So you’ve built a new website or you have an already established site and you want to drive more traffic to it. Easier said than done. Whether it’s a personal blog or your business page, there are a few SEO tools that can help guarantee your success in online marketing. The web is full of them, but let’s take a look at the very best SEO tools that will take your website to the next level.
The Basics
Google Analytics
Google Analytics should be one of the first things you should install on a new website. It’s simple to add using a snippet of code that anyone can do, but the beniefts are phoenaminal. You’ll be able to see how visitors are coming to your site, what content they are most engaged in and real time statistics of users currently online. How will you know how to market your content if you don’t even know what’s performing?
Google Webmaster Tools
While Google Analytics will give you statistics on visitors, using it in tandem with Google Webmaster Tools will help ensure your success. Webmaster Tools gives you an in-depth look into where your site ranks on Google. Whether it’s finding top performing keywords or pages or new keyword opportunities Webmaster Tools will help you see where you to place your attention or how your SEO strategy is impacting SERP (Search Engine Result Page) rankings.
Website Analysis
If you’re looking to see SEO opportunities or if you are following Google best practices for your website, there are a few SEO Tools to check out that will help you improve your site and it’s rankings.
Woo Rank
Woo Rank gives you deep insights into your website and suggestions on how to improve your SEO tactics. There services start at $49 per month, but there free trail will give you enough to improve your site.
Woo Rank gives you simple, yet in-depth results after scanning your website. How mobile friendly your website is, if you’re following proper technique for meta and title descriptions, etc. If you are unsure of how to implement the suggestions, you can hire one of their SEO experts or myself to implement an action plan.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a great SEO tool and can do most things that Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools do, but is much more concise and easier for rookies to follow. Their Site Explorer tool is perfect for seeing how backlink’s pointing to your site are effecting your SEO efforts.
Key metrics include: How your site ranks in popularity across the web, your domain authority, page authority and whose linking to you as well as how they are linking to you.
Domain and page authority are key ranking indicators for Google. They show how trustworthy and useful your site is based on how trustworthy those that link to you are. The higher the number the better your site will rank in the SERPS.
Open Site Explorer
Open Site Explorer is a great SEO tool by the awesome people over at MOZ. It works a lot like Ahrefs Site Explorer and gives you a lot of the same information, but it’s a great tool to cross reference results with. One of the greatest new tools with OSE is their spam score. It’s very useful when you are looking for link partners. Run their site through the tool and if they have a high spam score, you know to just walk away.
These 5 SEO tools are the very best you’ll find on the web and will give you a wealth of insight into how to improve your search rankings, weak areas to improve on and how to get your content to the top of Google.
Did I miss any? Do you have a favourite SEO tool that you use? Let us know in the comments.
Additional SEO resources:
Moz – A wealth of SEO knowledge by some of the best pro’s in the SEO community as well as a great user community.
Matt Cutt’s – Former head of the Google web spam team Matt has an inside look at how to help your Google rankings and follow best practices.
