SEO is, and will always be, the backbone of any successful digital marketing strategy. SEO encompasses website rankings, keyword research, competitor analysis, effective content marketing, and much more.
Companies are willing to pay big money to have their web page appear on the first page of Google. In 2020, companies spent up to $2000 a month on SEO. For small businesses, directing more traffic to your page should not have to be so costly. With the right tools and a bit of patience, anyone can hack the SEO game.
In this blog post, I will break down the best SEO tools for small businesses to use in 2021.
1. Google Analytics + Google Console
You would need to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard of Google Analytics. Google Analytics is the most popular analytics platform used by businesses. This free tool allows companies to search and measure organic traffic quality and evaluate keyword and site ranking. One tip is to connect Google Analytics with Google Console for optimal SEO insight. Google Console tells you where your content ranks and what keywords people are using to find your content.
2. Google Trends
Google Trends is a hidden gem that doesn’t get mentioned often enough. This tool shows the popularity of search terms over time. When you type in a term or phrase, Google will provide you with information like top search queries, related search queries, its interest by region, and interest over time. Google allows you to compare your keyword with another to better gauge its relevance. Additionally, information can be downloaded and exported into a spreadsheet.
3. Exploding Topics
I would say that this tool goes a step further than Google Trends. Exploding Topics sources its topic results from millions of data points, including search, shopping, and online communities. It generates for a list of new emerging keywords across several different industries. These keywords have not yet had the time to become competitive, therefore marketers can quickly take advantage of this when writing new copy and content.
4. Uber Suggest
Ubersuggest provides users with a keyword discovery tool. Depending on the keyword, Ubersuggest will develop a metric that shows you the keyword trend, the CPC (cost per click), paid difficulty, and its SEO difficulty. Users can see the top 100 ranking sites for a given word. Moreover, you can see what keywords that your competitor is ranking for. This SEO tool is now an extension plug on Google Chrome.
5. Website Grader
Website Grader is an SEO checker tool that Hubspot relaunched in 2015. You simply provide your website URL and your email, and Hubspot will scan your entire website then send you a detailed report that breaks down a list of your website's technical issues. Issues addressed include duplicate content, broken links, average page speed, the number of internal links per page, and more. Furthermore, the tool provides you a grade in each performing category. Remember, Google penalizes websites with technical issues, and such websites tend to rank lower.
Remember, these tools should provide you with valuable insight and assist you in your SEO research and content journey. However, developing a comprehensive strategy will involve implementing free tools and consulting with SEO professionals.