What is SEO?

SEO is short for search engine optimization. All search engines—like Google, Bing, Yahoo—have primary search results where web pages and other content are shown and rank based on what those search engines consider most relevant.

SEO is comprised of agreed-upon best practices which are used to improve search engine rankings in an attempt to improve the quality and quantity of visitors to your website. As the majority of internet users (approximately 68%) prefer Google’s search engine, many SEO practices are based on Google’s ranking algorithm.

In the digital age, where content is abundant and new competitors appear daily, SEO is more important than ever.

Free SEO Tools

While SEO is extremely important to the success of your brand, you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg to get started. These 10 FREE tools are all designed to help improve your search engine rankings:

Google Analytics 

Google Analytics is a data collection tool that can help you better understand your organic traffic. More specifically, you can learn where your visitors are coming from and how they interact with your website once there. Organic traffic growth is a sign that your website’s SEO is strong and users are able to find your site through a regular search.

Bing Webmaster Tools

It’s true that the majority of search engine users prefer Google. However, Bing still has a decent 23% (approximately) of the market cornered. Not only does Bing Webmaster Tools allow you to see how your site is performing on Bing, it also provides insights on crawling, indexing, keyword optimization, and other factors that can impact your Google performance.

SEMrush

One major component of SEO is the keywords you use on your website and throughout your content. SEMrush allows you to track specific keywords (up to 10 at a time), analyze their organic growth, and even compare to keywords being used by competitors.

Google Search Console

Google’s Search Console is a powerful tool that offers a lot of useful features. Not only does it allow you to visualize how your site will appear ins searches, it teaches you how to influence search appearance elements. Another great component of this tool is the ability to pull 90 days’ worth of data for top search queries, pages, countries, devices, and more.

Answer the Public

One great way to plan out content and associated keywords is by researching what people are searching for. That’s where Answer the Public comes in. Simply type in your keyword and get aggregated lists of all the relevant searches. Those lists are then broken down by question type, with beginning phrases such as, “why”, “how”, “where”, “what”, etc.

Beam Us Up

Just like how Google uses crawlers to evaluate and rank your site, you have the ability to use crawlers to determine SEO problem areas. Beam Us Up can discover broken links, uncover missing page titles, find duplicate content, and identify other SEO issues. This software can also easily integrate with Excel and Google Drive, allowing you to export your data in a matter of seconds.

Google Keyword Planner

Another tool specifically for identifying useful keywords, Google’s Keyword Planner, is ideal for search engine optimization. Once you enter a seed word, you’ll start seeing keyword suggestions in no time, along with estimates of average monthly searches. The tool also suggests synonyms and searches similar to your original seed keyword.

Drop My Link

Another aspect of SEO is the number and quality of links embedded in your content. With Drop My Link, the software combines your keywords with an advanced Google search to uncover relevant link-building opportunities. This allows you to find similar content—such as guest posts, resources, list-icles, etc.—that can be linked to in order to improve your rankings.

Am I Responsive

Google’s algorithm not only takes your site’s content into account for rankings, but also performance. The faster and more responsive your site, the higher the ranking. Am I Responsive allows you to check your website’s responsiveness on various devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. While many website builders have a feature similar to this built-in, it is always beneficial to look at your website from an outsider’s perspective.

Varvy

Very similar to other SEO checkers, Varvy will analyze your website against Google’s various ranking factors, including: links, keywords, slugs, page titles, URLs, images, and much more. It will then provide you with a detailed report of where your website fell short, along with helpful resources to make the necessary changes.

Search Engine Optimization and Your Brand

Search engine optimization is essential for growing your brand and attracting relevant visitors that have a genuine interest in your products or services. Luckily, there are a lot of free and low-cost resources available to get started with SEO.

Simply don’t have the time to do the work yourself? When you partner with mXtr Automation, we work with you to develop a holistic approach to your marketing strategy—including search engine optimization. Contact us today to schedule a FREE consultation.

Liked This? Then You’ll Love:

• What Is SEO and Why Is It Important?
• Is Marketing Automation Right For Your Business?
• Five Marketing Mistakes and How To Avoid Them