The best free tools to help with SEO
Small businesses often struggle with search engine marketing (SEM) and the search engine optimisation (SEO) of their website. It’s the age-old question: How do you make sure your website is seen by people looking for your products and services and appears on that all-important first page? It can be especially difficult when you’re operating with smaller marketing budgets than larger competitors.
The key is to learn more about what people search for and why, and the good news is there are a lot of free tools out there that can assist you. The following platforms will help you to target keywords easily and provide some useful tips on where to start.
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is one of my favourite go-to tools that I recommend for non-marketers as it is very easy to use. It also has a great free level which is sufficient for most small businesses and bite-size blog/email newsletters. Even if you do opt for the paid for package, it’s more affordable than many of the similar platforms out there.
You can analyse your own website, competitor websites and look at estimated volumes of traffic for different keywords. It can also help you with backlink data – another important aspect of SEO.
Give it a try at https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/
SEM Rush
Another great tool that has a limited free account level is SEM Rush. It will pull phrase match keywords, related keywords and organic search results for your website and your competitors. Use the keyword gap tool to identify which keywords top competitors rank highly for. You can also review your current website’s technical SEO score and it will recommend improvements you should make.
View a list of what you can do on the free account level in SEM Rush.
Moz
Moz has a series of free SEO tools that can help you discover and prioritise the best keywords for your website. It also has a link explorer to identify link building opportunities and compare competitors. One feature I particularly like is the local search – this citations research identifies any gaps in your local online coverage with directories which is also an important part of SEO.
Results are limited in the free package but still provide useful insights for small businesses.
Answer the Public
This tool is particularly useful if you want to identify the search intent when someone is looking on a search engine. People may often type in a question to find relevant information and this site can be used to influence blog or content ideas for your website. It uses searches from Google and Microsoft Bing and has a massive database that can predict what searchers are going to ask.
It presents the results very visually and can be downloaded to provide useful long-tail keyword ideas.
Keywords Everywhere
This free extension to your browser allows keyword research to be shown directly on the search results screen. It includes estimated keyword volume data and trend graphs. There’s no configuration required so it’s easy to get set up and use straight away.
Yoast
Yoast is probably the most used SEO plugin for WordPress websites. This plugin can guide you through writing meta titles and descriptions and helps you optimise your website and blog posts. It also has a free XML sitemap generator that will automatically update whenever a new page is added. This gives better visibility of your website to search engines.
There is a free and paid-for level and for most small businesses, the free level will give enough support to help you optimise your website pages.
Understanding your website traffic
Google’s free tools – Google Search Console, Google My Business and Google Analytics also offer really useful insights.
Google Search Console – see what impressions and visits you’ve received to your website from different search terms. Check your mobile usability and any errors with search engine crawls.
Google My Business – use the insights tab to understand what searches have generated views on your listing
Google Analytics – track traffic, sources and monitor engagement
Tips on keyword research
Now you’re able to look at what types of traffic different keywords generate, it’s time to incorporate them into your website. Here are some of my top tips:
Choose lower volume keywords – this will be more targeted and achievable
Select UK when searching for particular keywords on a tool
Stick to keywords directly related to your product/service
Choose local/geographically relevant terms
Do your research on the competition – analyse what keywords they are ranking highly for and look at their website/content
Feature related terms within content – do not keyword stuff on website pages
Make it relevant – Google’s sophisticated algorithms will distinguish copy that’s clearly aimed at your audience’s need
Need a helping hand?
Search engine marketing can be a daunting task. If you’re looking for affordable support, get in touch.
