There’s a lot of debate on the interwebs about whether or not SEO is dead. This debate has been going on for years and ultimately has more to do with how people are defining SEO (search engine optimization) than with any actual evidence about its demise (or lack thereof). A simple fact remains, however: if you have a business website, it’s vitally important that your potential customers are able to find you when they enter a relevant query for your product or service into Google search. And that requires SEO.
But if you don’t know much about SEO, it can be somewhat intimidating to know where to begin or how to tell if your efforts are making any difference. Ideally, every startup and small business would have an SEO expert on call to help in this area, but let’s be realistic – not every startup or small business has that option in their budget.
Easy SEO Tools
There are tons of resources available online for brands seeking help with SEO, and some really great in-depth tools, such as Moz analytics. But again, some of these tools get expensive and it can be overwhelming to sort through all of the information out there if you don’t really know what you’re looking for. Today we’re sharing two easy SEO tools that are very free, straightforward and simple to use, and that can help you get started with a basic analysis of your site.
WooRank
WooRank is a website review and optimization tool. They have paid tools available starting from $49 per month with more in-depth analysis and additional features, but you can do a basic SEO review of your website for free. Just enter your site’s URL on WooRank’s homepage, and within seconds you’ll receive a score for your site, along with a list of areas to improve and top priorities for where to start.
Areas where your site passes the test earn a green check mark. If there are errors on your website that can hurt your SEO, those will be marked with a red “x.”
Now, obviously you will need some additional knowledge of SEO to be able to fix the errors and suggestions for improvement (or enlist the help of someone who does), but WooRank at least provides a nice overview so you can see what you’re dealing with and what problems need to be addressed.
Top-Ranked Websites by Keyword Tool
The second free SEO tool is offered via bruceclay.com and is really helpful for seeing how well your site is ranking compared to your competitors for a given keyword. It’s called the Top-Ranked Websites by Keyword tool. To use it, just enter any keyword into the search field. It will display a list of the top ten domains and the top ten individual web pages ranking for that keyword. The list shows each domain’s Google PageRank (PR), as well as how each site ranks on Google, Yahoo and Bing.
Why can’t I just do that myself by Googling the keyword, you ask? As they explain in the accompanying article, this keyword tool returns results that are not influenced by your personal search history or location settings – so you can see a more accurate picture of how your site ranks.
Start Somewhere
If you haven’t bothered with SEO before because it seems too overwhelming or costly, keep in mind that you don’t have to do it all at once or know everything about it – the important thing is to start somewhere. Use these two easy SEO tools to get a good idea of how your site is currently performing in search, and then you’ll be better prepared to know what steps need to be taken next.
Interested in more SEO tips and tools? Check out our two-part article on keyword research and the super-handy Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress. Bruceclay.com also offers a whole suite of free tools in addition to the website ranking one described above.
What’s your favorite SEO tool or advice you would offer to an SEO newbie? Share your comments below or chat with us on Twitter.
