When you run an online store or sell your services online you need tools to track your website’s activities and performances. These can be anything from user behavior to technical challenges on your website.
Different tools provide your various data and reports and collectively we call them SEO tools.
I use SEO tools every day and one thing is for sure, you need multiple SEO tools for better results for your website. No single tool covers everything you need to optimize effectively.
So if you are an SEO professional, SEO beginner, or business owner optimizing your website then you must check and try these SEO tools.
I have broken down these SEO tools into key categories of SEO including both free and paid SEO tools.
Let’s explore more.
Categories of SEO Tools
Before diving into specific tools, it’s essential to understand the different categories they fall into: (Skip this part if you already know but if you are new to SEO then stick around.)
- Keyword Research: Identify keyphrases and intent to create and optimize content that users are searching for.
- Web Analytics: It helps you to track and analyze website traffic, user behavior, and other performance metrics of the website.
- On-Page Audit: This tool lets you analyze and identify optimization opportunities that can help your web pages.
- Off-Page or Link Building: These tools can help you to connect or identify linking opportunities of your website to third-party websites which helps to boost your website ranking.
- Build and analyze backlinks to improve domain authority and search engine rankings.
- Technical SEO Tools: Diagnose and resolve technical issues like crawl errors, site speed, and mobile usability to enhance site performance.
- Local SEO Tools: Optimize for local search results and manage online listings to attract nearby customers.
- Content Optimization Tools: Refine and improve content to align with user intent, boost readability, and match search engine criteria.
16 SEO Tools to Try
The best SEO tools are those that provide actionable insights tailored to your website’s needs. After testing numerous tools, here are my thoughts on the ones that stood out.
Keyword Research Tools
Everything on the web starts with keywords or a Query, whether you are looking for some product or video or any generic information.
So analyzing keywords is the most important part of any business, and having the best SEO tools for keyword analysis makes the job easier.
Here are 4 keyword research tools you should try –
- Google keyword planner
- Ahrefs’ Keyword Generator
- SEMrush Keyword Tool Set
- Moz Keyword Explorer
1. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool by Google Ads.
Although marketers use it for Google Ads campaigns, it is a useful tool for SEO purposes also, it can be used to understand search trends which can be used to optimize content for better visibility in Google search results.
Why should you try it? This tool has direct access to Google’s extensive search data, providing accurate insights into keyword trends and search volumes.
You can check search volume and completion level, and you can also group them. You can broaden your search by adding suggested keywords, and you can also add keywords for the forecast.
Pricing – Free
Some useful tips –
- Google Keyword Planner can be used for free, but as this is a tool by Google Ads, you need an active Google Ads account.
- You may be required to start an ads campaign and enter billing information. However, you don’t necessarily need to run or spend on an active campaign to use the Keyword Planner.
This is a great free alternative to keyword research tools and best for small businesses or if you dont want to spend.
2. Ahrefs’ Keyword Generator
This is a free keyword research tool by Ahref. If you are looking for quick research of keywords then this tool must be on your list.
Why should you try it? For starters, it provides keyword ideas from Google, Bing, YourTube, and Amazon.
It provides keyword difficulty and a volume of 10 “Phrase match” keywords and “Questions” and an additional list of 50 keywords.
It is best for finding the seed keywords for your content piece.
Pricing: Free for 10 Keywords. Paid plans to access all metrics.
3. SEMrush Keyword Tool Set
SEMrush is a popular choice for keyword research among SEO professionals and businesses.
Its keyword tool set comprises of keyword overview and keyword magic tool.
Keyword Overview: With this feature, you can get a complete overview of the keyword, which includes Volume, KD, Global Volume (including multiple countries), intent, and more.
It also lets you filter to a specific location; you also get Keyword ideas, which include Keyword Variations and Questions. It also enables you to see Keyword Clusters.
Keyword Magic Tool: It can help you search keywords from various industries with multiple filter options such as broad match, exact match, KD range, volume range, and much more.
Pricing: You can use it for free with a limitation of 10 searches per day.
For more information on the free plan, read this guide, Things You Can Do With a Free Semrush Account.
4. Moz Keyword Explorer
Moz is another powerful all-in-one SEO suite that can help you do your keyword research. It has a straightforward dashboard with quick snapshots of the keyword, such as monthly volume, difficulty score, Organic CTR, and priority.
Useful features like Organic CTR provide a unique perspective to the keyword. It calculates the proportion of traditional clicks and organic search results received on a search engine results page (SERP).
Priority score determines the overall success of ranking the keyword in SERP; it is calculated by looking at all the other metrics: Volume, Difficulty, and Organic CTR. A higher Priority score means the keyword has higher volume and lower difficulty.
