This article will give you the best, most useful, and above all, free SEO tools.
The work with SEO has many nuances. That is why we have selected a number of tools that are the most useful and do not cost you anything. The tools are divided according to their purpose and tell a short story about each.
They are selected according to the following method:
- Tools must have a free functionality
- They must be relevant and popular
- They must give you insight that you can put into practice.
Some of the most common SEO tools are Ahrefs and Semrush. When I do free SEO analyses for interested companies, I also use, e.g., Ahrefs.
However, both tools quickly become expensive to deal with. But if you have an ambitious SEO setup where you want to be at the top, you should probably invest.
But if your SEO journey is beginning, you should start here. You first get our recommendation for the absolute best free toolbox for SEO. This is followed by a nuanced review of 27 tools, each capable of slightly different things.
What are the most effective SEO tools in 2023?
The best SEO tools we recommend in 2023 are Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs Backlink Checker, Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, Yoast, and Google Search Console.
Tool for keyword analysis: Google Keyword Planner
Here you get a solid opportunity to find out the search volume and degree of competition and get inspiration for alternative keywords.
And since it’s direct from Google, you know you can trust the data. In addition, many people already work with Google Ads, which is why it is easy to use Keyword Planner.
Link Analysis Tool: Ahrefs Backlink Checker
With Ahrefs Backlink Checker, you get access to the strongest link database on the internet. Besides Google’s own, of course.
Tools for technical SEO: Ahrefs Webmaster Tools.
With Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, you get a solid introduction to technical SEO. It analyzes your website for the most serious errors and tells you how to fix them.
Tool for content: Yoast
With Yoast, it’s easy to ensure that all your pages are as SEO-optimized as they should be. Yoast won’t tell you exactly how to hit the search intent but acts as a strong checklist to ensure that the lowest-hanging fruit is picked.
Tool for data: Google Search Console.
Data you can’t question. With GSC, you get access to key SEO metrics such as views and clicks, the ability to keep an eye on indexing and other technical issues – and best of all, the data is direct from Google’s search results pages, so you know it fits.
If you use these five, you’re well on your way – regardless of whether you’re new to the world of SEO or need to keep up with what your agency is doing.
If you already know these five – and feel they are missing something –I would encourage you to read on. And read our full guide on “The 15 Simple SEO Tricks” toincrease your website’s organic traffic
Keyword analysis tools
When you have to do a keyword analysis, it is important to keep in mind which keywords you can work with.
Which of these tools is best depends a lot on your needs. You can advantageously use several of them to counteract the limitations of the free editions.
1. Keywordtool.io
An easy way to generate hundreds of keyword ideas
Keywordtool.io uses Google Autocomplete to show you many suggestions for other keywords you can use when doing your keyword analysis.
Limitations: The free version has limited search volume data access.
2. Ahrefs Keyword Idea Generator
Get data on the best keyword ideas
Ahrefs is one of the world’s best SEO tools and is also my favorite and used – both when we do an initial free SEO analysis and go in-depth with the SEO work.
But to get full access is quite expensive. However, Ahrefs also has a large number of free tools, including Keyword Generator.
Limitations: You can only get data on the first 100 keywords
3. Ubersuggest
An all-around SEO tool that can tell you about keywords, links, and track ranks
Marketing guru Neil Patel is behind the ambitious project Ubersuggest, which aims to help provide more SEO data.
It’s quite cheap for full functionality, but if you don’t do a lot of SEO, you’ll also get far on the free version.
Limitations: Only three daily searches on keywords and domains
4. Answer the Public
With Answer The Public, you tap directly into your audience’s questions.
Who, what, when, why? Questions form the cornerstone of people’s search for information. And no tool makes it more clear than Answer The Public, which can give you a wide range of relevant questions and comparisons based on a single keyword. These are connected to a nice and understandable graphic.
Limitation: 3 daily searches
5. Moz Keyword Explorer
From an old familiar in the SEO world comes Moz’s Keyword Explorer
Moz’s database is one of the largest, and its free version also provides an unmanageable amount of data. Use it to lay out a clear keyword analysis and SEO strategy.
Limitation: 10 free searches per month, and you must create an account
6. Google Keyword Planner
Google’s tool for Ads is a powerful weapon in SEO
Sometimes you have to go straight to the source. Google’s Keyword Planner gives you data on the latest search volume, generates thousands of keyword ideas, and, through the CPC price, can tell you how commercial a keyword is.
Limitation: None. But you have to add a credit card. It doesn’t deduct any money.
7. Semrush
One of the most well-known all-around SEO tools in a streamlined free version
With Semrush, you can get data on keywords and links and track your rankings for free. At the same time, they also have a strong research tool that can provide good ideas and input for your content marketing strategy.
Limitations: 10 monthly searches. You can only create one project and track a maximum of 10 keywords.
Read more on “22 Best Blogging Tools.”
