As online business owners, we have a barrage of keyword research tools at our disposal — free desktop software, free web-based tools, and paid versions of each of the above.  In other words — there are plenty of choices if we want to perform our own keyword research for our websites.  However, how do keyword research services fit into the equation?

First off, there is a patently wrong idea that tends to float around the internet, specifically with new, or inexperienced, online business owners, as well as with newer internet users in general.  That false information is the notion that, if you can do it yourself for free, there’s no point in paying for it.  What’s more incredible, though, is that some plainly-ignorant individuals scream “scam” when this situation occurs.  Just because somebody is charging for keyword research services when you can do the exact same thing yourself, without any out-of-pocket expense, doesn’t mean it’s a rip-off, or a scam.

Keyword research services are a service of convenience, much like auto dealerships who offer oil changes, or gas stations that offer automatic car washes.  Sure, you can change your own oil in your vehicle without paying for the labor, and you can wash your car at home without paying for the use of somebody else’s water, soap and wax.  Those are options, just as you can perform your own keyword research with freely available tools.  However, many people prefer the convenience of not having to do everything themselves — whether their time is too valuable, or they don’t have the skills, or tools, to perform the services that they are looking to hire out. 

Keyword research services play a much-needed role for today’s website owners. Many who are new to the online business or online marketing games simply do not know how to perform keyword research, and a decent percentage of those individuals don’t really care to learn how to do it.  For others, they have more money than they have time, and even if they know how to do the job themselves — it makes more sense for them to pay somebody to do their keyword research for them.  Most savvy business owners, especially when they have money to work with, will do what they do best, and outsource the rest so that they don’t waste time trying to save a few dollars while they lose hundreds.

While it has been alluded to, one of the benefits of purchasing keyword research services is that you are receiving expert advice on your keyword market, without having to pay the much-higher rates that professional search engine optimization firms will charge for the exact same services.   If somebody is offering keyword research services, there’s a very good chance that they’re quite competent at what they do, otherwise, even after a few customers, their bad reputation would spoil their chances of making a career out of their trade-of-choice.

So, to answer the question as to whether keyword research services are worth the price, in plain language, anyway — yes, they can be.  At the end of the day, they are a service of convenience, and if it’s more convenient for you to purchase keyword research services than to do the legwork yourself — how can it not be worth the price?

There are a great number of keyword and niche research tools on the market today and they vary in both price and effectiveness. In this article I want to take a look at three tools which are either fr5ee or offer a free trial.

 

The first and possibly most popular is the Google Keyword Tool which can be easily accessed by typing “keyword tool” into the Google search engine. You will have to key in a series of letters to show you are actually a human and you are then taken straight to the keyword search tool. You have the option of enter an exact, broad word or phrase into a box and after pressing “search “the  tool will then supply a selection of relevant keywords. There is also a guide to the competition for that word, Global and local searches and local search trends. It is a useful tool for initial keyword research.

 

The second is the service Wordtracker offers a free 7 day trial. Wordtracker has been around for a long time and provides a comprehensive keyword search facility. The basic trial is a restricted service and you are limited to the number of keywords can be generated. However, when you sign up for the 7 day trial there are a couple of useful bonuses such as an ebook and videos explaining how to use keywords. The full service also offers link building and  Strategizer  tools.

 

The final service is Market Samurai which is the newest of the three tools. It has been on the market now for about 18 months.

The complete program offers much more than just keyword research. Other features include rank tracking, competition analysis, content provision and site promotion. However, the trial version which can be accessed for free is basically their keyword research tool. This possibly contains more information offering details of SEO factors but also Adword traffic ands commerciality.

 

The advantage of Google Keyword tool is that it is totally free and can be used at any time. Wordtrackers trial only lasts for 7 days  and you must remember to cancel before the end of the 7 days if you do not want to automatically go onto their paid list. Market Samurai does not seem to have any limit on its trial but is obviously designed to attract you to its full service.

 

Which of the 3 tools you choose will really depend on how serious you are about keyword research . If you are serious about optimising your web site for traffic you may find that you will have to go beyond a free service. However they can be a very good starting point.