The Best SEO Tools for Service-Based Businesses
A round-up of the best free and paid SEO tools for service businesses
TLDR: Free SEO tools
- Google Search Console
- Google Analytics
- Google Keyword Planner
- Google Trends
- YoastSEO
- Bing Webmaster
- MozBar
- Ubersuggest
- SEOquake
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- GTmetrix
- Answer the Public
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Google Business Profile
- SEMRush
What are SEO tools?
An SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tool is a software or online service that assists in optimizing websites for search engines. The tools provide a wide range of functionalities and data that help improve a website’s visibility in search engine results (SERPs), increase organic traffic, and enhance overall performance. They’re a valuable resource that can be used by anyone, from SEO professionals and digital marketers to business owners looking to upgrade their websites.
Common functionality includes:
- Keyword research — SEO tools can help identify relevant keywords and phrases a business’s target audience are searching for, provide data on search volume, competition, and create lists of related keywords.
- On-page optimization — Use the tools to receive recommendations for webpage elements like title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and content structure.
- Backlink analysis — Easily analyze a website’s backlink profile, assess the quality and quantity of backlinks, identify potential link-building opportunities, and monitor competitor link profiles.
- Rank tracking — Measure the outcome of your optimizations and track how web pages rank for specific keywords overtime to better understand SEO performance.
- Site auditing — SEO tools are useful for identifying technical issues, broken links, duplicate content, and other opportunities to enhance site performance.
- Competitor analysis — Gain insights into competitors’ strategies, including their content performance, keyword ranking, and backlink profile to make data-driven decisions about your own strategy.
- Performance monitoring — Analyze visitor patterns, including website traffic, user behavior, engagement, and conversion rates to evaluate the effectiveness of SEO campaigns.
The best free SEO tools for service businesses
#1. Google Search Console
What: An online tool
Use it to: Gain valuable insights into your site’s performance in Google search results, monitor and resolve issues, and submit sitemaps for indexing.
#2. Google Analytics
What: An online tool
Use it to: Get in-depth website traffic analysis, track user behavior and conversions, and access other data for your SEO strategy.
#3. Google Keyword Planner
What: An online tool
Use it to: Identify relevant keywords for your site’s content (including blogs) and access data on search volume, competition, and keyword suggestions.
#4. Google Trends
What: An online tool
Use it to: Explore trending topics and search queries to understand your target audience’s interests so you can create content accordingly.
#5. Yoast SEO
What: A WordPress plugin
Use it to: Get on-page optimization suggestions such as keyword optimization, meta tags, readability analysis, and XML sitemap generation. (Useful for blogs)
#6. Bing Webmaster
What: An online tool
Use it to: Get all the information you would from Google Search Console, but for Bing search results. (Yes, people do still use it apparently!)
#7. MozBar
What: A browser extension
Use it to: Unlock instant SEO metrics for any webpage, including domain authority, page authority, and keyword analysis.
#8. Ubersuggest
What: A Chrome extension
Use it to: Get keyword suggestions, search volume, and SEO difficulty data.
#9. SEOquake
What: A Chrome extension
Use it to: Get a comprehensive analysis of SERPs, including metrics like page rank, backlinks, and social shares.
#10. Screaming Frog SEO Spider
What: A desktop tool
Use it to: Crawl your website and unlock insights into broken links, duplicate content, and other technical SEO issues.
#11. GTmetrix
What: An online tool
Use it to: Analyze your site’s loading speed and get recommendations for optimization to improve user experience and search engine rankings.
#12. Answer the Public
What: An online tool
Use it to: Generate a list of questions and search queries related to your keyword to discover new content ideas and optimize for long-tail keywords. (Limited searches per month on the free plan.)
#13. Google PageSpeed Insights
What: An online tool
Use it to: Analyze the performance of web pages on both desktop and mobile devices and get suggestions on how to improve page speed.
#14. Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)
What: An online tool
Use it to: Manage your business listing on Google, respond to reviews, and update business information, e.g., opening hours and contact details. (Essential for local SEO)
#15. SEMrush
What: A paid SEO tool with a limited free version
Use it to: Conduct keyword research, track rankings, perform site audits, and analyze competitors.
15 paid SEO tools for service businesses
#1. Ahrefs
What: An online tool
Use it to: Access a suite of SEO tools, including backlink analysis, keyword research, content exploration, rank tracking, and site auditing.
How much: from $99/month
#2. SEMrush
What: An online tool
Use it to: Access a range of SEO features, including keyword research, competitive analysis, rank tracking, site audits, content optimization, and social media management.
How much: from $119.95/month
#3. Moz Pro
What: An online tool
Use it to: Access Moz’s proprietary metrics like Domain Authority and Spam Score, as well as do keyword research, link building, site audits, rank tracking, and on-page optimization.
How much: from $99/month
#4. Majestic SEO
What: An online tool
Use it to: Understand your link profile, identify link-building opportunities, and track competitor backlinks.
How much: from $49.99/month
#5. Serpstat
What: An online tool
Use it to: Do keyword research, rank tracking, competitor analysis, and site audits, and access a content marketing toolkit and backlink analysis tools.
How much: from $69/month
#6. BrightEdge
What: An enterprise-level SEO platform
Use it to: Do keyword research, content optimization, rank tracking, site auditing, and competitor analysis.
How much: Price on request
#7. Raventools
What: An online SEO platform
Use it to: Access a comprehensive suite of SEO tools, including keyword research, link building, rank tracking, competitor analysis, and site auditing.
How much: from $39/month
#8. SpyFu
What: An online tool
Use it to: Carry out competitor analysis, keyword research, rank tracking, and PPC analysis to help you optimize your SEO and advertising strategies.
How much: from $39/month
#9. CognitiveSEO
What: SEO software
Use it to: Access backlink analysis, rank tracking, content optimization tools, social visibility analysis, and competitor research.
How much: from $129.99/month
#10. SEO PowerSuite
What: An SEO toolkit
Use it to: Do keyword research, rank tracking, site auditing, and link building.
How much: from $299/month (free version available with limited features)
#11. Lumar (formerly DeepCrawl)
What: A web crawling tool
Use it to: Identify technical SEO issues, crawl errors, and broken links, and identify other optimization opportunities.
How much: Price on request
#12. SISTRIX
What: SEO software
Use it to: Access comprehensive SEO data, including keyword research, visibility, analysis, rank tracking, and competitor monitoring.
How much: from €99/month
#13. Yoast Premium
What: A WordPress plugin
Use it to: Access the premium version of Yoast SEO, including additional SEO features like internal linking suggestions, content insights, and advanced redirect management.
How much: $99/year
#14. Moz Local
What: An online tool for local SEO
Use it to: Manage business listings, monitor reviews, and track local search rankings.
How much: from $14/month
#15. LinkResearchTools
What: An online tool
Use it to: Do advanced backlink analysis, competitive link research, and access penalty recovery tools and link detox features.
How much: from $599/month
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