Pretty much all businesses know that the internet has changed the way consumers find new products and service providers. Search engine optimization (SEO) has never been more important, but there are many elements that affect the results you get with this marketing approach. Businesses can rely on dozens of different platforms to help you build a robust organic search marketing strategy, including a set of powerful free SEO tools that are suitable for companies on a budget.
Manually testing and finding the best free SEO tools takes a lot of time and effort, especially if you don’t have a huge amount of resources to invest in your marketing strategy. Fannit is an SEO company that has tested out countless free and paid platforms. Our team has worked with a variety of different resources from various providers, so we have a pretty good idea of which unpaid tools work as well as the platforms that don’t usually deliver great results.
Below, we’ll go over the different types of SEO tools you have available and discuss the importance of implementing the best platforms. We’ll also go over our recommendations for the best free SEO tools available and divide our picks by category.
Defining SEO Tools
Before going any further, let’s take a minute to define SEO tools.
In simple terms, an SEO tool is any platform that helps you research competitors, find keyword ideas, develop content, and perform any other task related to increasing your organic search engine rankings.
Google and other search engines factor in a huge number of variables when calculating your website’s rankings every time there is a relevant search.
However, understanding these variables is not always enough to find the right combination. In many cases, companies need to leverage SEO tools to access relevant data and, in turn, build better marketing campaigns.
With the above in mind, there are dozens if not hundreds of variables that affect your website search rankings.
Because of this, there are also hundreds of SEO tools that you can leverage to improve the performance of your site and many of these carry a hefty price tag.
While you may not be able to achieve the exact same results, you can also opt to work with unpaid SEO platforms that provide similar capacities to their paid counterparts.
By using platforms like Small SEO Tools, you can develop a solid campaign and improve the quality of your content without having to pay a small fortune.
- More helpful reading: What Is SEO? Search Engine Optimization Marketing Definition & How It Works
Why Are SEO Tools Important?
Before the days of digital marketing, companies had the ability to conduct some marketing activities by themselves without having to involve third-parties.
Digital technology has given businesses the ability to connect with their potential customer at a whole new level.
However, this also means that companies need to employ different tools in order to understand potential buyers and ensure that their content is having the right effect.
SEO tools are crucial for a variety of reasons.
For starters, some SEO tools give marketers the ability to identify the keywords that potential customers use when searching for products and services.
Without a solid keyword research tool, knowing what phrases and keywords consumers use to find products would be next to impossible, making these platforms crucial for companies that need this SEO knowledge.
By leveraging the right SEO tools, you can:
Increase Rankings
The most obvious benefit of implementing quality SEO tools is the ability to increase your organic rankings for relevant searches. It’s no secret that Google and other search engines are the first places that consumers turn to when they need to find a product or service.
If you use the right tools, you can understand what the leading sites are doing and implement changes that increase the chance of getting your website on the first page of Google search results.
Keep in mind that there are many ways you can improve your rankings, so you need to analyze your specific scenario and identify the tools that increase your chances of success.
For instance, you may already have great content, but the technical SEO elements on your site may not be properly set up.
In these cases, having the ability to audit your site and find out what technical elements have to be adjusted will increase your chances of landing on the first page.
Track Progress
Simply making changes to your content and website structure doesn’t mean you’ll automatically get the results you want. In order to ensure that your SEO and content marketing strategies are performing well, you need to track your progress.
Again, this will vary from company to company, but some of the variables you may want to track include your site’s historic ranking changes, website search traffic volumes, and the number of leads you generate online.
In addition to free SEO audit tools, you can also find a variety of great tracking platforms that you can implement at no cost.
We’ll go over the list of our top picks for tracking and analytics tools later in this article, but remember to always work with a platform that was developed by a reliable provider like Google.
Study the Competition
The exact algorithm used to calculate organic rankings has never been disclosed by Google.
While this ensures that no one can manipulate the rankings, it also means that companies need to conduct a lot of tests to determine what improvements improve their rankings the most.
In addition to running multiple tests, you can also study leading websites and attempt to understand their strategy.
This can give you valuable insights and allow you to come up with SEO suggestions based on solid data, rather than starting from scratch.
There’s a handful of great free SEO tools online that help you gain a better understanding of competitors, but you should conduct a bit of research to ensure that you partner with a platform that provides accurate page metrics.
Understand the Audience
It doesn’t matter if it’s a B2B, B2C, or any other type of business, understanding the audience is the best way to develop engaging content.
Engaged audience members are more receptive to your marketing message, which means that they are more likely to complete the actions you want them to take, like contacting your business.
Many business owners feel like they already know enough about their audience to develop attractive content.
However, there are many Free Google SEO tools as well as platforms developed by third-parties that give you invaluable insights into the way consumers think and behave online.
This information can help you produce more impactful content, and the best part is that you can access it through tools available at no cost.
- More helpful reading: On Page SEO Checklist – The Ultimate Guide for 2020 (Free Infographic)
The 60 Best Free SEO Tools For Google Website Analysis (& More)
Remember, all companies and products are different, the definition of the best free SEO tools will vary from one business to the next.
