What’s the best free Amazon keyword research tool to use?

General
1

I’m starting to optimize my Amazon listings and I’m overwhelmed by all the keyword tools out there. Most of the good ones seem to be paid, and my budget is really tight right now. Can anyone recommend reliable free Amazon keyword research tools that actually help with ranking and finding long‑tail keywords, instead of just giving super generic terms?

2

Short answer from a broke seller here: use a combo of a few free tools, not one “best” tool.

Here is what works without paying:

  1. Amazon autocomplete

    • Type your main keyword in the search bar.
    • Note all the long tails Amazon suggests, like “dog brush for short hair” or “kids water bottle with straw”.
    • These come from real shopper searches.
    • Use them in title, bullets, back-end keywords.

  2. Amazon “Customers also searched for”

    • On some product pages you see extra search terms under the listing or in the “4 stars and above” filter area.
    • Treat those as related keywords and phrases.

  3. Helium 10 free plan

    • Sign up with email.
    • Use Magnet and Cerebro on the free tier.
    • Limited searches per day, so plan your sessions.
    • Pull keywords from top 3 competitor ASINs.
    • Sort by search volume, remove super low volume and unrelated stuff.
    • Export and clean in a simple spreadsheet.

  4. Keywordtool.io (Amazon tab, free version)

    • Gives a list of long-tail Amazon phrases from seed keywords.
    • Free tier hides search volume, but you still see phrase ideas.
    • Cross reference with Helium 10 volume when possible.

  5. Google Keyword Planner

    • Not Amazon data, but helps filter nonsense terms.
    • If a term has 0 to tiny volume on Google, it often has weak intent for Amazon too.
    • Keep phrases that show at least some activity.

  6. Listing mining method

    • Search your main keyword on Amazon.
    • Open top 5 to 10 organic listings, not ads.
    • Look at titles, bullets, A+ text, questions, and reviews.
    • Note repeated phrases buyers use, like “for sensitive skin”, “BPA free”, “no leak”.
    • Use those as modifiers around your main keywords.

  7. Real-word test

    • Paste your main list into a doc.
    • Remove repeated words and meaningless stuff like “the”, “with”, “and”.
    • Keep phrases that describe product, use case, material, audience, size, problem.
    • Example for yoga mat: “non slip”, “thick”, “for bad knees”, “extra long”, “travel”.

Quick process I follow for a new listing:

  • 1 seed keyword into Amazon autocomplete, write 20 to 40 phrases.
  • 3 competitor ASINs into Helium 10 free, export 100 to 200 keywords.
  • Clean in a sheet, delete duplicates and weak phrases.
  • Keep 20 to 40 main phrases.
  • Use highest volume and most relevant in title and bullets.
  • Put secondary phrases in bullet text and description.
  • Put leftovers in back-end search terms.

You do not need paid tools at the start. You need consistent process and manual cleanup. The tools give ideas. Your brain filters them.

3

Honestly, there isn’t a single “best free tool” for Amazon keywords, and I’d even push back a bit on what @caminantenocturno said about Google Keyword Planner being very helpful. It’s fine as a sanity check, but buyer intent on Google vs Amazon is so different that I’ve seen it filter OUT phrases that later turned into my best converting keywords on Amazon. So I’d treat GKP as optional, not core.

Since they already covered the usual suspects, here are some different free angles you can use:

  1. Use Amazon Brand Analytics… without a brand

    • If you don’t have Brand Registry, ask a friend or small seller who does to export a few “Search Term” reports for your niche.
    • You only need it once in a while to see which keywords drive the top 3 clicked products.
    • Even a single CSV can give you months worth of data to mine.

  2. Free Chrome extensions for on-page keyword scraping

    • Instead of just eyeballing competitor listings, use a free extension that scrapes words from titles/bullets/A+ and spits them into a list.
    • Then you de-duplicate, sort, and tag manually in a spreadsheet.
    • Way faster than typing them out like a maniac at 2am.

  3. Reverse search your OWN listing post-launch

    • A lot of ppl obsess on pre-launch keywords and never check what they’re actually indexing for.
    • Use a free index checker (multiple tools have limited free checks per day).
    • Take the terms you aren’t indexing for but want to, then specifically add them to bullets or back-end.
    • This is low-key more powerful than staring at search volume you can’t really trust anyway.

  4. Use Amazon’s “Search query performance” once you have data

    • If you eventually get Brand Registry, SQP inside Seller Central becomes your best free “tool.”
    • Shows which search terms bring impressions, clicks, and conversions.
    • At that point, external keyword tools become mostly secondary.

  5. Mine your own PPC data as a keyword tool

    • Even with a tiny budget, run one broad or phrase campaign with low bids.
    • After a week or two, download the search term report.
    • That report = pure gold. Real shopper language, actual conversions, and no guesses.
    • Pause the bad stuff, add winners to your listing copy and exact match campaigns.
    • This is technically not “free” but spending 10–20 bucks in ads can outperform hours using free keyword sites.

