SEO and Marketing Tools
I’m frequently asked about tools, services, and products that I use for growing my business and my client’s businesses. These can include SEO, digital marketing, WordPress, Amazon, eCommerce and a range of other areas.
I write about some of these SEO tools and marketing resources in my blog posts. However, there are quite a few tools and services that don’t always fit into a specific post or into the content creation timeline.
To help share that information more effectively I developed this Resource Page. This page is a work in progress that will be updated periodically. Hope that you find this information useful.
Resources by Category
SEO and Keyword Tools – There is a wealth of SEO tools, utilities, and resources available for enhancing and optimizing websites, content, and keyword usage. Ranging from on-page SEO to technical SEO to local SEO to in-depth keyword research this list is a good starting point for boosting productivity and understanding.
WordPress SEO Plugins – According to data from W3Techs, WordPress is used by 43.2% of all websites on the internet in 2022. Here are several SEO and performance plugins for optimizing WordPress sites.
Google Tools – There are a number of free and very useful tools for analysis and testing available from Google. A key strength of all these tools is that the data comes directly from Google. And did I mention that they are free?
Web Hosting Services – Choosing the best web hosting company is an important decision for any business, large or small. The quality of website performance begins with the effectiveness of the hosting service. Here are a range of options for different needs, business sizes and budgets.
Email Service Providers – With all the changes in technology over time email marketing remains a highly successful marketing strategy. This list includes a number of well-known and effective email service providers that can meet a wide range of needs and budgets.
Amazon Selling Tools – Having the best optimization tools and marketing resources is key for any business selling products on the Amazon Marketplace. Here are some excellent options for growing your Amazon store.
SEO Tools and Keyword Tools
SEMRush – One of the most well-known SEO tools, SEMrush provides a full suite of tools for both individual businesses and marketing agencies. Capabilities include keyword and domain research, position tracking, search intent reporting, backlink analysis, website audits, local SEO, and analytics for advertising, social media, and content marketing. Paid version only. https://www.semrush.com/
Screaming Frog SEO Spider – Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a website crawler that crawls all the URLs and resources on a website to gather information on a broad range of SEO elements to effectively analyze the site. It’s powerful and considered a go-to tool for many professional SEOs. Available as both a limited free version and an annual paid version. https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/
Google Search Console – Search Console Includes data on a websites search activity from Google’s search engine. This includes the number of page visits, search phrases used to find the specific page, the number of impressions within Google search, and a number ow website and webpage health measurements. Google Search Console provides very useful keyword information including long tail keywords, and it comes directly from Google.
Google Analytics – Google Analytics provides a free, powerful, cloud-based solution for understanding the performance of your website and improving the results of your marketing activities. A large majority of websites that use a traffic analysis tool use Google Analytics. And it is free.
aHrefs – An All-in-one SEO toolset with a powerful SEO keyword explorer that delivers in a wealth of information for keywords, competitors, search intent, and search rankings. aHrefs provides capabilities for website exploration, backlink analysis, site audits, rank tracking, content explorer and competitor analysis and research.
BrightLocal – Focused on local SEO, BrightLocal is one of the best known tools for boosting local search rankings, building citations and growing a businesses reputation. It is packages as both a full suite of tools or as a separate citation builder. It also has plans for agencies and enterprise environments.
Keyword.io – A slightly different type of keyword tool that focuses on data found in the contents of Google’s autocomplete listings. In an interesting twist it also offers the same feature for YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and other search locations. Good for locating long tail keywords. Available in both a limited free version and a paid (Pro) version.
Long Tail Pro – A powerful keyword research tool, Long Tail Pro allows users to generate hundreds or thousands of unique “Long Tail” keywords in a matter of minutes. Features include keyword research tools, rank tracking, and site audits. Available as a Paid Version only.
Majestic – With a targeted focus on investigating and mapping whose site links to your website, Majestic deliver potentially the most comprehensive set of link intelligence data on the web. Their data includes their well-known link metrics of Trust Flow and Citation Flow.
Mangools – Providing a full suite of SEO tools, Mangools’ KWFinder tools is very useful for finding long tail keywords with low SEO difficulty. Provides a lot of the functionality of high end packages at a more affordable cost. Paid Version only,10-day free trial available.
Moz Pro – A well-known and respected name in the SEO world, Moz Pro contains their powerful Keyword Explorer tool set along with keyword tracking, website crawl and audit functions, plus page optimization, Link Explorer, and custom reports. The free tools are a subset of the paid version. There is also a free MozBar Chrome extension to examine search metrics within your browser.