Understanding what your company truly needs is the only way to acquire the right platforms, so you should take the time to identify the gaps you need to fill in order to get your website on the first page.
Additionally, you also need to determine what areas of SEO will have the most profound effect on your company.
For instance, if most of your search traffic and sales come from smartphones and similar devices, you need to focus more on mobile SEO rather than desktop devices.
If you’re not sure what search and content marketing strategies have the highest odds of setting you up for success, you can always rely on an SEO company to help you identify the best approaches.
At Fannit, we employ a combination of leading paid platforms with reliable free SEO tools developed by Google and other renowned brands.
Here are our picks for the best free SEO tools available today.
Analytics and Performance
Having reliable analytics and performance tracking tools is crucial because they help you set a benchmark while also allowing you to track how well your content performs.
As with other forms of online marketing, SEO requires periodic optimizations in order to improve the performance of your campaign. The analytics tools you choose will tell you what changes to implement in order to get the results you’re looking for.
Remember, the analytics and performance tracking tool you select needs to come from a reliable developer.
This platform has access to your site’s performance SEO metrics and it may also collect personal information from users, so you should make sure that the SEO free tools you choose handle this data responsibly.
Google Data Studio
Besides being the world’s most popular search platform, Google offers a range of SEO research tools free of charge, but Data Studio may be among the most practical and flexible.
In a nutshell, this SEO tool allows you to take large data sets, like the ones found in Google Analytics, and transform them into engaging visuals.
Users can then share these materials with other team members and analyze the information collected in a much simpler way.
Google Data Studio can help with a huge variety of SEO tasks, plus you can build an almost endless combination of custom dashboards, but you’ll have to take the time and learn how to use the platform’s advanced features.
Bing Webmaster Tools
There’s no denying that Google products usually take up a lot of the attention, but they are not the only resources developed by leading search engines.
The Bing Webmaster Tools platform allows marketers to access crawl dates, generate reports, and view comprehensive information about their Bing organic rankings.
While the platform is only suitable for Bing organic rankings, there is no better tool to help web managers get ranked on this alternative search platform.
Furthermore, the platform provides keyword suggestions, SEO metrics reporting, and other features that help you send more Bring search traffic to your site.
Google Analytics
Out of all the free SEO tools out there, Google Analytics may be the most powerful and popular resource developed by the search giant.
In simple terms, Google Analytics is a comprehensive tracking platform that provides a huge amount of information about the way users behave on your website.
It’s essential for any company or individual who aspires to crack Google’s first page rankings and the best part is that it’s completely free of charge.
While it may not provide every single detail or present information in all formats available, Google Analytics can help you view the number of people that visit your website, how they found it, where they are located, and other crucial information that can help you adjust your digital marketing strategies through a free data management solution.
- More helpful reading: The Ultimate Google Algorithmic Penalty Recovery Guide
Google Search Console
The Google Search Console is similar to Google Analytics, but it provides information from a search platform’s perspective, rather than the users who visit your site.
For example, Google Search Console allows you to see how your rank changes over time, what new keywords you’re ranking for, and the last time that Google bots crawled your site.
In addition to providing in-depth performance data, Google Search Console can also help you troubleshoot your site and send you alerts whenever there’s a problem that affects your rankings.
Like other Google products, Search Console allows you to create comprehensive reports, plus you can submit crawl requests directly to the search platform to ensure that all of your content is updated on its records.
MozCast/SEMrush Sensor
Although they are not technically free SEO reporting tools, MozCast and SEMrush Sensor make the cut to our list of favorites because they can help companies stay up-to-date with any major search algorithm changes.
Google updates the algorithm it uses to calculate search results position on a regular basis, but every now and again the giant implements an update that drastically changes pre-established rankings.
MozCast is a tool that allows you to monitor Google’s algorithm and check whether the patterns indicate a drastic algorithm update.
SEMrush is a similar free SEO tool developed by another leading marketing analysis tool that can also send out notifications whenever there’s a significant change in search rankings for one or more industries.
Crawling and Indexing
Crawling is an essential process that allows search engines to create a comprehensive index, which they scan every time a user conducts a search.
Also known as indexing, this process relies on simple pieces of code called crawlers, bots, or spiders, which are in charge of reading the entire contents of your site line by line.
By ensuring that your site is crawled regularly, you can help ensure that Google and other search engines have the most updated information about your site available.
But, even though crawlers should periodically analyze your site, they may not read your site regularly enough. The good news is that you have a variety of free tools that allow you to submit requests to Google and ensure that your pages get crawled on a regular basis.
Link Redirect Trace
Link Redirect Trace is a chrome extension, but this doesn’t make it any less powerful than any of the tools in this list.
Known as a comprehensive redirect path analyzer, the platform is designed to unveil details about the canonical tags, HTTP headers, robot.txt files, and other crucial pieces of information that can help you learn from competitors.
Additionally, the platform can also be used on your own site in order to identify areas of improvement and errors that need your immediate attention.
