Top 5 SEO Tools Not Named ‘Google Something-Something’
Like anyone with children, everyone has their favourites, and it’s no different with SEO tools. This is by no means a definitive list, but a collection of my go-to tools that help me do my job as best as possible.
As they are utterly essential to accurately report on performance and glean insights from, I have excluded all Google properties from the list as to not clog it up with tools you should already rely on as standard.
With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get on with the list.
Screaming Frog
Starting with the technical SEO’s bread-and-butter that keeps them in fur coats and diamonds, Screaming Frog should be your first stop for any website auditing process. A website crawler, Screaming Frog allows you to replicate a search engine crawl and gather all URLs together in one spot, giving you the platform to quickly identify and diagnose the health and status of a website.
SEMrush
Whenever you need to perform competitor analysis or retrieve as much data as you can ahead of a pitch process without access to their Google properties, SEMrush is there for you. From position tracking to site auditing and from benchmarking to keyed-in recommendations across both on-page and from a technical perspective, SEMrush has it all and I wouldn’t leave home without it.
Authority Labs
There were other keyword tracking tools before, but Authority Labs is my current squeeze. Easy to navigate and manage, Authority Labs allows for ease of reporting and monitoring through its clean appearance and flexible, customisable features. With the ability to track keyword fluctuations on a day-to-day basis and the option for unlimited tracked domains with the potential to monitor over 5,000 keywords depending on the package you have, Authority Labs gives you everything you need to relay this information to a client in an easy-to-comprehend format.
Crazy Egg
With the aid of mouse-tracking technology, Crazy Egg allows you to see how your visitors are interacting with your site and is, for me, the best heatmapping tool out there. Capable of providing you with data on what your visitors are clicking on and how far down a page they scroll, as well as other valuable insights, Crazy Egg offers a clear visual presentation of your visitor’s journey throughout your website, allowing you to optimise accordingly with ease.
Ahrefs
Backlink analysis is a common task in SEO and when I go to work on this, Ahrefs is my and many others’ top choice. With an enormous backlink database at its disposal, clear data representation and ease of use, Ahrefs ticks all the boxes. But don’t just limit this gem to backlinks — Ahrefs also provides great value in keyword analysis and on-page assessment. Ahrefs is simply majestic.
Those’re my favourites, but be sure to let us know your most trusted SEO tools in the comments!
