No matter if you run a small local business or a huge international company, SEO is still the king for sustainable traffic increase and lead generation. A single well-optimized blog article, webpage, or video can consistently bring in thousands of potential customers for years – without spending a penny on promotion.
However, SEO is no walk in the park. Every marketer understands the significance of ranking high on Google’s results page, and claiming that prime real estate is getting tougher.
That’s why we’ve rigorously tested and categorized the top SEO tools available in 2024. Whether you’re launching your first blog post or refining a massive 5,000-page website, there’s an SEO tool here to assist you.
Contents
- What are SEO tools?
- What is the most effective tool for SEO?
- Best free SEO tools
- Best AI-powered SEO tools
- Best local SEO tools
- Best Google SEO tools
- Best paid SEO tools
Achieve higher rankings quickly with this complimentary resource: 10 Actionable & Free Strategies to Secure the Top Spot on Google.
What are SEO tools?
Essentially, SEO tools are software applications that help you automate, simplify, or bolster your SEO strategy. To be more precise, SEO tools can assist with:
- Identifying the right keywords
- Monitoring keyword rankings
- Optimizing your website content
- Building backlinks
- Conducting SEO audits
- Analyzing your competitors SEO tools come in different forms. Some are comprehensive software solutions with numerous features to tackle various SEO tasks. Ahrefs is an excellent example of a comprehensive SEO tool because it helps with both on-page and off-page SEO, site audits, and much more. Our Keyword Tool is a more focused solution designed specifically to help you discover the most effective SEO keywords to target.
What is the most effective tool for SEO?
This is similar to asking, “What’s the best vehicle?” Are you looking to transport many passengers, carry a heavy load, or simply enjoy a fast ride?
Just like buying a car, choosing your SEO tool starts with understanding what you need. Consider these factors:
- Are you new to SEO, or are you an experienced user of SEO tools?
- What is your budget?
- Do you have specific tasks in mind, such as auditing a blog with 5,000 posts or conducting initial keyword research?
- How many people will be using the SEO tool?
- What kind of organization is it (marketing agency, affiliate marketing group, e-commerce store, SaaS company, etc.)? While every scenario has unique requirements, we used a few fundamental criteria to create our list of top SEO tools, including:
- User experience: Is the interface and workflow user-friendly? Does the design enable new users to quickly find what they need?
- Value: Is the cost justified by the software’s capabilities? Is it competitively priced compared to similar tools?
- Feature/use-case fit: Does the tool offer everything you need to accomplish its intended purpose?
- User feedback: Positive reviews and high ratings on websites like G2 and Capterra.
Best free SEO tools
These SEO tools are either entirely free or offer a robust free tier with extensive functionality.
1. Exploding Topics for SEO keyword trends
Exploding Topics is a handy tool that allows you to get ahead of the curve by identifying soon-to-be-popular topics. The tool continuously analyzes the web, searching for patterns of increasing searches and mentions for any given term.
It’s worth noting that you can’t input any random search term to see what’s trending. However, you can select from a variety of topics that might be relevant to your brand.
The data isn’t solely sourced from search engines (although the software does “listen” to millions of searches). When you come across a trending topic, it’s because it’s being mentioned, commented on, and discussed widely across the internet. This is why this tool is effective at revealing not just what people are currently searching for but also what they are likely to search for in the near future.
It’s completely free to check out the trending topics for each category whenever you want. Paid plans start at $39 and provide tracking, alerts, and detailed reports (such as tracking specific product categories).
2. nexus-security’s Free Keyword Tool for unlimited keyword research
One of the most challenging aspects of SEO is finding keywords that strike the right balance between high search volume and low competition. Our Free Keyword Tool helps you overcome this obstacle by quickly generating a list of relevant keywords along with the data you need to select the most promising options.
I find it helpful to use this tool after brainstorming a list of seed keywords (terms I believe people might be searching for). Simply enter the word or phrase into the search bar, and you’ll get a list of related terms, along with their monthly search volumes and competition levels. Identifying those high-volume, low-competition keyword gems becomes a breeze.
True to its name, this tool is perpetually free to use for an unlimited number of searches.
3. Animalz Revive for refreshing SEO content
As time goes by, SEO blog posts often see their ranking decline as newer content emerges. Revive, developed by the content marketing agency Animalz, helps identify these fading assets on your blog.
The tool operates by analyzing your Google Analytics data (you need to grant it access) to pinpoint blog posts experiencing a downward trend in traffic. Once the analysis is complete, you’ll receive an emailed report containing a list of content that has the potential to regain ranking and attract more traffic with some refreshing.