When used for competitor analysis, this tool allows you to see detailed technical information, like which pages contain cookies, bot blockers, and other elements.
Screaming Frog
Yes, Screaming Frog is known as one of the leading desktop crawlers thanks to its paid subscriptions.
However, the platform also offers a free version that allows up to URLs for each crawl, which is much better than a lot of the lower-tier solutions that charge a monthly fee.
For those who are not familiar with Screaming Frog, this powerful tool can help users identify broken links, analyze page metadata, highlight duplicate content, perform redirect audits, and create a visual of a site’s architecture.
You can also generate XML sitemaps in the free version, but you’ll need to upgrade your subscription for Google Analytics integrations and other advanced features.
Screaming Frog Log File Analyzer
Server log file analysis is one of the best ways to determine when, how, and by who your website is being accessed. Screaming Frog also offers a log file analysis tool, and the company has gone as far as creating a free version of this software as well.
As you can imagine, the Log File Analyzer has limitations, but it can help you visualize the number of visitors and unique sessions, the duration of each session, OS used, the exact time and date the site was accessed, among other pieces of information.
You’ll only have access to 1000 lines of log event limit and a one project limit, but the platform otherwise provides a full range of great features.
SEOlyzer
If you’re looking to bolster the SEO of your site by understanding crawlers, SEOlyzer may be the best free tool you can opt for. Google crawlers leave data in your server every time they visit your pages.
SEOlyzer helps you analyze these specific log files, parsing and organizing them into actionable KPIs you can use to improve your site performance.
Often listed among the top SEO audit free tools, SEOlyzer can help you detect redirect errors in your site, monitor the speed of your pages, ensure that search engines crawl pages that were recently updated, and other areas.
Plus, marketers can monitor their KPIs in real-time to properly take advantage of time-sensitive promotions like Black Friday.
Xenu
If you’ve researched free SEO tools for website analysis before, you’ve probably run into Xenu. U
nchanged for the last decade, this platform is easy to use and it has become one of the most popular desktop crawlers that can help companies perform a variety of activities. These include basic auditing, finding broken links, and other necessary processes, all free of charge.
When we can it has remained unchanged for the last decade, we are not joking.
The platform’s interface can be a bit overwhelming, especially for younger users who are used to modern interfaces. That said, if you take the time to learn to maneuver this platform, you’ll be able to perform multiple actions that other companies pay monthly fees for.
- More helpful reading: The Friendly SEO Audit Checklist for Beginners
Keyword Research
Many marketers believe that keyword research is the heart and soul of any SEO campaign, and there’s a good chance this statement is not an exaggeration.
After all, the keywords are the terms that consumers use when looking for your products and services. These keywords serve as a direct link between companies and their audiences, so having a solid strategy in place is just as important as finding the right keyword research platform.
There’s a huge collection of research platforms available, but you don’t have to fork out a huge amount of money in order to have access to a decent keyword solution.
There are many quality free SEO keywords tools you can opt for, including solutions developed by Google and other reliable providers.
Answer The Public
If you exclude leading tools like AHREFS and similar platforms, Answer The Public is perhaps the most popular keyword research tool developed by a previously unknown company.
In addition to providing a free solution for companies and marketing professionals, the platform is known for its unique search results delivery format, which categorizes keywords by sub-topics based on the most popular results.
Like other premium keyword research tools, Answer The Public allows you to set up email alerts and schedule weekly snapshots so that they are taken automatically.
This platform is particularly useful for companies that want to answer common customer questions or want to develop content based on their audience’s interests.
Google Keyword Planner
Designed for Google Ads clients but available to all Gmail users, Google Keyword Planner is a free and powerful tool that allows you to find the best terms for your SEO campaign.
Google Keyword Planner provides in-depth information about keywords, like the monthly search volume, similar terms, and the approximate CPC for ads using that specific terms, but this particular is more useful for companies looking to launch paid campaigns.
In addition to looking for keywords by researching exact terms, the Google Keyword Planner can also help you track down keywords using websites and categories.
If you want to know what keywords competitors are using, you can search for their URLs and create a list of terms based on the platform’s findings.
Moz Keyword Explorer
Moz is another leading brand that has developed leading tools for years, but as others on this list, it actually offers a free version that’s good enough for a relatively simple online marketing campaign.
Sure, you may need to sign up for one of the company’s paid ads to get access to all the features, but Moz Keyword Explorer has a free version that allows you to perform 10 queries per month.
Despite the fact that it’s only 10 searches, the amount of information you get with each query makes up for this small number.
Companies can unlock up to 1000 keyword ideas for every single term, not to mention the difficulty score and search volume data.
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest started out as a simple platform that gave users keyword ideas using a simple mechanism.
The platform was since acquired by Neil Patel, one of the leading experts in the world of digital marketing, and transformed into a marketing intelligence tool that includes keyword analysis, among other powerful features.
Sure, the guy may do SEO in his pajamas and have some pretty wacky branding, but Patel has given this platform a major overhaul and still offers a wide range of features at no cost.
The best part? All you have to do is sign up with your Gmail account and you’ll have instant access to the platform’s basic functionalities.
