SEO can be confusing for any finance marketer; learning how to provide the content, structure and backlinks that Google’s algorithm will deem the right ones to rank your site higher often feels like a minefield. We provide a list of key SEO tools that will help navigate your way to SEO success.
Free SEO tools you should not be without
Google Search Console
This is a free tool provided by Google which gives great insight into the performance of your site. It includes useful information such as the top queries for your site, current errors Google has found when crawling your site, and also provides additional tools such as sitemap upload and a structured data tool.
Top Tip: Connect your Search Console to your Google Analytics for even more insights into what pages and queries are your strongest organically.
Google Trends
Want to know which specific keyword people tend to search in a given area? Or what searches become more popular each year at the same time? Trends is an invaluable free tool for your SEO content planning. Make sure you narrow it down to the right country to get the most relevant data including keyword comparisons, related queries and trending searches.
Trends is an invaluable free tool for your SEO content planning.
Top Tip: Use the timeline feature to its best – narrow down to just a few hours if you’re jumping on breaking news or expand to 5 years+ if you’re planning seasonal content.
All-encompassing dashboard tools for everything in one place
SEMRush
A great multi-tool, SEMrush provides everything from keyword research, backlink review, site audits and competitor analysis. It also provides insights for both paid search and social media results giving it a little extra edge for your marketing needs. Prices start at $99USD/month but can rise quickly depending on the amount of sites/keywords you are tracking.
Top Tip: Set projects up in SEMRush to maintain an automated ongoing baseline of a variety of touchpoints across your site and an easy indicator of overall site performance.
MozPro
A grandfather of SEO tools, Moz is renowned for setting the standard of integrated SEO research. Also starting at $99 USD/month; the package includes campaign and keyword tracking, site crawls and backlink tracking. It also provides white-labeled reporting, great for quickly pulling together insights to share.
Top Tip: Use the chrome extension alongside your membership to get quick insights at the click of the button as you navigate across your own or competitors’ sites.
Specialised SEO tools
Keywordtool.io
Going beyond using Google suggestions or Trends, keyword research is a crucial part of the SEO process. Keywordtool provides search volumes, related queries and suggested questions for the search terms you input.
Top Tip: Consider synonyms and related keywords when you are planning your content; use the suggestions in KeywordTool to boost your relevancy.
Serps.com
For quick set-up and tracking hundreds to thousands for keywords, serps.com is a quick and easy way to ensure you know how you compare against your competitors for those key, competitive search terms. Simple and efficient, it’s a great option for those that are clear about the keywords that bring them the most business value.
Top Tip: Use the tool to bulk check potential target keywords – you can quickly check up to 250 keywords at a time in under 2 minutes.
Ahrefs.com
Predominantly focusing on backlink competitor research, Ahrefs provides a host of insights into yours and your competitors backlinks including where they’re from, how many and the strength of the sites. The tool has also expanded its offering and also provides keyword and content research as well as rank tracking.
Top Tip: Use the Content Explorer to discover mentions of your brand that haven’t linked back to you and get in touch with the relevant sites.
