One of the few downsides to investing in your SEO is the sheer number of paid tools you may need to use to succeed.
Well, that doesn't need to be the case.
In this article, we've researched 20 completely free SEO tools that you can use to improve your SEO standing.
The Tools
- Google Search Console
- SEOTesting's Data Downloader
- Google Analytics (Google Analytics 4)
- Google Trends
- Bing Webmaster Tools
- SEOTesting's Rank Tracker
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free Version)
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Wayback Machine
- Nightwatch SERP Simulator (Free Version)
- Ahrefs Webmaster Tools
- Google Keyword Planner
- AlsoAsked
- RankMath (Free Version)
- SEOTesting Chrome Extension
- Hunter.io (Free Version)
- ChatGPT
- Help a B2B Writer
- Qwoted (Free Version)
- Yoast SEO
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a must-use tool for any business looking to enhance online visibility.
Google Search Console offers hugely valuable insights into how Google views your website, including details about how often your site appears in search results, which queries show your site, and how often users click through for those queries. This data is crucial for understanding and improving your site's search performance. Search Console also provides useful alerts for any issues on your site, such as crawl errors or security concerns.
Google Search Console does have some limitations. The tool only focuses on Google's perspective, so it does not provide a clear picture of how your site is seen across the web. The data can be useful, but it may also be overwhelming if you're still learning SEO.
Despite those drawbacks, Google Search Console is still one of the best free SEO tools.
SEOTesting's Data Downloader
GSC stands out as an indispensable tool for understanding your website's performance. It provides great insights into the queries your site ranks for and receives clicks from, helping you fine-tune your SEO strategy.
However, a common limitation many users face is that Google Search Console restricts you to viewing and exporting only the top 1,000 results. To overcome this limitation, you can use SEOTesting's Data Downloader.
SEOTesting's Data Downloader allows you to export a larger dataset directly to CSV format. This tool taps into the GSC API, enabling you to extract up to 5,000 queries per calendar day. You can export up to 25,000 queries over a specific date range if you need data over a longer period.
Using the Data Downloader, you can analyze a broader range of queries, uncover hidden opportunities, and identify trends that might be missed with a smaller dataset. This can be particularly useful for large websites or those in competitive industries where capturing every bit of data is crucial for maintaining and improving search rankings.
Google Analytics (Google Analytics 4)
One of the original, and still the best, analytics tools on the market. Even after the switch from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
GA4 is a powerful, free tool that offers a comprehensive view of your website's performance. It stands out from the rest of the market with its advanced tracking capabilities, allowing you to monitor user interactions across multiple platforms and devices.
GA4's event-based data model provides granular insights into user behavior, helping you understand how visitors engage with your content in (almost) real-time. With enhanced machine learning features, GA4 can predict trends and provide actionable insights, enabling you to make data-driven decisions to optimize your SEO strategy. Its seamless integration with other Google tools, such as Google Ads and GSC, further enriches your data, giving you a holistic overview of your marketing efforts.
The fact that GA4's features are so advanced creates a limitation. The learning curve can be steep, especially for those accustomed to the previous version of Google Analytics. Some users find the interface less intuitive, hindering fast data analysis.
Google Trends
Google Trends is one of the most underrated tools for marketers. And it's completely free.
The tool allows you to track the popularity of search queries over time, providing insights into consumer interests and emerging trends. By filtering data by location, time, and search type, Trends helps marketers understand regional differences and seasonal variations in search behavior. This data can be used to optimize content strategies, plan effective advertising campaigns, and identify new market opportunities.
While Trends offers significant benefits, it does have some limitations. The tool provides relative search volume rather than absolute numbers, which can sometimes make it challenging to gauge the actual scale of interest. Additionally, it reflects general public interest, which might not always align with niche market trends.
Bing Webmaster Tools (BWT) is an excellent free resource for marketers who want to optimize their websites for Bing performance.
It provides detailed insights into how your site is performing on Bing, offering data on:
- Search queries.
- Backlinks.
- Crawl issues.
With its comprehensive suite of tools, marketers can identify and fix technical SEO issues, submit sitemaps, and monitor the site's health and performance. Bing Webmaster Tools also features keyword research capabilities, helping you discover new opportunities to rank for relevant search terms.