Keyword Surfer
Business owners and marketers that prefer working with Chrome extensions and browser add-ons also have a series of great choices when it comes to finding keywords.
However, Keyword Surfer stands out of the crowd as one of the most innovative tools thanks to its ability to provide accurate, detailed information on the keywords found on a page.
When using Keyword Surfer, you’ll be able to see the monthly search volume, related keywords, traffic generated on each URL, and other details by simply conducting a Google search.
- More helpful reading: How Does SEO Work? How Search Engine Optimization Works With Google
Link Building
Google hasn’t made its algorithm public, but one thing we know for sure is that backlinks and internal link building play a crucial role in your SEO rankings.
When an exterior or third-party page has a link that points to content on your site, that’s considered a backlink.
Google uses backlinks to calculate the quality of every page it crawls, so the search engine assumes that reliable websites link with one another. However, this also means that websites receiving low-quality backlinks won’t perform well in terms of SEO until these links are removed.
Developing a solid backlink strategy is crucial, but you have to take the time to find and evaluate new opportunities to acquire quality external links.
Let’s take a look at some of the tools that can help you identify good opportunities, potentially request new backlinks for your site, and improve your external link profile.
Disavow Tool
Before getting new backlinks, you should review your current profile and determine which links are hurting your SEO rankings.
Once you have a list of the sites that are hitting you with bad SEO, you can use Google’s Disavow Tool, which is accessible from within the Search Console.
The Disavow Tool is regarded as an advanced resource, so you should only use it if you’re absolutely sure that the URLs you’re submitting are hurting your site.
That said, companies that are getting penalized because they’ve racked up poor backlinks (which is fairly common when producing valuable content) can use this tool to ensure that only quality links are being counted.
Link Explorer
Moz provides a wholesome marketing intelligence and analysis solution that comes with an SEO toolbar, but the company also provides limited access to some of its features at no cost.
Moz Link Explorer is a great example of a reliable resource that offers limited functionality at no cost.
The Link Explorer allows you to see the domain authority rating, check backlinks, and view link indexes at no cost. This unpaid tool has more than 35 trillion links in its database and members on the unpaid version can perform up to 10 searches per month.
And, if you use the Moz SEO toolbar, it will add basic link metrics to this feature as well.
Link Miner
Having broken or dead links on your site can have a detrimental impact on your SEO.
Google is on a quest to create the best user experience, so the search giant also takes your internal links into consideration when calculating your SEO rankings. If some of your links don’t work, lead to dead pages, or have other issues, your site will be penalized for it.
Link Miner was developed by one of the most knowledgeable internal linking experts in the world.
The platform was developed to help webmasters identify broken links and view basic metrics related to their internal linking profile in an easy-to-use platform. Useful, practical, and best of all, it doesn’t require payment.
Backlink Checker
AHREFS has also joined the group of leading digital marketing tools to provide limited access to their tools at no cost.
Known simply as Backlink Checker, this standalone platform allows you to perform an analysis and quickly check where your backlinks come from.
You’ll only be able to see the first 100 results and there’s a limit as to how you can filter the information before requiring a paid subscription, but it’s a great place to start for companies on a budget.
Plus, you can always use the Backlink Checker for superficial reviews and solve more severe problems using Ubersuggest or a more comprehensive unpaid solution.
Detailed
Finding a budget link analysis tool and backlink checking platform is challenging because many of the unpaid alternatives come with a huge amount of unnecessary frills.
The team behind Detailed has pledged to develop a no-nonsense link research platform that provides a huge amount of information without any unwanted data.
Determining which links are providing the best results for your site requires a bit of reverse engineering.
But, Detailed makes the process as easy as possible by showing you which sources are driving the most traffic and allowing you to see which are the best backlinks for your industry.
- More helpful reading: Avoid These 8 Link Building Mistakes To Future-Proof Your SEO Efforts
Local SEO
Conventional search engine optimization focuses on targeting the most relevant keywords with the highest traffic volumes. But, this technique may not be the best approach for local companies that aim to increase their local clientele.
In these cases, focusing on local SEO will yield the results you’re looking for, but this requires a slightly different angle than conventional organic search marketing.
Not only do you have to target keywords with location indicators, but you also need to find tools that can help ensure that your company is available through all relevant directories and review sites.
There are thousands of platforms dedicated to listing and grading businesses in specific areas, but the platforms below are our picks for the best free SEO research tools local companies can work with.
Google My Business
Did you know that your business can have a profile and collect reviews on Google Maps even if you didn’t create a listing? Instead of looking at it as an inconvenience, the best thing you can do is take control of this profile and use it to your advantage.
Google My Business allows you to claim your business profile if it already exists, update all of your information, answer customer reviews, and give you full control over your listing.
Google My Business direct affects your local SEO, so having an updated profile increases your chances of getting on the first page of Google whenever there’s a search in your area.
Plus, all you have to do to gain access to this platform is have an active Gmail account.
