Best SEO Tools | The Basics

Best SEO Tools | What is SEO?

Before we dive into what is considered the Best SEO Tools, let’s take a step back and quickly address:

Question: What is SEO?

Answer: SEO is an abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization, and refers to the activity of trying to increase a websites ranking within the various search engines. The reason is simple enough, the higher your ranking, the more people are likely to click on your website.

When it comes to SEO, you need to consider which search engines you want to optimize for. To work that out, the following information on the market share of the major search engines can be very beneficial (which search engine are you going to focus on…?):

1. Google ~65%
2. Yahoo ~15%
3. Bing ~15%
4. Ask ~4%
5. AOL ~1%

Best SEO Tools | Why SEO?

Now that we have covered off what SEO is all about, I think it is important to take a look at the practice of SEO as a whole and answer the question “Why should I both optimizing my site” in the first place. The answer to why is as follows:

• Traffic. The higher your ranking in the search engines makes a massive difference to the amount of traffic that comes through to your website. To reinforce this thought, consider your own use of search engines, how often have you looked on the 2nd or 3rd page… not many times right, I’m sure you will typically click on one of the top 10 search results, and usually the top 3 or 4.

Studies have been conducted on the percentage of traffic per position, and they are as follows:

• Achieving Goals. The flow on impact of more traffic is typically a quicker path to achieving the goal of your website, whether that goal is:

1. Turning a nice profit
2. Increasing the number of members or
3. Receiving more donations for your charity

Best SEO Tools | Key Features?

So now that the benefit of performing SEO is fairly evident, what features would we expect to see in the Best SEO Tools in the market today:

• Track Rankings: The key outcome of performing SEO is to see your rank improve, so having a tool that helps track your ranking is very beneficial. This feature is especially useful for large websites that have hundreds of pages optimized to different keywords. Some fancy features include automating the checking process (daily, weekly etc), any movement up or down from last check, selecting the search engines most desired.

• Check Pages: To have a tool that scans your individual webpages and give advice / recommendations on what you can do to improve each page to allow them to improve their ranking. This process is typically called “On Page Optimization” and will look at factors such as keyword density, keywords in title tags and headings, use of links etc.

• Back Linking: The 1-2 punch that is critical to SEO success is On Page (mentioned above) and Off Page Optimization. One of the most powerful off page optimizers is the number and quality of links you get from other websites. A tool that can assist in this process would be invaluable for all website owners.

• Competitors: Why is my site behind xyz.com in Google? That is a common question. Wouldnt it be great to be able to understand why this is happening – the best SEO tools should be able to help explaion the reasons why, and more importantly, what you can do to overtake your competitors.

Best SEO Tools | Paid vs Free?

There are two clear paths that can be taken when the time comes to choosing the best SEO tools for you:

1. Commercial / Paid
2. Open Source / Free

In the article that follows, we will explore this heavily debated topic of paid vs free and hopefully point you in the direction that best suits you.

The quest for the Best SEO Tools continues…

Best SEO Tools | Comparison

Best SEO Tools | Free vs Paid?

There are two clear paths that can be taken when the time comes to choosing the best SEO tools for you:

1. Commercial / Paid
2. Open Source / Free

Best SEO Tools | Commercial / Paid

Going down the commercial path tends to have the following benefits:

• More features that automatically come with the software

• Speed and quality of new features being added. Typically have a dedicated team of skilled developers, whose sole responsbility is looking after and improving the SEO software.

• Tend to have a higher quality support, with dedicated staff answering your questions

• Reliability & Accuracy tends to be better for Commercial SEO Tools due to the higher likelihood that the algorithms are updated regularly

• One Stop Shop. Having all tools housed under the one roof (ie. integrated) is a wonderful time saver

The drawbacks of commerical SEO software tend to be:

• Cost, and depending on the solution, this can come in the form of large upfront costs, or monthly ongoing costs. The other component of cost to keep an eye on is the ongoing fees associated with future upgrades and support.

When you are looking for the Best SEO Tools in the Commercial space, the following tools are the current market leaders:

1. SEOmoz
2. Raven Tools
3. Majestic SEO
4. SEO Book

Best SEO Tools | Open Source / Free

Going down the open source path tends to have the following benefits:

• First and foremost, it’s free, which is a big incentive

• Good introduction to the SEO world

The drawbacks of open source tend to be:

• Less features than their commercial competitors

• Support is not guarenteed and is more reliant on other users – the qaulity of the community is crucial to the success

• Time, using free tools will typically mean that they perform a single function only. This will mean you will need to get used of doing a lot of copying and pasting of keywords from one tool to another, and probably housing the results in Excel. All this means more time, plus an increased chance of error.

• Questionable Accuracy. If there is no underlying community, there is the potential that the free tools have not been updated lately to align to algorithm changes, and therefore could be displaying inaccurate information. To make business decisions of questionable data is risky to say the least.

When you are looking for the Best SEO Tools in the Open Source space, there are 4 tools that can provide real value:

1. Traffic Travis
2. mozBar SEO Toolbar
3. Screaming Frog SEO Spider Tool
4. Google External Keyword Tool

Best SEO Tools | Which Software?

So which software is best, well that really depends on what your requirements are.

Free SEO Tools would be most suited to those who are:

• Technically capable of combining outputs from multiple tools

• On a tight budget – potentially during the early start-up phase of your company

While Commercial SEO Tools is recommended in all other situations as:

• You have the confidence that the software will grow and improve as your site does

• You have support just around the corner and

• The peace of mind that the software will still be active and accurate in a few years time.

As far as which is the Best SEO Tools, my favourites are:

1. Best SEO Tools – Open Source: Traffic Travis
2. Best SEO Tools – Commercial: SEOmoz
3. Overall Best SEO Tools: SEOmoz