Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a powerful tool in marketing, and with the ever-changing online environment, SEO requires a lot of ongoing effort.
Unlike many jobs where you can get by independently without needing any tools or help, an SEO marketer is not one of those jobs. An SEO marketer has to stay up to date with the latest search engine algorithm updates, and, thankfully, there are tools to make their job easier. However, with so many SEO tools available on the market and for free, it can take time to decipher which ones are right for you. This article discusses what makes a good SEO tool and the five best ones to add to your toolbox in 2024.
What Makes A Good SEO Tool?
Before we dive into the top SEO tools to add to your arsenal this year, what actually makes a good SEO tool? It depends on several factors, such as:
SEO-centric functionality
Does the tool have functionality that relates to an aspect of search engine optimisation? Does the tool allow you to audit your website, keyword research, or track specific keywords?
Value
How well does the tool's price represent the product's quality? Does it provide a lot more features than a free version? You can find this out by looking at reviews from past and present customers on Google. By reading first-hand experiences about the tool and whether the price is justified, you can decide whether it’s worth your investment.
User experience
How easy is it to learn and navigate the tool? There should be easy-to-follow instructions on how to integrate the tool with your business and how to use it every day.
Integrations
SEO tools are used every day by digital marketers, so being able to integrate with their platforms easily is a big plus.
The Best SEO Tools to Use in 2024
If you’re struggling with finding the right SEO tools for you to use this year, here are the top five we recommend:
SEMrush
Pricing: from $129.95 per month
SEMrush is one of the most popular SEO tools and for a good reason. It is a full-service tool that offers various features to solve marketing problems.
There isn’t a lot that SEMrush can’t do. In fact, it boasts over 55 tools to use, some of the most popular ones being keyword research, competitor analysis, on-page SEO tips, link building and content optimisation. Alongside the fully customisable dashboard, SEMrush is a fantastic tool as it allows you to turn all your metrics into an easy-to-understand report you can share with your colleagues or clients.
Ahrefs
Pricing: From $99 per month
Developed in 2011, Ahrefs is one of the most popular SEO tools. It’s very similar to SEMrush but has a lower price tag.
Ahrefs is a useful tool that provides a high-level overview of your projects or websites and strongly focuses on competitor analysis. The competitor analysis tool lets you see which keywords your competitors rank for and where they sit on SERPs. This allows you to find gaps in the market where your competitors aren’t doing well, and you can rank for them instead. Other notable features of Ahrefs include keyword explorer, site audit and rank tracker.
If you’re a beginner looking for a fantastic SEO tool, you’ll be pleased to know that Ahrefs has many tutorials to help beginners use the tool to its full potential.
Screaming Frog
Pricing: Free version or $259 per year for the paid version
Screaming Frog is a UK-based SEO agency that created a fantastic website crawler tool: Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
The website crawler tool is considered one of the industry's best. It quickly extracts data from your website, audits it, and provides a detailed overview to improve your SEO strategy. During auditing, the tool can identify duplicate content and broken links, find temporary and permanent redirects, analyse page titles and metadata, generate sitemaps and more.
Boasting a free and paid version, Screaming Frog is a great SEO tool for both small and large businesses.
GTmetrix
Pricing: Free version or from $85 per month for the paid business version
When Google ranks your website, one of the most important factors it considers is the loading time.
GTmetrix is a free tool (it also has a PRO paid service) that scans any website and tells you what’s stopping it from loading as quickly as it should. The tool is free to use; however, you do need an account to see the scan results. Once the report is complete and ready to view, you’ll be able to see your web vitals and a summary of how you can improve your site speed.
Google’s Rich Results Test
Pricing: Free
Rich results are enhanced search results on Google that feature additional visual or textual details about the pages.
Google’s Rich Results Test (RRT) allows you to test your webpage to see which rich results can be generated by the structured data it contains. Located within Google Search Console, you can either put a URL or code snippet into the tool to get results. Once your webpage has been scanned, the test shows which rich result types are found on the page and any errors or suggestions to improve your structured data. This free SEO tool is beneficial as it provides you with valuable information to enhance the visibility and performance of your website in Google’s search results.
Impactful SEO Strategies with Anchor
SEO is an invaluable aspect of digital marketing as it boosts your visibility on search results, generates traffic and can increase your sales. However, there is a lot to learn when it comes to search engine optimisation, and if you don’t have enough time to learn and implement SEO strategies, it could have a significant impact on your business. That’s where the team at Anchor comes in.
Our SEO experts are constantly keeping up-to-date with the latest updates and trends surrounding search engine optimisation. We also use a range of tools to help us improve your SEO strategy and drive your business to succeed.
If you’d like to know more about how we can improve your business’s visibility online, drop us a line. We look forward to helping you on your SEO journey towards business growth and success.
