Building your SEO keyword list is arguably the most important step of search engine optimization. Selecting the right keywords can help give you a tremendous boost in qualified visitors to your web site. The wrong keyword list however may result in attracting visitors to your site that are not interested in your products or services. In this post we will list 5 research tools to help you discover the keywords that can lure your target audience to your site.

1. Wordtracker: A keyword research database that provides data of how many daily searches a keyword phrase receives and how many web pages compete for that phrase. Cost as of this writing: Offered as a Free Trial, Annual Subscription of $329 or Monthly Subscription of $59.
2. Keyword Discovery: A keyword research tool that offers statistics from all major search engines worldwide. Services include keyword research, spelling mistake research, seasonal search trends, keyword density analysis and domain research. Cost as of this writing: Offered as a Free Trial, $69.95/month ($599.40/year) for the Standard Edition or $199.95/month ($1,895.00/year) for the Professional Edition.
3. Insights for Search: A Google product that allows you to compare search volume patterns of keywords according to selected categories, geographic locations and seasonal time frames. Cost as of this writing: Free.
4. Search-based Keyword Tool: Another Google product that offers keyword ideas based on actual Google search queries. Cost as of this writing: Free.
5. Competitors’ Web sites: Okay, this might not be an actual tool but it is certainly a great place to look for keywords related to your products and services. Check out the Meta title, description and keyword tags of the competition. This can often lead to new insights and ideas for your keyword list; and, it’s free.

Arming yourself with the right tools is instrumental in researching and building a relevant keyword list for your company. Check out the ones above and see which best suit your needs.