SEO is an initialism for Search Engine Optimization.  It is a marketing discipline that focuses on gaining visibility or enhancing the quality and quantity of traffic to a website through organic search engine results.

Beyond the basic ideas of how SEO works, there is a lot more that you can learn about SEO. The knowledge that you gain can be tested using the SEO Online test which in turn will help you to build a career, improve a website, or grow a business. However, for now, here are a few fundamental reasons why SEO is vital for business today:

Why is SEO important for business today?

The primary use of a search engine is to process the words typed-in by a user and find the most relevant website that matches those keywords. Without a search engine, it is almost impossible to find a website (visibility) if you do not know the exact website address.

By investing in SEO, you not only give your brand exposure but you stay ahead of the competition by allowing customers to find you faster and easier. Here are some reasons to invest in SEO:

• It provides users/customers/audiences with an optimal user experience
• It builds a website’s trust and credibility which allows optimal reach.
• It exposes a brand to a wide variety of large numbers of people
• It directs target prospects/leads into marketing and sales funnels for conversion
• It helps provide insight into audiences/leads/customers

With the right tools, a website can rank high on a search engine and therefore gain all of the benefits as mentioned above. Below are some of the best tools that you could use for SEO:

Top 10 SEO tools

There are hundreds of tools that you could use for SEO some free and some paid for. All of the different tools have a variety of uses and have been comprehensively covered on many websites. That said, here are a few of the popular tools you can find across different categories including a critical feature of each tool:

TOP FREE SEO TOOLS

Google Analytics

This is a must-have, free, web analytics SEO tool for experts and amateurs alike. Google Analytics provides insight and analytics on a wide variety of data ranging from customer behavior, customer acquisition, sales, etc. The toll seamlessly connects with other Google tools to provide even more insight.

Stand-out feature:

Finds pages that get the most impressions and the best click-through-rate. It also allows you to apply the elements of your best web pages to those that are not performing well.

Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is among the best free keyword tools that provide insight on keywords, competition, keyword traffic, and CPC.

Stand-out feature:

Provides competitor analysis and tells you how likely a person searching for a specific keyword is likely to purchase something from you.

Screaming Frog

Screaming Frog is an excellent technical SEO tool that can be downloaded and installed as a desktop app. The tool scans and analyzes keyword website data and provides elemental information and insight about the data including broken links, redirects, response codes, etc.

Stand-out feature:

You can extract data with XPath, crawl java websites and then generate XML websites and create a visual representation of the site architecture.

Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO tool is hands down, the best SEO plugin for WordPress. Yoast SEO scores a website based on title length, keyword density, content length, internal and external links, meta descriptions, alt tags, etc.

Stand-out feature:

It is a tool that amateurs and experts alike can use. Its stand-out feature is a green/orange/red light that indicates how well the website is optimized.

Ubersuggest.io

Ubersuggest.io provides Google autocomplete suggestions for longtail and short tail keywords inputted in the search engine.

Stand-out feature:

It includes keyword suggestions from YouTube, as well as information about competition and filtering.

TOP PAID SEO TOOLS

Moz Pro

Moz Pro is a comprehensive suite of SEO tools for rank checking, keyword research, and backlink research.

Stand-out feature:

Has a wide range of features including the MozBar (a browser extension) that provides information about Domain Authority and Page Authority of any website.

BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is among the best SEO content optimization tools offering features that make content marketing a streamlined process towards success.

Stand-out feature:

Helps you find key influencers that can help you promote your content.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is one of the most popular and must-have SEO tools for link building and link analysis.

Stand-out feature:

Helps you understand why competitors rank high on the search engine and what you can do to outrank them.

SEMrush

SEMrush is one of the best all-around SEO tools it produces outstanding keyword research using seed keywords and analysis of competitor websites.

Stand-out feature:

It’s a versatile tool with a host of features and tools for Organic Search, Advertising Research, Display Advertising, Backlinks, Keyword Research, and Product Listing Ads.

QuickSprout Website Analyzer

QuickSprout Website Analyzer analyzes SEO data, page loading speed, social mentions, etc. It provides this analysis by connecting to Google analytics

Stand-out feature:

It provides recommendations for improving the analyzed website.