You can also find features like Keyword Suggestions and SERP Analysis.
Pricing: Free to use; you need to create an account.
Alternate keyword research tools to try:
Ubersuggest, Keyword Tool, KWFinder, Serpstat, Long Tail Pro, SpyFu, AnswerThePublic, BuzzSumo, Majestic, Google Trends, or Soovle to enhance your keyword research.
Web Analytics
As we have discussed earlier, web analytics are tools that help you monitor and understand your incoming traffic to your website.
By analyzing these data you can you can identify key points that can help you create more effective SEO strategies and campaigns.
Here are some of the common web analytics metrics, such as –
Organic traffic, various conversion metrics, device information, software information, web page information like – URL path, page title, etc
5. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free and widely utilized web analytics offered by Google. The current version of Google Analytics is four or simple GA4.
GA4 is much improved and uses event tracking features to provide in-depth data about website visitors, including demographic information, behavior patterns, and acquisition channels.
It enables users to monitor key metrics like pageviews, session duration, engagement rate, bounce rate, conversion rate, traffic source, and much more.
You can also customize your report in GA4; depending on your website goal, you can customize and set your KPIs.
Pricing: Free to use.
If you want to spy on competitors similar data for your competitor, you can use tools like Similarweb.
6. Microsoft Clarity
A free tool by Microsoft provides marketers with actionable insights into user behavior and website performance.
Ever wondered what your website visitors are doing or how they are interacting with your website or content? Then Microsoft Clarity is the answer for you.
It allows you to create heatmaps and session recordings, allowing a clear understanding of how visitors navigate a site. It can help identify usability issues and improve the website’s overall user experience.
Microsoft Clarity helps track metrics like click-through rates, scroll depth, and engagement time.
It also allows you to create multiple projects at the same time.
Pricing: Free
7. SimilarWeb
Analyzing your competitor’s website data is not easy, but SimilarWeb provides comprehensive insights into web and app traffic data, making it a favorite SEO tool among marketers and analysts.
You can check all traffic sources such as organic, paid marketing, social media, or referrals, making it easier to understand where their audience comes from and how they engage with the content.
Moreover, SimilarWeb provides detailed keyword analysis, audience demographics, and user engagement metrics like visit duration and bounce rates.
These actionable insights can significantly enhance digital marketing strategies and content planning for you.
Pricing: It offers a free version with limited features; premium plans are available. You can also use the Chrome extension of SimilarWeb.
8. Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio)
This is not a typical web analytics tool but it can be customized to create a single actionable report from various sources. Such as – Data from GA4, Google Search Console, etc.
Understanding data from different sources can be difficult sometimes, but these tools can be used to track and manage KPIs that are important for you.
It’s also perfect for tracking your website’s performance and sharing results with stakeholders.
With its drag-and-drop interface, Looker Studio enables you to design comprehensive reports that include key metrics like organic traffic, keyword performance, and goal conversions. The tool also supports real-time updates, ensuring your insights are always current.
A standout feature is the ability to customize visualizations, making data easier to interpret for team members and clients alike.
Pricing: Free
On-Page SEO Tools
When it comes to SEO, on-page is a key component of your website.
On-page SEO tools are specialized software designed to optimize web pages for better search engine rankings and to enhance the user experience.
You can check on-page elements like URL structure, headings, meta tags, content, keyword density, and so on.
On-page SEO tools help ensure they meet search engine guidelines and effectively communicate a page’s relevance and value to specific search queries.
Learn the basics before using on-page SEO tools: What is On-Page in SEO?
9. SEMrush On-Page SEO Checker
SEMrush On-Page SEO Checker is an internal tool offered by SEMrush, which comes with a premium package with limited free usage.
Many SEO professionals and content creators use this tool to offer targeted suggestions for optimizing web pages.
This On-Page SEO Checker provides a comprehensive analysis of web page content and structure. It provides actionable insights on content readability, keyword usage, and backlink opportunities.
It also analyzes and compares with competitors for each target keyword.
Pricing: Provides free limited suggestions.
10. Google Search Console
Offered by Google, Google Search Console or GSC is the basic SEO tool used by all businesses and if you are using it yet, then you should.
This can be easily listed under analytics tools but I’m listing this as an On-page SEO tool. Because it tracks down all the queries related to your site web pages along with the webpage search traffic, indexing status, internal and external links, etc of that page.
These data can be used to improve webpage visibility on search.
Apart from that, GSC has features like URL inspection and performance reports that allow for a thorough analysis of how Google views and crawls a site.
You can also send a “request for indexing” for your web pages to Google, along with an analysis of internal and external links.
