Top 8 free SEO tools that don’t suck

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Oct 4, 2019 / by
Top 8 free SEO tools that don’t suck

We all like to get something for nothing every once in a while. There is, however, something of a snobbery surrounding many free-to-use tools, particularly in the world of SEO marketing. The truth is though that most of us working in SEO utilise a number of free tools to gather, process and analyse results.

These are free (or ‘freemium’) tools that allow us to accomplish more in less time and do so without emptying our pockets.

So, whether you’re looking for software that will fetch domain meta tags, identify crawling issues or analyse your results  – if you’re on a budget then you might want to pay attention to the list of SEO tools below.

Google (Everything) – From Google Analytics to the search console and pretty much everything else, the big dogs of the online kingdom have it pretty much sewn up when it comes to quality free SEO software.

Google has built up a suite of free tools that put many of their paid competitors to shame, with Google Sheets particularly offering a perfect platform from which to gather, process and analyse your SEO data.

SEMrush – A tool that conducts a thorough and comprehensive SEO audit of your site and allows you to analyse the traffic of not only your own sites but other sites as well, SEMrush will show you the top keywords, the total number of backlinks and the main organic competitors.

It also does pretty much everything else, so if you’re after once catch-all place to start from, you could do a lot worse.

Answer the Public – A tool designed to provide marketers with the answer to the really big question – what are the public asking online? It’s incredibly easy to use.

Simply input a keyword and it will reveal the most popular queries based on that keyword in an attractive, almost floral graphic. An invaluable tool for quick and easy keyword and query research.

Check My Links – There can be few tasks more tedious in SEO than fixing broken links. Check My Links, however, will do the hard work for you, scanning your page for broken links and helpfully highlighting them in red for you – ready to be highlighted and copied.

MozBar – A free toolbar for Google Chrome that allows you to quickly access the authority scores of any page, MozBar isn’t particularity exhaustive but it is incredibly convenient.

As a free SEO research tool for marketers in a rush, it’s honestly difficult to top, but if you are after something more fully-featured, you can subscribe to MozPro.

Mobile-Friendly Test – In a landscape that places the value of ‘mobile-first optimisation’ front and centre above almost everything else, it’s truly vital that you make sure your site is properly optimised for smart devices. That’s where this tool really shines.

Simply input the URL and it will not only tell you whether the site is mobile-friendly or not but will also offer suggestions on how to make it more mobile-friendly.

Browseo – For those that believe it can be important to strip back the bluster and see how things really work, this simple but effective tools essentially shows you what your site looks like to a search engine. A truly underrated tool that even reveals how your site will appear in search results.

Ahrefs Backlink Checker – Something of a ‘classic’ in the free SEO tool community, Ahrefs is still one of the most powerful link checkers in the world for checking backlinks. It’s also lightning quick and will return results within seconds.

For planning a link-building strategy, Ahrefs is truly indispensable, but if you really want to feel its power you’ll need to subscribe to the premium version, which doesn’t come cheap.

This is just a small selection of the tools available. In truth, there are hundreds, many of which will be offering similar facilities. The real trick comes with experimenting and implementing these tools with your existing SEO practices in an unobtrusive manner. Whichever tool you choose, however, always make sure you are 100% satisfied before following through with a premium plan. Because sometimes, the best things in life really are free.

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