Best 19 websites of SEO

Whether you’re running a quaint local shop or a sprawling multinational enterprise, SEO remains the premier strategy for sustainable traffic growth and lead generation. A single well-optimized blog

post, webpage, or video can magnetize thousands of qualified visitors for years without any promotional expenses.

However, mastering SEO is no easy feat. Every marketer knows the coveted value of a prime spot on Google’s results page, and the competition to secure that real estate intensifies continuously.

For this reason, we have rigorously tested and organized the top SEO tools available in 2024. Whether you’re drafting your first blog post or refining a 5,000-page website, there are tools here to aid you.

Contents

• What are SEO tools?
• What is the most effective tool for SEO?
• Best free SEO tools
• Best AI-powered SEO tools
• Best local SEO tools
• Best Google SEO tools
• Best paid SEO tools

💡 Rank faster with this free guide: 10 Tangible & Free Ways to Get on the First Page of Google

What are SEO tools?

Broadly speaking, SEO tools are software applications that automate, streamline, or bolster your SEO strategy. More specifically, they assist with:

• Keyword research
• Keyword position tracking
• On-page SEO
• Link building
• SEO audits
• Competitor analysis

SEO tools come in various forms. Some are comprehensive, feature-rich platforms like Ahrefs, which support on-page SEO, off-page SEO, site audits, and more. Others, like our Keyword Tool, are point solutions designed to help you find the best SEO keywords to target.

What is the most effective tool for SEO?

Choosing the most effective SEO tool is akin to asking, “What’s the best vehicle?” The answer depends on your needs—whether you want to haul a lot of people, transport goods, or simply enjoy a fast ride.

Selecting your SEO tool begins with understanding your specific needs. Consider these questions:

• Are you new to SEO or a seasoned power user?
• What’s your budget?
• Do you have specific tasks, like auditing a large blog or conducting initial keyword research?
• How large is the team using the SEO tool?
• What type of organization do you belong to (marketing agency, affiliate group, e-commerce shop, SaaS company, etc.)?

While each use case has its own set of requirements, we used a few foundational characteristics to compile our best SEO tools list, including:

• User experience: Is the interface intuitive? Does the design help new users find what they need quickly?
• Value: Does the cost justify the software’s capabilities? Is it competitively priced versus similar tools?
• Feature/use-case fit: Does the tool have everything you’ll need to complete the task it’s designed for?
• User feedback: Positive reviews and high ratings on sites like G2 and Capterra.

Best free SEO tools

These SEO tools are either completely free or offer a robust free tier with ample functionality.

1. Exploding Topics for SEO keyword trends:

Exploding Topics helps you get in early on soon-to-be popular topics by scanning the web for increasing search and mention patterns.

Rather than letting you search any term, it allows you to choose from a variety of relevant topics. The tool’s data comes from various sources across the internet, making it effective at predicting future search trends. You can access trending topics for free, while paid plans start at $39 and offer tracking, alerts, and detailed reports.

2. WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool for unlimited keyword research

One of the toughest parts of SEO is finding keywords with the right balance of search volume and difficulty. Our Free Keyword Tool helps you overcome this by quickly generating a list of relevant keywords with necessary data.

Simply input a seed keyword, and the tool provides a list of related terms with their search volumes and competition levels. This tool is perpetually free for unlimited searches.

3. Animalz Revive for refreshing SEO content

SEO blog posts can lose their ranking over time. Revive, from content marketing agency Animalz, identifies these decaying assets on your blog.

It reviews your Google Analytics to spot blog posts with declining traffic and emails you a report with a list of content that could be refreshed to regain traffic. The tool is free but requires your email address.

4. Similarweb for competitive SEO analysis

Similarweb offers insights into the performance and ranking of any public website. Its free version is surprisingly comprehensive.

Enter a URL to see estimated traffic stats, site demographics, traffic sources, and more. While it offers valuable directional insights, the data should be taken with a grain of salt as it’s based on statistical estimates.

5. LocaliQ’s Website Grader for free SEO audits

For a quick, easy-to-understand website audit, LocaliQ’s Free Website Grader provides a detailed report.