Bing Webmaster Tools only focuses on Bing, which has a smaller market share than Google. This could limit the impact of any insights gained. Additionally, while the tool provides valuable data, it might not be as comprehensive or detailed as Google's SEO tools. Some users might find the reporting features less advanced, and the integration with other analytics platforms is not as seamless. This can make it challenging to get a holistic view of your SEO performance across all search engines.
SEOTesting's Rank Tracker
SEOTesting's Free Rank Tracker is an excellent tool for monitoring your website's keyword performance on Google.
Integrating seamlessly with Google Search Console allows you to track up to 500 keywords, providing daily updates on ranking changes. You can filter rankings by country and device and compare data over 7, 30, 90 days, and yearly averages, which helps you to understand long-term trends and make informed SEO decisions. The ability to invite your entire team also enhances collaboration, making it easier to strategize and implement SEO improvements.
The primary constraint, however, is the cap of 500 keywords, which may be insufficient for larger websites with a vast array of keywords to track. Additionally, as the tool relies on GSC data, any limitations or delays in Google data can impact the timeliness and accuracy of the insights provided.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free Version)
Screaming Frog's SEO Spider is an exceptional free tool for marketers who want to enhance their website's technical SEO.
It enables you to efficiently crawl websites, identifying key SEO issues such as:
- Broken links.
- Missing metadata.
- Duplicate content.
- 301 redirect chains.
The free version of SEO Spider can analyze up to 500 URLs and provides valuable insights into your site's architecture and on-page SEO elements. This data can be used to make informed decisions about site improvements, ensuring better search engine visibility. The tool's user-friendly interface and detailed reports make it easy for marketers to communicate issues to peers, superiors, and C-suite executives.
While the free version of Screaming Frog's SEO Spider is highly useful, it has some limitations. The most notable restriction is the 500 URL crawl limit, which might be insufficient for larger websites requiring a more comprehensive analysis. Additionally, the free version lacks advanced features such as custom extraction, integrations with Google Analytics, and the ability to save and re-upload files.
Google PageSpeed Insights
Google's PageSpeed Insights is an invaluable free tool for marketers aiming to improve their website's speed and usability.
It provides a detailed analysis of your site's speed and usability on mobile and desktop devices, offering actionable recommendations to enhance user experience. By scoring your site's performance and identifying specific arrears for improvement, such as image optimization, server response times, and resource compression, PageSpeed Insights helps you ensure faster load times and better search engine rankings (in theory).
The tool's integration with real-world performance data from the Chrome User Experience Report adds a layer of authenticity to its suggestions, making it an essential resource for any marketer focused on technical SEO and user satisfaction.
The recommendations can sometimes be overly technical, requiring a deeper understanding of web development to implement effectively. This then becomes an implementation issue, requiring great communication skills to get your requests implemented by dev teams.
Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine (from Internet Archive) is a great free tool for SEO professionals and marketers, offering a comprehensive archive of web pages that dates back to the Internet's early days!
It allows you to view the historical versions of websites, providing insights into past content, design, and structure. This can help you understand how competitors have evolved, recover lost content on your site, and identify previously successful SEO strategies. By analyzing the historical state of sites, you can spot trends and make informed decisions to optimize your current SEO efforts.
The Wayback Machine does have some limitations. The archive may not include every web page version, resulting in gaps in historical data. Additionally, some pages might not be fully rendered or lack interactive elements, limiting the ability to see the complete picture. The search functionality is also very basic, making finding specific information difficult.
Nightwatch SERP Simulator (Free Version)
Nightwatch's SERP Simulator is a fantastic free tool for marketers looking to understand how their website ranks across different locations.
It allows you to simulate SERPs for various regions and see how your site appears in different countries, such as the UK and the USA. This is crucial for tailoring your SEO strategy to target specific markets effectively. You can also optimize your content by visualizing regional ranking differences to improve visibility and click-through rates in diverse geographical areas.
