SEO Guide

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

By arranging, or optimising, website composition or online marketing strategies, SEO increases organic or unpaid traffic to any website you own – whether it’s personal or business. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a technique for improving the ranking of a webpage on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP).

Search engines prioritise getting on the first SERP of any search engine, so the more relevant the content of a website is to the user’s search, the higher it will rank. When optimising a website, several factors are considered that will help it outrank its competitors. The optimisation is divided into two broad categories:

On-Page SEO

The content of a webpage
Keywords and their correlation to the user search
Meta Title and Meta Descriptions provide information to search engine crawlers

Off-Page SEO

Backlinking – References to websites from other website sources
Social Media presence
Participation in Online hubs and forums

Achieving maximum SEO effectiveness requires optimising these parameters. Among the most important factors are site navigation and voice search compatibility.

Why should you use SEO Tools?

SEO tools will save you time and effort on keyword research and data analysis. This tool can help you determine which aspects of your approach work and which areas have the most prospects. They allow you to compare search effectiveness across several languages and locations.

An SEO tool can help you quickly evaluate the performance of multiple websites if you manage several. Business owners who operate many websites manually evaluated a large amount of data in spreadsheets.

However, this quickly becomes overwhelming, resulting in a higher likelihood of false reports. You can save a lot of time and effort by using SEO software.

The Best 6 Free and Open-Source SEO Software Solutions

An SEO manager or professional who understands and knows it well can achieve wonders. As SEO tools act as the backbone of the marketing and product teams in businesses and organisations, they help brands identify the key elements that enable them to generate higher rankings on the web. Increasing organic traffic and quality improves the number of organic users.

In the eyes of the users, being on the top of the search results gives the impression of trust and credibility, which increases conversions and profitability. Traditional marketing strategies like billboard marketing can frustrate and abstract as it has a range of traffic patterns. Still, SEO tools and managing them correctly can help brands and companies quantify and gauge their progress and keep them within budget.

Several free and open-source SEO software solutions are discussed in this article that works seamlessly to track digital presence, gauge conversions, and generate revenue.

SEMRUSH

With SEMRUSH, businesses and brands can stay ahead of the game of digital presence with an open-source SEO solution. Because of its powerful features, the tool helps to ensure maximum traffic conversion and retention of current clients. With the help of its enhanced features, the software helps brands connect directly with their target audiences.

Enhancing SEO software incorporates the following features:

Keyword Filtering
Keyword Rank Tracking
Keyword Research Tools
Keyword Tracking
Link Analytics
Link Management
Google Analytics Integration Engagement Tracking
Rank Tracking, Real-Time Analytics
Reporting & Statistics
Reporting/Analytics
SEO Management
Scheduled/Automated Reports
Site Search Tracking
Social Media Integration

Raven Tools

We’ve rounded up the best free SEO tools you should use if you want to get started with SEO or want to improve your results.

SEMRush: Marketing SEO Tools

A well-known open-source SEO software, Raven Tools, also offers enhanced features that empower brands completely to achieve their marketing goals and stay competitive in terms of digital presence and providing data to keep the customers engaged. This allows businesses to remain on top of search results, increasing customer traffic and website stickiness.

This open-source software includes the following powerful features:

Google Analytics Integration
Keyword Filtering
Keyword Rank Tracking
Keyword Research Tools
Link Management
Localisation Automation
Mobile Keywords
Multi-Account Management
Social Media Monitoring
Reporting/Analytics
Post Scheduling
Campaign Management
Charting
Competitive Analysis
Content Management
Conversion Tracking
Dashboard facility

MOZ

Using MOZ, businesses can expand geographically and grow their audience. It is a powerful SEO tool. Digital marketing budgets can be tracked so businesses can see how they perform against them. Among the fascinating features are the following:

Visitor Tracking
Web Traffic Reporting
Monitoring
API
Access Controls/Permissions
Activity Dashboard
Alerts/Notifications
Analytics/ROI Tracking

BrightEdge

With its enhanced features, BrightEdge is also a popular SEO software that guides businesses towards growing in the right direction regarding digital presence and conversions to generate more revenue. The software has the following core features:

Performance Metrics
Real-Time Reporting
Reporting & Statistics
SEO Management
Search/Filter
Tagging
Third-Party Integrations capabilities
Keyword Rank Tracking
Keyword Research Tools
Keyword Tracking
Data Visualization
Content Management
Dashboard facility to gauge the progress
API
Activity Dashboard

SimilarWeb

Businesses can use SimilarWeb SEO software to track the trends in their industry and execute digital marketing strategies in line with them. The tool offers access to analytics data of individual sites, including bounce rates, visit durations, audience interests as well as the behaviour of traffic that could be gauged and exploited.

The core features included in this software are:

Tagging
Time on Site Tracking
Trend Analysis
Web Traffic Reporting
Website Analytics
Keyword Research Tools
Keyword Tracking
Multiple Site Management
Pageview Tracking
Performance Metrics
Referral Tracking
Site Search Tracking capability
Data Visualization
Engagement Tracking
For Websites
Goal Setting/Tracking
Conversion Rate Optimization Channel Attribution
Competitive Analysis
Benchmarking
Campaign Analytics

Screaming frog

Through Screaming Frog, businesses can gather web traffic reports and data from which they can generate relevant content to increase web traffic and website stickiness, increasing conversions and sales. Open-source SEO software such as this includes the following features:

Web Traffic Reporting
Social Media Integration SEO Management
Reporting & Statistics
Keyword Rank Tracking
Keyword Research Tools
Keyword Tracking
Link Management
Customisable Reports
Data Visualization
Activity Dashboard
Alerts/Notifications
Analytics/ROI Tracking
Backlink Monitoring
Campaign Management
Click Tracking

Conclusion

SEO is not as simple as it used to be; with the advancements in technology, search engines can now identify and rank your site faster. Even though SEO is a strategic process, implementing it begins at a relatively low cost. These free SEO tools can help your website rank higher, attract more traffic, and increase conversions. By combining all the SEO tools at your disposal, you will be closer to having a successful SEO strategy.

FAQ

Does Google have free SEO tools?

The answer is no. Google has a team of people who work on their search engine optimisation tools. They are not free to use. You will have to pay for them if you want to use them.

How much does SEO on Google cost?

Average SEO costs are $100-$250 an hour for US SEO agencies. SEO costs often range from $2,500 – $10,000 per month for US agencies. The average SEO plan costs $2819 per month (per Ahrefs). Overseas SEO companies may charge $10-$50 an hour.

Is the Google AdWords keyword tool free?

Google AdWords keyword tool is free to use, but it does not offer many features. It allows you to define keywords and target them on the search results page. You can also set up bid prices, adjust ads position and specify how long the ad should run.