Google Review Link Generator
Collecting customer reviews on Google Maps is a great way to increase the number of clients you attract online while giving you the ability to learn from your audience.
ut, have you noticed how Google doesn’t give you a specific link that leads to your Maps reviews? The good news is that you can rely on Whitespark’s Google Review Link Generator to get a custom URL that sends customers to your Maps ratings.
Once you enter your business information, Whitespark’s link generator produces a tailored URL within seconds, which you can then send to clients and encourage them to leave a review for your business in a simple way.
Local Search Results Checker
BrightLocal is one of the most reliable free SEO resources out there, especially for companies that want to attract more local customers.
When a person runs a query on Google, the search platform personalizes the results based on the user’s location. So, you can’t simply run a search with a location keyword outside of that area and expect the same results.
Fortunately, you can rely on BrightLocal’s Local Search Results Checker to get a good idea of your standings in other locations.
This tool makes it look like you’re running a search from your location of choice, so you can accurately check the local rankings in this area without having to invest in a VPN or similar tool.
- More helpful reading: Local Search Ranking Factors: Maps and Search Results (2020 Update)
Moz Local Online Presence Tool
Claiming your profiles through Google My Business is a great start, but you also have to ensure that the information on all platforms is consistent.
Google can penalize companies that have information that doesn’t match on local listing sites and rating platforms. But, checking all of these manually can become a tedious and time-consuming task at best.
Moz Local Online Presence Tool gives you a quick breakdown of how your company shows up across web results and relevant rating sites.
Simply put, the platform works with countless data aggregators that help search engines rank results whenever a local query is performed.
Whitespark Local Citation Finder
In addition to its review link generator, Whitespark also offers a citation finding tool that allows you to discover new opportunities and unveil which listing platforms competitors are using.
Known as the Local Citation Finder, this tool can analyze the leading platforms and determine what local citation sites they have their information on.
The Local Citation Finder can help companies identify new opportunities, but these organizations can also see which platforms they already appear on.
This can help ensure that all the data is consistent across every citation platform, which will help send positive SEO signals to search engines.
- More helpful reading: Best Local SEO Services Company: Top Local Search Engine Optimization Agency
Mobile Search Marketing
Mobile devices have become part of the identity of the modern consumer. At a global scale, mobile traffic has already eclipsed desktop users in terms of search volume.
And, while this trend may not necessarily materialize in the US, there’s no denying the importance of adjusting your content for mobile.
In addition to implementing a responsive design, you should also look at mobile SEO best practices and find tools that will help you make the right chances.
Just because a mobile website looks good doesn’t mean it delivers in terms of technical SEO performance, so the tools below are designed to ensure that your pages are ready for smartphones and other devices.
Mobile-First Index Checker
Mobile-First Index Checker is a free resource developed by Zeo. The platform allows you to review your mobile index to ensure that it matches that of your main site.
Remember, Google has now switched to mobile-first indexing, so you need to make sure that all major elements match, including links, structured data, and similar variables.
The indexing on mobile sites is significantly different than on desktop webpages, so you shouldn’t take it for granted.
Zeo’s Mobile-First Index Checker can help you identify problems with your mobile index that need your attention, which increases your site’s overall organic search success.
Mobile SERP Test
When mobile users perform a search, even the slighted variable can produce wildly different results.
For instance, if you run a search from the same location using devices from distinct manufactures or different network carriers, you’ll probably see search results that barely match.
If you’re looking to promote your services on Google, this can be extremely frustrating.
Rather than buying a smartphone from every brand and getting a plan with all carriers in your area, you can use the Mobile SERP Test tool by MoxieMobile.
The platform allows you to simulate mobile searches on different devices and in any location you want, plus you can compare the results side-by-side to ensure you’re appearing on all relevant queries.
Mobile-Friendly Test
Although other platforms have developed dozens of unpaid resources, Google may have developed the largest portfolio of quality free SEO tools.
The Mobile-Friendly Test is a platform that allows webmasters to test how well their site performs on smartphones, tablets, and similar devices.
Developed by Google, the Mobile-Friendly Test is the best way to find out if your pages meet the search engine’s requirements for mobile performance.
It’s a relatively small ranking factor, but mobile-friendliness is one of the elements that influence your search engine ranking health, so taking care of this can influence your ranking across the board.
Google SERP Simulator
In the vast majority of cases, mobile devices have smaller screens than computers and other desktop gadgets.
Therefore, your metadata may appear truncated on these results pages, unless you develop titles and descriptions to be used whenever your pages are featured in mobile searches.
The Mangools Google SERP Simulator is a reliable tool that can help you see how your title tag, meta description, and other data appear in mobile search results pages.
You can add a few variables to each simulation, like bold keywords or the target location, then save the snapshot or export it as an HTML.
Google Trends
Companies that promote their products and services through mobile marketing campaigns need to stay on top of the latest trends.
Consumer behavior patterns change much quicker on mobile devices, but Google Trends can help you track the most popular searches using information available in real-time.
It’s worth noting that Google Trends collects data from both mobile and desktop sources, so it’s not perfect by any stretch.
