As a marketer in an SEO agency, it can be difficult to keep on top of the latest developments in software. Developments that could help you to do your job even more effectively than you already do.
So in this article we explain why you should be using SEO tools, and take a quick look at some of the key features that you should be looking for in these tools. We also give an overview of some of the better known offerings available. This overview is by no means a comprehensive list, but should serve as a useful guide to point you in the right direction.
Why use SEO tools?
Whatever the sector, size and stage of your business, a robust SEO strategy is essential to ensure that organic search results will increase traffic to your site. Additionally, good SEO will improve the relevance of your content and also your user experience: both of which will also increase your Google ranking.
As well as improving your online presence and leading to more conversions, SEO will result in a higher ROI because you are putting your time, money and effort into where it will have the most impact.
Good SEO tools are invaluable in the development and monitoring of your SEO strategy. They can help you to identify the right keywords to use, and to tailor and optimise your content so that your brand gains recognition and authority. Some SEO tools also enable you to study your competition to ensure that you keep ahead of them.
5 key features to look out for in an SEO tool
There are many SEO tools on the market and they vary enormously in the number and type of different features that they offer. But we think that five of the most essential features that SEO tools should provide help you to track and monitor your SEO strategy are these:
- Keyword research
You need a tool that will give you not only the best keywords to optimise for but also throws up related keywords/phrases/words that searchers may use according to Google’s latest algorithm. These tools will enable you to create an effective keyword strategy that will be essential in creating a successful SEO plan.
- Competitor analysis
You need to know what your competitors are doing and how effective their strategies are. So you need a tool that can show you what has helped your competitors to rank, to engage on social media and to attract inbound links.
Look for an SEO tool with domain analysis analytics reports that will help you better understand not only your own website’s search data and traffic, but also your competitors’ sites. This will enable you to compare your website with those of your competitors on the basis of both traffic and optimisation.
- Site and page analysis
You need to understand how effectively your site is functioning and how Google is interacting with it. Is your sitemap highlighting important content to Google? Are pages and images indexed and tagged correctly, and are all your pages quick to load?
Look for a tool with an on-page SEO checkerthat will enable you not only to easily monitor your rankings but also get recommendations on how to improve the SEO of every single page of your website, and therefore your website’s overall performance.
A good SEO tool will also provide insights on organic traffic, showing the performance of site pages on a single dashboard.
- Content audit
You need to be able to identify the content that ranks best to enable you to create additional content that will achieve the same level of success. Also identify the content that has provided the most backlinks.
The best way to do this is to use a content audit tool to analyse and assess your existing content and its strengths and weaknesses. A good content audit tool can also automatically collect data for you to evaluate your progress against your goals and metrics.
- Link audit
Link-building has changed dramatically over the last few years. Today’s links need to be relevant and earned. Rather than just requesting and adding links to anyone and everyone, links are now all about putting relevant content in front of the right audience.
Look for an SEO tool with a link explorer feature that will analyse the health of your inbound links, and also the anchor text used for these links.
Comparison of 5 popular SEO tools
So now let’s look at some of the most popular SEO tools to see how they compare in terms of the above five features:
| Keyword research | Competitor analysis | Site and page analysis | Content audit | Link audit | Key USP | Current Cost | |
| SEMrush | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | As well as excelling in all the key features listed, SEMrush also offer a comprehensive range of online SEO courses. | SEMrush from $99.95 per month: varies according to use. |
| Moz | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Moz is renowned for always being up to date with Google algorithm changes.It also provides a comprehensive local SEO toolkit, which includes location audits and an online presence checker. | Moz from $99 per month: varies according to use | |
| Ahrefs | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Ahrefs offers an individual search engine keyword tool for specific sites including Youtube, Amazon and Bing. | Ahrefs from $99 per month: varies according to use |
| Spyfu | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Spyfu has a reputation for being one of the most detailed SEO tools on the market for analysing and reporting, particularly on competitor activity and results. | Spyfu from £33 per month: varies according to use | |
| Google Search Console | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | The most significant advantage of using this tool is that you can see exactly how the SERP looks based on different searches – including whether your website is being featured in Google’s “rich” results. | Google Search Console free |
The above table is simply a guide as to the main features available with each SEO tool listed, and is liable to change at any time as these software platforms and prices are regularly updated and renewed. But it gives a general overview of the kind of features available with the tools listed, as well as the particular reputation they have gained in the SEO community.
So if you are working in SEO, either as a marketer, a freelancer or part of an SEO agency, we strongly recommend that you take the time to research the SEO tool(s) that will help to move your SEO strategy forward and contribute to the achievement of the goals and growth of your business.