With SEO tactics changing rapidly and the digital landscape evolving, having an effective online marketing strategy is now considered an integral part of any business success.
And while most business owners now understand the importance of having a sound SEO plan in place, few hardly know the right tools to use. These are tools that, if implemented correctly, can help your website rank higher on organic search results, acquire more online visibility, and ultimately boost traffic and sales.
Are you looking to grow your organic search visibility but can’t seem to be making any meaningful progress in getting your keywords move up on Google? Read on to discover the 7 key types of software tools you can use to level up your SEO.
1. Keyword research and analysis tools
Keyword analysis is the core function provided by most SEO software solutions today. In fact, any SEO software that lacks this function is often dubbed irrelevant and inadequate.
A good SEO solution helps you discover both short-tail and long-tail keyword sets with the highest ROI for your business and niche. These are high-value target keywords that most of your targeted audience are searching for on Google and which you have the capacity to rank for.
Keyword optimization is a pivotal technique of finding hidden opportunities, improving traffic flow to a website and most importantly, creating highly-engaging content. A few keyword research tools you can consider include Ubersuggest, SEMrush, Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, Keyword.io and the Google Adwords Keyword Planner just to name a few.
It is worth mentioning, however, that while these tools provide data that could be very helpful in your keyword research and optimization strategy, it is how you interpret and use this information that makes the difference in the end.
2. Website audit tools
Just as the name suggests, these tools crawl your website looking for common issues like SEO and structural hitches, after which they suggest the best ways to resolve them. They work by analyzing both technical and content-related elements that may affect your SEO and user experience. These include missing keywords, broken links, wrong meta descriptions, on-page SEO gaps, and duplicate copies. A good example of a website audit tool is Deep Crawl.
3. Content SEO tools
These SEO tools focus on showing you how to create website content and optimize it for organic search ranking. Usually, they churn out data based on trending topics so you can always have feasible content ideas for your audience. A few advanced content tools use predictive analysis to indicate the direction of popular topics in real-time.
Examples of popular tools in this category include Outdated Content Finder, MozLocal, Yoast WordPress Plugin, and Buzzsumo. Using these tools makes it easier for you to generate unique ideas that will keep your content relevant and engaging all year round.
4. Technical SEO tools
Technical tools focus more on the structure of your website. This includes technical elements such as HTML compression, image compression, Java scripting rendering, meta-description, page linking, status codes, and much more. Their main goal is to help you dig deep into your website’s back-end and make improvements to its functionality and user-experience.
Some common technical tools for your SEO needs include WooRank Plugin, SemRush, HTML Compressor, Prerender, Screaming Frog, TinyPNG and DeepCrawl.
5. Copy audit software
As you possibly already know, search engines like Google often penalize websites for duplicate content. These tools check your web pages for plagiarized content and indicate the level of plagiarism in each page. They can also check other sites to track content that might have been copied from you. In some cases also, copy audit tools analyze the clarity and readability of your copy to improve user experience.
Examples of popular copy audit tools include Copyscape, Yoast plugin, and Clarity Grader.
6. Rankings tools
When running an online business, one thing you always need to check is how well your target keyword rank on search results. This is key in helping you track the effectiveness of your digital marketing strategies as well as understanding where to put more effort to maximize the ROI of your campaigns. Ranking tools give you a broad insight into the search results based on your region, country, or industry.
There are a handful of useful tools you can use here chief among them being Ahrefs, Similar Web, Google Search Console, Moz, and Semrush. Most come with free or highly subsidized trial periods so you can test a few before settling down on the best one for your business. Alternatively, you can research further on each to learn its pros and cons. A good example you might want to check out is this Similar Web Vs Semrush comparison resource which offers a comprehensive assessment of these two industry leaders.
7. Link building tools
Links are a vital part of SEO and one of the biggest ranking factors used by search engines. In the same measure, building the wrong links or sourcing links from bad websites can be detrimental to your online business.
So, how do you know which links are deemed high quality and those considered spammy in the eyes of search engines? There are tools to help you distinguish between good and bad links and also show you how to remove toxic ones like in the case of a penalty hit.
Some of the best link building tools to use in 2019 and beyond include Linkody, LinkMiner, Moz, Majestic Backlink Analyzer, Ahrefs Site Explorer, Buzzstream, Disavow Tool, and CognitiveSEO.
Conclusion
If implemented correctly, these tools will help you streamline your online business and consequently boost your overall profitability. Choose a few in each category and maximize your use of their features and functions.