Our Hidden Gems: Best Free SEO Tools For Small Businesses

By Digitrio

Post Date: 6 November 2023

When it comes to optimizing our online presence, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) plays a crucial role. The use of effective SEO tools can be a game-changer for businesses, enhancing visibility, driving traffic, and ultimately increasing conversions. 

However, for bootstrapped entrepreneurs, investing in expensive SEO tools can be challenging. That's why in this article, we will explore the world of free SEO tools that we have actually tested and used for ourselves. So, let's dive in and discover the world of free and essential SEO tools!

Here are our 5 top picks for the best free SEO tools:

  • Digitrio's  SEO Audit Report Tool: Generates a detailed SEO report on your website's overall performance in 60 seconds or less.

  • Ubersuggest: Provides free keyword suggestions and can be utilized for generating product ideas and organic traffic, aiding businesses in their SEO efforts.

  • AnswerThePublic: Identifies popular search queries for your content marketing strategy

  • ChatGPT: We recommend great prompts that you can use to optimize your SEO content

  • Ahrefs Free Tools: An all-in-one, user-friendly tool that helps you check keyword data, keyword rankings, website traffic, backlinks, and more.

Why SEO is Important: How It Can Transform Your Start-Up or Small Business

In today's digital landscape, the significance of SEO in facilitating business growth cannot be overstated. 

With consumers increasingly relying on Google to find products and services, having a strong online presence has become crucial for businesses. 

Implementing effective SEO strategies not only boosts website visibility but also enhances brand awareness, drives organic traffic, and ultimately leads to increased conversions and revenue generation. 

Don’t Limit Yourself With Expensive SEO Tools

To fully leverage the power of SEO, entrepreneurs might face limitations when investing in expensive SEO tools. Here are some of them:

  1. 1
    The high cost of these tools may exceed their limited budget, making it impractical to invest in them.
  2. 2
    The complex features and functionality of these paid SEO tools may require technical expertise or training that entrepreneurs may not possess, leading to a waste of resources.
  3. 3
    The lack of scalability and flexibility in these tools may limit your ability to adapt and respond quickly to changing market trends and demands.

Additionally, the focus on expensive tools often diverts resources from other critical areas of business development. A pro tip for bootstrapped entrepreneurs is to explore and utilise free or affordable SEO tools that provide similar functionalities and can help overcome these limitations within their budget constraints.

Instead of making a risky investment in expensive SEO software, let's explore some SEO tools that can aid your growing business at no cost, particularly for small businesses!

List of Best Free SEO Tools for Growing Businesses

Finding the perfect SEO tool is like finding a unicorn, but these ones actually deliver.

1. Digitrio: SEO Audit Report Tool

Screenshot of Digitrio's SEO Audit Report Tool

Our free SEO audit tool offers a detailed analysis of your website, much like a comprehensive health check-up report. It delivers a complete assessment and actionable recommendations in 60 seconds or less, aiming to boost your online presence and search engine rankings.

The standout features of this tool include its in-depth advice tailored to boost your website's visibility and ranking in search results. This tool simplifies the website evaluation process, which could otherwise take hours of manual effort. 

Ready to optimize your website with ease? Take the first step towards improving your digital footprint. Try our SEO audit tool now and see immediate results.

2. Ubersuggest: Keyword Research Tool

Screenshot of Ubersuggest Keyword Research Tool

Ubersuggest is a powerful tool that provides a comprehensive overview of keywords, allowing users to identify relevant terms and phrases for their content. This free tool offers 1 free daily search with keyword suggestions, search volume data, and content ideas. It’s a great way to get a feel of what keyword research is like.

Pro Tip: Keyword research data differs depending on which tool you use! Keyword research tools can only give you estimates, so don’t be alarmed if you use another software and get a different number.

3. AnswerThePublic: Content Marketing Ideas

Screenshot of AnswerThePublic tool

When it comes to optimizing your content marketing strategy for search engines, one tool we have found to be incredibly valuable is AnswerThePublic

This free SEO tool provides insights into popular questions relating to a specific keyword or topic,  trending topics, and long-tail keywords, which can all be used for your content ideas. They currently offer 3 free daily searches when you sign up for a free account.

4. ChatGPT: Write Good SEO Content

Screenshot of ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a game-changer for SEO. Many business owners and marketers already know of ChatGPT, but many do not know how to use it for SEO. 

