💡 Keyword Suggestions Tool
By Shihab Mia · Updated 2026-06-29
Enter a value and click the button. 2 free lookups per day.
This keyword suggestions tool turns a single seed keyword into a clean list of related keyword ideas, each with its monthly search volume, average cost per click and a difficulty score. Type a topic such as "email marketing", click the button, and the keyword suggestions tool returns the data sorted with the highest-volume ideas at the top so the biggest opportunities are easy to spot. It is free, runs in your browser, and is built for fast topic and content planning rather than guesswork.
What is the Keyword Suggestions Tool?
A keyword suggestions tool exists to answer one practical question: given a topic you care about, what are the actual phrases people type into search engines around it, and how much demand does each one have? Instead of brainstorming keywords from your own head (where you only know the words you already use), you start from one seed term and let real search data fan out into dozens of related ideas. That shift, from imagined keywords to measured ones, is the whole point of keyword research, and it is what separates content that quietly gets traffic from content that no one ever searches for.
Each suggestion this keyword suggestions tool returns carries three numbers. Monthly search volume is the average number of searches that phrase gets per month, which tells you how big the audience is. CPC, or cost per click, is roughly what advertisers pay for a click on that term, which is a useful proxy for commercial intent: a high CPC usually means buyers, not just browsers, are searching. Difficulty is a 0 to 100 style estimate of how hard it would be to rank on the first page, blending how strong the current top results are. Read together, these three let you judge each idea on demand, value and effort in a single glance.
The results are sorted with the highest monthly volume first. That default is deliberate. When you are scanning a long list of keyword ideas, the terms with the most demand are almost always the ones worth reading first, either as primary targets or as signals of what the wider topic looks like. From there you can scroll down into the longer, lower-volume phrases, which are the long tail keywords that are often easier to rank for and convert better because they are more specific. A good keyword strategy usually pairs one or two higher-volume head terms with a cluster of these long tail variations.
It is important to be honest about what these numbers are. Search volume and difficulty are estimates, not exact counts pulled live from Google. They are modelled from large clickstream and search datasets, so they are excellent for comparing keywords against each other and for spotting trends, but two different SEO tools will rarely show the identical number for the same phrase. Treat the volume as "roughly this many searches, and clearly bigger or smaller than that other keyword" rather than as a precise guarantee. Used that way, the keyword suggestions tool is reliable for the decisions it is meant to support: which topics to write about and in what order.
Because this keyword suggestions tool pulls live data from a paid provider on every lookup, it does not run automatically when the page loads, and it is limited to 2 free lookups per day. That keeps the tool genuinely free to offer while still giving you real, current numbers rather than a stale cache. When you have used your two daily lookups, the tool tells you clearly and asks you to return the next day.
When to use it
- Expanding a single content topic into a full list of related keyword ideas before you start writing.
- Finding long tail keywords with lower difficulty that a smaller or newer site can realistically rank for.
- Sizing demand for a niche by comparing the monthly search volume of every suggested phrase at once.
- Spotting commercial keywords (high CPC) when you are planning pages meant to drive leads or sales.
- Building topic clusters by grouping the suggestions into one head term plus several supporting articles.
- Sanity-checking a keyword you already had in mind against the real related terms people actually search.
How to use the Keyword Suggestions Tool
- Type a seed keyword into the box. A broad topic like "email marketing" returns more ideas than a very narrow phrase.
- Click "Get keyword suggestions" to fetch live keyword ideas. The tool does not run on page load, so nothing is spent until you click.
- Read the table from the top: suggestions are sorted by monthly search volume, highest first, with CPC and difficulty alongside each one.
- Scroll down into the lower-volume rows to find long tail keywords that are usually easier to rank for.
- Use the "Copy all" button to copy the full list (tab separated) into a spreadsheet or your content planner.
- Note the "free lookups left today" counter. You get 2 free lookups per day, so pick your seed keywords deliberately.
Formula & method
Worked examples
A blogger wants to plan a series of posts around the seed keyword "email marketing".
- Enter "email marketing" and click Get keyword suggestions.
- The tool returns related ideas such as "email marketing software", "email marketing services" and "email marketing examples", each with a monthly volume.
- Because the list is sorted by volume, the highest-demand terms sit at the top as candidate primary keywords.
Result: The blogger picks one high-volume head term for a pillar page and three lower-volume long tail keywords for supporting posts, all from a single lookup.
A small business owner is checking whether a niche has enough demand to be worth targeting.
- Enter the niche seed keyword and run the tool.
- Scan the monthly volume column: if even the top suggestions show only a handful of searches, demand is thin.
- Check the CPC column for commercial intent on the terms that do have volume.
Result: A quick read of volume plus CPC tells the owner whether to invest in content for this niche or look at a broader topic instead.
