local SEO, but it can be overwhelming for beginners due to the vast amount of data and specialized tools. Thankfully, they do provide a vast range of resources, including their own courses, to help you get the most out of this tool.

Actionable Tips

• Use Organic Research to find competitor keywords in your city.
• Leverage the Keyword Magic Tool to generate local, long-tail keywords.

Check out this article for a more detailed and hands-on look at Local SEO keyword research with SEMRush.

Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is designed for advertisers, but is an incredibly useful keyword research tools for local SEO that you can adopt into your strategy right away.

Google Keyword Planner provides search volume estimates and keyword suggestions based on your industry and location.

Free Features for Local SEO

• Discover new keywords: Get keyword ideas relevant to your business and location.
• Search volume data: Understand how often keywords are searched in your target area.
• Location targeting: Filter keyword results based on specific cities or regions.

Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that helps advertisers build keyword lists, but it is also a powerful tool for keyword research.

Google Keyword Planner allows you to generate keyword ideas (usually for estimating ad bids), but you can use the same sampling of keywords to build a list for your site. 

Just like SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner shows search volume for keywords, but an added insight is the forecasts for keywords. This will help you with seeing trends in your industry as well as filling in knowledge gaps in your Google Analytics reporting.

Another helpful capability is that Google Keyword Planner allows you to discover new keywords by entering products or services closely related to your business. This tool even offers location and language targeting suggestions for your keyword research.

This tool is ultimately intended for PPC advertisers, and the search volume is only given in ranges and is not always super-accurate.

In my opinion, it does not replace the need for organic keyword research because it only gives ideas that are very closely related to what you type in, which can limit discovery of broader terms.

Mini-Tutorial: How to Find Local Keywords

1. Log in to your free Google Ads account and open Keyword Planner.
2. Select Discover New Keywords.
3. Enter your core service/product (e.g., roof repair).
4. Set the location filter to your city or region.
5. Review the keyword list and look for terms with local intent like “roof repair near me” or “roof replacement [city name].”
6. Export your list and group keywords by intent: services, questions, and comparisons.

Pro Tip: Compare your list to competitor websites by plugging in their URL into Keyword Planner to uncover gaps.

Ubersuggest

Created by Neil Patel, Ubersuggest is one of the most user-friendly keyword research tools for local SEO. It offers insights into search volume, competition, and related keyword ideas.

Free Features for Local SEO

• Keyword suggestions: Find local keyword variations, questions, and comparisons.
• Content ideas: See what type of content performs well in your niche.

Ubersuggest specializes in generating new keyword ideas and long-tail versions of search terms, even offering different types of keyword suggestions like related questions, prepositions, and comparisons. 

Ubersuggest is also available as a Google Chrome extension that provides keyword data directly in Google, YouTube, and Amazon searches. 

As an added benefit, Ubersuggest will also give you content ideas to see what content is performing well for a keyword.

While the Chrome extension is free, more detailed analysis and features are part of paid plans, so you may not be able to truly harness the value of the extension with a free subscription.

There are also some grumblings online about the lack of features and in-depth link analysis, as well as questions on the accuracy of its metrics.

Actionable Tips

• Search for “[your service] [your city]” to get location-specific keyword ideas.
• Use the comparison feature to identify customer decision-making searches.

Answer the Public

Answer the Public provides a unique approach by visualizing search queries based on real user questions. It pulls data from Google Autocomplete and categorizes searches into “who,” “what,” “when,” and “how.” This makes it one of the most unique keyword research tools for local SEO.

Free Features for Local SEO

• Question-based keyword discovery: Find common customer concerns.
• Visual keyword map: Identify content opportunities based on user queries.

This tool excels at keyword discovery, showing the questions people ask with a simple keyword search. This helps you generate content ideas by revealing what people are searching for relative to your topic.

The data is also presented in a unique, visual format (questions, prepositions, comparisons, alphabetical lists, related searches), making it easy to understand the results.

The free version of this tool limits you to only 3 searches per day, but if you’re working on one page at a time, this may work just fine for you.

Answer the Public does not provide an in-depth analysis of performance like search volume and competition in the free version. 

I would say that this tool is an initial first step in your keyword research process that you can combine with other free keyword research tools for local SEO that can really round out your keyword research process.

AnswerThePublic Mini-Tutorial:

1. Visit AnswerThePublic.
2. Enter your keyword + location (e.g., “plumber Chicago”).
3. Review the visual “question wheel” to see what real people are asking.
4. Export the data and use questions as blog post titles or FAQ content.