Tools for link analysis
When working with SEO, you cannot avoid links. Since we at Financebode are a 100% specialized SEO agency that believes in a white-hat, outreach-based link-building philosophy, It is extremely important to have tools that can tell you which links are worth going after.
With the paid version of Ahrefs, we come, among other things, to link analysis when we do a free SEO analysis of a website.
8. Ahrefs Backlink Checker
One of the SEO world’s best link databases lifts the veil on your competitors
Get access to a website’s domain rating, the number of backlinks, and the number of linking domains. With this data, you can easily plan a link-building strategy that pays off.
Limitation: Only access to the top 100 links.
9. Moz Link Explorer
Moz provides in-depth data that you can export and use however you like. In addition to the number of links, you also get an insight into anchor text, historical developments, and much more.
Moz differs from Ahrefs by providing access to more data types, but the limitation is on consumption. In addition, you get access to Moz’s sophisticated Domain Authority metric, which can be a good guideline in link-building work.
limitation: 10 monthly searches (not shared with their Keyword Explorer)
10. Disavow Tool
Google’s Disavow tool is not for newbies in SEO but can work wonders for sites that are heavily affected by spam.
It’s a sub-function for Search Console (which we include in the list further down), but Google’s Disavow gives you control over whether you want to acknowledge or reject links you’ve received. You should always think carefully and contact your nearest SEO expert before you get started.
limitation: None
How to access it: First, read this guide from Semrush
11. Link Miner
A plugin that lets you fix critical SEO mistakes and find cool link-building topics.
With Link Miner installed, you can easily get an overview of any website’s internal and external links. At the same time, it also gives you a look at whether the page has any broken links, i.e., links that go somewhere invalid. It is a classic SEO error that can be fixed and a good opportunity to steal links from your competitors.
Limitation: You must use Chrome
Tools for technical SEO
Technical SEO is – to put it bluntly – very difficult. Fortunately, there are many free tools that let you keep an eye on your website’s technical health, its speed, and how it’s structured.
12. Webmaster Tools
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is probably the industry’s strongest free technical SEO offering.
Get a constantly updated overview of which SEO mistakes you make on your website and how you can correct them. At the same time, you get in-depth backlink data for all pages on your domain and which keywords you rank for.
Limitation: Can only crawl 5000 URLs per month
13. Technical’seo Structured Data Generator
Generate structured data for your website – without knowing how to program!
Structured data is a way to tell Google clearly and distinctly what your page is about. It also unlocks a number of special search results such as reviews, FAQs, and more.
With TechnicalSEO’s structured data generator, you can easily attract much more attention.
Also, please take a look at many of their other free tools.
Limitation: None
14. Screaming Frog
An extremely technically advanced crawling tool that tells you what errors are on your website.
There’s almost nothing you can’t do with Screaming Frog. Find broken links, bad redirects, errors in hreflang tags and canonicals, and much more. With a number of different plugins, you can easily integrate data from Google Analytics, Pagespeed Insights, and others.
However, it is also not the most user-friendly tool, which may well require some work to get used to.
Limitations: You can only crawl 500 URLs at a time.
15. Pagespeed Insights
Get detailed data on your website’s usability and speed.
PageSpeed Insights is Google’s tool that shows the so-called Core Web Vitals, statistics that show how long it takes for your website to load, how quickly it responds, and much more.
You can use this data to create better user experiences that will delight your users and elevate you to the top of Google. It also has an excellent API that can make it a little more automatic – and can be connected to Screaming Frog.
Limitations: None – but may require some technical knowledge.
16. Mobile-Friendly Test
Find out how easily a mobile user can access your website
Now that Google uses the mobile experience as a guideline for rankings, it’s good to know exactly how your website performs for mobile users. Here, Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test can directly tell you how to optimize the experience.
Limitation: None
17. Structured Data Testing Tool / Rich Results Test
See if your structured data is working as it should
When you have implemented structured data, it is a good idea to check if it works as you should. With the Rich Results Test, you can find out if everything works with the code you have inserted, as well as you can get a preview of how it looks in the search results.
Limitation: None
18. Chrome DevTools
One of the most versatile and powerful tools for the web
With the Chrome browser’s developer tools, you get much more than meets the eye. You can simulate how your page looks on tablets and mobiles, see which code creates which elements on your website, and use it to diagnose errors when loading your website.
Tools for content
When it comes to content, it is, of course, your sharp writing brain that determines how good it will be. But there are also a number of free tools that can help you write better.
19. Yoast
Get a comprehensive checklist of basic SEO needs
With Yoast, you can easily write good SEO texts that meet all of Google’s guidelines. It can be installed as a plugin in several CMSs (here, especially WordPress) but can also be accessed as a tool on the web. Here you can fill in your text, and then you get a series of green, yellow and red lights that tell you about obvious optimization options.
Limitations: There are a number of them, but they are unimportant to most.