Nightwatch's SERP Simulator has some limitations. It primarily focuses on providing location-based SERP previews and does not offer comprehensive SEO analytics or track ranking changes over time. Additionally, while it helps understand regional differences, it may not fully capture the dynamic nature of search algorithms and personalized search results, limiting its accuracy in real-world scenarios. Additional tools and data sources are necessary for a more holistic SEO strategy.
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is an excellent free resource for marketers aiming to enhance their website's SEO.
It provides insights into your site's backlink profile, identifying the quantity and (more importantly) the quality of inbound links. The tool also conducts site audits, highlighting technical SEO issues like:
- Broken links.
- Missing meta tags.
- Crawl errors.
With its detailed keyword data, you can track organic keyword rankings and discover new keyword opportunities. The ability to monitor your website's health and backlink profiles makes Ahrefs Webmaster Tools a helpful piece of kit for improving search engine performance.
Just keep in mind that the free version offers a limited number of keyword and backlink queries compared to having a full Ahrefs plan, which may restrict the depth of your analysis. Additionally, it lacks advanced features like in-depth competitor analysis and historical data tracking that are available in the premium version of Ahrefs.
It is also worth noting that, when you use Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, you are also consenting to Ahrefs accessing your Search Console data. This means that they can use this to improve their competitor analysis tools and estimated search volumes within the premium version of Ahrefs.
Google Keyword Planner
A tool that helps marketers in both an SEO and PPC sense? That's exactly what you get with Google Keyword Planner.
It provides extensive keyword research capabilities, allowing you to discover new keyword ideas and see how specific keywords might perform. With data on search volume, competition, and CPC (Cost Per Click), you can make data-driven decisions about which keyword to target. Google Keyword Planner also helps you understand seasonal trends, enabling you to plan your content and advertising strategies more effectively.
It's worth remembering that Keyword Planner primarily focuses on paid search, which might not fully align with organic SEO needs. Additionally, the search volume ranges can be broad (thanks to sample data from Google), which makes it challenging to gauge precise interest levels.
AlsoAsked
AlsoAsked is an excellent free tool for marketers looking to understand people's questions about their target keywords.
A visual representation of related queries and topics helps you uncover user intent and structure your content to better answer these queries. This insight is invaluable for creating comprehensive content that ranks well in search engines and meets the needs of your audience. Addressing these related questions can improve your chances of appearing in featured snippets and SERPs' 'People Also Ask' sections.
The free version restricts the number of queries you can perform daily, which may limit extensive research. Additionally, the tool relies on data from Google's "People Also Ask" feature, which might not cover all potential queries or be as comprehensive as other keyword research tools. Supplementary tools and resources might be necessary for more detailed analysis and larger-scale content planning.
RankMath (Free Version)
RankMath's free version is a powerful SEO plugin for WordPress, simplifying the optimization process.
It offers keyword optimization, content analysis, XML sitemap generation, and Google Search Console integration, all within an intuitive interface. The step-by-step setup wizard and detailed SEO recommendations make it accessible for users of all skill levels. By providing insights directly within your WordPress dashboard, RankMath helps improve your site's ranking and performance without needing extensive technical knowledge.
The free version does, indeed, have some limitations. Advanced functionality like AI content analysis, advanced schema generation, and in-depth keyword tracking is reserved for premium users. Users with more complex SEO needs or larger websites might find the free version's capabilities insufficient and require an upgrade.
SEOTesting Chrome Extension
We created a free Chrome extension that is great for marketers looking to optimize website performance quickly and easily.
The SEOTesting Chrome Extension lets you view SEO metrics directly within your browser, providing easy access to critical data. The extension helps you quickly analyze queries, pages, and positions, simplifying identifying trends and opportunities. This seamless integration streamlines gathering insights, saving time, and enhancing your SEO strategy.
Just keep in mind that, without access to an SEOTesting subscription, the extension has been built to function as an on-page analysis tool. However, if you are looking to expand the use of the extension to include Search Console query data and usage stats displayed within the extension as you are browsing your own site, then you will need an SEOTesting subscription which starts at $40 for a single-site plan.
Having an SEOTesting subscription and using the extension will also allow you to get quick access to SEO tests that you are running on pages, and access to the full range of SEOTesting reports.
Look at our article about free SEO Chrome extensions for more awesome tools to help you.
