Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the practice of optimizing your website and social media content so that it can be discovered through a search engine’s organic results page. While there are a number of factors that influence the algorithm of a search engine results page (SERP) the benefits of SEO are obvious: showing up in search engine results increases traffic to your company’s website and enhances the potential for lead generation.
If you are looking to increase your company’s website traffic, rank, and reputation, but don’t know how to get started or simply don’t have the budget to remain searchable, we’ve compiled a list of 5 free tools that are intuitive, effective, and powerful.
1. Google Analytics
There is no data source as powerful as Google Analytics; After all, Google does account for 77% of internet searches across the world with 3.5 billion searches per day. It provides data about websites including the number of site visits, demographics, and traffic sources. Furthermore, it helps strategists learn what content is working and what needs to be changed, providing a number of other cool sources such as Keyword Planner and Search Console.
2. Google Search Console
An extension of Google Analytics and formerly known as Webmaster Tools, Google Search Console helps you measure the search traffic and performance of your website, while also alerting you of potential website issues that need to be fixed. It provides some of the same information as Analytics, but in a much simpler and straightforward manner. It’s rich with insights related to mobile usability, keyword and URL performance, indexation issue, sitemaps, and more.
3. AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic is a handy tool that provides marketers with data about the common questions asked by users online. It offers insightful data that helps content creators understand the desires and concerns held by potential customers, enabling them to generate targeted content that is both relevant and useful. This is a great resource to utilize if you are looking to create content that is enjoyable and more likely to be shared with a larger market.
4. MozBar
MozBar is a tool that integrates directly with your Google Chrome browser to provide access to advanced user metrics on SERPs and website home pages. The page analysis feature offered by the tool allows you to explore various elements of your page including link metrics, page title, and markup. With a subscription, you can unlock more advanced features such as keyword difficulty and page optimization.
5. SEMrush
SEMrush is a pretty cool tool for its ability to provide information about the most searched keywords on any webpage including their position or ranking, the URLs to which they drive traffic, and traffic trends over the last year. With this feature, you can easily find out which keywords competitors are using to help shape your content around popular words and phrases. There are more accessible features offered by the tool with a subscription, but I would suggest utilizing the 7-day trial to see how it works for you before deciding to try the premium features.
There are so many free SEO tools similar to the ones listed above that are readily available to newbies and seasoned digital marketers looking to optimize their content on a tight budget. Each of these tools offers great features and when used properly, can produce remarkable results.
If you have any favorite, free SEO tools that we forgot to mention, join the conversation by letting us know below or sending us an email.