But, businesses that need to adapt their content based on the latest tendencies can use this tool to produce relevant and fresh resources on a consistent basis.
- More helpful reading: SEO Best Practices: 18 Tips & Optimization Guidelines for Google in 2020
Competitor Research and Site Auditing
Many company owners feel discouraged at the thought of developing a digital marketing campaign that needs to be tested and adjusted.
Some businesses don’t have the budget to run extensive tests, so they need to see results from their efforts as early as possible.
Rather than making arbitrary decisions at first, competitor research tools allow you to unveil the leaders’ strategies.
You can then take inspiration from the competitor insights you collect, shorten the learning curve, and increase your chances of getting great results without skipping a beat.
Additionally, you can also use website auditing tools to evaluate your site and take care of serious SEO issues before they have a major effect on your efforts.
BuzzSumo
If you’re struggling with engagement, then BuzzSumo may be the best unpaid alternative available for your business.
This superb SEO tool allows you to see which pieces of content are being shared the most on social media networks. Plus it provides a breakdown of the performance of the pages being shared on each individual social channel.
You’ll need to sign up for a paid plan if you want access to all the information the platform has available, but the free version allows you to see how many shares and likes a post has on Facebook, Twitter, and other major channels.
So, you can determine which topics are going to resonate with your audience the most and develop these pieces of content first.
SimilarWeb
SimilarWeb is one of the oldest and most popular competitor analysis tools out there.
It provides information about your biggest competitors, including the amount of traffic they receive, the pages that attract the most users, which marketing channels they use, how engaged visitors are, and much more.
Sure, the free version isn’t as feature-packed as the premium offering.
But it’s a great starting tool for companies that are looking for basic capacities that can help produce better content, but are willing to potentially upgrade later on.
Wayback Machine
There are many reasons why the internet is an extremely flexible resource, especially when it comes to performing competitor research.
In many cases, historic data holds the key to developing a great campaign, especially for seasonal purposes. Wayback Machine is a free tool that allows you to analyze a monumental record of the web, which can be used in hundreds of ways for page SEO.
Like other tools on this list, the Wayback Machine has a slightly older interface that’s reminiscent of an early 2000s website.
But, the platform holds an impressive treasure trove of almost 500 billion pages, plus users can also look for specific files like books, videos, audio, images, and more.
Bulk Domain Availability Checker
Entrepreneurs who are always working on innovative platforms and looking for new business ideas usually invest a lot of time into relatively monotonous tasks.
Checking for URL availability is a great example because platforms like GoDaddy only allow you to search for one URL at a time.
Bulk Domain Availability Checker is a superb choice that can help you check thousands of domains at a time in order to help you figure out which addresses are still available.
This tool is also a great shout for third-party providers that specialize in backlinks, but it’s always a practical platform to have handy.
Wappalyzer
Knowing which websites are leading the pack in your industry is one thing, but being able to take a peek under the hood of their top-performing pages can be a real game-changer.
Wappalyzer is a phenomenal tool that allows you to see the technology that competitors are using on their site.
This includes the actual platform the site is built on as well as additional elements, such as Yoast and other plugins.
Wappalyzer is free to use as long as you run less than 50 queries per month. That said, the platform provides instant results and performs real-time analyses using a browser extension that’s available for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge at no cost.
- More helpful reading: What Does SEO Stand For? (SEO Acronym In Business)
Site Speed and Other On-Page SEO Elements
There are hundreds of on-page SEO factors that affect the performance of your URL, but the good news is that all of these are under your control.
As the name suggests, on-page variables consist of page speed, the graphic elements, written content, interface, and any other factor that affects the user experience on your website.
Page speed is a particularly important variable as users expect your website to load within seconds.
If this is not the case, they will hit the back button and continue perusing the web without ever accessing your website, so having a set of reliable tools to measure speed will only boost your chances of success.
Google PageSpeed Insights
Google PageSpeed Insights is a tool built on Lighthouse, a platform that we’ll discuss later on in this section. Yet another one of Google’s awesome unpaid resources, PageSpeed Insights can help you test how fast your page is.
All you have to do is punch in the URL you want to analyze and you’ll receive a comprehensive report on your website speed.
PageSpeed Insights works on two main parameters, but you get a huge amount of information every time you submit a request through the platform.
The good news is that users also receive a set of recommendations to help solve these issues and accelerate loading time as much as possible.
Cloudflare
One of the leading providers of corporate server security solutions, Cloudflare also offers a basic plan at no cost.
Cloudflare members can actually take advantage of this plan indefinitely, so they never have to upgrade unless they really have the means to.
In simple terms, Cloudflare provides protection against DDoS attacks, access to free CDN in order to lower page loading time, and the ability to manage your DNS through a simple interface at no cost. And, in case you need to upgrade, the platform actually offers one of the most affordable solutions in terms of value.
GTMetrix
GTMetrix is a nifty tool that can be used to run performance speed tests on a website. Not only does it provide data about page speed, but it can also produce Waterfalls, YSlow, and other types of reports.
The platform automatically renders a visual for history data whenever it parses a page too, so you can see how the content and performance changed over time.
