Not sure on which keywords to target on your new site? Below are 4 FREE keyword selection tools that can help you decide.

1. Wordtracker.com compiles a database of terms that people search for. Enter some keywords that describe your site, and Wordtracker gives you a list of related keywords, how often people search for them, and how many competing sites use those keywords. Based on these factors, Wordtracker assign a Keyword Effective Index (KEI) to each keyword. The highest rated keywords are ones that a lot of people are searching on but few other sites are targeting.

Wordtracker has both Trial and Paid versions. Among other limitations, the trial version lets you check for competing sites on only AltaVista, which is still very useful for quick keyword research. If you're into serious keyword research, I highly recommend their paid version, which can subcribed to on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis.

2. Overture's Keyword Selector Tool - This tool is designed to help advertisers select search terms to bid on for Yahoo's pay-per-click program. Enter a keyword that describes your site, and the tool gives you related searches that include your term. Plus, it gives the estimated number of times that term was searched on last month on Yahoo (multiply that number by three to get a rough estimate of the number of searches on Google).

Although this tool is designed to aid Overture advertisers, it is also useful for webmasters looking for relevant keywords to target on their sites. Let's say a key phrase comes to mind that you think other people might use to search for the product that you're selling. You enter that key phrase on Overture's Keyword Selector Tool and find that only 38 queries were performed on the phrase last month on Yahoo! Better move to the next phrase!

3. Google Adword's Keyword Suggestion Tool - This tool is similar to Overture's keyword selection tool. Enter a broad keyword that describes your business and Google gives you a list of related terms that people search on. The tool also gives you statistics on each keyword, including average search volume and seasonal trends.

4. 123Promotion.com Keyword Tool - This tool bases its results on the Overture and Wordtracker tools and gives you similar data, including the number of searches from the previous month. It also gives you statistics on average searches per hour, day, week, projected figures for the next 12 months.

About the Author

Oudam Em is the owner of UnlimitedTraff.net, a site that offers a range of website promotion services. Visit is SEO blog for more articles, tips, and tools related to SEO and internet marketing.