The tool is free to use, but you will need to provide your email address to gain access.
4. Similarweb for competitive SEO analysis
Similarweb gives you a glimpse into the performance and ranking of any publicly accessible website. Its free version is surprisingly comprehensive.
Enter a URL and scroll through to find estimated traffic and engagement statistics, website traffic demographics, traffic sources, and more. You can even compare two websites side by side.
I wouldn’t treat Similarweb’s data as absolute truth. It gathers “digital signals” from numerous sources across the internet and uses them to generate statistically significant estimates. However, it’s an excellent tool for gaining directional insights. If I notice that five of my competitors have lower bounce rates than the pages I’m working on, it’s a sign that I might need to improve the user experience.
Basic website analysis is free on Similarweb. However, you’ll need to pay to access certain data points, such as top outgoing links and referral traffic sources.
5. LocaliQ’s Website Grader for free SEO audits
If you’re looking for a quick and easy-to-understand website audit, LocaliQ’s Free Website Grader is a great option.
Despite being a free tool, it provides a wealth of information. For instance, your report will include details on:
- Technical SEO: Site security, site speed, mobile optimization
- On-page SEO: Metadata, word count, alt text
- Off-page SEO: Links from external sources This information is more than enough to create a solid plan for checklist of SEO enhancements. Free reports are delivered via email, and you are free to run them as frequently as you need.
Best AI-powered SEO tools
Many tools featured in this guide incorporate some level of AI functionality for SEO. However, we’ve identified a few that stand out for their exceptional use of AI’s ability to process vast amounts of data and generate valuable SEO insights.
6. Outranking for SEO outlines
The market is currently flooded with generative AI content tools. What sets Outranking apart is its specific focus on helping you create content that is optimized to rank well on search engines.
With a free account, you can input a search query, location, language, and title, and the tool will generate a customizable SEO outline. This is particularly useful if you regularly create content briefs for others to complete. Like any other generative AI content tool, it’s always a good idea to review the output and add your own personal touch.
Outranking’s pricing plans start at $29 per month for five new SEO documents and AI-assisted SEO optimization for existing content.
7. CanIRank for keyword competition
CanIRank is essentially a highly advanced personalized keyword difficulty tracker. It analyzes your website’s current SEO strength and then tells you if you have a chance of ranking for specific keywords.
But here’s the real magic of CanIRank: it doesn’t just point you toward the right keywords to target; it utilizes AI to provide specific actionable steps you can take to improve your content’s ranking.
CanIRank allows you to review one website for free (plus receive five keywords and SEO reports daily at no cost). Paid plans for additional websites and keyword reports start at $49/month.
8. Keyword Insights for keyword clustering
Keyword Insights is a paid keyword research tool that employs AI in two innovative ways. Firstly, it leverages algorithms and machine learning to identify clusters of topics stemming from a single keyword.
Source
Keyword clusters enable you to target multiple long-tail keywords within a single post or a series of interconnected posts. Google perceives this comprehensive coverage as topical authority, boosting your ranking on the SERPs for those related keywords.
Once you’ve defined a keyword cluster, Keyword Insights utilizes AI to generate a brief or outline based on existing posts ranking on the SERP, along with data from Reddit, Quora, and People Also Ask boxes.
A word of caution, though: while generative outline creators like Keyword Insights are excellent for quickly creating a basic outline, keep in mind that to truly earn your place on the SERPs, you need to offer something unique, such as personal experience, expert quotes, or a different angle on the topic that other top-ranking websites lack.
Keyword Insights offers a four-day trial for $1. Monthly paid plans start at $58.
9. Diib for keyword and rank monitoring
Google’s SERPs are constantly changing. You can gain or lose a page-one ranking for any given keyword in a single day. Diib uses predictive AI to monitor various SEO factors for your website, with its keyword tracking feature being particularly helpful in keeping you updated on these dynamic search pages.
Diib allows you to add high-priority keywords to a monitoring list, prioritizing them at the top of your keyword reports and providing a historical overview of their performance on the SERP. However, the most impressive feature is the tool’s ability to notify you of any ranking changes for those keywords, giving you a heads-up to take action, such as optimizing the page’s UX or adding new and relevant information.
The pricing provided to us was an initial $99 setup fee followed by $14.99 for each subsequent month.
Download our free Guide to AI in Marketing to discover the most effective ways to utilize AI (and the approaches you should steer clear of).
Best local SEO tools
It might be a cliché, but it holds true: local SEO is paramount for businesses that rely on customers from a specific geographic area. 77% of consumers say they’ve used Google to search for nearby businesses like coffee shops, dentists, or HVAC technicians. The following tools are designed to ensure your business shows up on the SERPs when these potential customers are looking for services like yours.
