No matter if you’re a small local store or a big company, SEO is still your best bet for getting more people to visit your website over the long haul and getting leads. Just one well-optimized blog post, webpage, or video can bring in lots of interested visitors for years, and you don’t even have to spend money to advertise it.
But let’s be real, SEO is tough. Everyone wants to be at the top of Google’s search results, and it keeps getting harder to get there.
That’s why we’ve gone through and tested the best SEO tools out there in 2024. Whether you’re putting out your first blog post or making sure a massive website is in tip-top shape, there are SEO tools on this list that can give you a hand.
What do SEO tools do?
Simply put, SEO tools are software that make it easier to do SEO stuff.
They can do a bunch of things like:
- Finding good keywords
- Keeping track of where your website shows up in searches
- Making sure your website is set up right for SEO
- Helping you get more links to your website
- Checking to see how well your website is doing with SEO
- Checking out what your competition is up to
There are different kinds of SEO tools. Some have lots of different features and can help with a bunch of different parts of SEO. Ahrefs is one of the recommended SEO tools. It can help with stuff like finding good keywords, making sure your website is set up right for SEO, checking out other websites, and more.
Which tool works best for SEO?
Choosing the right SEO tool is a bit like choosing a vehicle. Do you need something for hauling, speed, or maybe just a smooth ride?
When picking your SEO tool, think about what you need. Here are some questions to help:
- Are you new to SEO, or do you know your way around SEO tools?
- How much can you spend?
- Do you have specific tasks, like checking a big blog or finding keywords?
- How many people will use the tool?
- What kind of business is it (like a marketing agency or an online store)?
Each situation is different, but we picked our recommended SEO tools based on some key things:
- User-friendliness: Is it easy to use? Can people figure out how to use it quickly?
- Value: Is it worth the money? Is it a good deal compared to other similar tools?
- Does it do what you need? Does it have all the features you need for your job?
- Do people like it? Are there good reviews and ratings on sites like G2 and Capterra?
Best free SEO tools
These recommended SEO tools are either entirely free or offer a strong free version with lots of useful features.
1. Exploding Topics for Discovering SEO Keyword Trends
Exploding Topics is a cool tool that helps you catch onto upcoming popular topics. It keeps an eye on the web, watching for topics that are starting to get more attention.
You can’t just type in any topic to see what’s trending. But you can pick from a bunch of topics that might be important to you.
The info doesn’t just come from searches (although it does watch millions of searches). When you see a topic trending, it’s because it’s being talked about all over the internet. That’s why this tool is good at spotting not just what people search for now, but what they’ll probably search for soon.
It’s free to check out what’s trending in each category. If you want more features like tracking and alerts, you can pay $39 or more for a plan.
2. WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool: Recommended SEO Tool for Unlimited Keyword Research
One tough part of SEO is finding the right keywords. You need ones with enough people searching for them but not too much competition. Our Free Keyword Tool helps with that. It quickly gives you a list of keywords and all the info you need to pick the best ones.
I like to use it after I’ve thought of some starting keywords. Just type in your word or phrase, and you’ll get a list of related words. It also shows how many times people search for each word and how tough the competition is. You can easily find those great keywords with lots of searches and not much competition.
And the best part? It’s completely free, no matter how many searches you do.
3. Animalz Revive: Keep Your SEO Content Fresh
Over time, blog posts for SEO can slip in ranking. Revive, by the content marketing agency Animalz, finds these older posts on your blog.
Here’s how it works: Revive checks your Google Analytics (you need to let it in) to find posts with less traffic over time. Then, it sends you an email with a list of posts that could do better if you freshen them up.
It’s free to use, but you have to give your email address to get started.
4.
Similarweb lets you peek at how well any website is doing on the internet. Even the free version gives you a lot of info.
Just type in a website and you’ll see stuff like how many people visit, who they are, where they come from, and more. You can even compare two websites side by side.
Remember, Similarweb’s data isn’t always perfect. It collects info from lots of places on the internet and makes guesses. But it’s still really helpful. For example, if my competitors have lower bounce rates than me, it’s a sign I need to improve my website.