  6. Don’t obsess over search volume early

    • Free plans often hide or throttle volume data. Honestly, that’s not the end of the world.
    • What matters more early on is relevance and clarity.
    • I’ve ranked and sold more off “boring” long-tails like “black desk shelf riser for monitor” than off huge vanity terms.
    • So if a phrase describes your product precisely, use it, even if you cannot see a pretty number next to it.

Basic system I’d suggest if you’re broke and overwhelmed:

  • Pick 3 to 5 direct competitors.
  • Use a free extension or manual copy to grab all their visible phrases.
  • Clean & group in a spreadsheet: core product terms, use cases, pain points, modifiers like size/color/material.
  • Use any free index checker & your future PPC data to validate what actually works, not what the tools say “might” work.

In short, don’t chase the perfect free tool. Build a simple repeatable workflow, then let your actual listing + PPC data become your “paid” tool over time.

4

Short version: there isn’t a magical “best free Amazon keyword tool,” but you can get 80% of the value by combining a few simple tactics that don’t rely on external software.

I agree with @caminantenocturno on not overrating Google Keyword Planner. I’d actually go further: I’d ignore it completely at the beginning. Amazon search behavior is its own universe.

Instead of repeating their list, here are some different, low-budget tactics that actually move the needle:

1. Treat Amazon’s own UI as your free tool

You can pull a surprising amount of keyword data straight from the marketplace.

  • Start typing your main keyword into the Amazon search bar
    • Note the autocomplete suggestions
    • Go letter by letter: “desk organizer a…”, “desk organizer b…”
    • Dump all the suggestions into a sheet
  • Scroll the search results:
    • Look at “Customers also search for” and “Related to items you’ve viewed” blocks
    • Those phrases are real-user language

This is brutally simple but you’re seeing what Amazon is actively serving to shoppers, not what some tool thinks people might search.

2. Competitor Q&A and reviews as keyword mines

Everyone always says “read reviews” for copy ideas, but from a keyword angle:

  • Filter reviews by “Most recent” & “Top reviews”
  • Copy phrasing that describes:
    • Problems solved
    • Exact use cases
    • Specific traits: “for small RV kitchen,” “for arthritic hands,” etc.
  • Do the same with the Q&A section
    • Questions often contain long-tail keywords you will never see in volume tools

Those long phrases rarely appear in free keyword sites, yet they convert like crazy once you rank.

3. Category & filter labels

Open your main category and:

  • Note the wording of side filters: size, color, material, use-case tags
  • Many of these labels map directly to indexed facets
  • Use them as modifiers in your title, bullets, and back end

These “boring” descriptors like “adjustable height,” “stackable,” “foldable,” often bring in small but very targeted traffic.

4. Use “cheap trials” like a one-time X-ray

Instead of hunting for a mythical forever free tool, use paid tools as a one‑time scan when they offer:

  • 7‑day or 14‑day free trials
  • $1 / $7 intro months

In that window:

  1. Reverse ASIN 10 to 20 competitors
  2. Export every term they rank for
  3. De‑duplicate and categorize in your own sheet
  4. Save this as your master keyword doc and cancel

You now have a permanent offline keyword asset. No recurring fees.

5. Make your listing structure do the heavy lifting

Free tools are limited, so the way you write your listing matters more:

  • Title: pack primary and a few strongest secondary keywords
  • Bullets: group by theme (use-case, benefit, spec) and insert related phrases naturally
  • Description / A+ (if you have it): more long-tail, questions, and full phrases
  • Backend search terms: misspellings, synonyms, shorter variants

If you do this well, you often start indexing for hundreds of phrases organically even without perfect pre-research.

6. Where I slightly disagree with @caminantenocturno

They are right that PPC data and Brand Analytics are gold. I’d argue though:

  • If your budget is very tight, do not start with PPC as your “keyword tool” on day one
    • Get a decent organic-optimized listing first
    • Then run a very controlled, small campaign
  • Also, I would not lean on someone else’s Brand Analytics data too heavily
    • Your micro‑niche, price point, and positioning can shift which keywords actually convert for you

Use borrowed data as inspiration, not as a rigid roadmap.

7. About the product titled “”

Since the product title is just '', here is how I’d treat a generic titled product from a keyword perspective:

Pros

  • A blank or very generic title can be completely rebuilt around strong keywords without worrying about legacy branding conflicts
  • You can define the core keyword focus from scratch based on your research

Cons

  • Zero built‑in keyword value, so you are invisible until you optimize
  • Harder to signal relevance to Amazon’s algorithm initially
  • You must do more manual research using the steps above to figure out what it should be called

Whether you are working on “”, a kitchen gadget, or a pet accessory, the process stays the same: use Amazon’s own interface, competitor pages, and whatever temporary tool access you can get to build one solid keyword list, then keep refining based on what you actually index and rank for over time.

You do not need a permanent subscription to anything to get started. You need one good spreadsheet and a habit of revisiting your keywords every few weeks.