As more businesses move online, the competition for online visibility has become increasingly fierce. SEO is a powerful tool that can help businesses to stand out and reach their target audience. By optimizing their website and content for search engines with the help of free SEO tools, businesses can improve their visibility and attract high-quality traffic that is more likely to convert customers.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is optimizing your website and content to make it more visible and appealing to search engines like Google. The goal of SEO is to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords and phrases related to your business.

How Does SEO Work?

Search engines use complex algorithms to determine which websites should be displayed in their search results. These algorithms consider various factors, including keywords, content quality, user experience, and backlinks. SEO involves optimizing your website and content for these factors to improve your chances of ranking higher in search results.

Importance of SEO for businesses

• Increased traffic. SEO helps improve a website’s visibility in organic search results like Google. It means that more potential customers can discover a business’s website. Higher traffic leads to higher lead and conversion rates.
• Higher rankings. Appearing on the first page and at the top of search results gives a business much more prominent exposure. It means more visibility and a better chance of capturing people’s attention.
• More aware and interested customers. People who find a business through search engines seek solutions or products that the business offers. They have a higher intent to buy or engage.
• SEO credibility boost. A strong SEO presence signals to customers that a business is reputable, established, and cares about being found online. It can boost trust and credibility.
• Lead generation. SEO drives targeted traffic to a website which can then be converted into high-quality leads and customers. The traffic is already interested in what the business offers.
• Improved brand building. A good SEO strategy helps raise online brand awareness and establish a business as an authority in its industry or product space. This authority then translates to real-world credibility.
• Competitive advantage. SEO can provide a boost over competitors who are under-optimized or who don’t prioritize search engine optimization. It’s a way for businesses to differentiate themselves.
• Long-term impact. SEO is an ongoing process, not a one-time campaign. Consistent SEO efforts have yielded sustainable benefits and competitive advantages over multiple years. Traffic and rankings improvements become long-term gains rather than short-term wins.

The Cost involved in using SEO tools

The costs associated with SEO tools can vary depending on the types of tools used and a business’s needs. Some things to consider:

1. Free vs paid tools. Many SEO tools offer free versions with limited features and paid business plans with more capabilities. The free options can work for small sites, but paid plans are often needed as websites need to scale up.
2. One-time fees vs annual subscriptions. Some tools charge an upfront license fee, while others use a monthly or annual subscription model. Subscriptions ensure access to the latest features but come with ongoing costs. One-time fees provide more long-term value, but tools may receive fewer updates.
3. Tool suites vs individual tools. SEO tool companies often offer bundled suites with multiple tools at a discounted combined price. Using multiple standalone tools may require paying many separate subscriptions or license fees. Suites aim to provide an integrated experience at a lower total cost.
4. DIY vs agency services. In addition to the tools themselves, SEO agencies charge for the services and expertise they provide to develop and execute customized strategies. For many businesses, hiring an agency is seen as a cost-effective option versus replicating an agency’s experience with tools alone.

Top free SEO tools to use in 2023

We’re here with the list of provided tools free and paid on the basis of type, let’s discuss these tools and their pros and cons in detail –

MozBar SEO toolbar

MozBar is a popular free SEO research tool created by Moz, a leading SEO company. It’s a free SEO tool for researching keywords and learning about search metrics.

Pros

• Easy to learn and use.
• Identifies useful micro-keywords.
• Calculates estimates and metrics.

Cons

• Lacking features like project/site management, reporting/dashboards, etc. 

Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing Webmaster Tools is a free SEO tool provided by Microsoft Bing Search Engine.

Features

1. Access rich information about pages. 
2. Sitemaps can be submitted for review by Bing spiders to include content that otherwise might be missed from indexing. 
3. Request can be submitted to Bing through the tools to crawl the site or specific pages again to refresh their search index information.

Pros

• Easily submit and manage sitemaps. 
• Key details for individual pages. 

Cons

• Less influential search engine.
• Less analytics are available.
• Additional time/work submitting to Bing.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a popular paid SEO tool used by SEO professionals and agencies. Ahrefs allows checking for high-quality links pointing to a website or specific pages.

Features

1. Provides a structured SEO audit framework.

Pros

• Maintain high-quality, free integrations.
• Uses data from major search engines to guide SEO decision-making.

