Ultimate SEO Tools

Which Ultimate SEO Tools To Use To Rank Websites? No matter how you look at or your opinion of it, SEO has become of a mandatory endeavor for businesses across the world than an optional marketing strategy you make use of occasionally. The numbers show that not only is it important for businesses to have an online presence but being ranked high among the links in any given search engine results page (SERP) is critical as well. For instance, about 60% of business to business marketers reckon that SEO has the biggest impact on lead generation.

Ultimate SEO Tools

This is where SEO comes in; when done right, it helps businesses attain an online presence. Moreover, a good SEO strategy can help your business’ website rank high in the SERPs for the keywords you are interested in and targeting. This is an important consideration to have in mind as research shows that the click-through rate falls by about 25% between the first link and the fifth link on any given SERP (https://www.advancedwebranking.com/cloud/ctrstudy/). Additionally, only a dismal 8.5% of traffic goes beyond the first page of any given SERP. As such, it is not just a matter having a web property, but it is also about ranking as high as possible – the higher the better.

However, competition for the top ranks in search engines is ever increasing. This means that trying to rank among the top website is getting harder by the day. To aid in your quest to be the top-ranked website in your target keywords, you will have to use SEO tools. Although they are designed for a wide variety of functions and purposes, SEO tools are all intended to provide users with data, information, and insights that will website owners develop more potent SEO strategies.

Herein we will explore the top SEO tools that have proven capabilities and effective at what they do by providing insights that help website owners rank better on search engines. For better understanding, the tools have been group according to their functions and purposes

All-In-One/Multipurpose SEO Tools

These tools incorporate a wide variety of features and capabilities. Essentially, these tools are designed to help you conduct every aspect of SEO, from keyword research, link building, competitor analysis to tracking the performance of your website. That being said, it is important to note that these tools are not created equally. Every tool under this category has its own strength and weaknesses.

#1. SEMrush – SEMrush as an SEO tool is one of the most popular tools on the market. It filled to the brim with features that allows SEOs to conduct website audits, link profile analysis, website traffic analysis, link building, content optimization, keyword research, competitor analysis and much more.

#2. Ahrefs – Ahrefs has built a reputation in the SEO industry as one of the most comprehensive and effective SEO tools. SEOs use Ahref for link building, backlink analysis, position tracking, and competitor analysis.

#3. Moz Pro – This tool has been designed for simplicity but effectiveness. Users can carry out competitor analysis, keyword research, link profile analysis, on-page SEO optimization, and much more.

Other popular multipurpose SEO tools include:

#4. Raven Tools
#5. All in One SEO Pack (for websites that use WordPress as their content management system)
#6 Serped.net - All in one ninja suite of SEO tools

Link Building And Tracking Tools

#1. Linkody – Linkody is a stellar link tracking tool. It is designed to help you track your backlinks, notifying you when you gain or lose backlinks. However, you can use these capabilities to track your competitors’ link building endeavors.

#2. Ontolo – While this tool comes with plenty of features, the link building features are the most prominent and popular. For instance, it allows users to unearth high-quality link building opportunities, giving users a spreadsheet full of link building opportunities.

#3. Majestic – Majestic is a great link building and link analysis. This tool allows you to audit your backlinks and, thereafter determine their quality and trustworthiness. Moreover, the tool allows users to analyze their competitors’ link history and link profile

Competitor Analysis

#1. SpyFu – SpyFu is designed as a simple means to get the scoop on your competitors. Simply enter their domain and you get the keywords they are targeting.

For the most part, most SEOs use all-in-one tools to conduct competitor analysis.

On-Page SEO Tools

#1. GTmetrix – This tool covers all aspects of on-page SEO including speed
#2. PageSpeed Insights – This tool is used for speed testing your website’s pages.
#3. TinyPNG for image optimization.
#4. Botify
#5. Browseo
#6. DareBoost

Keyword Research

These are the popular keyword tools that SEOs use for keyword research.

#1. Google Keyword Planner
#2. KWFinder
#3. Answer The Public
#4. Bing Webmaster Tools
#5. Long Tail Pro
#6. Google Trends

Rank Tracking Tools

#1. Pro Rank Tracker
#2. Google Search Console
#3. Advanced Web Ranking
#4. SEO Monitor
#5. Authority Labs
#6. GeoRanker

While this list is in no way comprehensive, the above-listed tools are some of the most popular tools. Importantly, they are very effective at what they are designed to do.

