There are literally hundreds of free SEO tools out there. Find out what are the best free SEO tools that marketing experts actually use.
Learn what SEO tools marketing experts use in 2020.
There are literally hundreds of free online SEO tools out there. So for today’s blog post, I thought it would be great to compile a list of top SEO tools marketing experts actually use. I decided to reach out to these respected marketing experts and ask them the tools they’d use to gain desirable results.
Now before I dive into the tools recommendations, here are the list of best free SEO tools being mentioned:
- LSIGraph
- GDoc SEO Assistant
- AnswerThePublic
- Help A Reporter Out
- Ubersuggest
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- SEMRush
- SEO Book Keyword Density Analyzer
- WordPress
- Structured Data Testing Tool
- GTMetrix
- Pingdom
- Textmechanic Tools
Let’s get started!
1. Winnie Wong – Head of Content at LSIGraph
I’ve always believed this: To excel in SEO, you have to know the right tools that can help you achieve that. Better still if it’s free, right?
Now, over the years of developing and testing out SEO tools in the market, I’ve compiled some that I think can really serve all of us well. These three tools come hand-in-hand so feel free to go over them!
Keyword research is one of the first things that everyone would come across when learning SEO. LSIGraph is designed to help you solve your keyword research problems that result in this tool being the best choice.
The main takeaway of this tool is that it is extremely easy to use and efficient when searching for LSI keywords related to your topic. With a database of over 30 million keywords, you’re sure to benefit from it. So, get those valuable keywords and sprinkle them in when writing in your content right away.
As a digital marketer, having a tool like this gives you access to the secret vault of valuable keywords that not only pleases your audience but search engines too. It is also a great tool to rank and bring in massive traffic to your site!
How can I not use BiQ? Their “Pay Only For The Features You Use” strategy successfully turned me into a loyal fan!
The first thing I noticed about BiQ after I signed up is it bridges the gap between overly complex tools and beginner marketing suites. The interface is easy to understand and navigate through the app. Being an all-in-one tool for everyone from individuals to larger teams, it’s much easier to keep track of my SEO strategies.
BiQ keeps as many operations within one tool; from pre-writing (Keyword Intelligence) to post-publishing of my content (Content Intelligence, Rank Intelligence, Rank Tracking). Truly a hidden gem for content marketers like me.
Another obvious plus of BiQ is the features within. Every feature differentiates itself and its competitors. The tool even has AI-Powered SEO workflow and guidance that provides users with useful data for their optimization and tracking efforts.
Making use of a tool like BiQ will go a long way in putting a growth plan of action together. Traffic, leads, ranks you name it. I’ve seen articles on my website getting bumped up to the first page of SERP since I started using the tool.
Grab the free access to BiQ now!
As SEO practitioners, we often face problems of ensuring your content is at its peak of being SEO-friendly. GDoc SEO Assistant is your saving grace.
This plugin is an add-on to your Google Document where it can generate SEO suggestions and related keywords for content optimization. It is also a perfect addition for those of you who are online marketers, bloggers, and writers wanting to analyze and improve your content based on valid SEO standards.
Also, since it gives instant feedback, I’d always use it to check on my content. Hurray to optimization done right on the spot where everything is done in a simple click!
2. Ryan Scollon – SEO & PPC Consultant at RyanScollon
My favorite free SEO tool has to be AnswerThePublic.
It takes keyword research to the next level. Instead of getting a few keyword ideas from the other tools, this can generate hundreds of ideas for keywords and content that you could create, just by entering one single word or search term. It essentially pulls all of the auto-suggests from Google search covering questions, prepositions, comparisons, etc.
While I don’t use it so much for main keyword research, it is perfect for content marketing ideas and helps with creating negative keywords lists for PPC.
A close second for my favorite free SEO tool is HARO, also known as help a reporter out.
It’s a great place for businesses to get involved in PR without the need for a PR agency or the need of publishing press releases. You simply get 3 emails a day that will often include around 70 different questions that journalists need expert inputs for. Once you find one that is a good fit for you, you simply send them an email with your input and a few other details and if successful, you could be featured on a site or magazine, etc.
This is a perfect opportunity to get your business mentioned in some very well known and authoritative publications and websites.