Cons

• Ahrefs scales well for mid-sized to large SEO programs.
• The interface is logical and intuitive for experienced SEO professionals.
• Costs to set up an Ahrefs account and subscriptions represent an upfront financial investment.

SEMRush 

SEMRush is a popular paid SEO tool used by SEO professionals and agencies. Find popular content types, topics, keywords, best-performing content and more based on rankings, traffic, conversions and search volume across search engines. 

Features

• Track ROI on SEO investments.
• No need for manual data entry between tools.
• Optimize a content strategy to mimic what’s working for top results.

Pros

• Both small and large SEO programs can benefit.
• Recommendations come from research, not just theories.

Cons

• Time is required to become proficient in using the tool.

Ubersuggest 

Ubersuggest is a free SEO keyword research tool. Enter topics, products/services, locations or other details related to a site or business to find relevant keywords and search phrases. 

Features

1. Semantic suggestions may still attract search traffic.
2. Focus on the most niche-relevant keywords for attracting qualified search traffic.

Pros:

• Covers the basics.
• Provides keyword research functionality at no cost.
• Can analyze requests and provide customized keyword suggestions instantly.

Cons

• Lack of customizability.
• Lack of advanced features. 

AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic is a free SEO keyword research and optimization tool. AnswerThePublic analyzes search trends over the past 3-12 months to highlight related topics, keywords and questions that are gaining more popularity and search volume. 

Features

1. Seasonal keyword strategies bring temporary traffic rank opportunities.
2. Filters provide control over suggestions to focus SEO efforts.
3. Exports make it easy to transition from discovery to optimization across multiple tools.

Pros

• Aims to surface the types of keyword and SEO opportunities.
• Limited time and resources can focus on optimizing for suggestions.
• Integrates well by exporting all keyword lists, data, insights and recommendations.

Cons

• Limited data.

Synup Listing Scan

Synup Listing Scan is an SEO tool providing competitive keyword research and analysis. 

Features

1. Monitor how competitors’ pages change to stay on the cutting edge.
2. Integrates tightly with other tools in the Synup suite, including Competitor Analysis, Backlink Profile and Link Building.

Pros

• Competitor-focused research.
• Real-time SEO management.
• Scales to high-volume needs.
• Provides more advanced SEO data and insights.

Cons

• Missing key features like content optimization.

BrightLocal

BrightLocal is an SEO software tool focusing on local business search engine optimization. BrightLocal crawls directories like Yelp, YellowPages, Google My Business and more to ensure local client business profiles are optimized with accurate information from the business’s website and management. 

Features

1. Claim and verify listings. 
2. Analyze local search rankings.
3. Track metrics of valuable links.

Pros

• Local business focus.
• Quick insights lead directly to impactful changes for maintaining and improving visibility.

Cons

• Limited vertical support.
• A static list of directories.
• Issues with syncing deletes.

Screaming Frog

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is an SEO software tool for crawling, auditing and reporting websites. Crawl single or multiple sites simultaneously to audit SEO opportunities and issues across platforms.

Features

1. Perform technical audits to identify SEO errors, bad practices and missed opportunities.
2. Generate detailed reports on the SEO status and performance of crawled sites.

Pros:

• Audits with Screaming Frog SEO Spider dig deep into SEO opportunities and issues.
• Real progress gets measured based on fixing genuine SEO issues.
• Maintain a connected, customized set of applications rather than a fragmented suite of tools.

Cons

• Reporting limitations. 
• Crawl depth limitations.
• Missing advanced/emerging features.

Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is a popular WordPress plug-in to optimize WordPress sites for search engine visibility. Yoast analyzes page content to generate optimized page titles, meta descriptions and keywords tags for increased relevance in search results. 

Features

• Automatically creates optimized breadcrumb links and navigation.
• Yoast generates XML sitemaps for both pages and posts, allowing submission to search engines. 

Pros

• It continues optimizing its functionality by analyzing real sites of different sizes, niches, technical complexities and SEO programs.
• Provides nuanced insights based on analyzing how actual site content, pages, posts, keywords, traffic, and rankings.

Cons

• Relies on AI (artificial intelligence) to analyze content automatically and optimize meta fields, titles, descriptions, keywords, sitemaps, XML markup, and more.
• There are no options for auditing or improving SEO on other important platforms like search console properties, social media profiles, apps, partnerships and more. 