Pro Tip: Answering location-based questions (like “How much does a plumber cost in Chicago?”) boosts your chances of ranking in Google’s People Also Ask boxes.

Google Trends

Google Trends shows search interest over time, allowing businesses to identify trending keywords and seasonal patterns.

Free Features for Local SEO

• Compare keyword popularity over time.
• See search trends by location.

Google Trends shows you what people are searching for in real time and measures search interest in a particular topic, place, and time.

It’s useful for finding trending keywords and related rising and breakout searches, allowing you to be at the forefront of content trends.

You can also compare search interest in a topic across different locations. 

As far as metrics, Google Trends only shows relative search popularity, not absolute search volume, so you would need to use another tool to gain that information. 

There are no detailed keyword metrics like CPC or competition that are found in other tools. But it is more useful for understanding trends rather than specific long-tail keyword ideas.

Using Google Trends in combination with other keyword research tools for local SEO gives you a more robust approach to keyword research in general.

Google Trends Mini-Tutorial:

1. Go to Google Trends.
2. Enter your main keyword (e.g., “HVAC repair”).
3. Use the Location dropdown to select your state, city, or metro area.
4. Scroll down to Related Queries to see trending searches.
5. Filter by Rising to catch new local keyword opportunities before competitors do.

Pro Tip: Track seasonal spikes (like “AC repair” in summer) to time your campaigns for maximum leads.

Comparing and Contrasting Keyword Research Tools for Local SEO

When choosing the right keyword research tool for local SEO, it’s essential to consider the specific needs of your business. 

Each tool has its strengths, from Google Keyword Planner’s precise location targeting to Answer the Public’s ability to uncover local customer queries. SEMrush provides competitive insights, while Ubersuggest generates creative long-tail keyword ideas. Google Trends is invaluable for tracking seasonal shifts in local search behavior. 

The table below summarizes these key differences, helping you determine which tool—or combination of tools—best fits your local SEO strategy.

Analyzing the table above, it’s clear that each tool brings unique strengths to the table for local SEO keyword research. 

SEMrush provides detailed competitor insights, while Google Keyword Planner offers accurate search volume estimates for location-specific keywords. 

Ubersuggest is excellent for long-tail keyword discovery, Answer the Public helps uncover common customer questions, and Google Trends highlights seasonal and trending search patterns. 

By understanding these strengths, local business owners and marketers can strategically use the right keyword research tools for local SEO strategy for their specific needs, whether it’s content creation, competitive analysis, or trend monitoring.

Combining Tools for a Winning Local SEO Strategy

To maximize the effectiveness of your local SEO strategy, it’s best to use these keyword research tools for local SEO in combination rather than relying on just one. 

• Start with Answer the Public to gather common questions and concerns potential customers have about your business. 
• Then, use Google Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest to refine these ideas into specific keywords with search volume data. 
• SEMrush can help identify the keywords your competitors are ranking for, providing additional opportunities. 
• Finally, Google Trends allows you to track how interest in certain keywords fluctuates over time, ensuring your strategy stays relevant. 

By leveraging the strengths of each tool, you can develop a well-rounded, data-driven keyword research strategy that improves your local search rankings and drives more targeted traffic to your business.

Crafting Your Local SEO Strategy:

Actionable Tips Using These Free Keyword Research Tools for Local SEO

• Understand Your Local Audience: Use Answer the Public to identify customer concerns.
• Find Local Keywords: Use Google Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest to generate a list of relevant search terms.
• Analyze Competitors: Use SEMrush to find what keywords your competitors rank for.
• Monitor Trends: Use Google Trends to track keyword popularity in your area.
• Plan Your Content: Prioritize keywords with good search volume and create content around them.
• Optimize for Local Intent: Incorporate “near me” searches and local schema markup on your website.

Empowering Local Businesses with Free Keyword Insights

Mastering local SEO doesn’t have to be expensive. 

By using free keyword research tools like SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, Answer the Public, and Google Trends, you can gain valuable insights into your local audience, optimize your content strategy, and improve search rankings.

Want us to do the heavy lifting? Get a free local SEO audit and keyword roadmap tailored to your business. Fill out our Free Marketing Audit form to the right, and we’ll help you jump right into local SEO with both feet!

If you’re not ready to make the jump just yet, our article on the deep work of local SEO experts may give you additional insights on local SEO professionals’ approach to keyword research.

Frequently Asked Questions About Keyword Research Tools for Local SEO