Break Room / Start
Is anyone searching for this?
Frankly
You don't need a paid tool to find out if people are looking for what you want to sell. Start typing it into Google and read what it finishes for you. If nobody's searching, you'll be paying to find every customer yourself.
Start with Google's own suggestions
Open a private browser window, go to Google and type your idea slowly. Watch what autocomplete offers. Then search, and read the “People also ask” box and the related searches at the bottom of the page.
This tells you the words buyers actually use, which are often different from yours. You might call it “meal prep for pet turtles.” They type “best food for red eared slider.”
Autocomplete is the most honest market research you'll ever get. Nobody types a search to impress their boss.
Check the trend
Google Trends (trends.google.com) shows interest over time on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 is the busiest point for that search. It won't give you a count, but it answers three useful questions: is interest growing, is it fading, and is it seasonal? Holiday ideas spike in November. Pool cleaning dies in January.
Get a rough number
Google's Keyword Planner is free inside a Google Ads account, and you don't have to run ads to use it. When the setup screens push you toward a campaign, look for the option to create an account without one. Google may ask for billing details along the way.
Without ad spend it shows ranges like 100 to 1K or 1K to 10K searches a month instead of exact numbers. For deciding whether an idea has legs, a range is plenty.
Search where your buyers shop
A product idea lives or dies on Etsy, Amazon or the app stores more than on Google. Each one has its own search bar with its own suggestions. Type your idea there too. If a marketplace suggests it before you finish typing, people are looking.
How much search is enough?
Less than you'd think. A side hustle doesn't need millions of searches. A few hundred people a month searching for something specific and ready to buy (“turtle food subscription”) can be worth more than thousands searching for something vague (“turtle facts”).
Look for searches with buying words in them: price, near me, best, for (a specific person), service, hire, subscription. Those are people with a wallet out.
Got an idea? SideFrog gives you a straight verdict, who'd pay, a first test to run and names with an open .com, in about ten seconds.
Check your ideaWant help building it? Mark helps people vibe code their first site with AI. Pick a time with Mark or message him on LinkedIn.
Questions people ask
What if there's no search for my idea at all?
It can mean the idea is new, or that people describe the problem differently. Try the words a customer would use for the problem rather than your solution. If those get no search either, plan on finding every customer yourself, through outreach or communities.
Are paid keyword tools worth it?
Not for testing a side hustle. Google's suggestions, Google Trends, the free Keyword Planner and the free tools from companies like Ahrefs cover what you need to decide whether an idea has legs.
How accurate are these numbers?
They're estimates, and the free Keyword Planner shows ranges on purpose. Use them to compare ideas and spot trends, not to forecast sales.
Sources
Last checked October 3, 2026.