You can do basic checks for free on Similarweb. If you want extra details, like where people go after leaving a website, you might need to pay.
5. LocaliQ’s Website Grader: For Free SEO Audits
If you want a quick and easy audit of your website, LocaliQ’s Free Website Grader is perfect.
Even though it’s free, you get a ton of info. Your report covers things like:
- Technical SEO: Site security, site speed, and mobile optimization
- On-page SEO: Metadata, word count, and alt text
- Off-page SEO: Links from other sources
It’s enough to make a solid SEO improvement plan.
You’ll get your reports by email for free, and you can run them as much as you need.
Top AI-Powered SEO Tools
A bunch of the tools we talked about here use AI for SEO in some way. But we found a couple that really shine because they use AI to handle big piles of data and give you smart SEO tips.
6. Outranking: SEO Content Outlining
There are a bunch of AI tools out there for writing content now. What makes Outranking different is that it’s all about helping you write stuff that shows up high on search engines.
With a free account, you can type in what you want to write about, where you want it to show up, what language you want, and a title. Then, it gives you an outline that you can change if you want. It’s super handy if you often write outlines for other people to use. Just like with any AI tool, make sure to check over what it gives you and add your own style.
You can start using Outranking for $29 a month. That gives you five new outlines and helps you make your existing content more SEO-friendly.
7. CanIRank: Checking Keyword Competition
CanIRank is one of our recommended SEO tools for gauging keyword competition. It is like a supercharged tool for checking how tough it is to rank for certain keywords. It looks at how strong your website’s SEO is already, then tells you if you have a shot at ranking for those keywords.
Here’s the cool part: CanIRank doesn’t just point out keywords to aim for. It uses AI to give you specific tips to help your content climb higher in search results.
You can check out one website for free with CanIRank. Plus, you get five keywords and SEO reports every day without paying. If you want to check more websites and keywords, you can start with a paid plan at $49 a month.
8. Keyword Insights: Grouping Keywords for Better SEO
Keyword Insights is a tool you pay for that helps with keyword research. It uses AI in two cool ways. First, it uses smart tech to find groups of topics from just one keyword.
These groups help you aim for lots of different longtail keywords in one go. When Google sees that you cover a topic really well, it’s more likely to put you at the top of the search results for related keywords.
Once you’ve got your keyword group, Keyword Insights uses AI to make a brief or outline for you. It looks at what’s already out there in the search results and also checks out places like Reddit and Quora for more ideas.
But here’s the thing: While tools like Keyword Insights are great for getting started, don’t forget to add your own twist. Put in your own experiences, quotes from experts, or anything else that’ll make your content stand out.
You can try Keyword Insights for four days for just $1. After that, you can pay starting at $58 a month for more features.
9. Diib: Keeping an Eye on Your Keywords and Rankings
Google search results are always changing. You could be on the first page for a keyword one day and gone the next. Diib uses smart AI to watch over lots of important SEO stuff for your website. But the best part is its keyword tracking feature, which helps you stay on top of the ever-changing search pages.
With Diib, you can pick out the keywords that matter most to you and keep track of how they’re doing. You’ll see them front and center in your reports, along with their history on Google’s search results page. Plus, Diib will let you know if your rankings for those keywords change. That way, you can do things like spruce up your page or add new info to keep your rankings high.
Diib starts with a $99 startup fee, and then it’s $14.99 each month after that.
Top Local SEO Tools
Local SEO is super important for businesses in specific areas. Most people, about 77%, use Google to find places like coffee shops, dentists, or HVAC technicians nearby. These tools are all about making sure your business pops up when those folks are searching. They’re some of our recommended SEO tools for local businesses.
10. GeoRanker: Tracking Location-Specific SEO
If your customers come from specific places in India, it’s important to know if your website shows up for the right keywords there. GeoRanker helps with that.
Once you fill out some details, GeoRanker gives you a report showing where your website ranks for your chosen keywords in the cities or states you’ve selected. You can also see how your rankings have changed over time and check where your competitors show up on those search pages.
This tool is great for businesses with multiple locations, as it lets you see data for each city or state you’re in.
