As SEOs, we have a lot of things at hand: keyword research, competitive research, rank tracking, link research, speed optimization and counting. And it all strikes as uphill battle without the help of some kind of tool or another.
The web, as we all know, is flooded with hundreds of compilation articles on best SEO tools. So we rather thought we’d discuss tools that are a real must for all of us – ones that we actually can’t do without.
Sounds obvious, right? Sure, every webmaster uses Google analytics, but the way we use it often doesn’t get us the best of this tool.
Remember: Analytics doesn’t just help us track the number of visitors and create customized reports. It makes it easier to understand user behavior. It lets us measure site performance and track leads and conversions. It helps us figure out the keywords that are actually working (this feature, however, may not be available in Analytics or in any other tool in the near feature as Google is likely to shift all keyword data to not provided, but that’s another story).
Since Penguin, the most devastating of all Google algorithm updates yet, Google has been providing webmasters with suggestions and recommendations. Aside from this, GWT helps us with link analysis/link auditing, crawl rate, sitemap and more.
This is one of our favorites – and for more reasons than one. First, it helps make SEO auditing simpler and faster. Then it helps verify GWT crawl errors. Verify Analytics code and Schema markup. Create an XML sitemap and vet the existing one. Build links. Find the pages with slow loading speed. Identify duplicate content. Perform competitive analysis. Check whether a migration was spotless. And do much more.
Page speed matters a lot, not just because search engines count it as one of the ranking factors but because it’s fundamental to a user’s experience. Google PageSpeed Insights not only helps you find out the slow pages – it provides recommendations and suggestions to make them faster.
They provide a wide range of link-focused tools, ranging from Site Explorer to Bulk Backlink Checker to Link Profile Fight, that provide comprehensive data and are a must have if you’re interested in link building.
Did we miss any tool that an SEO can’t do without? Do you want to add some of your favorites to the list? We’ll see you in the comments.