Most companies that we talk to admit that organic traffic is one of the top channels that they depend on for success but struggle to see the amount of movement that they were hoping for. For one reason or another, they can not seem to take their site to the next level. That’s when we dive into our toolbox and start to look under the hood of their website. Most of the time we find technical and on-page errors, many of them easily fixed, that are standing in the way of the massive growth that they are expecting. To state the obvious, as an SEO Consulting firm we would love to work with every company we talk with to get the results they are looking for but for a number of reasons that may not happen.
As a company, we decided it would be a good idea to share with our readers the top 5 tools that we use to better understand where the problems exist. So you can see for yourself what might be holding you back. Now, this is not an all-inclusive list because some of the tools are a little harder to understand so we don’t want you to get too bogged down with tools as some SEO requires outside-the-box thinking. The following list of tools will be a great launching point on your SEO journey.
Why Use SEO Tools?
The answer here is simple. We use SEO tools because it is easier than not using SEO tools. Why would we use a wrench when we could just struggle by using our hands? You obviously wouldn’t do that so why, if someone has already done the legwork and put together a tool to help us would we do all the hard work ourselves?
Here is the truth, SEO tools save you from tedious keyword research and data analysis. With these tools, you’re able to see what’s working and which parts of your strategy could benefit from some tweaking. The best SEO tools also provide reports about how you measure up to competitors and where the greatest opportunities lie. What’s more, they allow you to measure search performance in countries, regions, or languages. (oberlo.com)
Now that we understand why we use these tools let’s take a look at which tools you should put in your toolbox today!
5 Must-Have SEO Tools to Get You Started
Here is your list of tools you need!
ahrefs
For those of you not too familiar with SEO and HTML coding <a href=> is a line of HTML code that is added to a piece of content or web page to create a link within the content. Considering backlinks are one of the pillars of success in SEO this tool is a must-have to better understand how your site is doing from a backlink perspective.
Ahrefs is a professional-grade SEO tool with powerful features across everything from keyword management to competitive analysis. While its interface isn’t geared for beginners, it’s a solid choice for experienced digital marketers. (pcmag.com)
Even if you are not the most experienced digital marketer this tool can be used to find out places in which your site can improve. For example, we love to use this tool to see if companies are missing opportunities when it comes to backlinks due to 404 errors (i.e. broken pages). By using the best-by-links feature we are able to see if your site is losing out on some high-quality backlinks.
Along with being a great backlink tool ahrefs also has a vast array of competitive research, keyword research, and knowledge base tools to help you along your journey. This is a must-have for sure.
SEMRUSH
Although quite a bit of overlap from the previous tool, SEMRUSH is a must-have in your toolbox as well. There are quite a few tools that exist that do similar things but in this case, SEMRUSH is one of the top tools that we use for its Keyword research function.
SEMRush provides analytics tools, social media reporting, and SEO information about your website. It builds in competitor analytics as well and can be used for keyword research and analyzing backlinks. SEMRush is a good tool for small business owners who have some experience in SEO already. It also provides data on things like Google Shopping ads and other product displays. SEMRush plans to start at $99.95 per month. (businessnewsdaily.com)
Get this tool today to ensure that you know what keywords you should be going after before writing content. On top of that, their keyword gap analysis tool allows you to see where your website stacks up compared to your competitors. This invaluable information can give you a leg up and allow you to be one step ahead.
Screaming Frog
Not only one of the best technical SEO tools out there but by far the best named. Screaming Frog is a staple with our SEO team because it allows us to easily crawl and see what technical errors are on our client’s websites. We use this tool day in and day out.
Brian Dean from Backlinko states, “Screaming Frog is the first technical SEO tool that I ever used. And it still holds up today. Great for quickly identifying technical issues that are holding your site back from the first page. The free version works well. But to get really down-and-dirty, you definitely want to splurge for the full paid version.” (backlinko.com)
Depending on the size of your site you may have to splurge and get the paid version of the tool but if your site is smaller than 500 pages you can get away with the free version. Get this tool today to start fixing up your site’s technical side.
Browser Extensions
Browser Extensions
This is a two-for-one deal here. Depending on which browser you use there are a ton of browser extensions available to help you with your SEO needs. These two SEO Meta in One Click and Doug Toolz are the ones we use pretty much exclusively when it comes to analyzing websites. They allow you to quickly pull view information about the current page that you are on including, SEO Page Title, Meta Descriptions, Header Tags, as well links.
These tools not only can give you valuable information about your pages and their optimization but they also allow you to look at pages that are above you in the rankings and see what they are doing from an optimization perspective. These are simple and free and need to be in your bag of tricks.
I know this feels a little like cheating because it is a Search Engine but a simple Google search can tell you a ton of valuable information that if done correctly can help you improve your rankings. For, example looking at what Google sees of your website by doing a site search can tell you if they are seeing pages that they shouldn’t be, which can be watering down your content that you are posting.
Also, one of the best ways to find ideas for ongoing content is to search your actual target keywords. For example, using the question “How to speed up a Mac” returns this result.
By looking at this SERP you can see that someone is paying for the search term as well as there is a Featured Snippet available. By analyzing the page using the previous set of tools you can evaluate if that snippet is something you should target and potentially write an updated article.
Google is the most used search engine on the internet – it is the dominant search service among consumers. It has a major impact on SEO strategy when its algorithm changes. Google also provides a bunch of helpful services so you can collect and analyze data about your website and its performance. All these tools are free. (businessnewsdaily.com)
At the end of the day, Google is rich with valuable tools and insights. All you have to do is “Google It”
Don’t Do It Alone
We have just given you the proverbial starter kit for SEO tools as well as some valuable insights as to how to use them. If this is still feeling a little overwhelming or you just don’t have the time to mess with them please don’t do it alone. Your website has a ton of potential and can be a major money-maker if given the proper attention. The team at CadenceSEO would love the opportunity to help you realize the potential of your site and get you on the right path to success. Contact us today for a free consultation. We promise to make it worth your time.