The report covers technical SEO, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO, offering a good checklist of SEO improvements. Reports are delivered via email and can be run as often as needed.

Best AI-powered SEO tools

Many SEO tools have built-in AI functionality, but these stand out for their ability to process massive amounts of data and generate valuable SEO insights.

6. Outranking for SEO outlines

Outranking is a generative AI content tool focused on creating content that ranks well on search engines.

Input a search query, location, language, and title, and it generates a customizable SEO outline. It’s particularly helpful for writing content briefs. Pricing starts at $29 monthly for five new SEO documents and AI-assisted SEO optimization for existing content.

7. CanIRank for keyword competition

CanIRank is a personalized keyword difficulty tracker that reviews your website’s SEO strength and suggests specific keywords to target, along with actionable steps to improve your rankings.

You can review one website for free, with paid plans starting at $49/month.

8. Keyword Insights for keyword clustering

Keyword Insights uses AI to identify clusters of topics from a single keyword, helping you target multiple longtail keywords in a single post or linked group of posts.

A four-day trial is available for $1, with monthly plans starting at $58.

9. Diib for keyword and rank monitoring

Diib uses predictive AI to monitor SEO vitals and notify you of changes in your keyword rankings, allowing you to take timely action.

An initial startup fee of $99 and a monthly fee of $14.99 apply.

🛑 Get the free Guide to AI in Marketing and learn the most effective ways to use AI (and the ways you shouldn’t be).

Best local SEO tools

Local SEO is critical for location-based businesses. These tools help ensure you appear on SERPs when local customers search for your services.

10. GeoRanker for location-specific SEO tracking

GeoRanker tracks your website’s rankings for target keywords in specific locations, making it invaluable for multi-location businesses.

Limited access is free, with a subscription plan starting at $99/month.

11. LocaliQ’s Free Business Listings Grader for directory audits

LocaliQ’s Grader checks your business listings against 20+ online directories to ensure accurate and updated information.

The tool is free for an unlimited number of reports.

12. Yext for review monitoring

Yext consolidates reviews from across the web into a single dashboard, allowing you to manage your online reputation effectively.

Pricing is available upon request.

Best Google SEO tools

Google offers several free tools to help you research, optimize, and analyze your SEO efforts.

13. Search Console for technical SEO

Google Search Console helps you track and visualize various technical SEO aspects, such as indexing, mobile usability, and security issues.

14. Google Trends for timely keyword planning

Google Trends provides real-time keyword popularity reports, helping you understand search volume trends and plan your keyword strategy accordingly.

15. Google Analytics 4 for SEO performance tracking

GA4 tracks how visitors arrive at and interact with your website, providing insights into organic search traffic, popular content, and pages losing traffic.

Best paid SEO tools

If you have the budget, these tools offer rich functionality and excellent user experience, providing great value for their cost.

16. Ahrefs for best overall functionality for the money

Ahrefs offers extensive tools for keyword research, rank tracking, competitor analysis, and more, making it a great value for light to moderate SEO users.

Pricing starts at $99 per month.

17. Semrush for hardcore SEOs

Semrush provides detailed and in-depth data, especially useful for technical users. It excels in keyword research, technical SEO audit reporting, and rank-tracking features.

Pricing starts at $129.95 per month.

18. Screaming Frog for finding common SEO issues

Screaming Frog crawls your website to identify issues like broken links, problematic titles, and incorrect redirects, offering valuable insights to fix them.

The free version crawls up to 500 URLs, with the paid plan costing $249 per year.

19. AnswerThePublic for topic ideation

AnswerThePublic generates content topic ideas by pulling autocomplete data from search engines. While the data isn’t directly SEO-specific, it’s an excellent starting point for creating useful content.

A free version is available, with paid plans starting at $99/month.

20. Surfer for SEO content creation

Surfer analyzes Google’s search results to offer content recommendations based on current top-ranking pages, making it ideal for planning and editing SEO content.

Pricing starts at $19 per month.

Summary

The best SEO tools combine ease of use, powerful features, and valuable insights to help you optimize your website. Whether you’re looking for free tools or comprehensive paid solutions, the options listed above can help you enhance your SEO strategy and achieve better search engine rankings.