Seo is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. Seo takes into consideration the keywords or phrases that users will type into the search bar, and determines how to show these results in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Seo is simple to implement, with many free tools available on the web already. This guide will teach you how to use those tools to help your website rank higher in SERPs.
There are many SEO tools available to increase website rankings, including plugins, web apps and subscription-based solutions. One piece of software that is essential in increasing your website rankings is the content management system (CMS). When using WordPress as your CMS, you can use one of many plugins that integrate directly with the WordPress core to enhance your SEO efforts.
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is often touted as the number-one WordPress SEO plugin. Its features cover the full spectrum when it comes to SEO. You can conduct readability checks, for example, and set canonical URLs to avoid confusing Google with duplicate content.
Other functionality on offer includes keyword optimization and the ability to preview pages in Google, Facebook, and Twitter. With the upgraded version of the plugin, you will also get some content assistance, since Yoast will offer you internal linking suggestions as you write pages and posts.
Yoast SEO has a robust knowledge database to help you get started. Plus, with the premium version, you’ll have access to one year of 24/7 help from an expert support team.
Key Features:
- Optimize your content for specific keywords.
- Provide search engines with the metadata they need to understand your content.
- Avoid duplicate content.
- Handle critical SEO tasks automatically, such as creating a sitemap and optimizing permalinks.
Price: You can download a limited free version or get the premium version for $89 per year.
Serpstat
Serpstat is a relative newcomer to the SEO application market. It offers a suite of data-driven analysis tools for marketers. Among the different options, you’ll find an SEO audit tool, backlink checker, and competitor tracking features.
This is a project-oriented system, which means you can organize your websites into groups or individual projects. All of these can then be accessed through a well-organized dashboard. You’ll be able to access any of Serpstat’s features from your project list.
Serpstat is a little like a Swiss Army knife when it comes to functionality. You can use it to find broken links on your website, track down the cause of sluggish page loading times, and a lot more.
Key Features:
- Handle a high volume of website monitoring for clients.
- Use an on-site auditing tool for locating and fixing issues.
- Access to a Market Intelligence tool for sizing up your competition regionally and globally.
- Get easy compatibility with both the Mac and PC operating systems.
Price: This is technically a tool you can use for free, although there are limits to the number of searches you can conduct. To increase your query capacity, you can start with the ‘Lite’ plan at $69 per month.
Keywords Everywhere: SEO Keyword Tool
Keywords Everywhere is another great SEO Chrome extension that aggregates data from various SEO tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, Google Trends, and more to help you find the best keywords to rank for. Free SEO tools like these simplify the process of determining the best keywords for your website. So rather than going through several websites each day, you can use this one tool to save you a huge amount of time.
Eagan Heath, Owner of Get Found Madison, is a huge fan of the SEO tool Keywords Everywhere Chrome extension. He shares, “It allows both me and my clients to see monthly U.S. keyword search volume right on Google, which is great for brainstorming blog topic ideas. It also allows you to bulk upload lists of keywords and see the data, which Google now hides behind enormous ranges unless you pay for Google Ads. Unbelievable value for a free tool!”
Moz Local Listing Score
See how your local business looks online
Limitations: Data is only available for three countries: US, Canada & UK
Moz crunches data from more than 10 different sources—including Google, Yelp, and Facebook—to score your brick-and-mortar business on how it looks online. Results come complete with actionable fixes for inconsistent or incomplete listings.
JSON-LD Schema Generator For SEO
Customize how your web pages appear in the search results
Limitations: None
Create custom code so that your reviews, events, organizations, and people are displayed the way you want in Google’s search results. Once you’ve created your schema code, copy and paste into your website.
Then, use the next tool to check if the implementation has been done correctly.
SimilarWeb
View site stats for any domain
Limitations: You’ll need a paid account to see every data point, but the free version is good enough to get a snapshot of your competitor’s activity
Use this tool to estimate how much traffic a website gets. See a breakdown of traffic sources, locations, and more. A helpful tool for competitor research.
XML Sitemaps
Create a sitemap
Limitations: Free up to 500 pages
Simply enter your site’s URL and some optional parameters, and XML Sitemaps will create a sitemap that you can upload to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
Copyscape
Check for duplicate content
Limitations: Only the top 10 results are shown
Enter a URL for a blog post or website, and Copyscape can tell you where else that content exists online. You might find results that you’ll need to follow-up with to help get your SEO in order.
Screaming Frog SEO Log File Analyser
Upload and analyze your log files
Limitations: Up to 1,000 lines
If you’re interested to find out what Googlebot is doing on your site, you can look into your website’s log files. Screaming Frog’s Log File Analyser allows you to do that for free.
Conclusion
It takes a special amount of effort to rank well in the SERPs. Most people just write a bunch of keywords, have a short-term strategy and settle down with their job. Then you come across people who have put in a bit more effort. That kind of attitude is what you need to create a winning content strategy for your website or blog. This article will be about how to set up the best SEO software for your website, there are many tools out there for market research, content creation and basic basic SEO tools.