GeoRanker also has a feature that checks search results for a keyword in different cities. For example, searching for “coffee shop” will give you different results in Mumbai compared to Kolkata.
You can try out GeoRanker for free with limited access to its tools. If you want more, you can get a monthly subscription starting at $99. It’s one of our recommended SEO tools for local businesses.
11. LocaliQ’s Free Business Listings Grader: Auditing Directories
Business directories online, like Yelp and Google Business Profiles, are like today’s Yellow Pages. If you want people to find your local business online, you need to make sure your info is correct on those directories. LocaliQ’s Free Business Listings Grader helps with that. It quickly checks your business listing on over 20 online directories.
Using the Listings Grader is easy. Just type in your business name, address, and postal code. Then, it checks your info against places like Waze, eLocal, and lots more. It’s a handy way to check lots of listings all at once.
Best part? LocaliQ’s Listings Grader is completely free, and you can run as many reports as you need.
12. Yext: Keeping an Eye on Reviews
Reviews can really impact how your business shows up in local searches. Yext has lots of tools to help you manage your online presence and reputation, but one of the best is its review monitoring feature for local SEO.
Yext uses special connections to grab reviews from all over the internet and puts them on your dashboard. That way, you can see how people are rating your business and what they’re saying about it. Plus, you can set it up to let you know whenever a new review pops up.
Not only can you keep track of reviews with Yext, but you can also respond to them, either automatically or by writing your own response. You can even ask for reviews and check out the overall feelings people have about your business.
Yext doesn’t have a set price, so you’ll need to reach out to them to get the details. It’s one of our recommended SEO tools for local businesses.
Top Google SEO Tools
When you do well with SEO, it’s a win for Google too. That’s why Google has made some really useful tools to help you out with researching, optimizing, and analyzing your website’s ability to rank. These three tools are all free, so I haven’t listed their prices separately.
13. Search Console: Simplifying Technical SEO
Technical SEO might sound scary, but Google Search Console (GSC) makes it a lot easier to handle. It helps you keep an eye on different parts of your technical SEO, so you can understand and improve them.
Here’s how GSC can help you:
- Make sure Google is properly checking out your web pages.
- Keep an eye on your Web Core Vitals and any mobile problems.
- Submit your sitemaps so Google knows what’s on your site.
- Spot any security issues.
It’s one of our recommended SEO tools because it makes technical stuff simpler to deal with.
14. Google Trends: Planning Keywords at the Right Time
Google Trends is like a report card for how often people search for a word or phrase on Google. It tells you if something is popular right now.
On Google Trends, you won’t see the exact number of searches for a keyword. Instead, you’ll see how much the search volume changes over time. This helps you understand if a topic is trending up or down.
You can change the time, place, and type of search (like images or news) to see how they affect the trend. It also gives you a map showing where the searches are happening. Plus, you’ll see related terms to help you pick the right keywords.
It’s one of our recommended SEO tools because it helps you plan your keywords at the perfect time.
15. Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Tracking SEO Performance
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a tool that keeps an eye on how people find and use your website.
It gives you lots of data in different ways. Some of the most useful stuff for SEO includes:
- Seeing how much of your site’s traffic comes from people searching on Google.
- Finding out which pages and blog posts are the most popular.
- Figuring out which pages aren’t getting as much traffic from search engines as they used to.
- GA4 is the latest version of Google’s analytics tool. It’s a bit different from the older one, Universal Analytics.
Top Paid SEO Tools
If you’re willing to spend some money, these SEO tools offer a lot of features and are really easy to use. They all cost money, but we’ve picked the ones that give you the most value for what you pay.
16. Ahrefs: Top Choice for Comprehensive SEO Features at a Good Price
I’ve been using Ahrefs for a long time now, and it’s been my go-to for keyword research, tracking rankings, and checking out the competition. Ahrefs really stands out because of all the great stuff it offers, especially if you’re not doing super heavy-duty SEO work.
There’s so much packed into Ahrefs that it’s hard to cover it all. But here are a few things I use a lot:
- Site Explorer: You can pop in any website or webpage address and Ahrefs will give you tons of info. Stuff like what keywords it ranks for, where its backlinks come from, how much traffic it gets, and more.