10. GeoRanker for location-specific SEO tracking
If your customer base is concentrated within a particular geographic region, you need to know how well your website ranks for relevant keywords in that specific location. GeoRanker offers a feature that allows you to track this.
Simply fill out the form, and GeoRanker will generate a report showing your website’s real-time ranking position for your targeted keywords in the cities or countries you’ve specified. You can also track changes in your rankings and see where your competitors stand on those SERPs.
This tool is particularly valuable for multi-location businesses since it allows you to gather data for each city where you have a presence.
Additionally, GeoRanker offers a location-based SERP checker, displaying the top 100 results for a keyword in different cities. For instance, searching for “coffee shop” will yield different results in Chicago compared to Phoenix.
GeoRanker provides limited free access to its tools, with monthly subscription plans starting at $99.
11. LocaliQ’s Free Business Listings Grader for directory audits
Online business directories and similar platforms like Google Business Profiles are essentially the modern-day equivalent of the Yellow Pages. If you want your local business to be easily discoverable online, you need to maintain accurate and up-to-date information on your listings in these directories. LocaliQ’s Free Business Listings Grader enables you to instantly verify your business listing across more than 20 online directories.
The Listing Grader is incredibly user-friendly. Just input your company’s name, street address, and postal code, and the tool will cross-reference this information with what is currently displayed on platforms such as Waze, eLocal, and dozens of other directories. It’s a fantastic way to quickly check multiple business listings in one go.
LocaliQ’s Listings Grader is free to use for an unlimited number of reports.
12. Yext for review monitoring
Reviews can significantly influence directly affect your business appears in local search results. Yext offers several features to help you manage your online presence and reputation, but its review management functionality is particularly beneficial for local SEO.
Source
Through API integrations, Yext aggregates reviews from various sources across the internet and displays them on your dashboard, allowing you to see how customers rate your business and what they’re saying about it. You can also configure notifications to stay informed whenever a new review is posted.
In addition to monitoring reviews, Yext enables you to respond to (either automatically via an auto-responder or manually), request new reviews, and analyze existing reviews for sentiment.
Yext’s pricing is available upon request.
Best Google SEO tools
Your SEO success is essentially Google’s success. It’s therefore no surprise that Google has developed an impressive suite of tools designed to assist you in researching, optimizing, and analyzing every aspect of your website’s ranking potential. The following three tools are completely free, so we haven’t included individual pricing information for them.
13. Search Console for technical SEO
Technical SEO might sound intimidating (and it can be), but Google Search Console simplifies the process by allowing you to track and visualize various aspects of your technical SEO, making it easier to understand and improve.
Here are some ways you can leverage GSC to identify and address technical issues that might be hindering or enhancing your SEO performance:
- Verify that Google’s crawlers are properly indexing your web pages
- Monitor and troubleshoot your Web Core Vitals or mobile usability issues
- Submit sitemaps
- Identify security vulnerabilities We have a comprehensive guide on effectively utilizing Google Search Console for technical SEO.
14. Google Trends for timely keyword planning
Google Trends provides insights into how frequently a particular word or phrase is entered into Google’s search engine in relation to the overall search volume over a specific period. Essentially, it’s a real-time keyword popularity tracker.
On Search Trends, you won’t find the exact number of searches for a keyword. Instead, you’ll see how its search volume fluctuates over time, using the highest and lowest search volumes as points of reference.
You have the flexibility to adjust the time period, region, and type of search (image, news, Google Shopping, etc.) to see how these factors impact the trend. Additionally, you’ll get a visual representation of the chosen region (U.S., worldwide, etc.) that highlights the relative search volume in each subregion. You even get related terms to refine your keyword strategy further.
This guide will walk you through how to maximize your use of Google Trends.
15. Google Analytics 4 for SEO performance tracking
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a platform that provides insights into how users find and interact with pages on your website.
GA4 offers a vast amount of data that can be analyzed in countless ways. Some of the most valuable insights for SEO include:
- The percentage of traffic to your site and individual pages originating from organic search
- Which blog posts and pages generate the most traffic
- Which pages are experiencing a decline in traffic from search engines GA4 is the latest version of Google’s analytics platform. Here are some key differences between GA4 and its predecessor, Universal Analytics.
Best paid SEO tools
If you have the budget, these paid SEO tools offer a powerful combination of extensive functionality and exceptional user experience. While they all come with a price tag, we’ve carefully chosen those that provide the most value for your investment.
