The Free Keyword Tool FAQ

Below is a list of frequently asked questions regarding The Free Keyword Tool.To skip ahead, please make use of the handy table of contents to the right. If you have a question not listed here, shoot us a note and we'll be sure to answer it and add it to the list.

What are people saying about the Free Keyword Tool?

Here are some testimonials from industry experts who have used The Free Keyword Tool:

"If you find that commercial keyword research tools like WordTracker and Keyword Discovery can't deliver on each of your needs, try WordStream's Free Keyword Tool. It is simple enough that anyone can get started in seconds, yet more advanced options like filtering and exporting keep our team members coming back for more. Any dedicated SEM/SEO understands the need for real, actionable keyword research. In a time where most willingly pay for multiple commercial tools, it's refreshing to see one free tool deliver great results that render the others useless."

- Eric D. Lander, Search Engine Marketing Consultant

"This generous gift from WordStream provides a nifty interface that is a fast and easy way to identify long-tail keywords and to filter out negative terms across all keyword segments. That's pretty impressive for a free keyword research tool!"

- Greg Meyers, PPC Expert and Author of SemGeek.com

Is the Free Keyword Tool really completely free?

Yes, the Free Keyword Tool is 100% free. You can use it as much as you want, for as long as you want. And unlike other keyword tools, we don't limit you to the first 100 free keyword suggestions and then make you pay for the rest – we email you the top 10,000 keywords for any search, free of charge!

Where does the Free Keyword Tool get its data?

WordStream purchases volumes of keyword search data through industry partnerships with:

• Internet Service Providers
• Browser Toolbars
• Search Engines

Then we apply sophisticated statistical models to aggregate the different keyword data sets, applying different weightings so the keyword suggestions aren't overly biased toward one particular source, and apply powerful semantic algorithms to compute related terms.

Unfortunately, due to Non-Disclosure Agreements that we have entered into with our partners, we are unable to provide more details.

What is the CAPTCHA and why do I have to fill it out?

We use the CAPTCHA to verify that you're human and to prevent abuse from bots. This frees up computing resources so the tool can run faster. To avoid filling out the CAPTCHA form, you can sign up for a Free Keyword Tool account, which is also (you guessed it) free.

If I use WordStream's keyword management solutions, will my private keyword data be used for the Free Keyword Tool?

Absolutely not. If you're familiar with WordStream, you may know that we also provide a suite of keyword management solutions for conducting proprietary keyword discovery, keyword research and keyword organization. The private keyword data provided by WordStream users is in no way shared or integrated with the Free Keyword Tool. For more information, see section 4 of our Master Subscription Agreement.

What is relative volume?

Relative volume is our estimate of how often a particular keyword is searched on. A higher relative volume means that the keyword is searched on more frequently.

How accurate are the keyword suggestions and relative volume data?

We believe that our keyword suggestions and relative volume estimates are the most comprehensive and accurate of any keyword suggestion tool.

How did you make it so accurate?

The WordStream Free Keyword Tool was designed to generate more accurate keyword suggestions than the Google keyword tool and other keyword tools by aggregating over 1 billion unique keywords, representing over a trillion search queries, and hundreds of millions of related terms from diverse keyword sources. By doing so, we're able to provide a more comprehensive and less biased mix of both head and long-tail terms for you to use in PPC and SEO activities.

How Does the Free Keyword Tool compare to other Keyword Suggestion Tools?

• More: Leverage the most comprehensive and relevant keyword suggestion tool ever.
• Faster: Near instantaneous computation of keyword suggestions and related terms.
• Free: Enough said!

Keyword tools in general are well known for providing highly dubious keyword suggestions and search estimates. In designing the Free Keyword Tool, our goal was to devise a means to overcome known problems with existing keyword tools. For example, we've found that:

• Google's keyword suggestion tool has a tendency to favor the most popular keyword suggestions (so called "head terms") while greatly overestimating keyword search volume. We've also noticed that the tool is a bit slow in returning results.
• Wordtracker and other keyword tools that draw from unpopular search engines like Metacrawler and Dogpile tend to favor less popular keyword searches (so called "long-tail" terms), and the results aren't particularly accurate or actionable, either.

Here's a quick visual of why we think the Free Keyword Tool adds more value than traditional keyword research tools:

Why are you giving away the Free Keyword Tool for Free when so many companies charge for this?

In a nutshell, we think keywords should be free. For more information, read WordStream founder Larry Kim's blog post on this subject.

How does WordStream make any money by providing a Free Keyword Tool?

WordStream also sells keyword management solutions – innovative next-generation keyword tools for discovering, analyzing, grouping and organizing large numbers of keywords, with the objective of prioritizing, collaborating and acting on keyword data to build and optimize your PPC and/or SEO search marketing campaigns.

What’s the difference between a Free Keyword Tool Account and a Keyword Management Account?

Keyword Tool Account	Keyword Management Account
Purpose: Free Keywords!	Purpose: To organize, manage and optimize your keywords!
Cost: FREE!	Cost: Varied

 I already signed up for a Keyword Tool Account.  How do I sign up for a Keyword Management Trial Account?

Simply visit this page and enter the same email address and password you used for the Keyword Tool Account.  Once you agree to the terms and conditions, WordStream will generate and email you a profile name.

I already signed up for a Keyword Management Trial Account.  How do I sign up for a Keyword Tool Account?

Good news—you already have one! Sign in here with the same email address and password you used to create your Keyword Management Account.

What is the added value of purchasing WordStream's keyword management solution? Why not just stick with the free tool?

Keyword research is an important step in the search marketing process, but not the only step. To succeed in the long term, you need actionable tools and strategies to enable ongoing keyword discovery, organization and analysis – what we call keyword management. Some search marketers use Microsoft Excel for keyword organization, but Excel wasn't designed to handle keywords. The WordStream keyword management solution was built specifically with the needs of search marketers in mind. It has a number of advantages over Excel:

• It's dynamic and actionable
• It's easy to maintain and update
• It easily aggregates data from multiple sources
• You can create complex relationships between data sets
• It's scalable and collaborative

To learn more about WordStream's keyword management software:

• Sign up for a free trial
• Watch the video demo
• Download one of our white papers

Where can I find documentation about the Free Keyword Tool?

We've published a brief 1-minute video tutorial that demonstrates how to use the Free Keyword Tool, including how to generate keyword suggestions, find related terms, and how to filter results.

Is there an API for the Free Keyword Tool?

Yes, we offer a Keyword Tool API so you can imbed the tool in your own sites and applications. The API documentation is available online.

Where are the "Adult" keywords?

Currently we're filtering out R-Rated keywords but we're planning to make this optional in the near future.

What’s the status of the Free Keyword Tool? What kinds of features are planned for the near future?

The Free Keyword Tool is currently in a public beta, and we're constantly looking for ways to improve it. If you have any comments, questions, or feature requests, please contact us.