SEO optimization is a marketing strategy that cannot be underestimated. Businesses adopt SEO best practices and strategies to drive organic growth and achieve higher search engine rankings.
Luckily, there are plenty of tools available to help entrepreneurs and businesses get the most out of their SEO efforts. Here, we take a closer look at the top 5 SEO software that can help your business scale.
What is SEO software?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process designed to improve a website's ranking on search engine result pages without having to pay a fee to the search engine provider. SEO software is the tool used to help with this.
It provides specific SEO insights to businesses through various features, all of which guide a company’s marketing strategy and improve their website rankings.
Some of this software also includes competitor data and broader industry analysis to serve as a point of comparison.
What defines SEO software?
To be listed in the SEO category, your product must include at least one of the following features:
Rank Tracking – These tools monitor how your website is performing in the SERPs for specific keywords.
SEO Audit – An SEO audit checks the SEO “health” of your website and diagnoses areas that can be improved, such as content-based or technical issues that may be affecting your search rankings.
Content Optimization – Through this tool, businesses can enhance their content with features like SEO automation, semantic SEO, and artificial intelligence.
Keyword Research – This allows businesses to identify keywords relevant to their company or product and analyze the search volume for each term.
Link Building – These tools allow businesses to improve their website’s off-page SEO by identifying new link building opportunities and monitoring existing backlinks.
Some software solutions also offer local SEO software capabilities, which focus specifically on local search pages and listings and help businesses evaluate their performance on a local scale.
Other SEO software products offer paid search optimization tools to help users who want to improve their rankings. These tools include pay-per-click (PPC) optimization, ad placement, conversion metrics, and more.
5 Best SEO Software Services
1. Semrush
Semrush is a SAAS platform that helps businesses manage their online visibility through a variety of tools, including tools designed to improve search rankings, content, and social media, as well as in-depth market research tools.
There are already over 808 million unique domains across the 142 locations monitored by Semrush, with over 10 million users worldwide.
Features:
- Detailed metrics like engagement, rankings, returns, etc.
- Suggested keywords with their respective search volumes
- SERP Rank Tracking
- Link Building and Backlink Monitoring
- Competitor Analysis
2. SE Ranking
SE Ranking is an SEO software platform that offers multiple tools to support your online marketing projects from start to finish. It is the preferred choice of many small business owners and SEO experts.
The tools offered by SE ranking help you identify keywords and keyword groups through thorough research, track keyword positions, analyze competitors, monitor website audits and backlinks.
Features:
- Social media
- Rank Tracking
- Keyword suggestions and keyword position tracking
- Link Building and Backlink Monitoring
3. Surfer
Surfer’s handy tools and smart algorithms allow you and your company to plan and edit your content months in advance for maximum SEO optimization.
Surfer's data-driven model makes it a viable option for busy SEOs, marketers, and content creators. Data-driven SEO means making decisions based on data sets provided by Surfer, rather than prevailing industry standards.
Surfer allows you to see what's working on your highest performing pages and use that knowledge to outperform them.
Features:
- The content editor and planner allow you to optimize your content for SEO purposes.
- SERP Analyzer
- SEO Audit Report
- Keyword research tools and a browser extension called “Keyword Surfer.”
4. Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a multi-purpose website crawler used for technical SEO audits and is loved by SEOs and agencies worldwide. It efficiently crawls websites to identify SEO issues and provides real-time analytics for informed decision-making.
Key features include broken link detection, metadata analysis, duplicate content detection, custom data extraction, technical directives checking, sitemaps, integration with Google products, JavaScript site rendering, architecture visualization, crawl scheduling, and comparing results over time.
Features:
- Identify broken links, errors, and redirects
- Analyze page titles and metadata
- Check meta robots and directives
- Find duplicate content
5. Mozpro
Moz Pro users are provided with specific insights into their websites and how they are performing, and businesses can use specific research tools to analyze competition, identify powerful keywords, and highlight link building outreach opportunities.
Campaigns allow you to evaluate your website health, keyword performance, and link building with the overall goal of maximizing your SEO success.
Features:
- Keyword suggestions with search volume
- SERP Rank Tracking and Localization
- Link Building and Backlink Monitoring
- Competitor Analysis
What does SEO software include?
To be classified as an SEO software solution, a product must meet the following requirements:
Focus on improving your free organic search listings
Providing reports based on optimization-related metrics
Perform at least one of the following SEO functions: content optimization, keyword research, link building, SEO audits, rank tracking, and backlink monitoring.
Who uses SEO software?
SEO software is primarily used by a company's product and marketing teams. In-house SEO specialists can also use the software to identify areas for improvement to achieve higher rankings in search engines. Typically, a company has a person or team that focuses on SEO.
Content Creator
The broad term “content creator” encompasses a variety of people, all of whom want to optimize their content to perform as best as possible on their particular platform.
SEO tools help creators track their performance using hashtag tracking and brand mentions. In an increasingly competitive field, SEO software can help you find niches that will boost your content performance.
Content Marketer
The content marketing team within your organization is responsible for optimizing your content so that potential buyers can find your products on search engines, which are typically the first point of contact for potential buyers to discover your services or products.
Does my business need SEO software?
SEO software is recommended for businesses that want to stay relevant in an increasingly saturated industry. If your business wants to gain customers, it's essential that you stay at the forefront of users' search results. This requires paying special attention to your content and keeping up with ever-changing SEO best practices.
Helping large businesses stay relevant is equally important for small businesses that want to maximise their online presence, drive traffic to their websites and acquire new customers.
Analyze your content
Most SEO software solutions allow users to analyze their content and their entire website to assess performance. Through this analysis, they can plan how to optimize their website, identify relevant keywords to rank for, and even review their formatting to ensure everything is supporting the overall performance improvement of their website.
Thorough analysis also allows organizations to stay on top of changes in rankings and act quickly to make changes.
Increase visibility
Staying relevant is important for any business, especially with so many new companies being launched every day. Increasing your visibility on search engines is the best way to drive traffic to your website and help potential customers find your products and services.
SEO software can help you achieve this goal by finding the most relevant keywords to maximize traffic, generating great content, and helping you develop and manage a backlinking strategy. For small businesses, these solutions can help you maximize your presence across multiple channels.
Stay ahead of the competition
SEO software services allow you to analyze your competitors and your entire industry, helping you spot trends and see what types of keywords are competing for. Investing in these services can help you improve your online presence, compete with similar businesses, and ensure your business appears first.
How much does SEO software cost?
The cost of SEO software varies depending on the platform. SEO software usually has a tier system that allows you to choose the option that best suits your company's needs. The majority of SEO software services operate on monthly subscription plans and vary greatly depending on the features you require.
SE’s most basic plan (Optimum) is one of the cheapest on the market at $39 per month, but it does have limitations on the number of websites, search engines, backlinks, and pages you can audit or track. Semrush is considered one of the most comprehensive plans on the market, with a Pro subscription priced at $119.95 per month.
Both Moz Pro and Ahrefs standard subscription plans start at $99 per month.
Can I get SEO software for free?
Many SEO software services offer a free trial period or a free option for limited services.
For example, Semrush has a free version that includes rank tracking for 10 keywords per day, a monthly site audit of 100 pages, and the ability to track social media profiles up to a post limit. Additionally, it also offers an on-page SEO checker and domain and keyword analysis up to a certain amount.
Moz Pro offers users a 30-day free trial, allowing you to try out the software before investing in the subscription model.
Ahrefs also offers basic webmaster tools for free, allowing users to monitor their website health, keywords, and backlinks.