Search Engine Optimization is a rather complex task to undertake for the uninitiated as the myride of algorithms, keywords, and other shenanigans can be overwhelming sometimes. As a result, it is common for newbie digital marketers to get under undue pressure to perform and exceed expectations.
If excelling at SEO is your goal, then you must set yourself up to win, and the only way to do that is to enable one’s self with the right tools. Therefore, here we have curated a list of the top ten SEO tools that everybody needs from an online marketing company & digital marketer!
The best part of all this is the fact that all the tools below are 100% FREE!
#1 PageSpeed Insights
Here is a fun fact for you, a mere delay of 100 milliseconds can single-handedly bring down your average traffic conversion rate by a whopping 7%. If that is not scary enough, a load-time delay of a single second gets your website’s conversion rate down by a gargantuan 70%. Therefore it is of the absolute maximum importance that you create a website that has a snappy performance.
To enable the creation of such a website you need data to take decisive action. Thus you must use the PageSpeed Insights provided by Google. This tool enables you to track the entirety of your website or individual pages and understand the metrics of your site’s performance.
Read More – 4 ways to improve your website speed and performance
Tool – PageSpeed Insights
#2 Small SEO Tools
When you put your mind into it, SEO is an extremely complex sub-practice in the larger umbrella of Search Engine Marketing. A good SEO expert not only needs to be well-versed in web-page design & site structure but also content creation, etc. Thus to suit this work requirement, you need a multipurpose tool that can help accomplish a multitude of your tasks.
This is where Small SEO Tools come in as a website that has the largest variety of SEO tools available on one single website. For starters you get:
- Image Optimization
- Content Plagiarism Checker
- Image Conversion
- Keyword Density Checker
- Long-Tail Keyword Checker
- Broken Backlink Checker
Tool – SmallSEOTools.com: 100% Free SEO Tools
#3 Moz’s Link Explorer
Link building is one of the most fundamental tenets of good SEO, link building not only plays a key role in increasing your organic traffic generation but also your website’s credibility. The better your linking strategy, the better your website will be positioned to gain from search indexing.
Hence you need tools that appropriately aid you in your link building strategy, and in our opinion, Link Explorer is one of the best you can get on the market. Link explorer has both a paid and free program, but for the sake of the article let’s focus on the free one. With the free account, you get 10 queries and 50 rows of data per query from an indexed database of 37 Trillion links!
Tool – Link Explorer – 37T Backlinks & DA Checker
#4 Data Studio
An SEO expert is only as effective as his or her data, just like the wrong data can set you up to win, the wrong data can push you down a cliff. But be mindful of the fact that you also don’t want too much data resulting in sensory overload and paralyzing your decision-making capacity.
Therefore streamlining your data gathering and analysis is crucial for making the right decisions. Google’s Data Studio can help you with that. Data Studio helps you merge different data streams from other Google services(i.e. Search Console, Google Analytics, etc.) into one, making data management & utilization a breeze.
Tool – Data Studio
#5 Keyword Everywhere
An SEO expert works with the constantly evolving field of the different search engines. Thus to stay on top an SEO expert needs to be a regular lookout for relevant keywords that can be used. It is a never-ending task of finding and analyzing the keywords that can get you the best results. As a result, you need a tool that works round the clock.
With Keywords Everywhere, you can take your keyword selection process everywhere you, while being engaged in any other work, etc. Keywords Everywhere have a Google & Firefox extension that can curate keyword search density while you surf the internet.
Tool – Keyword Tool For Monthly Search Volume, CPC & Competition
#6 Local Search Results Checker
A crucial data point that can work wonders for an SEO expert is the ability to track local search results. Regardless to say, local SEO data is one of the hardest to gather, as there is no proper interface or resource for mining such data.
The task becomes even tougher when you want to analyze a different geographic location. Thus you need a purpose-built tool, BrightLocal is a fabulous tool that enables you to get local search data with pinpoint accuracy and it’s free, to begin with!
Tool – Local Search Results Checker – View Google Search Results From Any Location
#7 Mobile SERP Test
The future of the web is mobile and the ones that don’t prepare for it are bound to be left behind by it. As an SEO expert and a digital marketer, it is of the utmost importance that you prepare your SEO strategy in conjunction with the overall trajectory of the web.
Thus optimizing your website’s content per mobile internet SERP is an absolute necessity for creating a better website experience that boosts organic traffic growth. The Mobile SERP Test tool makes your life easy by enabling you to test your web-pages beforehand.
Tool – SERPerator: Check Location-Specific Google Mobile Search Rankings Live
#8 Chrome DevTools
SEO is an extensive field of work that has many different elements working together simultaneously. On-page SEO is one such subset of SEO that needs your undivided attention if you are to succeed in your overall SEO strategy.
ChromeDevTools is an absolute powerhouse of SEO as it aids you in a multitude of tasks. It can help you in on-page SEO to Javascript auditing to speed optimizations for improving your website.
Tool – Chrome DevTools | Tools for Web Developers
#9 Natural Language API
The search engines are evolving and gone are the days when web-crawler would only index your website for given keywords. Now search engines are moving towards Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning algorithms that enable them to better understand human use of language.
Therefore you must utilize tools that enable you to take advantage of the natural human language for SEO. Google’s Natural Language API enables you to do just that with a very basic understanding of Machine Learning.
Tool – Cloud Natural Language
#10 42Works SEO Audit Report
SEO is a complex and multi-varied task that has multiple bits and pieces that must work together to guarantee seamless functionality. The only way one might achieve that is by having dedicated, experienced professionals look to audit their website. To not only benchmark its performance provide you with a robust roadmap for improvement.
The 42Work SEO Audit service with a quick turnaround time of just 24 hours, in that time you get everything from compliance to structured data to broken links & page optimization! The best part, all of it is free with no added charges for the audit.
Tool – 42Works SEO Audit Report
The Bottom Line
Search engine optimization is not a walk in the park for many businesses. For some it might come naturally for some it might be a nightmare. Therefore you must always strive to educate yourself with the latest tools, trends and techniques to better prepare yourself for the tasks at hand.