Using Google’s external keyword research tool, you can now see real-time search traffic data, all for free. This is a big blow to sites such as Wordtracker and other keyword tracking tools.

This tool is helpful because it gives you the monthly search volume, an approximate average search volume and the advertiser competition rating for any particular word or key phrase. This tool is a must for any search engine marketing (SEM) campaign.

In addition, this tool is great tool for entrepreneurs to use for researching a particular market before jumping in and investing too much money. For instance, let’s say you’ve come up with a great idea for a new line of dog apparel and accessories. By using the Google keyword tool, you’ll be able to instantly see if the market is even worth getting into by the amount of traffic the “dog apparel” key word/phrase is getting. The data will show you whether there are lots of people searching for dog apparel (and how competitive it will be to market) or if there are not enough people searching within your market and whether it’s even worth investing the time and money.

Check out the tool for yourself to see which keywords or market you might be interested in targeting next.