What do you do with that list of keywords after you’ve taken the time to brainstorm?

Well, you could potentially be holding on to a gold mine of profitable words, but you won’t know that unless you analyse their potential with keyword tools.

You don’t have to go out to your nearest computer store or scour the web to find the latest and greatest piece of software to help you analyse the keywords that is more than likely to cost big dollars. Most of what you need is available on the Internet for free or a small fee. If they offer a free trial, use it. At least you will learn how the process works and if that particular software works for you.

Here are a few software tools for finding appropriate keywords for your website. All of these are free tools but some offer more features for a paid subscription.

1. Wordtracker (http://www.freekeywords.wordtracker.com) – There is no way that you could possibly think of all the different combinations of words that are used to find results in your niche. That is where software like Wordtracker comes in handy. Using the list of possible keywords you have compiled, choose a keyword to enter into the program. The software will return all possible combinations (according to your search parameters) and the number of searches for each. You may even notice a few that you haven’t thought of before. You can even compare results by search engine.

2. Wordstream (http://www.wordstream.com/best-keyword-tool) – If you want to let the software pick the keywords for you, here are a few tools that you can use. Wordstream returns keyword suggestions that work well for content and pay-per-click ads. You can also manage your keywords. You will be able to pick form the best words and phrases for your niche.

3. Overture (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion) – This keyword tool is brought to you by Yahoo. It is now called Yahoo! Search Marketing. Using this search engine, the tool returns results for a variety of keywords and how many searches are done for them. You can choose to keep or discard the ones that have too many search results and opt to exploit the keywords that have not been overdone.

4. Keyword Discovery (http://keyworddiscovery.com) – This tool will return the best keyword results from one keyword that you enter. It pulls information from over 100 search engines to compile a focused list.

Another great source for not only keywords in profitable areas, but tons of other research as well is Affiliate Niche Packs (http://www.affiliatenichepacks.com). For those wanting to start affiliate sites without spending tons of time researching keywords, niches, and everything else that goes into setting up a site, these packs will do it for you.

It all starts with keywords.

If you pick the right ones, you can definitely find a profitable website.

Using these tools can help you narrow your search even further than the list you came up with.

Which ones will be winners?

You’ll have to test them and see.