
With so many SEO tools on the market and more coming out, it can be hard to know which to choose. Some SEO tools are specialised and focus on a specific task, whereas others are more well-rounded and can help you accomplish various tasks.
This is why the amazing Kestra Walker and I created this complete list of SEO tools.
We hope you can use this to find what you need; whether it’s for finding technical SEO issues, keeping track of your keyword rankings or auditing the backlinks to your website, there’s certainly a tool or website for you.
How to Know Which SEO Tools to Use
We’ve listed the type of tool, the cost, and its use so you can filter the sheet to suit your needs. We’ll keep this sheet updated, and feel free to let us know if you think of any we’ve missed.
Cost
After looking at the link to access the tool and describing what it does, we must look at arguably the most important factor, the cost.
We’ve classified this in 3 ways:
- Paid 💲 = There is a cost from day 1 to start using this tool.
- Free 💸 =There is no cost to start using this.
- Freemium 💳 = The tool is initially free to use, but there will be a cost after a time.
Tool Type
This refers to what type of SEO tool this is, and we’ve broken this down into 4 possibilities.
- App = A solution that usually requires you to log in to begin using the tool.
- Website = A separate website you can use as needed.
- Extension = An extension that can be added to your Chrome web browser to help you accomplish tasks in the browser.
- Bookmarklet = These can be added as bookmarks in your browser. They use JavaScript and help you to accomplish tasks as needed.
Technical SEO
This looks at whether the tool can be used for technical SEO tasks. This can be to find a technical SEO issue, or it may involve or focus on a certain aspect of tech.
- ✅ = Can be used for technical SEO tasks.
- ❌ = Cannot be used for technical SEO tasks.
Auditing
Auditing a website is a specialised task that requires many hours of work. During an audit, you will likely need a wide variety of instruments, and it’s important to know ahead of time which can be used for auditing and which can’t.
- ✅ = Can be used for auditing a website.
- ❌ = Cannot be used for auditing a website.
Site Speed and CWV
It’s important to be able to measure the load speed and page weight of your website. Looking at whether your website passes Core Web Vitals is also very useful, and knowing which tools can help you do just that is half the battle.
- ✅ = Can be used to measure site speed and/or Core Web Vitals.
- ❌ = Cannot be used to measure site speed and/or Core Web Vitals.
Reporting
Reporting on progress and changes each month is vital for being able to determine whether any action made a positive or negative impact. We can also use the data to decide on the next set of actions.
- ✅ = Can be used for reporting.
- ❌ = Cannot be used for reporting.
Rank Tracking
As well as reporting, you will likely want to keep track of specific keywords and how they change in the SERPs, as well as being able to see if your website is affected by algorithm updates etc.
- ✅ = Can be used for rank tracking.
- ❌ = Cannot be used for rank tracking.
Keyword Research
Knowing which keywords have the greatest search volume and ranking potential is a key step in setting up your website. This research will help to inform future decisions you make and some tools do this better than others.
- ✅ = Can be used for keyword research.
- ❌ = Cannot be used for keyword research.
Content Optimisation
On the back of your keyword research and rank tracking, you may want a tool that helps with your on-page SEO and content optimisations. Choosing the right one can truly set you up on the road to success.
- ✅ = Can be used for content optimisation.
- ❌ = Cannot be used for content optimisation.
Backlink Analysis
Knowing which backlinks are pointing to your website is important for determining relevancy and can also be used to see which websites are linking to your competitor’s websites.
- ✅ = Can be used for backlink analysis.
- ❌ = Cannot be used for backlink analysis.
Link Building
Once you know which websites are linking to you, you can look for opportunities to build links to your own websites. You can also identify broken backlinks, lost backlinks and look for gaps against your competition.
- ✅ = Can be used for finding link-building opportunities.
- ❌ = Cannot be used for finding link-building opportunities.
Look at the full spreadsheet above; we hope you can use it to help you decide on the SEO tools you add to your tool stack.
If you think of any we have missed, please let us know, and we will update the sheet.