Keyword research without paid tools: Planning to write 20 pages, where should I start?

Just open a spreadsheet and make 20 rows right away. Columns: Target Page, Primary Search Term, Subheading Questions, and Competitor URL. Copy the questions from the search engine's "people also ask" box into this sheet. You'll have your outline ready in two days.

In our catering business, we wrote our first 25 pages without a single paid tool, relying strictly on autocomplete and related searches. By the end of month six, we hit 3,200 monthly organic unique visitors and averaged 8 corporate quote requests a week. It definitely works without paid tools.

edit: fixed a few typos.

The biggest mistake beginners make is obsessing over search volume. You're running a B2B business; your goal isn't millions of clicks, it's reaching the 50 companies that will order snack boxes for their office. The long-tail questions suggested by search engines carry direct buying intent.

Free methods are great for finding intent, but you risk wasting time writing for hyper-competitive keywords you can't rank for. If you target broad terms dominated by big competitors, those 20 pages might not even crack the top 50, so make sure you stick to super niche terms.

Here's how to do competitor analysis: 1) Open the sitemap.xml of your top 3 competitors in your browser, 2) Map out their category and blog URL structures, 3) List the topics they focus heavily on, and cover what they missed on your own pages—like office delivery details, billing, and subscription options.

the volumes paid tools show are just estimates anyway. if google autocompletes it in the search box that means real people are searching for it. dont spend money on those tools just focus on content quality.

Putting your budget into samples was totally the right call. In B2B a great sample box and a clear, well-written corporate ordering guide will bring in clients way faster than any SEO software ever could.

edit: I wrote something wrong above, sorry about that.

I paid for expensive tools for months on a similar startup in the past and built lists of hundreds of keywords. In the end, the highest-converting pages were super specific, low-volume ones like "office fruit basket subscription" that we randomly spotted in the search bar. Paid software just speeds things up; for 20 pages, manual research is more than enough and teaches you a ton.

We got stuck at the same point for a while. A competitor's ranking might come from years of accumulation, not just their content.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

Thanks a lot, I'll try it today.

Im in the same situation, thats why Im asking. If its your first time, start small; scaling comes later.

I felt relieved reading this answer, so it's not just me. A page that answers one question works better than one touching on five topics.

That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

I'd say don't rush. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

If you post the result here, it will help others too.

My question might sound amateurish, sorry about that. When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand.

Good luck with that.

There's a trap here, let me mention it. If you get three different answers on a topic, the question was asked wrong.

When making decisions, write down the worst-case scenario too, not just the best. Proven by experience.

I don't think this advice fits everyone. Don't hesitate to ask; those who don't ask always pay more.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

if I understood correctly youre saying: Hasty decisions become decsions you have to fix six months later.

a page with low traffic might be reaching the right people but i mean look at wheer sales come from.

Same here.