Keyword Research on a Zero Budget: A Founder’s Method

If you’ve just launched a SaaS, you probably don’t need a $99-a-month SEO platform yet. You need to understand what your potential customers type into Google, which of those searches your site can genuinely answer, and what to publish first.

That’s keyword research. It isn’t collecting a giant spreadsheet of phrases. It’s choosing a small number of useful topics where your product has a credible right to be present.

What keyword research is actually for

A keyword is simply a search phrase. The important part is the problem behind it.

Someone searching “invoice software” may be exploring. Someone searching “invoice software for freelance designers” has narrowed the problem. Someone searching “how to send an invoice as a freelancer” may need education before they’re ready to choose a tool.

Those searches can all matter, but they call for different pages. A product homepage should not try to answer every question. A guide should not pretend to be a pricing page.

Your goal is to match:

• The search: what the person types.
• The intent: what they’re trying to accomplish.
• The page: the format that would satisfy them.
• Your right to answer: the experience, product, or evidence you can bring.

If those four things line up, even a low-volume query can be worth more than a broad phrase you have no chance of winning.

Step 1: Start with customer language, not an SEO tool

Open a blank document and write down 20 phrases your ideal customer might use. Don’t worry about volume yet.

Use the words you hear in:

• Sales calls and support emails
• Communities where your customers already ask questions
• Reviews of competing products
• Reddit, Indie Hackers, Slack groups, or specialist forums
• Your own product analytics and site search
• The questions people ask before they understand your category

Suppose you’ve built a lightweight renewal tracker for small businesses. “Renewal management software” is an obvious phrase, but it may not be the best starting point. Your customer might say:

• “How do I track contract renewal dates?”
• “Reminder system for expiring certifications”
• “How to stop missing insurance renewal deadlines”
• “Spreadsheet for license expiry dates”

These phrases reveal problems and situations. They also suggest different content: a practical guide, a template, a product page, or a comparison page.

Do not edit the list into polished marketing language. Customer wording is often more useful than founder wording.

Step 2: Expand the list with free sources

Now take your raw phrases and expand them using free tools. You don’t need to trust any tool blindly. You’re looking for patterns.

Google autocomplete

Type the beginning of a phrase into Google and note the suggestions. Try modifiers such as:

• how to
• for small business
• for freelancers
• template
• checklist
• alternative
• software
• pricing
• without [common pain]

Autocomplete is not a keyword-volume report. It is a useful source of language that real people search for.

Google search results

Search each promising phrase and inspect the page. Look at:

• The wording of the top results
• The types of pages ranking: guides, product pages, templates, forums, or directories
• “People also ask” questions
• Related searches near the bottom
• Whether the results actually solve the problem you’re targeting

The result type is a clue about intent. If every top result is a detailed tutorial, your new pricing page probably won’t fit. If the results are mostly product pages, a purely educational article may be too indirect.

Google Trends

Use Google Trends to compare a few phrases and check whether interest is seasonal, rising, falling, or simply too small to interpret. Treat tiny charts carefully. A flat line can mean low data, not zero demand.

Search Console, once you have data

After your site starts appearing in Google, Search Console becomes your most valuable free source because it shows the queries for which your pages actually appeared. Google’s Performance report lets you sort by impressions, clicks, and CTR, then inspect queries and pages separately. (Google Search Console documentation)

That creates a useful feedback loop: publish a focused page, wait for enough data, then improve the page around the searches Google already associates with it.

Step 3: Build a small keyword sheet

You only need five columns to begin:

| Phrase | Intent | Best page | Fit | Next action | |---|---|---|---|---| | how to track contract renewals | Informational | Guide | High | Write | | contract renewal tracker | Commercial | Product page | High | Improve homepage or create landing page | | renewal spreadsheet template | Template | Free resource | Medium | Consider later | | enterprise contract lifecycle platform | Commercial | Product page | Low | Ignore for now |

The fit column is where founder judgment matters. Mark each phrase high, medium, or low based on how naturally your product helps.

You can add a rough difficulty label by studying the current results:

• Winnable: small sites, forums, narrow pages, and obvious gaps appear in the results.
• Possible later: strong specialist sites rank, but your product has a distinct angle.
• Not now: dominant brands and huge publications fill the first page, and your page would add nothing new.