Rank Math 

Rank Math is another popular WordPress SEO plug-in. Rank Math generates XML sitemaps for indexing all pages and posts by search engines. Prioritize high-impact issues for optimization. Track how auditing and fixing issues influence search rankings, traffic and more over time.

Features

1. Analyzes site activities, content publishing, ranking changes and other key developments to provide actionable insights and alerts.
2. Analyzes site activities, content publishing, ranking changes and other key developments to provide actionable insights and alerts.

Pros

• Seamlessly integrates into WordPress installations and workflows.
• Continues optimizing functionality based on analyzing how real sites are.

Cons

• Supports optimizing WordPress websites.
• Offer reporting and analytics; options may be relatively basic.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free website analytics tool offered by Google. It provides useful statistics and insights into website visitors and their activity. 

Features

1. Gain insights into how to target communications and optimize experiences.
2. Model how people progress through multi-step conversion funnels and determine where drop-offs occur.
3. Establish and analyze custom dimensions like product ID, location ID, content group, and custom metrics for key business KPIs.

Pros

• Event tracking.
• Global reach and scale.
• Valuable metrics and reports. 

Cons

• Limited reporting options. 
• Reliance on default reports.
• Missing segmentation options. 

Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a free tool offered by Google that provides useful insights into how Google and other search engines discover and index website content. 

Features

1. URL inspection tool. 
2. Alerts about important changes. 
3. Evaluate how a website compares to competitors.

Pros

• Tracks key metrics.
• Discovers issues early.
• Informs sitemap submission. 
• Identifies blocked content. 

Cons

• Inconsistent index status.
• Heavy speculation is required.
• Limited crawl budget insights.

Some benefits to using free SEO tools :

1. Lower upfront costs. Free SEO tools require no financial investment to get started. It can appeal to small websites, non-profits, those on a tight budget, or those just getting into SEO. Paid tools often charge annual subscriptions, monthly fees, or one-time licenses, representing an ongoing cost.
2. Limited capabilities cover basic needs. While free SEO tools typically offer fewer features and have more limits, they may still provide enough functionality to suit basic SEO strategy development and optimization for some sites. As needs expand over time, adding paid tools can always be considered.
3. Try before you buy. Using free SEO tools is a great way to evaluate different options and determine which, if any, paid tools might be worthwhile to purchase based on actual use. Many SEO tools offer free trials for their paid plans as well. But free versions allow exploring tools at no charge.
4. Open source and free community support. Some solid free SEO tools are open source, meaning the source code is openly shared under a license that allows modification and sharing. This open approach often comes with a helpful community of fellow users who can provide free support, ideas, and recommendations. Paid tools usually offer paid customer support.
5. Avoid vendor lock-in. Starting with free SEO tools allows a business to maintain flexibility and is not locked into any particular paid tool or suite. Needs change, or other options seem more suitable down the road. Switching or supplementing tools is easy rather than feeling tied to expensive long-term contracts or licenses.

Some downsides to keep in mind with free SEO tools:

• Limited features and capability. Free tools typically lack many advanced, enterprise-grade features found in paid competitors targeted at large organizations and agencies. They may sufficiently cover basics but are limited to high-volume or complex SEO work.
• Lack of integration. SEO tools often work separately, and free tools rarely integrate deeply with one another or other marketing/analytics tools. Paid suites aim to provide tight integration, workflows, and data sharing across tools.
• Less support and uptime. The support provided with free SEO tools is often more limited, as is tool uptime and reliability, considering they have smaller development teams and budgets. Paid tool vendors prioritize tool uptime, support, and quality.
• Struggles with scaling. While free SEO tools can work for small sites, they frequently do not scale well as a site’s complexity, volume, needs, and priorities grow over time. Upgrading to paid tools or alternatives may become necessary yet be more difficult or expensive the longer the reliance on free tools.

In conclusion, the world of SEO is constantly evolving, and it is more important than ever for businesses to have a strong online presence. Fortunately, a variety of free SEO tools available in 2023 can help businesses optimize their websites and improve their search engine rankings. From Google Analytics and Search Console to keyword research tools like Ubersuggest, businesses have access to a wealth of data and insights that can inform their SEO strategies.

While paid SEO tools are available, businesses on a budget can still benefit from the free tools available and achieve their SEO goals. Regularly utilizing these free SEO tools allows businesses to stay ahead of the curve and maximize their online visibility in the ever-changing digital landscape.

FAQs