Keyword research for D2C brands without expensive tools

Keyword research is just learning the words your customers use, then using them on the right pages. You can do it well with free tools and curiosity.

Start with your customers

Look at the questions people ask on WhatsApp and Instagram, at product reviews, at returns reasons, and at what they type into your store's search box. Their words often beat any tool's suggestion.

Free sources of ideas

• Search autosuggest. Type a seed phrase such as "khadi saree" and note the suggestions.
• "People also ask" boxes show related questions.
• Related searches at the bottom of results.
• Search Console. Once your site is verified, the Performance report shows the queries that already show your pages.
• Marketplace search bars, where suggestions reveal how shoppers phrase things.
• Google Keyword Planner, free with an advertising account, for rough volume ranges.
• Competitors' pages: their titles, headings and FAQs.

Understand intent

Prioritise

Score each phrase on three things: relevance to what you sell, how specific it is, and how competitive the results look. For a new store, specific phrases ("handloom khadi saree under 5000") usually beat broad ones ("saree") because fewer strong pages compete for them.

Map keywords to pages

Create a simple sheet with columns: page, main phrase, supporting phrases, intent. Give each phrase one home, so that your pages do not compete with each other. Then write titles and headings that include the phrase naturally (titles guide).

Think about seasons and regions

Searches rise before festivals and weddings. Plan content and stock a few weeks earlier. Also consider how people in different regions and languages search (regional-language SEO).

Check the results page

Search your target phrase. Who ranks? Are they marketplaces, brands or blogs? What kind of page wins? If only huge marketplaces appear, pick a more specific phrase.

Track and refine

Every month, review Search Console queries: which phrases bring impressions but few clicks (improve titles), and which bring clicks but no sales (improve the page or the offer).

A worked example

A brand selling handloom stoles collects these phrases: "handloom stole", "stole for saree", "pashmina stole price", "natural dye stole", "gift for mother stole". It groups them: the first two as a collection page, "natural dye stole" as a product category with its own page, "pashmina stole price" as a comparison guide, and the gift phrase as a gifting page that links to products. Each group gets one page, each page gets a clear title, and the brand now has a plan for five pages instead of a random list of words.

Mistakes to avoid

• Choosing keywords only by volume, ignoring whether you can serve the intent.
• Writing several pages for the same phrase.
• Ignoring seasonality, so content goes live after the peak has passed.

What to do next

Make a list of 30 phrases from the free sources above, group them by intent, and choose five pages to improve first. Revisit after two months.