3. Viken Patel – Head of Marketing at eZee Technosys
SEO tools are important to grow your business to the next level. The right tools can make your life so much easier. While most marketing tools are paid and often expensive, I prefer using many free tools to perform a huge chunk of my marketing activities.
I use these tools because they provide me with a lot of insights that I can’t get if I try doing them manually.
Here are the top three tools that I use daily.
Ubersuggest is my favorite and is first on my list because I perform a lot of activities using this tool. It helps me a lot, especially when it comes to SEO such as finding blog topics, site audits and more.
I mostly use it for researching keywords to target along with related keywords, optimization insights for a website, paid and SEO difficulties for all such keywords.
Google Analytics is an all-in-one tracking tool that can track your visitors and give you great insights. I track channel-wise visitors, their behaviors and conversions using Google Analytics. Additionally, they offer a very good reporting service that can help you make the right decisions and improve your business.
Google Search Console is one of the most powerful SEO tools there is. It can help you increase your website’s organic traffic. I use this tool to check the current web page position, CTR, clicks, and impressions. Based on that data, I determine the site’s performance and update content accordingly on the website to improve rankings and CTR.
There are many marketing tools that I use from time to time such as Canva, Semrush, Mailchimp, Yoast SEO plugin, webpagetest.org and more.
4. Rachel Baker – Head of Content at Kumo
As a content SEO practitioner, first and foremost, SEMrush is an invaluable tool for me.
Not only does it provide the most helpful information about keywords your site is currently ranking for, but it is also a really comprehensive tool with lots of different reports all in one place. This means you can have a really productive content planning session without having to constantly flick between different tools.
The Organic Search Positions report lets you identify pages for optimisation, while the Keyword Gap and Keyword Magic tool helps you find keyword opportunities to plan new content around.
SEO Book Keyword Density Analyzer
This is a really handy free tool for analysing keyword density either for an existing web page or for texts that you are writing.
Although there is no set keyword density you should be aiming for, it’s helpful to get an overview of how much you’re using keywords in a text – showing if it’s not optimised enough or if you are at risk of keyword stuffing!
It can also flag up any other keyword phrases you’ve been using that could cause cannibalisation issues.
Google Analytics is the key tool for any digital marketer, but from an SEO and content point of view, I find the acquisition and content drilldown reports particularly useful. Seeing which pages have had the most organic traffic and pageviews lets you see what works and what doesn’t. You can then use this to plan more effective content in the future.
5. Marko Saric – MarkoSaric.com
WordPress
My favorite free tool is WordPress. I work in content marketing and WordPress is my preferred platform for publishing content. It makes it very simple to create beautiful and attractive content that grabs people’s attention.
You don’t need to code or to know design or to have much technical experience in order to create posts that will be consumed and shared. And great looking content that is consumed and shared is a great way to get search engines to take notice and start sending traffic too. I have a guide on getting started with WordPress for those interested.
6. Alston Antony – Digital Agency Founder & Blogger at Clicktug.com
This is an essential SEO tool in my arsenal because the data provided are directly from Google. There can be so many premium tools, but always remember those data is from the third party, and it can never match data accuracy from Search Console.
It is a simple tool, but it’s very powerful from the perspective of SEO. Search is changing from text to all sorts of crazy mediums, so we need to have the right markup to be visible on all search types. This tool allows us to test the written markup to see whether it’s valid or if it’s missing some properties.
I know both of these are two different tools, but both serve the same purpose, and I will always use both of them. These will analyze the webpage and let you know speed test results for it. When it comes to SEO, fast-loading web pages is a requirement because slower pages will have a negative impact on your CTA.
It is an online tool that allows pretty much any text manipulations. These are not direct SEO tools, but it’s a frequently used tool for my SEO work. I mostly use the keyword research process.
Which Tools Do You Use To Ensure Your SEO Success?
Of course, there are tons of other free SEO tools out there that might not have made on the list. What other SEO tools that you would recommend me to add in the list? Anything that you wish existed still isn’t out there yet? Share with me in the comments below!
On a side note:
Those of you keeping a close eye on BiQ should have known that BiQ has 60+ features waiting to be explored.
