Back to Blog
The Best SEO Tools for Service-Based Businesses | MarketBox

The Best SEO Tools for Service-Based Businesses

TLDR: Free SEO tools

  1. Google Search Console
  2. Google Analytics
  3. Google Keyword Planner
  4. Google Trends
  5. YoastSEO
  6. Bing Webmaster
  7. MozBar
  8. Ubersuggest
  9. SEOquake
  10. Screaming Frog SEO Spider
  11. GTmetrix
  12. Answer the Public
  13. Google PageSpeed Insights
  14. Google Business Profile
  15. 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 

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 

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 

Bing webmaster tools

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 

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

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

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

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

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

Read Next

How to increase organic website traffic for in-home service businesses | MarketBox
12 easy ways to market a service business | MarketBox
Stay up to date with the latest news, tips and resources .

More from the Blog

How to Handle Customer Complaints in Your Med Spa | MarketBox
Operations

How to Handle Customer Complaints in Your Med Spa

Learn how to handle customer complaints in your med spa

Read Story
12 Ways to Stop Clients Cancelling Medical Appointments | MarketBox
Sales & Online Booking

12 Ways to Stop Clients Cancelling Medical Appointments

Find how to stop clients canceling medical appointments in your healthcare practice

Read Story
How to Find the Best EHR Software | MarketBox
Software Buying Guides

How to Find the Best EHR Software

Discover the features to look for and the factors to consider when comparing EHR software

Read Story