Search engine optimization (SEO) is a big deal in online marketing, no matter your industry or business. SEO helps you improve your ranking on search engines, allowing you to reach a larger audience and generate more leads.
But let’s face it. SEO can be tough and time-consuming, especially if you’re new to it. That’s where SEO tools come in handy.
There are many free tools available on the internet that can help you improve your SEO score. This article will share nine of the best free SEO tools for 2023. These tools have been ranked by trusted sources.
1. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a web analytics service that allows website owners and marketers to track and analyze website traffic and user behavior. The tool provides many features and metrics to help users understand how visitors interact with their websites. This includes data on page views, bounce rate, session duration, traffic sources, and much more.
Google Analytics offers both free and paid versions of the tool, which includes a robust set of features suitable for most website owners. Some of the key free features of Google Analytics include:
- Real-time data – view website traffic and user behavior in real-time.
- Audience insights – you can see demographic information about your website visitors, including age, gender, interests, and location.
- Acquisition reports – check where your website traffic is coming from, e.g., search engines, social media, and other websites.
- Behavior reports – the report gives you an idea of how visitors interact with your website, including which pages they visit, how long they stay, and what actions they take.
- Conversion tracking – set up conversion goals to track specific actions, such as form submissions or product purchases, and see how well your website converts visitors into customers.
Google Analytics also offers integration with other Google products, such as Google Ads and Google Search Console. This helps users gain comprehensive insights into their online marketing efforts.
With its user-friendly interface and powerful analytics features, Google Analytics is an essential tool for optimizing website performance and maximizing the effectiveness of your digital marketing strategies.
2. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is a tool provided by Google Ads that helps users find the right keywords to target in their ad campaigns. It lets you enter keywords related to your product, service, or business, then generates a list of other relevant keywords along with data on search volume, competition, and suggested bids.
To use Google Keyword Planner, you must have a Google Ads account, which is free to create. However, using the tool requires setting up a campaign in Google Ads, which may require paying for ad spend.
The free version of Google Keyword Planner has limited functionality and is designed primarily for advertisers running low-budget campaigns. Users may need to subscribe to a paid version of Google Ads for more advanced features and data.
3. Ahrefs
Considered one of the best SEO automation software, Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO (Search Engine Optimization) toolset that offers a wide range of features to improve website visibility and organic search rankings. It provides valuable insights and data for keyword research, backlink analysis, competitor analysis, content optimization, and more.
The Ahrefs platform offers several free tools. They include:
- Ahrefs Webmaster Tools – these tools allow website owners to monitor their website’s SEO health and performance. It provides information on indexing status, crawl errors, backlinks, and keywords. The Webmaster Tools also offer suggestions to optimize website performance and fix potential issues.
- Ahrefs Keyword Generator – this tool helps users find relevant keyword ideas for their content. By entering a seed keyword or topic, it generates a list of related keywords along with their search volumes, difficulty scores, and click potential. This helps content creators identify popular keywords and optimize their content accordingly.
- Ahrefs Backlink Checker – with this tool, users can analyze the backlink profile of any website or webpage. It provides insights into the number of backlinks, referring domains, and the strength of backlinks. The Backlink Checker also shows the most linked-to content on a specific domain, helping users understand their competitors’ strategies and identify potential opportunities.
- Ahrefs Broken Link Checker – this tool scans a website for broken or non-functioning links. Broken links can negatively impact user experience and SEO rankings. The Broken Link Checker identifies these links and provides a report, allowing website owners to fix and improve their website’s overall performance.
- Ahrefs Website Authority Checker – this tool evaluates the domain authority and backlink profile of a website. It provides a domain rating score, which indicates the overall strength of a website’s backlink profile. Users can compare their website’s authority with competitors and track improvements over time.
While the free tools offer valuable insights, it’s important to note that the full range of Ahrefs features and capabilities are only available through a paid subscription. Nonetheless, these free tools can be useful for individuals and businesses seeking basic SEO insights and improve their website’s performance.
4. SEMrush
SEMrush is an all-in-one digital marketing tool for SEO, PPC, content marketing, and social media management. It is designed to help businesses optimize their online presence and increase their visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).
SEMrush offers a wide range of features to analyze and improve the performance of websites and online campaigns. It also offers a limited free version that allows users to access some of its features.
Here are some of the free features of SEMrush:
- Domain Overview – provides an overview of any website’s organic search traffic, backlinks, and paid search traffic.
- Keyword Magic Tool – this feature helps to find relevant keywords, their search volumes, and their competition levels.
- Site Audit – analyzes a website for technical issues that may affect its performance on search engines.
- Topic Research – helps to find popular content topics and generate new content marketing ideas.
- Backlink Analysis – this feature helps to analyze a website’s backlinks, including the domains that link to it and the anchor texts used.
- On-page SEO Checker – analyzes a webpage and provides recommendations to improve its on-page SEO factors.
Note that the free version of SEMrush has limited functionality and data. You’ll need to upgrade to the paid version to access all the features and data available.
5. Moz
Moz is a suite of search engine optimization tools. The tools included in Moz Pro help website owners and SEO professionals improve their website’s search engine rankings and overall visibility online.
Moz has both free and paid features. Some of the limited free features include:
- MozBar – a browser extension that provides features such as on-page analysis, domain authority metrics, page optimization suggestions, keyword research, link analysis, and social media metrics for any website you visit.
