Blog SEO Tools We Love: Free & Paid Options for Better Rankings

SEO Tools We Love: Free & Paid Options for Better Rankings

Posted on: 22 May 2022

With hundreds of SEO tools on the market, finding the right ones for your business can feel overwhelming. Drawing from years of experience optimizing websites across various industries, we’ve compiled our favorite tools that deliver real value—both free options for those just starting out and paid solutions for serious SEO professionals.

Essential Free SEO Tools

You don’t need a massive budget to get started with SEO. These free tools provide remarkable functionality:

  • Google Search Console: The ultimate source of truth directly from Google. Monitor your site’s performance in search results, identify technical issues, understand which queries bring traffic, and submit sitemaps—all for free.
  • Google Analytics: While not strictly an SEO tool, understanding user behavior after they arrive on your site is crucial for optimization. The free version provides more than enough data for most websites.
  • Ubersuggest: Neil Patel’s tool offers limited but useful keyword research, backlink analysis, and competitor insights without spending a dime.
  • Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free Version): Crawl up to 500 URLs to identify technical SEO issues like broken links, duplicate content, and missing meta data.
  • Rank Math WordPress Plugin: A feature-rich WordPress SEO plugin with functionality that rivals many premium alternatives.

Worth-Every-Penny Paid Tools

When you’re ready to scale your SEO efforts, these paid tools deliver exceptional return on investment:

  • Ahrefs: Our team’s favorite all-in-one SEO toolkit. Their backlink analysis is industry-leading, and their keyword research and content explorer tools help identify incredible opportunities. Plans start at $99/month.
  • Semrush: A robust competitor to Ahrefs with excellent competitive analysis features and a slightly more user-friendly interface for beginners. Their keyword difficulty scores are particularly helpful. Plans from $119.95/month.
  • Mangools Suite: A more affordable alternative that includes KWFinder, SERPChecker, LinkMiner, and SiteProfiler. Great for small businesses at $49/month.
  • Screaming Frog Premium: Unlock unlimited crawling, scheduled audits, and advanced features like JavaScript rendering analysis for £149/year.
  • Surfer SEO: A specialized on-page optimization tool that analyzes top-ranking pages and provides specific content recommendations. Plans from $49/month.

Specialized Tools Worth Considering

Beyond the comprehensive solutions, these specialized tools excel at specific aspects of SEO:

  • PageSpeed Insights: Google’s free tool for analyzing and improving page speed—a critical ranking factor.
  • Answer the Public: Visualize search questions and prepositions to identify content opportunities (free limited version available).
  • BrightLocal: For businesses with physical locations, this tool specializes in local SEO citation building and rank tracking.
  • Clearscope: Enterprise-level content optimization tool that helps ensure content comprehensiveness.

Building Your SEO Toolkit

The best approach is starting with free tools and gradually investing in paid options as your SEO strategy matures. At minimum, every website should use Google Search Console and Analytics. As your budget allows, prioritize tools that address your specific challenges—whether that’s keyword research, technical SEO, or link building.

Remember that even the most expensive tools won’t replace strategic thinking. The insights these tools provide are only valuable when applied thoughtfully to your unique situation.