BONUS Tools by SEO Category

Free tools

Technical SEO: Browseo, Google Mobile-Friendly Test, Google PageSpeed Insights, Google Search Console, GTmetrix, Hreflang Tags Generator Tool, Map Broker XML Sitemap Validator, Microdata Generator, Open SEO Stats, Panguin Tool, Plugin SEO, Referral Ghost Spam Removal Tool, Rel Nofollow Checkbox, Search Analytics for Sheets, SEO & Website Analysis (WooRank), Simple Htaccess Redirects & Rewrite Generator, Varvy SEO Tool, Website Grader by HubSpot, Website Penalty Indicator, Zadroweb SEO Auditor, SEO Book’s Free SEO Tools, Search Latte, SEOptimer, Structured Data Markup Helper, SEO Weather’s Bulk Metrics Checker.

Keyword Research: AdWord & SEO Keyword Permutation Generator, Answer The Public, FAQfox, Google Correlate, Google Keyword Planner, Google Location Changer (SERPs), Google Trends, Imforsmb.com’s Bulk Keyword Generator, Keyworddit, KeywordIn, Keywords Everywhere, Kombinator, Seed Keywords, SEO Book’s Free SEO Tools, Soovle, Suggestion Keyword Finder, Wondersearch, Wordstream’s Free Keyword Tools, Wordtracker Scout.

Rank Tracking: Google Search Console, Search Latte.

Content Optimization: Hreflang Tags Generator Tool, Open SEO Stats, Plugin SEO, SEO & Website Analysis (WooRank), Website Grader by HubSpot, Zadroweb SEO Auditor, SEO Book’s Free SEO Tools, Google SERP Preview Tool, Keys4Up, LSIGraph, MetaTags.io, SEOptimer, Structured Data Markup Helper.

Backlink analysis: SEO Weather’s Bulk Metrics Checker, and SEOGadget for Excel.

Video SEO: Social Blade.

Link Building: Check My Links, Detailed, disavow.it, Domain Hunter Plus, Marie Haynes’ Disavow Blacklist, Siege Media Embed Code Generator.

Paid tools

Technical SEO: Botify, Bright Local, Clusteric, ContentKing App, DeepCrawl, EasyRedir, Forecheck, Kill Duplicate, LinkPatrol, OnCrawl, Raven Tools, SEO Monitor, SEO Site Checkup, Seomator, SERPmetrics, Site Analyzer, Site Condor, Whitespark, Woorank, Agency Analytics, WebCEO, ClickFlow, Positionly, Schema App, Solo SEO, Upcity, URL Profiler.

Keyword Research: ClearScope, Gookey, GrepWords, HitTail, Keyword Snatcher, Keyword Tool Dominator, Long Tail Pro, Power Suggest Pro, SanityCheck, SECockpit, TermExplorer, WordTracker, SERPs.com, Sistrix, WebCEO, Solo SEO, TrendSpottr, Upcity, Ahrefs, Moz Pro, ShareMetric, ScrapeBox.

Rank Tracking: Bright Local, SEO Monitor, Advanced Web Ranking, AMZ Tracker, Authority Labs, NightWatch, Rank Ranger, Rival IQ, SE Ranking, SEO Rank Monitor, SERPs.com, Sistrix, WebCEO, WordTail, Positionly, cognitiveSEO, Kerboo, Monitor Backlinks, Moz Pro.

Content Optimization: ContentKing App, Raven Tools, SEO Site Checkup, Site Analyzer, Whitespark, Woorank, ClearScope, SanityCheck, Agency Analytics, AMZ Tracker, Rival IQ, ClickFlow, MarketMuse, Positionly, Schema App, Solo SEO, Text Tools, TrendSpottr, Upcity, WordLift, YoRocket, Kerboo, Moz Pro.

Backlink analysis: Bright Local, Sistrix, Upcity, Ahrefs, cognitiveSEO, Kerboo, Link Research Tools, Monitor Backlinks, Moz Pro, ShareMetric, URL Profiler, Linkbird, Linkody, ScrapeBox.

Video SEO: Morningfame, YTCockpit.

Link Building: Whitespark, Link Research Tools, Monitor Backlinks, AuthoritySpy, Buzzstream, Citation Labs’ Broken Link Finder, Citation Labs’ Link Prospector, DIBZ, EpicBeat, GroupHigh, GuestPost Tracker, Linkbird, Linkody, Linkstant, MailShake, Muck Rack, Ninja Outreach, Pitchbox, Remove’em, ScrapeBox.