Wordtracker Tools for the Freelance Writer

Every freelance writer has literally dozens of special tools in his/her toolbox. There are word counters and SEO tools galore. One of the most common freelance writer tasks is to do a keyword search so that articles they write are more likely to be found on the web. This post is going to look over three keyword search tools that I use regularly. The good news is that each is easy to learn and the better news is that they don't cost anything. So let's kickoff with an old favorite that deserves some respect.

I'm sure that you may've seen this free keyword search tool already. But just to be safe let's take a quick look under the hood. Free Keyword Suggestion Tool from Wordtracker

When you first open it up, it looks like this. Notice the Keyword already inserted. All Images are linked to my Flickr account. Clicking on one will expand it to full size in another window.

This is the basic keyword search tool that Wordtracker offers. Functionally it allows you to quickly see which words are being searched the most. And, by clicking on one of the results you can literally drill it down to the smallest increment. I work this particular keyword search tool half to death when I need a quick look. The big takeaway is that this tool is actually a base foundation from where the other two tools are built. You are going to like them.

The next tool is fairly new to me anyway. It is Word Trackers Keyword Questions – Keyword Research Tool and it is a beauty. You enter a keyword and it shows you actual questions used in search engine queries related to that keyword. eHow writers take note. If you are an expert in knitting, this engine will provide plenty of "How To" questions on your keyword. Answering each question = one eHow article. I can't overemphasise this enough, freelance writers everywhere should really get a kick out of this. Think about it for one second. Instead of simply giving you the rankings of various keywords, this keyword search tool tells you the questions being asked on the net. That means that you and I can form content by answering those questions.

Last and certainly not least is a tool to help freelance writers keep track of the keywords they use in an article. It's also from Word Tracker. This is a keyword search tool and a keyword tracker all in one. The Screen shot is of me writing the very post you are reading. Just take a look.

Of the three tools presented here, I use the keyword search tool for questions the most. Then I use the SEO Blogger tool. They are great for reminding me to stay focused on the topic. Hopefully you freelance writers found all this to be useful. If so, drop a comment, or feel free to bookmark it for a friend. Thanks for reading. - Phil

Technorati Tags: freelance writing, freelance writers, wordtracker, keyword search tool, keyword optimization