- Keyword Explorer – a tool that helps you find the best keywords to target for your website based on search volume, difficulty, and other factors.
- Open Site Explorer – a tool that allows you to see the backlinks pointing to any website, including your own.
- Link Explorer – a newer and more robust version of Open Site Explorer that provides deeper insights into link data and allows you to track the performance of your links.
- On-Page Grader – a feature that analyzes the on-page SEO factors of a webpage and provides suggestions for improvement.
- Local Listings – the list helps you manage your business listings across online directories and platforms.
These free features provide a good starting point for website owners and SEO professionals looking to improve their website’s performance. However, the paid version of Moz Pro offers many more advanced features and capabilities, such as advanced keyword research, site crawl audits, and competitor analysis.
6. SEOquake
SEOquake is a free browser extension that provides SEO basics about websites directly on the search results page. It can be used with Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, and Yandex search engines.
Some of the free features of SEOquake include:
- SEO Audit – this feature analyzes the website and provides a detailed report on various SEO factors such as meta tags, headings, content, internal and external links, images, etc.
- Keyword Analysis – helps users identify the keywords a website is targeting and provides information such as search volume, competition, and CPC.
- Page Analysis – provides a comprehensive analysis of a particular webpage, including its title, meta tags, headings, content, images, and more.
- SERP Overlay – displays information such as the domain age, Google index, Alexa rank, and other important metrics on the search results page.
- Backlink Checker – allows users to check the backlinks of a website and provides information such as the number of backlinks, domain authority, and page authority.
- SEO Toolbar – this feature provides a quick and easy way to access all the features of SEOquake from a toolbar in the browser.
SEOquake is a versatile and valuable tool for website owners and SEO professionals. Its free features offer comprehensive insights and data to optimize website performance and improve search engine rankings. With support for multiple search engines, SEOquake empowers users to make informed decisions and effectively optimize their online presence.
7. Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is a popular WordPress website search engine optimization plugin. It is designed to help users optimize their content for search engines and improve their website’s visibility in search engine results pages.
Yoast SEO offers the following free features:
- Content analysis – analyzes your posts and provides feedback on how to improve them for SEO. It checks for things like keyword density, meta tags, internal linking, and readability.
- XML sitemaps – automatically generate an XML sitemap for your website. This map makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your content.
- Social media integration – allows social media optimization, which can help improve the appearance of your content when shared on social media platforms.
- Redirect manager – this feature includes a redirect manager that allows you to set up redirects for broken or outdated links on your website.
- Basic schema markup – Yoast SEO adds basic schema markup to your website, which can improve how your content is displayed on search engine results pages.
In addition to these free features, Yoast SEO also offers a premium version with advanced functionalities. The premium version includes features like multiple focus keywords, internal linking suggestions, content insights, and advanced XML sitemaps. These additional features can further enhance your website’s SEO efforts and provide more comprehensive optimization options.
8. Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is an online tool by Google that allows businesses to create and manage their online presence across Google. By creating a profile, you can provide essential information about your products or services, such as your name, address, phone number, hours of operation, website URL, and more.
Google Business Profile offers a range of free features to help businesses manage their online presence, including:
- Business Profile – a customizable profile that includes your business name, address, phone number, website, hours of operation, and other relevant information.
- Google Maps listing – a map listing that displays your business’s location, phone number, and website.
- Reviews – a platform for customers to leave reviews about your business, which you can respond to and manage.
- Insights – Analytics that provides data on how customers find and interact with your business on Google.
- Posts – a feature that allows you to create and share updates, offers, or events related to your business.
- Messaging – a messaging platform that lets you chat with customers directly from your business profile.
- Q&A – a forum where customers can ask questions about your business, which you can answer to provide helpful information.
- Photos and videos – the ability to upload photos and videos of your business to showcase your products or services.
These features can help businesses increase visibility, engage with customers, and improve their online reputation.
9. AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic is a keyword research tool. It uses search engine data to generate a list of questions and related queries based on a specific keyword or topic. It presents this information in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand format. This format includes a wheel of related questions and a list of related prepositions and comparison terms.
Content creators, marketers, and SEO professionals often use this tool. It helps them better understand the interests and concerns of their target audience and create content that addresses their specific needs and questions.
AnswerThePublic offers a free version with limited features:
- Keyword suggestions – this feature provides keyword suggestions based on the search term entered.
- Visualization – the tool generates a visualization of the questions, prepositions, and comparisons related to the search term.
- Data export – you can download the results in CSV format for further analysis.
- Location-based results – you can choose a specific location to see the questions and queries related to that location.
The free version of AnswerThePublic provides valuable insights and can be a useful starting point for keyword research and content creation. However, like with the other tools in this list of the best free SEO tools for 2023, the paid version offers advanced features and allows for unlimited searches.
SEO Tools Bring Significant Benefits to Businesses
SEO tools are very useful for SEO campaigns. They help you with crucial SEO functions like keyword research, backlink analysis, website audits, content analysis, rank tracking, competitor SEO analysis, and link building.
Having access to the best free SEO tools is essential for any business looking to improve its online visibility and attract more traffic. However, there is no perfect, one-size-fits-all tool for all businesses.
These online tools enhance marketing and may work efficiently with some companies but not for others. The key factor to consider is whether the SEO tool you choose helps you achieve your unique goal and needs.