What Are SEO tools?
Remember that time you were searching Google, and you found the best site for fab shoes on page 18 of the search results? No, you don't, because that never happened. Ever. When someone searches for some item on Google or any other search engine, they browse through the first few results that show up. Maybe, if they're very ambitious, they'll even go to page 2. But how much farther are they going? Not much, which is why search results ranking is so essential for business success.
While rank is important in many industries, when it comes to modern-day business, organic search result rankings often mean the difference between a company that succeeds and one that chokes. SEO or search engine optimization is a range of strategies used to improve your rankings within these results pages.
SEO tools take these concepts and combine them into actionable features that can help boost your page rankings, optimize your websites, and improve your content to that end. In short, if you want your business to succeed, SEO tools are the vital organ that will keep your business alive and pumping.
Here are some examples of SEO marketing tools:
- Keyword research
- Keyword strategies and PPC bidding
- Ranking tool
- Copy audit
- Website audit
- SEO-relevant content
- SEO technical structure tools
- Outreach SEO (for blogger profiles, website, social media influencers, etc.)
- AMP testing (or accelerated mobile pages) helps show you if there are any problems that will impede your Google or Twitter mobile page loads.
Each of these will deal with a specific area of your page ranking and will affect your rankings in some way or another. The more areas and the better you improve each of these areas, the higher you will climb in the SERPs (search engine results page), and the more exposure your business will get.
Who Is Using SEO Tools?
More exposure in the search engines equals more leads. So, the better your SEO, the better your lead generation power. The best SEO tools will help you beef up your search engine optimization so that you rank higher in the SERPs. In light of this information, the short answer to who is using SEO tools? Anyone that wants their business to survive.
The long answer is a little more complex. Top SEO tools are available for a wide range of businesses, both in size and industry. You can find SEO marketing software that works specifically with your type of niche, so you can better optimize your business offerings. For example, a small local business may look for SEO software tools that help optimize their keyword campaigns for very boutique, niche keywords. This is a smaller, more targeted audience that you are likely to rank better for and will reap more quality leads from.
It’s always a good idea to find a service that fits your brand as well as your business needs. This might include budget restraints, business size, and even type of audience. Some features you might want to look for include:
- Keyword density
- RIO prioritization
- Real-time keyword ranking
- Scans your pages for on-site issues
- Inbound link analysis
- Competitor rankings for same keywords
- PPC campaigns and social media engagement
- SEO auditing
- SEO issues that conflict with visibility
How Can I Improve My SEO Ranking with These Tools?
As you can see, SEO tools cover a wide spectrum of useful applications. Of course, if you're new to the concept of SEO tools and SEO marketing in general, it may be hard to wrap your head around the concept. After all, how do SEO tools actually help improve your rankings anyway?
In their basic form, SEO software tools can help you with keyword research. A good tool will allow you to identify the right keywords for your product or industry. It’ll also help you narrow down those keyword lists to more longtail keyword phrases that apply more specifically to your niche audience. SEO marketing tools can also help you analyze the various keywords to see which ones are most worthwhile for you to invest your time and resources into.
The best SEO tools will then help you organize keywords into lists and allow you to plan a solid strategy using these words to boost your search engine rankings. So, not only do SEO software tools save you countless hours of tedious keyword research time, but they go far beyond that into the filtering, categorizing, organization, and planning stages, as well. And the insights gained from using these tools are sometimes worth even more than the initial keyword planning itself.
Some of the benefits that come from using SEO software tools include:
- Targeted keywords
- Keyword research and saving
- Link insights
- SEO-friendly content suggestions
And ultimately, more traffic.
Which Is the Best Free SEO Tool?
SEO tools are essential for your business success, that much we’ve established fairly concretely. And while there are some that you won’t want to do without even for the price tag, there are still plenty of free SEO tools you can take advantage of to improve your search engine rankings, on-page SEO, and ad campaigns. If you’re working your SEO campaign well and want to boost those efforts with a little gratis juice, check out these free SEO marketing tools that will work wonders for your business:
- Google PageSpeed Insights for page load speed
- Mobile-friendly Test for testing the responsiveness of your website on mobile devices
- Incognito Google Search for keyword research
- Google Analytics for seeing traffic on your site, creating campaign parameters, and tracking funnel conversion paths
These are some great tools to help you improve your SEO strategy, even if you're working with a tight budget. Of course, if you're seeing positive results from an SEO tool and want to gain even more traction, you can always upgrade to the paid-for versions. These SEO marketing tools will have added features that can greatly enhance your SEO efforts and deliver even better results.