SEO Tools We Love And Why They’re Right For You!
When crafting your SEO, we know how hard it can be — especially when you’re doing it all on your own! As much as we emphasize the importance of creating a web presence that is authentic and uniquely YOU, when it comes to your site’s visibility and rankings online, there are some simple rules we all need to follow. The good news is that you’re not in this alone. Together, we’re going to walk through some of our favorite tools that we recommend to a wide variety of our clients for many purposes. Whether you’re an e-commerce business trying to increase your online sales or a brick-and-mortar shop wanting to increase foot traffic, there’s a tool out there to help you (and thankfully, sometimes they’re even free). Let’s dive into your options together!
I. Ubersuggest
The first on our list is one of our favorite tools for helping all of you blog lovers out there! There are quite a few benefits to this simple site including insights into keyword volume, site speeds, competitive analytics, and much much more. Using the free version of this website, you can audit your existing site for any errors in URLs, content length, and backlink monitoring. With all of that in mind, the best elements of this site are the keyword recommendation tools and the organic content assistance. If your primary goal in your business is to siren song new readers to your website, this tool gives you valuable insights into key terms that would work best for your audience as well as assist you in writing better content!
Best Tool For: Businesses looking to analyze their organic SEO, find new keywords, and compare their keywords to direct competitors.
Our Favorite Features: Website Audit, Keyword Recommendations (General + Competitive), Site Speed Tracker
Pricing: Offers a free version with limited features. Paid plan is $12/month, billed annually.
II. SEOSpace
This next tool is dedicated to my fellow Squarespace (and Google Chrome) lovers! SEOSpace has many valuable features, but the highlight of this tool is that it operates as a Google Chrome extension and can audit both your and your competitors’ websites as long as they’re utilizing Squarespace (the tool will let you know automatically if they do). Their tool is free to use, although they do have paid features, and audits your pages for a variety of elements from indexing flags, image size, and alt text, to your page SEO titles and descriptions, and even provides AI recommendations for anyone who’s not a big fan of writing themselves. We adore this tool and recommend it to all of our Squarespace clients to help them stay on top of their SEO as they grow!
Best Tool For: Businesses using Squarespace to host their website and are aiming to manage their SEO alone as they grow.
Our Favorite Features: Automatic Audit, Operation on Competitor Websites, AI Copy Recommendations
Pricing: Free version for beginners with limited features. Paid plans are available in three tiers: DIY Plan at $9.99/month, Pro Plan at $24.99/month, and Agency Plan at $69.99/month.
III. Google Business Profile
Many people don’t think much about their Google Business Profile when they’re trying to improve their SEO, but for both brick & mortar and locally targeted online businesses, your profile can be a powerful tool! When building a local and trustworthy client/customer base, having a platform centered around customer feedback as well as your service locations has an extremely positive impact on your business’s growth. Our biggest advice to our clients when it comes to maximizing the impact of your Google Business Profile is to continue to update and maintain it. Add images, expand your service area to neighboring areas, add announcements as you add services or products, and always interact with customers when they leave a review (even if it’s a simple thank you)!
Best Tool For: Both brick & mortar and online service providers looking to grow their local clientele.
Our Favorite Features: Customer Reviews, Audience Updates, Service Area Customization
Pricing: Completely free!
IV. Google Search Console
Google Search Console is another platform that our clients tend to know about and use, but aren’t actively monitoring or utilizing in the ways that they should be! If you’re a Squarespace client, it’s likely that you’re already connected to their platform on the back end. That said, many people simply use the analytics provided on the platform and don’t follow up with GSC itself. From performance data to index tracking and page monitoring, Google Search Console is a fantastic resource to understand how you’re showing up in Google’s search results and how you may be able to fix it! From backlink tracking to site speed monitoring, you have a lot of options within this free tool and it’s up to you to utilize them!
Best Tool For: Everyone with a website that wants to improve their position within Google’s search results!
Our Favorite Features: Performance Tracking, Index Monitoring, Backlink & Top Page Performance Review
Pricing: Completely free!
V. Semrush Local
Unfortunately, this app does not provide a free version for use. That said, if you run a local business and are actively trying to stay ahead of your local competition, this may be a great tool to consider! This app, which is a locally specialized version of the Semrush app, is dedicated to improving your performance in a local environment. From automatically optimizing your Google Business Profile to AI-powered customer interactions, this tool’s greatest power is rooted in doing the heavy lifting on your behalf so that you can stay focused on what you do best — running your business. If you’re looking for tools that let you take a hands-off approach to your SEO monitoring, and are willing to invest a bit of money in it each month, this tool may be for you!
Best Tool For: Local business owners trying to compete in their market and want a more automated approach to their SEO.
Our Favorite Features: Listing Management, Local Keyword Tracking, Competitive Performance Monitoring, Automated Assistance
Pricing: Free Plan includes Local Listing Management, $50/month Add-On to Free Plan
VI. Localo
Localo is a more specialized version of Semrush Local as it’s focused on enhancing your Google Business Profile’s rankings and visibility through the use of AI-powered tools. This tool is a great resource for anyone who loves to be given a to-do list! They guide you through the steps you need to take to improve your visibility and better market your business. Along with that, the tool also helps you compare your ranking results to those of your local competitors, giving you tips on how to stay on top. Finally, for anyone who has problems creating their content, they do have AI-based tools to help you create posts for your profile, reply to reviews quicker, and generally guide you on how to make your profile shine!
Best Tool For: Local business owners trying to compete in their market and stay on top of their local competitors.
Our Favorite Features: Local Listing Monitoring, Profile Protections, Position Tracking, and Free Website (if needed)
Pricing: Offers a free version with limited features. Paid plan is $57/month, billed annually.
Now these are just a few examples of tools on the market to help you manage your SEO and we’re admittedly a bit biased towards them! At the end of the day, the tools you use should be whatever suits your specific business goals and budget. As many of these are free to use, we encourage you to try as many as you like and see what brings the most benefit to you and your team, if you have any questions, you know who to call!