Google Search Console is a must-have for anyone serious about improving their website’s organic search presence.
Pricing: Free to use. Just need a site verification and all set to go.
11. SEOquake
SEOquake is a powerful browser extension for SEO auditing that offers on-page audits and insights.
This SEO tool is the most widely used and provides quick analysis of web pages.
You can check SEO metrics like keyword density, internal and external links, meta tags, headings, and much more.
SEOquake’s ability to perform a swift and comprehensive review of a webpage’s SEO parameters makes it an excellent tool for on-the-fly SEO assessments and competitor analysis.
SEOquake is a convenient and effective SEO tool to use.
Pricing: Free to use.
12. SEO Pro Extension
Similar to SEOquake, SEO Pro Extension is an easy-to-use tool for on-page.
This Chrome extension simplifies SEO audits by providing real-time insights into key elements like meta tags, headings, alt attributes, and internal links.
It’s an essential tool for marketers looking to optimize web pages without switching between tabs or platforms.
The extension highlights issues and opportunities, making it easier to refine your content strategy and improve rankings. Its user-friendly interface allows even beginners to perform detailed audits in seconds.
A unique advantage of this tool is its ability to export data for further analysis, ensuring you stay on top of your SEO game.
Pricing: Free
4. Off-Page or Link Building
Off-page SEO or link building is a technique where your website is linked back from different domains. Learn more here.
Off-page SEO can also be defined as activity you performed on another website to promote your website such as social media, commenting, or even mentioning a brand name.
Getting links from another domain builds a domain’s credibility and helps enhance a website’s visibility and ranking. These links serve as endorsements, signaling to search engines that other websites consider your content valuable and relevant.
But consider acquiring high-quality backlinks, getting backlinks from spam sites can harm your domain.
Using SEO tools can help you get quality backlinks from other sites. Here are some tools to check out.
13. HARO
HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out.
When it comes to link-building, getting links from industry experts is more valuable. And HARO is an innovative platform that connects journalists with industry experts.
HARO provides daily opportunities to respond to media requests, which can lead to valuable mentions and backlinks from reputable sources.
To use the tools you need to select your industry and submit your email and HARO provides daily email to people looking to connect.
It requires time to build up a connection and get a link to your domain. But these links can be extremely valuable for your domain.
HARO is moved to a new domain and name called “Connectively”
Pricing: Free to use
14. SEMrush Link Building Tool
If you are looking to analyze your backlinks profile or analyze your competitors then SEMrush comes in handy.
It offers a smooth process for identifying potential link-building opportunities and managing outreach. Its features like backlink gap analysis are helpful to learn your competitor’s backlinks and your domain.
A Backlink audit of SEMrush can help you determine your domain toxic sore, referring domain, and potential link networks to approach.
The SEMrush Link Building Tool helps your SEO strategy and is designed to efficiently boost your site’s authority and search engine rankings.
Pricing: Free to use with limitations.
15. Hunter.io
Email outreach is an important part of any link-building campaign.
Slightly similar to HARO, Hunter.io simplifies the process of finding and verifying professional email addresses, making it easier to connect with influencers and website owners.
Whether you’re pitching guest posts or seeking collaborations, Hunter.io ensures that you reach the right people with its reliable email finding and verification system.
Hunter.io is an easy-to-use SEO tool. You can also use the browser extension of the product or integrate it into your CRM or spreadsheets.
Pricing: Free to use with limitations.
16. Google Search Operators
This is not a typicall tool but a useful weapon in your SEO quiver.
Yes! Using Google Search you can find potential link-building opportunities. It is old but many SEOs often underutilized Google Search for link-building opportunities.
Google Search provides some advanced search query strings known as “Search operators” It enables users to conduct more targeted and efficient online research.
Here are a few examples of search operators –
- inurl – This operator filters results to include only those with certain words in the URL
- intext – It helps to find pages with specified keywords in the content
- intitle – This operator filters results to include only those with certain words in the page titles.
They are handy for uncovering SEO opportunities, such as finding guest post openings or identifying resource pages for backlinks.
The best thing is, that it is completely free to use as long you identify and create your search strings. Check out more search operators here.
Use SEO Tools for Website Growth
These are some of the best SEO tools that I have mentioned, considering SEO tools continue to evolve.
Depending upon the business and experience, you can use these tools to make continuous efforts to improve your website, and content and strategize.
If you are a new website owner or starting your career in SEO in 2025, then these tools are best to begin with. Although some SEO tools include paid plans, you can use the trial versions to learn.
I hope the categorization of these tools into distinct sections in this blog helps make them easily accessible.
Use these best SEO tools to improve your website by analyzing on-page, analytics, or spying on your competitor.