- Keywords Explorer: This tool shows you how many people are searching for a keyword, how hard it is to rank for, and which pages are already ranking for it.
- Competitive Analysis: Ahrefs helps you see what keywords your competitors are ranking for that you’re not.
Ahrefs starts at $99 a month, but most people will find the $199-per-month Standard Plan works best for them. It’s one of our recommended SEO tools because it gives you a lot for what you pay.
17. Semrush: For Serious SEO Pros
While Ahrefs is great for a lot of SEO tasks, Semrush offers even more detailed data in many areas, making it perfect for advanced users who really know their stuff.
Let’s talk about keyword research, for instance. Semrush gives you lots of info like search volume trends, Google PPC keyword data, and even tells you what people are looking for with certain keywords.
Ahrefs is still really good, especially for checking out technical SEO stuff and tracking rankings.
Semrush starts at $130 a month, but most serious users will probably go for the $250-per-month plan. It’s one of our top picks for hardcore SEOs because it gives you so much detailed data.
18. Screaming Frog: Spotting Common SEO Problems
Screaming Frog works kinda like Google Search Console. It checks out your website to find things that might be messing with its performance. But Screaming Frog looks for different stuff and gives you tips on how to fix it.
It might take a bit to get the hang of Screaming Frog if you’re not super tech-savvy. But if you’ve ever done an SEO audit, you’ll catch on pretty quick. Once you do, you’ll start spotting things like broken links, messed up titles and meta tags, and wrong redirects. You can even make XML sitemaps and visualize your site.
There’s a free version of Screaming Frog that lets you check up to 500 URLs. The paid version costs $249 a year and lets you do more stuff like scheduling audits and checking for similar content. Plus, you can crawl as many URLs as you want. It’s a great tool for finding common SEO issues.
19. AnswerThePublic: Brainstorming Ideas for Content
AnswerThePublic is a tool that helps you come up with ideas for what to write about. It’s not like other keyword tools. Instead, it looks at what people are searching for on Google and shows you those ideas in a visual way.
When you type in a main word, AnswerThePublic gives you lots of info about it, like how many people search for it and how much it costs for ads. As you scroll through the report, you’ll see different kinds of keyword ideas, like ones with “is,” “to,” or “with.” It even compares the cost and popularity of different keywords.
Now, AnswerThePublic also works with Bing, TikTok, Amazon, and YouTube.
You can get three reports a day for free after you sign up, but some of the info is limited. If you want more, you can pay $9 a month for a plan, or start with a lifetime plan for $99. It’s a helpful tool for getting ideas for your content.
The Recommended SEO tools in 2024
Despite some rumors, SEO is still one of the best ways to get traffic and leads for your business over the long term.
But it’s getting more competitive. Just guessing keywords and doing SEO checks here and there won’t help you rank well on search engines. With the right SEO tools, even smaller websites can compete with bigger ones.
Here’s a list of the best SEO tools and what they’re good for:
- Exploding Topics for Discovering SEO Keyword Trends
- WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool: Recommended SEO Tool for Unlimited Keyword Research
- Animalz Revive: Keep Your SEO Content Fresh
Similarweb: Recommended SEO Tool for Checking Out Your Competition - LocaliQ’s Website Grader: For Free SEO Audits
- Outranking: SEO Content Outlining
- CanIRank: Checking Keyword Competition
- Keyword Insights: Grouping Keywords for Better SEO
- Diib: Keeping an Eye on Your Keywords and Rankings
- GeoRanker: Tracking Location-Specific SEO
- LocaliQ’s Free Business Listings Grader: Auditing Directories
- Yext: Keeping an Eye on Reviews
- Search Console: Simplifying Technical SEO
- Google Trends: Planning Keywords at the Right Time
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Tracking SEO Performance
- Ahrefs: Top Choice for Comprehensive SEO Features at a Good Price
- Semrush: For Serious SEO Pros
- Screaming Frog: Spotting Common SEO Problems
- AnswerThePublic: Brainstorming Ideas for Content
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