Local SEO For Beginners

If you own a local business, having a website is essential. But what good will it do if your local customers can’t find you online. You need to constantly appear at the top of the local search results, since customers are always searching for the best products and services neat them, and don’t bother going past the first page of the search results.

In that case, if your business isn’t showing up on the top of the search results, then you are missing out on important traffic, phone calls, physical location visits, and therefore sales and revenue. What’s the fix to this problem? Well, SEO, specifically Local SEO.

What is Local SEO?

In layman terms, SEO is the art and science of ranking websites on search engines results. Local SEO is the part of SEO that deals with optimizing a website so that it can rank high for local search results. Local search is a collection of the many different search terms that feature or refer to local terms, such as:

• Dentists near me

• Plumbers near me

• Doctors in [local city/neighborhood]

• Plumbers in [city/neighborhood]

Local SEO is basically a strategic process that optimizes the digital marketing efforts to cater to the needs of both local brick-and-mortar or online businesses. On-page optimizations, content, as well as link building that has a focused, localized intent are some examples of these efforts.

It also focuses on ensuring that all of the potential local signals in the entire Google’s local search landscape are correct and consistent. If they are not, for instance when there’s different information about your business online, you could potentially hurt your rankings, and have situations where the local results display somethings different from your intention.

Importance of Local SEO

Local SEO is perfect for nearly all businesses providing services or selling products within a given range. It’s an opportunity for both Google (to provide relevant results to users) and the small and medium businesses (to showcase products to more local people).

Lawyers and law firms, medical practices and doctors, restaurants, plumbers, locksmiths, electricians, cable connection, internet service, etc. are some examples of local businesses that can benefit from local SEO. Here’s why local SEO is important:

• If you choose to use Google Ads, local targeting ensures that your money is spent for the right searches.

• Local SEO is much easier to master than SEO in general. You’ll be able to rank higher for local search faster than you would the regular searches for specific keywords

• With the ever increasing number of mobile devices, local search helps you get hold of the local mobile searches, which are essential to the growth of businesses today. Keep in mind that 50% of people who perform a local search on their mobile device visit a physical store within a day [from Google]

• Local search will help to get your business exposure in the areas you want

How to Get Started with Local SEO

Here are the tips and trick to get started with your local SEO optimization:

1. Optimize your Google My Business Page

Although Google+ has fizzled out, claiming your Google My Business page remains to be a cornerstone element in Local SEO. So, if you haven’t claimed your yet, do it right away. Having a correctly filled out and well optimized Google My Business page increases your chances of featuring in the first page of local search results by a few times.

Ensure that you post your correct address, name, phone number, and have these be an exact match with the ones you’ve posted in other online platforms like Yelp. Be sure to also include details such as your business hours, types of payment you accept, etc.

2. Optimize your Keywords

Today, more people have access to devices like Google Home, Amazon Echo, and smartphones, which pave way for voice search to be a key resource for local search execution. For instance, it’s easier for most people to say “find a plumber near me” or “give me a list of dentists near me” to the voice assistants than it is for them to type the same. As such, local queries are now increasingly becoming conversational based.

So, if you’re in the service industry, try using keyword variations that include questions. You can make use of Keyword research tools such as AnswerThePublic and KWFinder to find out about the different phrases that people are searching for in your industry, along with the search volumes.

3. Localize your Content

Aside from keyword optimization, there’s still a lot you can do to help the search engines understand the local appeal of your business by optimizing your content for the same. Publishing local-optimized content helps search engines to contextualize the niche of your site to its local service. You can also include an interactive map widget to enhance the SEO appeal of your site.

Consider creating a separate blog for your site where you could post locally relevant content such as news, and content about local events related to your niche. This will do you good when matched with keywords relevant to your locality.

4. Secure Relevant Online Directory Listings

Along with the Google my Business Listings, other high authority business directories can help to strengthen your online presence in local search. Some of the directories you should consider getting listed on include:

• Facebook

• Better Business Bureau

• LinkedIn

• Yellow Pages

• Bing Places for Business

• Yahoo Local

As mentioned earlier, ensure your details are consistent across all the platforms you choose to use.

5. Encourage Reviews

Of course, you don’t want to force your customers to leave positive reviews online, since this is considered manipulating the terms of service on these platforms. Instead, have your customers know that you appreciate their feedback. You can send your happy clients customer service emails with links to your profiles on Yelp, Google my Business, or other platforms.

Simply letting them know that you appreciate their feedback will have a good percentage of them taking their time to leave natural, authentic reviews (perhaps positive ones) without you having to ask them directly. Keep in mind that modern customers can spot paid or fabricated reviews from a mile away.