SpyFu – A well-known suite of SEO & PPC resources that includes tools for keyword research, competitor intelligence and analysis, rank tracking, SERP analysis, and domain comparisons. SpyFu is perhaps best known for its suite of tools for analyzing Google Ads data from competitors, categories and niches. Paid version only with a 30-day money back guarantee.
UberSuggest – Originally developed as a tool to scrape Google Suggested terms, Ubersuggest now provides a range of features for SEO keyword and competitor research including domain overview, keyword suggestions, top SEO pages, site audits, rank tracking, content ideas, and backlink data. Available in both a limited free version and a paid version.
Whitespark – A well-known local search focused service that offers both software tools and local search services. Tools include a rank tracker, citation finder, reputation builder and a Goolge Business Profile manager. Services listing building and clean up, local search optimization, and a Yext replacement.
More Keyword Tools:
For more insights on Keyword Research Tools check out our blog post on Keyword Research for business.
WordPress SEO Plugins
Yoast SEO – Yoast is the most widely known and used SEO plugin for websites running on WordPress. First released in 2008, it help websites rank higher in the search engines and stay ahead of the competition. Offers a wide range of features and is available as both a free and a paid premium version. Also available for WooCommerce and Shopify ecommerce websites and for Local SEO and Video SEO.
All-In-One SEO – A powerful WordPress SEO plugin, All-in-One is also commonly referred to as AIOSEO. It includes a wide suite of features to help businesses improve their search engine rankings. AIOSEO has a strong focus on ease of use. Includes an SEO Audit function. Also available for WooCommerce websites. Paid versions only.
RankMath – Another popular WordPress SEO plugin, Rank Math has a strong focus on making it easy for anyone to optimize their website content and important SEO settings including structured data. Includes a rank tracker and advanced Schema markup generator. Available as both free and paid for versions.
WP Rocket – One of the top all-in-one premium caching and optimization WordPress plugin, WP Rocket delivers real performance improvements. As a caching plugin it is relatively easy to install and configure while providing improvements in your PageSpeed performance score, decreasing your page loading time, and optimizing your website Core Web Vitals. No PhD required. Paid version only.
MonsterInsights – The most popular Google Analytics plugin for WordPress websites with over 16 million downloads, MonsterInsights provides an analytics dashboard combined with a wide range of other features. These include an easy setup, page level analytics, enhanced Ecommerce Tracking, real time statistics, and it’s GDPR friendly. Available as both a free Lite version and a paid version.
Google SEO Tools – Free
Google Analytics – Google Analytics provides a free, powerful, cloud-based solution for understanding the performance of your website and improving the results of your marketing activities. A large majority of websites that use a traffic analysis tool use Google Analytics. And it is free.
Google Search Console – Search Console Includes data on a websites search activity from Google’s search engine. This includes the number of page visits, search phrases used to find the specific page, the number of impressions within Google search, and a number ow website and webpage health measurements. It provides very useful keyword information including long tail keywords, and it comes directly from Google.
Google PageSpeed Insights – A very useful, free tool for testing the performance of a webpage. According to Google “ PageSpeed Insights (PSI) reports on the user experience of a page on both mobile and desktop devices, and provides suggestions on how that page may be improved. PSI provides both lab and field data about a page.”
Google Mobile Friendly Test – Google’s test for mobile usability looks at “how easily a visitor can use your page on a mobile device.” If there are problems Google will identify the issues. It’s free, quick, and easy to use.
Google Keyword Planner – Is a free keyword research tool from Google that was primarily designed for Google advertisers. However it can also be used to find keywords for SEO. It can be a very useful research, especially since it is free. Google does require you to create a Google account to use the tool.
Google Trends – Another free tool from Google, Trends that provides real-time data on the popularity of search terms. It also allows you to compare popularity of different terms against each other. Can focus on popularity by country or state, time period, and categories. Focus is on popularity and not search volume.
Bing Webmaster Tools – Many consider this to be Microsoft’s version of Google Search Console. It has similarity and like Search Console, Bing’s tool set focuses strictly on Bing Search Traffic. Very useful and well worth having in your toolkit. If you aren’t familiar with Bing Webmaster tools it’s worth exploring.
Web Hosting Services
Email Service Providers
Amazon Tools
The tools, resources, and services in this list cover a wide variety needs, requirements, and budgets. Some are entry level and some are more advanced tools for professional SEOs and marketers.
Check them out to see which tools will work best for you.
And be sure to check back frequently as I’ll be updating this page with new SEO and marketing tools on a regular basis. Enjoy!