So who doesn\u2019t want their website to appear in the top positions for relevant searches on Google? Every business regardless of sizes wants to be found online, but it\u2019s far from easy (don\u2019t let anyone tell you it is).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having a strong online presence is crucial to the success of your business online. SEO is the process of optimising a website in order to rank higher in search engines, increase organically generated visitor numbers, and ultimately improve the overall visibility of a website. Whilst SEO<\/a> can be a long term strategy, there are a number of free SEO tools available that anyone can start using today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From keyword research through to backlink monitoring and technical issues, I\u2019m going to introduce you to some of our favourite free tools \u2013 at least those with a good free version to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have no idea how many people are actually visiting your website, or where they\u2019re being generated from then Google Analytics is where to go. At the time of writing Google Analytics 4<\/a> (GA4) is being introduced to supersede Universal Analytics (essentially GA3). GA4 is a set up in terms of how easy it is to navigate and understand but still a great free tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The setup will need a snippet of code adding to your website, but it will only take any webmaster a few moments to do if you not yourself. There\u2019s plenty of guides out there depending on the platform your website is built on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another free tool from Google is Search Console<\/a>. This is probably more important than Google Analytics for SEO but they\u2019re both a great place to start. Formally known as Webmaster Tools, Search Console is where you can monitor and evaluate how your website is performing in Google organic search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could simply use it to view what keywords are triggering impressions (views) on Google and the position your website currently holds for each. Perhaps then moving up a stage would be to monitor more technical issues affecting SEO performance or check what links currently point at your website \u2013 both serious factors for successful SEO. Search Console is especially useful for new websites as this is the place where you submit sitemaps to Google and view insights into how your pages are appearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OK, this one isn\u2019t completely free as now a days you need to have spent money on Google PPC Ads<\/a> to be able to access it, but it\u2019s very useful if you have. Within the keyword tool you can research the specific searches people are using on Google when research the products and services you provide or sell. In my experience, this often differs from the way business owners refer to their own products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply input a keyword \/ search phrase and the tool will produce a list of closely related keywords and how many searches they\u2019ve recently received.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google trends<\/a> is only useful is you are researching keywords that receive a high volume of searches. Within this tool you can analyse how search trends have changed over years and can often explain why you might have seen a downturn in a certain business area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019ll also show you any seasonal trends that certain keywords enjoy. This can also be narrowed down to certain regions for more localised search trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The free tool from Google is Looker Studio<\/a>. Here you can create reporting dashboards that can pull in data from all tools into one easy to digest website report. It\u2019s ideal for both in house marketers and agencies to produce clear reporting that even the most technical novice can understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGoogle Analytics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Search Console<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Google Keyword Tool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Google Trends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Looker Studio (Was Data Studio)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Screaming Frog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n