How to read each column in the keyword suggestions tool
| Column | What it means | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword | A phrase people actually search, related to your seed term | Your candidate page topic or heading |
| Monthly volume | Estimated average searches per month (an estimate, not exact) | Higher means more potential traffic; compare terms against each other |
| CPC | Average cost per click advertisers pay, in US dollars | Higher CPC usually signals stronger commercial or buyer intent |
| Difficulty | A 0 to 100 style estimate of how hard ranking would be | Lower difficulty is easier to rank for, good for newer sites |
Rough difficulty bands (estimates, treat as guidance not guarantees)
| Difficulty score | Band | Typical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 14 | Very easy | Realistic for brand-new sites with focused content |
| 15 to 29 | Easy | Achievable with solid on-page SEO and a little authority |
| 30 to 49 | Medium | Needs good content plus some links or topical authority |
| 50 to 69 | Hard | Competitive; expect to need real backlinks and depth |
| 70 to 100 | Very hard | Dominated by strong sites; usually a long-term target |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Chasing only the highest-volume keywords. The biggest numbers at the top of the list are also the most competitive. A newer site often gets more actual traffic by targeting several lower-volume long tail keywords than by losing to giants on one head term.
- Treating the volume as an exact, live Google number. Search volume here is an estimate modelled from large datasets via DataForSEO, not a precise live count from Google. Use it to compare keywords, not as a guaranteed traffic figure.
- Ignoring search intent behind the words. Two keywords with the same volume can have completely different intent. A high CPC hints at buyer intent, but always read the keyword itself and the real results before deciding what kind of page to build.
- Using a seed keyword that is too narrow. A very specific or unusual seed returns few ideas. Start broader, get the full list of suggestions, then drill into the sub-topics you find.
- Forgetting the 2-per-day free limit. Each lookup calls a paid data source, so you get 2 free lookups per day. Plan your seed keywords before clicking rather than burning a lookup on a typo.
- Picking keywords with no related product or page. High volume is worthless if the keyword does not match anything you offer. Choose suggestions you can genuinely write a useful, relevant page for.
Glossary
- Keyword suggestions tool
- A tool that takes one seed keyword and returns a list of related search phrases (keyword ideas), usually with volume and difficulty data.
- Seed keyword
- The starting topic or phrase you enter. Everything the tool suggests is generated around this seed.
- Search volume
- The estimated average number of times a keyword is searched per month. An estimate, useful for comparing keywords rather than as an exact count.
- CPC (cost per click)
- The average amount advertisers pay for one click on ads shown for that keyword. A handy proxy for commercial intent.
- Keyword difficulty
- An estimated 0 to 100 style score of how hard it would be to rank on the first page for a keyword, based on how strong the current top results are.
- Long tail keyword
- A longer, more specific search phrase with lower volume but usually lower difficulty and clearer intent, which often converts well.
- Search intent
- The goal behind a search: informational, commercial, navigational or transactional. It decides what kind of page best satisfies the query.
- DataForSEO
- The third-party search-data provider this tool queries for keyword ideas, volume, CPC and difficulty. The figures it returns are modelled estimates.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the keyword suggestions tool get its data?
The data comes from DataForSEO, a commercial search-data provider, which we query through our own rate-limited endpoint. The numbers (volume, CPC and difficulty) are modelled estimates from large search and clickstream datasets, not exact live counts pulled from Google in real time. They are accurate enough to compare keywords and spot opportunities, which is what the tool is designed for.
How accurate are the search volume numbers?
They are estimates, so treat them as approximate. Different SEO tools will show slightly different volumes for the same keyword because each models the data its own way. The relative picture (which keyword has more demand than another) is reliable; the exact figure is a best estimate rather than a guarantee.
Why is there a limit of 2 free lookups per day?
Every lookup calls a paid data source that costs money and quota, so to keep this keyword suggestions tool genuinely free we cap it at 2 free lookups per day. When you reach the limit the tool tells you clearly and asks you to come back the next day.
Why does nothing happen until I click the button?
The tool deliberately does not fetch data when the page loads, because each request costs quota. It only runs when you click "Get keyword suggestions", so you are always in control of when a lookup is spent.
How are the keyword suggestions sorted?
By estimated monthly search volume, highest first. That puts the biggest-demand keyword ideas at the top so you can scan opportunities quickly, then scroll into the lower-volume long tail keywords further down.
What is the difference between a head keyword and a long tail keyword?
A head keyword is short and broad with high volume and high competition, like "email marketing". A long tail keyword is longer and more specific with lower volume but usually lower difficulty and clearer intent, like "email marketing tips for small business". Most strategies use both.
Does the CPC column mean I have to run ads?
No. CPC (cost per click) is shown because it is a useful signal of commercial intent: a high CPC usually means advertisers are bidding because searchers are buyers. You can use that insight for organic content even if you never run a single ad.
Can I export or copy the keyword ideas?
Yes. After a lookup, click "Copy all" to copy the full list as tab-separated text, including keyword, monthly volume, CPC and difficulty. Paste it straight into a spreadsheet or your content planner.
Is the difficulty score the same as Moz Keyword Difficulty or Ahrefs KD?
No. The difficulty here is the score returned by DataForSEO, on a 0 to 100 style scale. It is a comparable signal of how competitive a keyword is, but it is a different provider and a different model than Moz or Ahrefs, so the exact numbers will not match theirs. Use it to compare keywords within this tool.
Why do some suggestions show a dash instead of a number?
A dash means the provider did not return that particular value (volume, CPC or difficulty) for that keyword. The keyword is still a valid suggestion; we simply show a dash rather than inventing a number, so you are never given false precision.