For instance, Google prioritizes helpful, original, and first-hand experience in their content. Using that information, here’s a great prompt to help you evaluate your blog articles for SEO:

Rate the content below targeting the keyword phrase "[KEYWORD]" on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) based on the following guidelines:

  1. Does the content demonstrate first-hand experience?

  2. Does the content demonstrate in-the-field experience?

  3. How well does the content share a personal experience, perspective, or feelings on a topic?

  4. How well does the content speak from a first-person perspective?

  5. Does content also demonstrate that it was produced with some degree of experience, such as actual use of a product, having actually visited a place, or communicating what a person experienced?

  6. How original is the content?

  7. How helpful is the content?

[INSERT YOUR CONTENT SNIPPET]

So even if you are unable to invest in expensive SEO writing tools, ChatGPT allows you to get at least a rough gauge of whether your content is considered “good” from Google’s perspective.

Here are several good sources that feature great ChatGPT prompts we have used to create outstanding copy and blog articles.

5. Ahrefs: All-in-One Tool

Screenshot of Ahrefs Free SEO Tools

When it comes to SEO, Ahrefs is a name you can trust. One of their standout features is definitely their range of free tools

Ahrefs gives free keyword data for Google, YouTube, and Amazon. They can also help you check your keyword rankings, website traffic, and backlinks to your site. It’s very intuitive and user-friendly, so you should try it out Free SEO Tools - Made by Ahrefs for yourself before committing to a more expensive tool.

(Bonus!) Free Tools from Google & Bing 

Screenshot of Google Search Console

Sometimes, nothing beats getting your information straight from the source. Here are useful tools by Google and Bing to help your SEO efforts:

  • Google Keyword Planner: Google Keyword Planner helps you find relevant keywords for your content
  • Google My Business: Helps with local SEO, or in other words, optimize your Google business profile to attract customers locally
  • Google Tag Manager: Simplifies the process of adding tags on your website to track user behavior, conversions, and other SEO-related metrics
  • Google Search Console: Gives website performance insights (e.g. clickthrough rates, impressions), and monitors your website health for crawl errors, indexing problems, and security issues
  • Google Analytics: Google Analytics tracks user behavior on your website, including traffic sources, user demographics, and engagement metrics, to help you understand how users interact with your site and which content performs best.
  • Google Looker Studio: Great for generating SEO reports using data from Google Analytics and Google Search Console
  • Google Lighthouse: Helps you do a technical SEO audit
  • Google Trends: Google Trends allows users to explore and analyze the popularity and trends of specific search queries over time.
  • Bing Webmaster Tools: Because Google shouldn't have all the fun, it's time to give Bing a shot at boosting your SEO game. Bing Webmaster Tools helps you to analyze backlinks, perform keyword research, and audit your website.

Summary of Free SEO Tools

Tool Name

Overview

Features

This audit tool reviews ranking factors to identify problems and provide a clear, actionable, prioritized list of recommendations.

  • Audit Score of Website
  • SEO Recommendations
  • Your Ranking Keywords
  • Usability Score of Website
  • Site Speed Performance
  • Social Media Performance
  • Website Infrastructure

Offers free keyword suggestions and data

  • Keyword Ideas and Variations
  • Keyword Search Volume
  • Keyword Difficulty
  • Content Ideas

Generates keyword ideas based on user questions

  • Popular & Trending Questions
  • Content Marketing Ideas
  • Search Volume Data

A free AI chatbot

  • Use the right prompts to not just write articles for SEO, but also evaluate the content based on Google’s standards

A suite of free SEO tools (including free keyword research tools) that don’t require you to register for an account

  • Keyword Ideas for Google, YouTube, Amazon, Bing
  • Keyword Difficulty Checker
  • SERP Checker
  • Rank Checker
  • Backlink Checker
  • Broken Link Checker
  • Web Traffic and Authority Checker

Helpful in-house tools from Google & Bing

  • Backlink tracking
  • Keyword research
  • Site audits
  • Analytics & Reports
  • Discover trends

SEO Doesn’t End With Free Tools. You Need Someone Who Knows How to Use Them.

SEO services by Digitrio

With the right tools at your disposal, you can now effectively audit your website, search for keywords, track your rankings, and generate content ideas.

But how do you act on this new information? At Digitrio, we’re here to bridge that gap between ideas and execution. We work together with you to learn about your business pain points and unique selling points to achieve real, tangible SEO results.

Get started on our SEO services or drop us an email and let’s chat about how your business can advance its search engine presence today!

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