Once you submit a URL, GTMetrix shows you a performance grade and a structure rating that evaluates if your page is built for performance.
You can also see how quickly the largest content element loads in order to figure out if the hero image or any other file would be a problem.
Lighthouse
Lighthouse is Google’s proprietor, open-source tool specifically designed for speed testing. It’s known as the most accurate speed testing tool, especially if you want to analyze mobile pages or progressive mobile app performance.
This platform is so powerful, it has been used to build other tools like PageSpeed Insights.
To put it in perspective, Lighthouse is so powerful that Google recommends its use.
Some expert marketers also believe that the platform’s ranking algorithm uses a speed testing mechanism that’s very similar to Lighthouse, which makes this tool almost invaluable.
Structured Data Testing Tool
Many of the best SEO tools free of charge are developed by Google, but not all of the search giant’s solutions are as technical as the Structured Data Testing Tool. For starters, the platform allows you to troubleshoot your own structural issues.
Instead of simply telling you what’s wrong, you can actually edit the code in the tool until you find the right solution, then apply it to the live environment once it’s sorted.
The magic of Google Structured Data Testing Tool doesn’t stop there. Businesses can actually perform competitive analyses and determine what type of structure leading sites have in place.
This means that you’ll know exactly what structured data scheme has the highest chances of success and determine whether it’s a suitable model for your website.
WordPress
WordPress is the leading website creation platform in the world. It’s user-friendly, intuitive, and great for SEO, not to mention the fact that there are hundreds of plugins that improve functionality in all senses.
As a matter of fact, WordPress is powerful enough to support websites with thousands of pages, online stores, and other complex platforms with complex functionality features.
Some of the top plugins and WordPress SEO resources are available at no cost, but companies need to ensure that they only work with trustworthy providers.
Remember, the plugin or platform provider you select will have access to your site’s data, so you need to make sure that it’s being handled responsibly.
RankMath
RankMath is a relatively new SEO plugin, but the platform has been making waves since its launching thanks to the superb results it’s produced.
This powerful plugin gives Google keyword suggestions, performs an in-depth SEO analysis, and allows for the creation of rich snippets without having to download an additional third-party tool.
RankMath is ideal for bloggers, private companies, ecommerce platforms, and any other website that wants to promote services or products online.
The platform has a setup wizard that walks you through the entire installation process, plus the intuitive user interface results in a much shorter learning curve when compared to similar solutions.
Yoast SEO
Even though some companies now provide the same level of quality, Yoast SEO set the golden standard for the best WordPress SEO plugin many years ago.
Today, the platform remains one of the most comprehensive solutions that allows web managers to optimize content for keywords, write search-engine friendly metadata, and grade the readability score of the contents on a page.
Yoast SEO also takes care of other technical elements that are necessary for good SEO.
The WordPress SEO plugin provides guidance on how to write relevant content and helps ensure that your writing as well as images give you the best chance of success.
Broken Link Checker
Broken and dead links hinder user experience and result in low SEO rankings.
The team at AHREFS has developed a powerful solution that includes an independent link analyzer that helps companies identify broken links on their own websites.
In addition to reviewing if the first link is broken, AHREFS’ Broken Link Checker also allows you to see redirects that aren’t working and export the data in different formats.
Besides changing links and updating redirects, you can also consider reviving pages you’re taken offline.
If one of your old pages has recently garnered a lot of attention, you should consider revamping its content, uploading it again, and give it another try. Additionally, you can also schedule crawls to make sure that the links get analyzed even if you’re busy or forget later on.
- More helpful reading: WordPress SEO – 10 Reasons It’s the Best Platform
All in One SEO
After Yoast, All in One SEO is perhaps the most interesting free solution that can help improve WordPress search engine optimization.
In a nutshell, All in One SEO includes a huge collection of basic and advanced features that range from metadata updating to indexing enhancements and management of Accelerated Mobile Pages.
Plus, remember that All in One SEO has a custom API that allows you to integrate it with any other search engine optimization tool that you use.
For example, you can create and update XML maps and submit them to Google Search Console to ensure that your entire website gets crawled.
WooCommerce
If you’ve researched ecommerce solutions, you’ve probably run into the name WooCommerce before.
WooCommerce is the most popular ecommerce platform and it powers millions of websites that specialize in selling products online.
While it’s technically a WordPress plugin, WooCommerce is a robust solution that is compatible with other plugins.
It genuinely improves the functionality of your basic WordPress site, transforming it into a full-blown store that can support thousands of visitors per day.
WooCommerce has many attractive advantages, but many ecommerce store owners choose this platform because it provides a secure environment and allows them to accept payments from a variety of sources.
And, WooCommerce also includes its own tracker, but it’s also compatible with Google Analytics as well as similar solutions.
Rank Monitoring and Social Media
Tracking ranking changes in the top 10 search results for every relevant term can give you an idea of elements that help you get on the first page of Google.
Rather than tracking these changes manually, you can rely on free rank monitoring tools, which unveil valuable insights including new keyword ideas for your website.
