Search engine optimization can be extremely challenging, especially if you’re just starting out.
Google and other search engines constantly change their algorithms, and the way they rank your website is always updated.
Therefore, you need to keep pace with the latest SEO developments in order to stay ahead of your competition.
Fortunately, there’s a number of powerful tools out there that can help you improve your SEO strategy and skyrocket your rankings.
If you discover what they are and how you can use them, you’ll be well equipped for success.
In this article, we will introduce you to 10 best SEO tools in 2021.
You don’t have to use all of these tools. Just find out which one is more likely to help you achieve your goals. Let’s jump right in!
Why use SEO tools
Before we dive into the best SEO tools, let us first figure out what they are and why we need them.
SEO tools spare you from numerous challenging tasks such as data analysis and keyword research. They also provide reports that help you compare yourself to your competitors, figure out what they’re doing, and discover where the greatest opportunities lie.
Furthermore, SEO tools allow you to keep track of your website’s progress. You can easily check your backlink profile, the keywords you’re ranking for, and the top performing pages on your site.
It gets better. Performing the various SEO tasks manually can lead to inaccurate reporting. Using the best SEO tools not only lets you generate extremely accurate reports, but also saves you a lot of valuable time that you can spend on more important aspects of your business.
What are the best SEO tools in 2021
1- SEMrush
SEMrush is one of the most popular SEO tools out there, and for a good reason. It’s simply amazing! It provides accurate metrics and is definitely a powerful weapon to have in your arsenal.
For many years, SEMrush has been successfully helping its users figure out the SEO tactics of their competition. It lets you access their backlink profile, search rankings, keywords targeted, and much more!
Key features
- Keyword research – This feature lets you find keywords ideas, reveal their search volume, and discover how competitive they are.
- Advertising research – This allows you to analyze the ad budget of your competitors.
- Product listing Ads – Check the product listing Ads of your competitors along with their product feeds.
- Traffic Analytics – Explore the online performance of any website and the traffic it generates. This allows you to get an idea on the behavior and tendencies of your potential customers
2- Ahrefs
Just like SEMrush, Ahrefs is a rockstar in the SEO world. Its powerful features make thousands of users rely heavily on it for their SEO campaigns. Besides, most experts agree that it has the best user interface out of all the other SEO tools.
Ahrefs is used mainly for keyword research, competitive analysis, backlink audits, and URL rankings. Moreover, it gives a detailed analysis of your competitors’ websites.
The reports provided can later be used for building links, researching keywords, content marketing, and numerous other SEO strategies.
Key features
- Keyword tool – Just type in a search query, and watch Ahrefs generate millions of related keywords.
- Ranking history – Check the ranking history of keywords used on your site.
- Content Explorer – Ahrefs has more than a billion web pages in its database. That can be super useful if you need to do a content search.
- Outbound links – Keep a close eye on where your guest posts are linking using this feature.
3- Advanced Web Ranking
Advanced Web Ranking is an awesome tool if you want to track a vast number of keywords. It’s perfect for in-house teams and agencies thanks to its white-label reporting feature.
AWR is able to track more than 170 countries and around 3000 search engines. It not only supports Google, but also Amazon, youtube, Baidu, Yandew, etc…
In addition, this powerful tool can perform a thorough competitor analysis. This provides you with useful metrics such as estimated visits, market share, and new competitor discovery.
Key features
- Longevity – AWR is a well established tool created in 2002.
- Precise results – The local SEO results provided are pinpoint on both mobile and desktop
- White-label reporting – Export the results via CSV or PDF, integrate with Data Studio, etc…
- Large number of keywords – Thanks to this feature, keyword research is easier than ever.
- Multiple users – Unlike most tools, you can add unlimited users with different roles(admin, team member) at no extra cost.
4- Sitechecker
Sitechecker.pro is an impressive website checker that allows you to run a deep SEO analysis.
All you need to do is enter your website URL, and hit analyze. Sitechecker will then scan your site, then provide you with detailed insights into the backlink profile, search engine rankings, generated traffic, and more.
These results are extremely useful if you want to improve your SEO strategy.
Key features
- Website change monitoring – An interesting feature that scans your website and gives you an update on the changes that have been made and the way they can impact your SEO scores.
- On-page Audits – Gives you insights on the on-page issues that need to be fixed.
- Website traffic tracking – Allows you to check your competitor site traffic.
- Backlink tracking – Get constant updates on your website’s backlink profile. You are notified whenever a new link is pointing to your site. You also get a notification when you lose a backlink. This is extremely useful and allows you to take action quickly.
- Ranking Check – Keep an eye on your keyword rankings. This includes mobile rankings and local search rankings.
5- Growthbar
Growthbar is one of the most user-friendly SEO tools out there. It allows you to access the backlinks of your competitors and check millions of search results.
