SEO tools are essential for creating an effective marketing plan. We’ve compiled a list of 15 tools, listed their features and organized them according to their best uses so you can accomplish a wide range of SEO tasks more easily.
Many of our suggestions are completely free to use while some have a trial period or limit use to a few times a month. Try them out and see what works best for your SEO marketing plan.
15 SEO Tools You Should Be Familiar With:
1. Google Search Console – Free
Search Console provides metrics for URL and keyword performance, sitemap status and mobile usability. This tool also alerts you to content issues and overall traffic.
2. SEMrush – Free trial for 14 days
SEMrush is a robust keyword metrics tool. It shows how your site’s keywords rank and how well your pages perform. You can also see how your competitors rank for the same keywords and which of their pages performs best. Use SEMrush to discover content opportunities.
3. MozBar – Free
MozBar is a Google Chrome toolbar that gives you detailed information you can use for research on any site you visit. You can explore the web page’s site authority, backlinks and targeted keywords. It’s a straightforward, all-in-one tool with the option to premium, advanced tools.
Search Performance
4. Google Analytics – Free
Google Analytics is essential for every SEO marketer. As the predominant search engine on the web, the Google Analytics tool is the perfect companion, providing detailed metrics on site traffic and user behavior. With Google Analytics, you can craft a targeted marketing strategy for your audience.
5. Beam Us Up – Free
Beam Us Up is a site crawler that lets you find out where your site’s SEO can improve. With this completely free tool, you can check your whole site for issues like duplicate content, lengthy meta descriptions, and more.
6. Quick Click Website Audit – Free
Quick Click Website Audit is a bookmarklet extension that directs you to the best SEO tools. Instead of tediously copying and pasting links into your various tools, Quick Click copies it for you and brings up the directory of SEO tools. It saves you time when performing site analysis and research.
Keywords and Research
7. Answer the Public – Free
Answer the Public is the ultimate keyword and related search query tool. Once you type in a keyword, it’s algorithm brings up related queries so you can better target what users are looking for.
8. Google Keyword Planner – Free/Paid when used for PPC
Keyword Planner is a tool for building PPC campaigns. However, anyone can use it to do research on keywords and rankings with Google-generated metrics.
9. Keywords Everywhere – Free
Keywords Everywhere is a Chrome and Firefox extension for on-the-go research. It provides keyword data for searches and how they perform on a number of sites such as eBay, Amazon and Search Console. This tool provides metrics on search volume, CPC pricing and keyword competition.
Local SEO
10. Google My Business – Free
Google My Business is Google’s local business listing tool. It gives you control over every detail of your Google Maps listing, from reviews and hours to creating a mini-website.
11. Local Search Results Checker – Free
Local Search Result Checker is a research tool for localized rankings. This tool also works for Google Maps, so you can optimize for better search performance.
12. Moz Local Business Checker – Free the first time, the annual fee for full service
Moz Local helps you manage all your business listings online. With this tool, you can check your business listing across multiple search engines and directories and correct outstanding issues. Additionally, this Moz product provides review management and social media integration.
SEO for Mobile
13. Mobile-First Index Checker – Free
Every SEO marketer needs to see how their mobile sites stack up to the desktop version. Mobile-First Index Checker provides reports on errors and discrepancies between both sites. Also available from this tool provider is the Mobile-Friendly Test and SEO research help.
14. Cloudflare CDN – Free with paid upgrades
Cloudflare CDN is a free content delivery network that minimizes site loading times and improves security. The free tool is excellent for improving site speed, while also offering a range of solutions for other website needs.
15. GTMetrix – Free
GTMetrix shows how fast your site is, which is crucial to mobile SEO. When your site has loading issues, GTMetrix will show what’s keeping the speed low and how to fix those issues.
This list is a great resource for any SEO enthusiast and marketer, helping you create an SEO toolkit that works for you. Bookmark this page for reference and take a look at our other SEO resources.
