4 Free Tools for Search Engine Optimization

Originally published February 8, 2022

Has this happened to you? You've been working on this project. It's an original idea, perfectly executed, that you know your audience will eat up. You've created what is quite possibly your magnum opus.

You hit publish and spin around in your office chair, waiting for the likes, views, and shares to start rolling in.

And then… nothing. Crickets. Your baby is just there, languishing in obscurity, drifting in a sea of ignored content.

So what went wrong? 99% of the time, it’s poor search engine optimization (SEO).

As content creators, we want to focus all our energy on our product. But all that quality is for naught if no one can find it.

That's where you can use an SEO tool!

In This Article:

What Is SEO?

The term gets thrown around a bunch, but what exactly is search engine optimization? SEO is the process of changing the visibility of content in a search engine's unpaid results, also known as "natural," "organic," or "earned" results.

For search engine optimization on Google, there are three steps:

• On-page optimization is the process of making sure that your site is as accessible to search engines as possible using keyword research and link building.

• Off-page optimization is the process of obtaining links from outside websites and social media platforms, also known as backlinking. Backlinks help increase your page rank and can help you rank higher on search engine result pages.

• Technical optimization is the process of making your site load quickly and tweaking the under-the-hood operations to improve user experience. A high-quality website will prompt Google Search Console to improve your search engine ranking.

Cost for search engine optimization

The price of hiring an SEO expert varies depending on what you need them to do, how much you need them to do, and how often. To give you an idea of the range of costs, you could pay $80 for an hour consultation to $30,000 for an extensive project.

If you want to outsource the process, these are some red flags to look out for!

• Beware of anyone who promises guaranteed search engine ranking results! There is no way to ensure that you will be the top search result on Google or any other search engine.

• There's also no way to get instant results. Content optimization is a process. Some things are quick fixes, but SEO optimization and content marketing are long-term work.

If you're a small business entering the digital marketing scene or just looking to keep costs low, these prices can be prohibitive. The good news is that there are a lot of free SEO tools out there for you to use!

Free Tools

Since SEO strategy involves a lot of different aspects of your content and website, you'll need an arsenal to cover your bases. With that in mind, here are the search engine optimization tools we recommend at People First Content.

1. Google Analytics

As the most popular search engine, asking Google what it's looking for makes sense. Google Analytics is a web analytics service by Google that tracks and reports website traffic.

Google Analytics is a powerful SEO tool for marketers and web admins to analyze their site's traffic and improve their digital marketing performance. It allows the user to track the following SEO metrics:

• Your site's conversion rate.

• Which landing pages or campaigns are generating the most conversions.

• What keywords people are using to find your site (this information can be used to focus your SEO efforts).

• Your site's bounce rate (how many visitors leave after viewing only one page).

2. Semrush

Semrush is a powerful SEO tool that helps you find the most effective keywords for your website to increase your rankings on Google.

The Semrush Keyword Tool is a free SEO tool that provides keyword suggestions and competitive intelligence. It also helps you determine how much traffic you can get from search engines with a given set of keywords.

The Semrush Competitor Keywords Tool lets you see your competitors' data in one place. It shows you how they're ranking for specific keywords and what their organic and paid search traffic is like. You can also use this tool to find new ideas for an SEO strategy to drive more traffic to your site.

Semrush's free version offers limited features for up to 200 queries per day. The paid version has no limits on the number of queries per day. In addition, there are three different pricing plans - Basic, Pro, and Business - with additional features available at each level.

3. Moz

Moz is an SEO company that helps people with their internet marketing. They have various tools designed to help you with your SEO optimization.

They have paid services, but they also provide some free SEO tools that are extremely valuable:

• Link Explorer: find any and all backlink data

• Keyword Explorer: discover new keywords to help you rank higher

• Domain Analysis: see how your website ranks against your competition

• And others!

4. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is an online keyword research tool that helps you find long-tail keywords for your blog. Its database has over 1 billion keywords, meaning you won't be running out of content soon.

You can use Ubersuggest to generate new ideas, identify related topics, and optimize your website's or blog posts' search performance. It also has a keyword explorer tool that will let you export all the data to Excel or CSV formats so that you can do more advanced analysis on it.

Ready, Set, Optimize!

SEO is one of the biggest hurdles between your content and your audience. Luckily, with these free tools, you'll be on your way to being an SEO expert. You may even land a coveted first-page position!

But remember that it all comes down to good content in the long run. It doesn't matter how many tricks you have up your sleeve if your content is messy, inaccurate, and generally unhelpful. That's why we always start with quality content at People First Content. So if you're looking for content for your website or blog, look no further and schedule a call today!

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