Hunter.io (Free Version)
Hunter.io is an excellent free tool for marketers seeking to streamline their email outreach efforts.
It lets you quickly find email addresses associated with any domain, which is crucial for building effective contact lists. The tool verifies email addresses, ensuring higher delivery rates and reducing bouncebacks. Additionally, Hunter.io offers a user-friendly interface, making gathering and managing contacts easy.
However, the free version of Hunter.io has some limitations. It restricts the number of searches and verifications you can perform each month. Consider the paid version or additional tools to complement it for more extensive needs.
ChatGPT
In a marketing context, ChatGPT is a great free tool that can significantly aid marketers in generating content ideas, writing drafts, and providing instant answers to questions.
Its natural language processing capabilities make it an excellent resource for brainstorming, improving copy, and conducting basic keyword research. With an intuitive interface and the ability to understand and respond to context, ChatGPT can help you streamline various aspects of marketing and content creation.
For example, we recently used ChatGPT to analyze our app user logs to determine which part of SEOTesting was most used. You could also use it for tasks like log file analysis and keyword research.
As with all premium tools with free versions, there are limitations to be aware of. It may occasionally provide less accurate or relevant information than human expertise or even the paid version of ChatGPT, and access can be limited during peak times.
You also need to be wary of AI's uses. Writing articles using 100% AI and not editing them with the 'human touch' can lead to your site being hit by Google in future updates, as we have seen recently. AI is great for improving processes, but it may not be the best tool to replace jobs that require a human touch.
Help a B2B Writer
Help a B2B Writer is a fantastic free tool for marketers and writers seeking expert insights and quotes for their content.
Connecting writers with industry professionals who share their expertise helps enrich articles with authoritative perspectives, making them more compelling and credible. This tool streamlines the process of finding and vetting sources, saving time and improving the quality of B2B content.
Given that Help a B2B Writer is a completely free tool, there are a few limitations to consider with the tool itself. It is worth remembering that many people use this tool, which could mean the competition for each question is high. Your success in using the tool also depends on the responsiveness of the authors who have registered for the platform.
Qwoted (Free Version)
Qwoted is a great free tool for SEO professionals because it facilitates direct connections with industry experts, allowing you to enrich your content with authoritative insights and quotes.
This can significantly boost your content's credibility and relevance, improving its appeal to readers and search engines. The platform's user-friendly interface streamlines finding and engaging with experts, making it easier to enhance your content strategy and SEO efforts.
Qwoted's free version only includes a restricted number of queries and limited access to experts. These constraints can make gathering a wide range of insights challenging for more extensive or frequent content needs. For more comprehensive access and functionality, consider the premium version or supplement Qwoted with additional resources, like Help a B2B Writer, which we have just written about.
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is an essential free tool for WordPress users. It offers a comprehensive suite of SEO features to help optimize website content.
It provides real-time analysis and recommendations for improving on-page SEO elements like keywords, meta descriptions, and readability. With its intuitive interface and actionable insights, Yoast SEO makes enhancing your site's search engine rankings and user experience easier.
However, it lacks advanced features like internal linking suggestions, social previews, and content insights, which are available in the premium version. Upgrading to the premium version or using additional tools may be necessary for more in-depth SEO needs.
Do you want to improve your site's SEO using internal links? Read our article on the top tools for internal linking.
Wrapping Up
Investing in SEO does not always necessitate a hefty budget for paid tools. This article has showcased 20 completely free SEO tools that can significantly enhance your SEO strategy.
Each tool offers unique features and insights to improve your website's performance and visibility, from the indispensable Google Search Console to the versatile Screaming Frog SEO Spider. By leveraging these free resources, you can efficiently monitor your site's health, optimize content, and track performance without incurring additional costs. Embrace these tools to elevate your SEO efforts and achieve sustainable growth in search engine rankings.
Unlock the full potential of your website with SEOTesting! Sign up for our 14-day free trial and gain access to powerful tools designed to boost your SEO strategy. Experience the benefits of comprehensive data analysis, keyword tracking, and in-depth reporting without commitment.
Don't miss this opportunity to elevate your SEO game and achieve higher search rankings. Start your free trial today and see the difference SEOTesting can make for your website!
