Understanding Key SEO Tools

Search engine optimisation (SEO) today revolves a lot around Google. What is known as SEO dates back to the most popular search engine that was co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

It may be argued that SEO and search engine marketing began with the launch of the first website published in 1991, or even with the launch of the first online search engine. However, SEO's tale "officially" starts a little later, around 1997.

Search engines have transformed the way in which we find knowledge, do work, shop for goods and services, amuse ourselves and communicate with others. Whether it's a website, blog, social network, or app, almost every online destination has a search engine behind it. Search engines have become the connecting power and guidance to everyday life.

What are SEO tools?

SEO tools can be defined as any software or tool enabling users to complete a step in the process of search engine optimisation. The SEO tools are intended to make SEO easier, faster and more efficient. Steps involved in SEO include keyword research, website auditing, backlink analysis, SEO competitor checking, and any other basic SEO functions.

SEO tools are used to perform various tasks for optimising the search engine. Notably, some SEO tools are extensive than others and provide you more detailed, helpful results. They come comprehensive features such as advanced market research and other matters related to digital marketing within a mixed interface.

What are the best SEO tools?

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is one of the most challenging aspects of running a website. Websites are constantly changing in the way Google and other search engines rank. This means that if you want to outpace the competition you need to keep up with the latest developments in SEO.

The good news is that you can use lots of excellent tools to tackle SEO and get the data you need to improve your rankings. You'll be well equipped for success if you know what they are and what they can do for you. Some of the best SEO-tools are as follows:

1. Google Search Console

Google Search Console (GSC) offers newbie webmasters an excellent way to get started with SEO. Even if you're not completely au fait with SEO, regardless the size of your website/blog, your prior SEO tool should be Google Search Console which was previously known as Webmaster Central.

The tool suite provides you with useful knowledge about your site at a glance: it will assess the efficiency of your site and detect possible troubleshooting challenges (such as harmful spam links), help ensure that your site is Google-friendly and track the indexing of your site by Google. If your platform has received a fine, you may also report spam and seek reconsideration and, if you don't consistently adhere to their webmaster tips, you've just got yourself to blame if you go wrong. The search console is continuously being updated, and new updates are on the way, such as a new URL inspection tool or new sitemaps monitoring.

2. SEMrush SEO toolkit

SEMrush oroginally developed the SEMrush SEO toolkit in 2008, and a decade later the project got a $40 million boost for expansion.

You can access the impressively elaborate keyword research tool on SEMrush dashboard when you sign up for the service. You will be able to further view detailed reports on keyword analysis, as well as a summary of any domains that you manage.

Importantly, this SEO toolkit lets you make comparison between your pages' performance to show how you rank against the competition. You will, for example, examine backlinks to yours from other websites (this cycle is also called 'building a link').

3. SEO Spider

SEO Spider was originally created by the euphemistically named "Screaming Frog" in 2010. Customers of this rowdy amphibian include famous brands such as Dell, Disney, and Shazam.

One of SEO Spider's ability to do a quick search of URLs, as well as crawling your site to check for broken pages are some of most attractive features. This saves you from the difficulty of clicking each link manually to rule out '404 errors'. You can also check pages that have missing title tags, duplicate meta tags, wrong tag lengths, and check the number of links contained on pages.

4. Majestic SEO

Since its inception in 2011, Majestic SEO has been receiving consistent praise from SEO veterans. That also makes it one of the oldest available SEO tools today. The main focus of the tools is on backlinks which represent connections between one website and another. This has a major influence on the performance of SEO. Thus Majestic SEO should be your best SEO tool for backlink checking.

Two types of index are commonly used for Majestic SEO. These are: 'Fresh Index' that is crawled and updated throughout the day, as well as a 'Historic Index' that has been praised online for its speed of lightning retrieval. The 'Majestic Million' is one of the most popular features which displays a ranking of the top 1 million websites.

5. Moz Pro

Moz Pro is an SEO technology kit aimed at helping you improve traffic, rankings, and exposure through search engine pages. Moz Pro serves as tool to highlight potential issues on your website which you can then use to take action. It also offers the opportunity to track the rankings of your website, cutting across over hundreds or thousands of keywords.

Which free SEO tools are te best?

While we have outlined the best paid-for SEO software out there, there are a range of websites that provide more specific resources that can be used freely. Below is a list of free SEO software you can utilise:

1. SEO Quake

2. Google AdWords keyword planner

3. Google Optimise

4. Ahrefs Backlink Checker

Why You Should Use SEO Tools

We cannot overemphasise the value of SEO tools in website/blog development. The following are the major reasons why you should use SEO tools to build your website/blog:

1. Analyse competitor SEO approach

2. Save time and resources on manual SEO inspection

3. Identify SEO and digital marketing high-converting keywords

4. Monitor SEO development

5. Envision and conceptualise results