This isn’t a fake precision score. You’re making a publishing decision, not pretending to know Google’s exact formula.

Step 4: Choose topics with a simple priority formula

For every candidate, score three things from 1 to 3:

1. Customer pain: how urgent is the problem?
2. Product fit: can your product genuinely help?
3. Reachability: does the current result page look realistic for a young site?

Add the scores. A narrow topic scoring 8 or 9 is usually a better first project than a famous keyword scoring 3.

For example:

• “How to track contract renewals” might score 3 + 3 + 2 = 8.
• “Contract management software” might score 3 + 3 + 1 = 7.
• “Business software” might score 1 + 1 + 1 = 3.

Start with one primary phrase per page. You can include close variations naturally, but don’t create five thin pages just because five phrases look similar. That creates a confusing site and may leave you competing with yourself.

Step 5: Turn the keyword into a genuinely better page

Before writing, answer these questions:

• What would a searcher need to know immediately?
• What does every current result leave unclear?
• What example, workflow, screenshot, template, or first-hand lesson can we add?
• What should the reader do after finishing?

Then put the main phrase in the page title, H1, URL where sensible, introduction, and one or two descriptive subheadings. Keep it natural. Your on-page SEO basics still matter, but inserting the phrase 20 times won’t make a weak page useful.

A good founder page often has a smaller scope than the ranking pages around it, but more specificity. Instead of “The Complete Guide to Contract Management,” write “How to Track Contract Renewal Dates in a Spreadsheet or Simple App.” Show the columns, reminders, ownership rules, and failure points. Make the page earn its place.

For AI search as well as traditional search, clear definitions and evidence help. Our guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT explains why a product is easier to understand when its public facts, category, use case, and limitations are stated plainly.

Common keyword research mistakes

Chasing volume before relevance

A large number usually attracts more competition. More importantly, it may describe a broad audience that doesn’t need your product. A smaller, specific query can produce better users.

Treating every variation as a new page

“Contract renewal tracker,” “contract renewal tracking,” and “track contract renewals” may belong on one strong page. Decide based on intent, not tiny wording differences.

Ignoring existing impressions

If Search Console shows impressions but few clicks, don’t automatically publish a new page. First test a better title and description, then check whether the page answers the query. Search Console defines an impression as a result shown for your site, while CTR is clicks divided by impressions. (Google Search Console metrics)

Publishing and never revisiting

New sites need patience. Give a page several weeks to collect signals, then review the queries and pages report. Improve the section searchers want and add internal links.

If you’re also building authority, keep the link work honest. Our guide to do-follow and no-follow backlinks covers what those links can and can’t do. A backlink won’t rescue a page that targets the wrong problem.

Where directree fits

directree isn’t a replacement for customer research, a useful product page, or a good content plan. It’s one additional discovery surface.

You can submit a tool for free, get a structured listing generated from its public site, and claim it later to edit the founder-controlled details. Observed facts and AI-inferred descriptions are labelled separately. That makes the listing easier for people, search engines, and AI systems to interpret without pretending that every inference is verified.

The listing is not a ranking promise. It is a practical, low-cost way to make your product easier to find while you build the pages you own.

FAQ

How many keywords should a new SaaS target?

Start with one primary phrase per page and a small group of closely related variations. Five well-matched pages are more useful than 50 thin pages targeting near-duplicates.

What is the best free keyword research tool?

There isn’t one best tool. Use customer language, Google autocomplete, live search results, Google Trends, and Search Console together. The combination gives you ideas, intent, and evidence from your own site.

Should I target high-volume keywords first?

Usually not on a brand-new domain. Start with specific problems where your product fits and the current results leave room for a genuinely better page. Move toward broader terms as your site earns authority.

How long should I wait before judging a page?

Give a new page several weeks before making a major decision, unless it has a technical problem or clearly misses the search intent. Search data arrives gradually, and early impressions are not a final verdict.

Can keyword research help with AI search too?

Yes, indirectly. Clear customer language helps you explain the problem, category, audience, and product limits. That makes the page easier for both traditional search systems and AI answer engines to understand, but no method guarantees a citation or recommendation.