Likewise, social media has become an essential part of a holistic digital marketing strategy.
But, posting, sharing, and performing other crucial activities manually takes a significant amount of time and effort. In this section, we’ll also cover resources that help you manage your social profiles without having to spend a small fortune.
Let’s take a look at our choices for the best free SEO ranking tools and social media resources available at no cost.
Ahrefs’ SERP Checker
The last free resource in AHRERS’ superb arsenal, the SERP Checker allows you to see information from the top 10 results in 170+ countries and regions.
Users don’t have to rely on proxies, location-specific IPs, and other resources to see information about the first 10 positions for any given area. Plus, you’ll also get to see domain rating, URL rating, backlink information, and other important details.
Perhaps the best feature of this platform is the ability to view history SERP position changes, which are available for the current top 5 pages on the unpaid plan. This historic Google position checker can help you track your overall improvements, so you can also use it to measure how well your campaign is performing.
Citation Builder
Another one of BrightLocal’s awesome resources, the Local Listing Health Scanner can help you keep an eye out for inaccuracies in your local listing profiles.
The platform allows you to scan and analyze the 15 most popular rating sites, allowing you to find omissions, errors, and mismatching information, plus it also provides a fast and easy way to fix them.
BrightLocal has created a proprietary Listing Health Score, which indicates how well your citations are performing and how accurate the information is.
The Hoth’s Google Rank Checker
The Hoth is one of the most popular link building platforms at your disposal, and even though the company’s main services are paid it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t offer a set of free tools for SEO.
Marketers and companies that want to double down on their rank monitoring can take advantage of The Hoth’s dedicated platform that’s available at no cost.
The company’s free Google SEO Ranking Tool not only allows you to see historic changes, but you can also set up automated notifications to be sent out whenever there’s a major fluctuation in your rankings.
Hootsuite
While Buffer may be the most common household name for social media marketing and post automation, Hootsuite also provides a comprehensive set of features at no cost.
Keep in mind that you’ll have limited access to the rest of the platform’s features, but you can still manage up to 3 social profiles and schedule 30 posts or messages at no cost.
Hootsuite was actually among the first social media automation platforms to become available at no cost and it has remained a favorite for marketers across the world.
Buffer also used to offer a free plan, but the platform is now only available for paid subscription holders.
Technical Search Optimization and Other Miscellaneous Tools
Lastly, we’ve put together a list of additional technical SEO resources and miscellaneous tools that you can use to improve the performance of your website at no cost.
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools
In addition to Bing and Google’s, AHREFS has developed its own Webmaster Tools that can help you monitor and improve the health of your website SEO.
The platform can help you check more than 100 issues on your website, plus you can see all the backlinks you’ve racked up as well as the keywords that you’re currently ranking for.
And, it also addresses multiple shortcomings of Google Search Console, so it’s worth the try if you find the search engine’s webmaster solution too basic.
Smush
All elements of your website affect user experience, especially the text and images on your site.
If the images you choose appear to be stretched or otherwise distorted, users will automatically assume that your site has low-quality content.
Smush is a great WordPress plugin that can help you compress, resize, and optimize images while still maintaining full quality.
Wheregoes?
Tracking and mapping your redirects can reveal why your pages are loading slowly as well as show you which links need to be repaired.
Wheregoes? is a simple and powerful tool that helps you do one thing: map your redirects and tell you if any of the links on your site need to be repaired.
The platform gives you the ability to diagnose complicated linking issues, understand ad conversion flows, and carry out competitor research like never before.
Robot.txt Generator
Properly formatted robot.txt files help guide crawlers and tell them what parts of your site should be indexed. However, producing these files manually is challenging if you don’t have any technical knowledge.
The good news is that you can now rely on Ryte’s generator to make sure that your site and XML map are being crawled appropriately.
HEADMasterSEO
One of the main problems with optimizing sites that are already live is getting a comprehensive analysis from a single tool.
HEADMasterSEO does a great job at checking large URL lists in bulk and reviewing the status of each link in its HTTP headers field database. The platform provides analytics information in real-time, plus users can export the data in the form of a CSV and use it in other applications.
Algoroo
If you’re looking for an algorithm tracker that is a bit more flexible and comprehensive in terms of data displayed, Algoroo may be the best option out there.
The platform tracks major changes in Google search results pages, in order to detect website ranking shifts that may signal an algorithm update.
Google Alerts
Have you ever wondered how to monitor the internet for mentions about your site, brand, or product? The web is composed of billions of sites, which makes this task seem impossible.
Fortunately, Google Alerts can help you analyze the web and inform you whenever there’s a new mention of the terms you want to track.
The best part is that you can also use this feature to track competitors and find out where they are promoting their services, whether it’s blogs, directories, or other platforms.
Ready to Start Your SEO Campaign? Contact Fannit Today
There are many different SEO resources you can leverage to boost the performance of your campaign even if you don’t have the budget to shell out huge amounts of money every month.
To learn more about starting your campaign and using Google Search Console as well as other powerful unpaid tools, contact Fannit today and our team will be glad to help.
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