How to get hold of it: Either as a plugin for your CMS or here online
20. Grammarly
Write flawlessly in English with this sophisticated proofreading tool
Not everyone like me has a useless bachelor’s degree in English. That’s why it can be nice to have a modern version of your grumpy English teacher who tells you what mistakes you’ve made.
Grammarly is an intelligent tool that helps with English grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and more.
Limitations: Few relevant but more advanced features like analysis of your text’s tone of voice are not available for free users
Check out this guide for a more in-depth look at “The Best Mobile Apps for Bloggers.”
21. Hemingway Editor
Write like an award-winning author
In content, one should generally strive for simple sentences and simple language. That way, you get everyone involved and ensure that Google is able to understand it. If you write English texts, you should consider the Hemingway App, which corrects for readability and much more.
Limitations: Web access only
22. Conductor
An all-in-one plugin for on-page and technical SEO.
With the Conductor plugin, you can easily get key SEO data on a website in your browser. In addition, it provides a “health score” for various on-page elements, where it tells you, among other things, whether an H1 is missing, whether you have all tags, and much more.
Limitations: Limited keyword searches
The best tools for data and analysis
A strategy is only as good as the insight it is built on. And we cannot avoid the fact that SEO is a data-heavy field. Here are the numbers of clicks, keywords, links, and search volume that need to be taken into account. Here we have collected the most useful free data analysis and visualization tools.
23. Google Analytics
Get world-class insight into your website’s users and their behavior
Google Analytics is probably one of the most comprehensive data collection tools. With this installed, you get constantly updated information on who, how many, and how all your visitors are. Getting in-depth insights probably requires a course in Google Analytics, but you can go a long way even with the simplest graphs.
Limitations: None.
24. Google Search Console
The ultimate SEO data at your fingertips.
If you had to choose only one tool for your SEO data, it would be Google Search Console. Here you get information about which keywords you are found for, your average position, views, and clicks.
On top of that are a number of tools to help you create more user-friendly pages and to fix technical errors. If that’s not enough, you can use Search Console to fine-tune how Google perceives your website.
Limitations: None
25. Visible
The privacy-friendly and open-source alternative to Google Analytics
If you are a little more about clarity and privacy than most, then Matomo is ready to recommend. Here you get many of the same complex and in-depth functions as Google Analytics but with far greater ownership and flexibility.
Limitation: None – but you can host it yourself on your server. If you use WordPress, this can be done with a simple plugin.
Get a real picture of how your users behave – and why they don’t do as you imagined.
Why visitors to your website buy or not is a universal problem. With Microsoft Clarity, you get free heatmaps that show how much of your website people see; you also find out where they click and when. You can use all of this to increase the conversion rate on your website.
27. Data Studio
Interactive dashboards with all the knowledge your heart desires
With Google Data Studio, you can connect all the many data sources you have in your marketing setup. In this way, you get interactive graphs and dashboards that measure all the statistics that are important to you. Setting up takes a little time, but it’s a breeze. And with the many templates you can find online. You don’t even need to be particularly graphically sharp to get
SEO tools FAQ
What are SEO tools?
SEO tools are tools that can help optimize your search engine optimization. There are many different tools, all of which have their advantages and help with different aspects of your SEO.
How much do SEO tools cost?
How much the cost of the different tools varies. Some SEO tools are completely free or have a free trial period. Most of the tools that cost something work as a subscription. In some cases, an amount is withdrawn every month. In other cases, it is every year. It is a good idea to investigate what options are available and which functions are included with the various tools.
What SEO tools are there?
There are many different types of SEO tools. Some are free, while others are not. They all have different functions, so it might be a good idea to have a ‘toolbox.’ The tools we recommend are Ahrefs, Google Analytics, Google Search Console Screaming Frog Seo Spider, and many more. Tap this blog to read more about the different tools, their benefits, and how to use them.
Why are SEO tools important?
SEO tools are important as they can help you understand how your website works for Google and the visitors you get. They help you to optimize your website so that users get the best possible experience. In addition, the tools can also indicate how your competitors are doing and the measures they have taken to rank on the search engine.
What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is part of Google and functions as a free SEO tool. Analytics provides reports that focus on your visitors’ behavior inside your website. The information you receive gives a good indication of the visitors’ experience on your page, as you can track how long they are on the page and which subpages they click on the most.
Google Search Console: What is it?
A free tool provided by Google is called Google Search Console.. that gives you indications to improve your website. The tool scans your website and gives you information on any errors and how the search engine evaluates your page. The information you receive also tells how users find your website.
What free SEO tools are there?
Free SEO tools include Google’s own Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Both tools are good at giving you a real and important insight into your website.
Google Analytics helps you gain insight into your visitors’ behavior, whereas Google Search Console helps you improve your website. In addition, you will also find a free version of Screaming Frog SEO Spider, which is an indispensable tool.