16. Ahrefs for best overall functionality for the money
I’ve personally used Ahrefs for years for various SEO tasks, including keyword research, rank tracking, competitor analysis, and more. Ahrefs stands out from its competitors due to the sheer value it offers, particularly for users with light to moderate SEO needs.
I could easily write thousands of words attempting to cover all the features and tools packed into Ahrefs’ platform. For brevity, I’ll highlight a few functionalities I use most often to give you a better understanding of what it can do:
- Site Explorer: Enter any website or webpage URL, and Ahrefs will provide details on its ranking for specific keywords, the number of backlinks it has, the sources of those backlinks, estimated traffic, and much more.
- Keywords Explorer: Analyze search volume, keyword difficulty, and which pages are ranking for specific keywords.
- Competitive analysis: Generate a list of keywords your website isn’t ranking for but your competitors are. Ahrefs’ pricing starts at $99 per month, with the $199-per-month Standard Plan being the most suitable option for the average user.
17. Semrush for hardcore SEOs
While Ahrefs is an excellent value proposition for many SEO professionals, Semrush delves deeper and provides more granular data in several areas, making it a superior choice for highly technical users.
Let’s take keyword research as an example. Semrush provides in-depth data points, including search volume trends, Google Ads keyword data, keyword intent, and both search volume and difficulty.
Semrush also excels in its technical SEO audit reporting and offers a wider array of rank-tracking features.
Semrush’s pricing starts at $129.95 (let’s just round it up to $130!) per month, with its mid-tier plan priced at $249.95 per month.
18. Screaming Frog for finding common SEO issues
Screaming Frog operates similarly to Google Search Console in the sense that it crawls through your website, identifying potential issues that could negatively impact its performance. The difference lies in the types of issues Screaming Frog looks for and the insights it offers for resolving them.
Source
Screaming Frog can be a bit challenging to learn for non-technical SEO users. However, if you’ve ever been involved in an SEO audit, it won’t take long to grasp. Once you become familiar with the platform, you’ll be able to quickly uncover issues such as broken links, problematic titles and meta tags, and incorrect redirects. You can also generate XML sitemaps and visualize your website’s structure.
The free version of Screaming Frog allows you to crawl up to 500 URLs. The paid plan costs $249 per year and unlocks additional features like scheduled audits and a near-duplicate content checker. It also removes the URL crawl limit.
19. AnswerThePublic for topic ideation
AnswerThePublic is a content topic idea generator. It differs from traditional keyword research tools by directly sourcing its ideas from Google’s dropdown autocomplete queries (e.g., when you start typing “back pain,” and Google suggests “…relief” or “…causes”). It then presents these keyword variations visually.
After entering a root keyword, AnswerThePublic provides standard information such as search volume and cost-per-click for search ads. Scrolling through the report, you’ll find a preposition report (keyword variations using “is,” “to,” “with,” and so on). Further down, there’s a report comparing the cost-per-click and search volume for various related keywords.
AnswerThePublic has recently expanded its capabilities to include Bing, TikTok, Amazon, and YouTube, allowing you to target these platforms for keyword research as well.
Once you register, you’ll receive three free keyword reports per day, although some data points will be hidden. Monthly paid plans start at $9, and a lifetime plan is available for a one-time payment of $99.
The best SEO tools in 2024
Despite some claims to the contrary, SEO remains one of the most effective long-term marketing strategies for attracting traffic and generating leads for your business.
However, the SEO landscape is becoming increasingly competitive. Relying solely on manual keyword guessing and fragmented SEO audits won’t get you very far in terms of ranking well on the SERPs. Having the right SEO tools at your disposal will give you a significant advantage, even against much larger websites. Here’s a quick recap of the best SEO tools, categorized by use case:
- Exploding Topics for SEO keyword trends
- nexus-security’s Free Keyword Tool for unlimited keyword research
- Animalz Revive for refreshing SEO content
- Similarweb for competitive SEO analysis
- LocaliQ’s Website Grader for free SEO audits
- Outranking for SEO outlines
- CanIRank for keyword competition
- Keyword insights for keyword clustering
- Diib for keyword and rank monitoring
- GeoRanker for location-specific SEO tracking
- LocaliQ’s Free Business Listings Grader for directory audits
- Yext for review monitoring
- Search Console for technical SEO
- Google Trends for timely keyword planning
- Google Analytics 4 for SEO performance tracking
- Ahrefs for best overall functionality for the money
- Semrush for hardcore SEOs
- Screaming Frog for finding common SEO issues
- AnswerThePublic for topic ideation