The results provided by Growthbar are extremely accurate and the user interface is super simple. This makes it a popular choice among freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses.
GrowthBar also offers a free Chrome Extension that provides SEO insights while you’re browsing the web.
KEY FEATURES
- Keyword research – Find millions of keyword suggestions, and check how competitive they are.
- Competitiveness – Check your competitor’s best backlinks, ranking keywords, and save any of these metrics in an Excel file.
- Content creation – Generate a blog post with a click of a button.
6- Authority Labs
Another valuable SEO tool in our list. Authority labs is a powerful tool that comes with a user-friendly interface.
With the help of this tool, you can set up multiple sites effortlessly and start optimizing your SEO campaigns.
In addition, it provides you with rank tracking that’s location specific which makes it super easy to laser target your audience.
Not only that, but users can also spy on their competitors and track their SEO campaigns.
Key features
- Global Tracking – This allows you to track search results for different countries and cities across the world.
- Keyword Targeting – Target keywords effectively with the Authority Labs keyword research tool.
- Daily reporting – Figure out where you are standing on a daily basis with daily rank checking and in-depth reports.
- Free trial – You can test the tool for 30 days free of charge.
7- Serpstat
As far as SEO and digital marketing solutions go, Serpstat is an all-in-one shop.
Whether you need to optimize your SEO, run ads, or launch content marketing campaigns, this tool is the right answer.
Serpstat provides all the necessary SEO tasks such as keyword research, backlink analysis, competitor research, and more.
The dashboard is simple and easy to get used to even if it’s your first time using it.
Key features
Keyword Research – Discover a vast number of keyword ideas along with key metrics such as search volume and competitiveness.
Website Analysis – This feature lets you analyze any URL. This includes a thorough SEO and PPC research.
Backlink Analysis – A great way to check your competitor’s backlinks, discover what strategies they are using, and improve your own SEO strategy.
Site Audit – Uncovers all the hidden errors in your website
8- Long Tail Pro
Long Tail Pro specializes in keyword research. If you need to find low competition keywords with a healthy amount of traffic, then this tool is perfect for you.
It provides you with outstanding keyword suggestions in bulk. Not only that, but also gives you their competitiveness score.
This is extremely useful as it prevents you from targeting keywords you have no chance to rank, and allows you to spend your valuable time and effort on the promising keywords.
This tool is perfect for startups and beginners alike.
Key features
Multiple Projects – Stay organized by keeping each campaign in a separate project.
Import and Export – You can easily import keywords to the LTP dashboard. Likewise, you can export the keyword results into Excel with a click of a button.
9- SEObility
SEObility as an awesome all-in-one software that allows you to monitor your site. It gives you daily updates so that you keep a close eye on your website’s progress.
Plus, it crawls all the pages effectively and discovers errors like broken links or duplicate content.
All of this combined with the link building tools offered, makes SEObility a great way to improve your search engine rankings.
Key features
- Rank tracking – Track keyword rankings on a daily basis.
- On-page Analysis – Gives you useful improvement suggestions
- Local search – Keep track of the local search results
- Competitor Comparison – This allows you to explore and compare the content published on the websites of your competitors. You can use the results to improve your content strategy.
- Reporting – Use this feature to generate reports that keep you updated with the ranking status. You can easily receive these reports via Email, or export them to Excel or PDF.
10- SEOquake
SEOquake is one of the best SEO tools in the market. It offers a browser plugin that provides you with multiple SEO metrics.
What makes this tool so awesome is its ability to generate accurate information quickly while you’re browsing the web.
The browser extension gives you access to essential metrics such as Google and Alexa rank, external links, domain age, and more…
Key features
SEO Bar – All you need to do is browse the web, and the SEO Bar will generate all the information needed on the fly.
SERP Overlay – Gives you a detailed analysis of the search engine results pages which you can export in CSV format.
Keyword Analysis – This feature lets you analyze any keyword and provides you with a full report.
How to choose the best SEO tool
Choosing the best SEO tool is not as simple as it may seem. You must consider a number of factors .
First and foremost, you need to take into consideration the goals of your business.
Do you want to enter new markets? Would you like to improve the relationship with your clients? Do you wish to establish your company as a market leader?
The answers to the previous questions will help you shape an SEO strategy. You just need to pick the tool that’s more useful to your own strategy and goals.
Needless to say, the size of your business also plays a big role in choosing the right SEO tool for you. So does the competitiveness of your market and the size of your website.
Final thoughts
There are hundreds of SEO tools in the market today. Therefore, picking the right one depends on your user experience, and what features you can benefit from.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to your SEO needs and what fits your budget.
Most of the tools mentioned in our list offer a free trial. Which means you can test them first before you end up making your decision.
Which one is your favorite tool? Please let us know in the comment section below!
