An SEO specialist without his tools is like a knight without a sword. And the popular tools are usually not known for their small price tag. Nevertheless, if you look carefully, there are also plenty of free SEO tools to be found that are not bad in quality.
In this article, you will find 24 free SEO tools split into these four categories:
- Keyword tools
- Content creation tools
- Link building tools
- On-page optimization tools
Free SEO keyword tools
SEO and keywords go hand in hand. Proper keyword research starts with collecting a vast amount of keywords within one specific topic.
Then you go in search of gold like a pin in a haystack.
Because each keyword tool works in a different way, it is advisable to use various SEO tools for this. This way, you get a wide variety of keywords.
I use these free SEO tools for this:
#1. UberSuggest (No.1 Free SEO Tool)
SEO guru Neil Patel found the UberSuggest tool so bold that he bought it over and integrated it into his own website. And I have to say; it really is a great tool!
This keyword tool focuses more on quality than on the quantity of a particular keyword assignment.
When you enter a search query, the tool shows how often this keyword is searched, how difficult it is to score high, and how much traffic you can expect at a particular position in the SERP.
The related keywords are a handy feature that is well hidden. This gives you new suggestions for other searches to investigate further.
Ubersuggest has also added a great new feature recently. From now on it is possible to enter a domain name and to see which keywords this website all rank on. And how high!
UberSuggest is my favorite and the most recommended tool for you.
Never forget that it’s absolutely FREE.
#2. Keywords Everywhere (Must have SEO Tool)
Keywords Everywhere is an extension that is available on Chrome and Firefox that adds an extra dimension to Google’s SERP.
When you enter a specific search query in Google Search, this SEO tool shows search volume and other words that people search for. These results are retrieved from Google Keyword Planner.
I always have Keywords Everywhere installed on my browser. UberSuggest and Keywords Everywhere are my most favorite tool in this entire list.
#3. Google Keyword Planner
The Google keyword planner, who doesn’t know it? It’s basically the king of keyword tools. Most of the other tools are made using Google Keyword Planner API.
With this free SEO tool, you can discover new searches and check the search volumes of already found keywords.
#4. Answer The Public
Answer The Public has a somewhat unique design. But the tool is as powerful as the background!
You enter a short tail keyword and Answer The Public looks for questions, comparisons, relatives, and other combinations about your entered keyword.
With the free version, you can only perform a handful of searches per day. Fortunately, there are plenty of other free SEO tools that can help you further.
#5. Keyword shitter
Keywordshitter‘s design is not exactly groundbreaking, but it is a very functional tool. You enter a keyword, and the tool searches for long-tail keywords based on your input.
You can also enter negative words to exclude specific keywords or positive words to see only terms that contain a particular word.
The list is then easy to copy and paste into the Google Keyword Planner to view the search volume.
#6. Extract People also search for
The Chrome plugin Extract People Also Search For works basically the same as Keywords Everywhere. It often only shows a few other keywords, making it a valuable addition to your arsenal.
This tool also shows on which pages in the SERP these additional keywords appear. This quickly leads to interesting insights about a specific general keyword.
#7. KWFinder
Another tool that lends itself to qualitative keyword research is KWFinder. This tool gives a difficulty level per keyword, shows the current SERP in detail, and shows search volumes per country and language.
With the free version of KWFinder, you can perform five searches per day.
The questions tab is particularly useful. This allows you to discover long-tail searches in the form of questions about a specific keyword.
#8. Google Search
Sometimes you have to go back to basics and only surf on the SERP. Here you will also find a lot of exciting keywords, such as the bottom of the related searches.
The related searches in the bottom are really quality keywords as it is scraped from the most searched terms.
#9. Keywordtool.io
Keywordtool.io is one of the free tools that show long-tail keywords that get scraped from the google search results.
On the Keywordtool.io website, enter one short-tail keyword, choose a country, and then see a list of long-tail keywords based on this keyword.
The free version does not show search volumes, but with a few clicks, you can copy the entire list and check the volumes in Google Keyword Planner.
#10. Google Search Console
Don’t forget your Google Search Console! When your website runs for a while and gets the traffic, you can get a lot of good ideas and keywords from it.
For example, choose a page on your website that receives a lot of organic traffic and sort by the number of impressions.
Do you see many impressions, but a few clicks? The chances are that your page will be found on this keyword, but it does not match the search intention.
Consider creating a new page within your website on this topic.
Free SEO content creation tools
Search engine optimization depends on many things. Good content is crucial! I use these free SEO tools to make my web pages and blog articles even better:
#11. Optimizilla
Fast loading speed is an important feature of a healthy website. An official ranking factor even for Google!
As I said many times before, slow loading speed can be solved mainly by reducing the file size of images. The Optimizilla image compressor does this for you.
You throw in your images, adjust the quality if you are not satisfied with the default one. With the push of a button, you get your picture back.
The best thing about this tool is that you can compress up to 20 images in a single click.
#12. Google Docs
Do you spend a lot of time on the road, do you work together a lot or do you drop your laptop in the swimming pool? Then switch to Google Docs.
Google Docs is actually just like Word, but you can work on your documents on multiple devices with multiple people at the same time.
#13. Monosnap
Monosnap is a handy free SEO tool (which you install on your Windows or Mac) to take screenshots quickly.
You can then add arrows, text, areas, or blur to make small adjustments or clarifications.
#14. Free Stock Photos
Ok, not a tool of course … But a very handy list of websites where you can find free stock photos to enrich your content!
Free link building tools
Link building is an important part of SEO. If you want to get started with link building, I recommend investing in paid tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush.
I haven’t come across a link building tool of that caliber in a free version except for no #15.
#15. Backlinks
In April of 2019, Neil Patel suddenly launches his next high-quality free link building tool Backlinks.
Enter the URL of your website (or that of your competitor), and the tool shows an overview of the web pages that link to this domain.
Free on-page SEO optimization tools
After the publication of a new blog post (or the launch of a new blog), the optimization process starts. Here too, we can use various free SEO tools.
#16. PageSpeed Insights
A reasonably new developer tool from Google is PageSpeed Insights. In this free SEO tool, you enter a web page, and Google calculates the loading speed.
You will immediately see a score and suggestions to make your page faster.
#17. Page analytics
I assume that you know Google Analytics. With this Google tool, you get a complete overview of every page that is visited on your website, how long people look at individual pages, and how visitors move through the website.
A little less known is the chrome plug-in Page Analytics. This tool visually displays the data of Google Analytics for the page you are currently on (and of which you have access to Google Analytics of course).
For example, you can see how many percent of visitors click through on a particular link within your website.
#18. Screaming Frog SEO Spider
One of my favorite SEO tools is the desktop program Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
With the free version, you can scan websites up to 500 pages, and you get a complete overview of all kinds of SEO issues.
For example, you can immediately see which links don’t work, which pages are missing an H1 heading, which images are missing an alt tag, and so on.
#20. Yoast
The free SEO WordPress plugin from Yoast. Who doesn’t know him?
With this SEO tool, you can easily state per page what the meta tags are, whether search engines should index this page, whether there is a canonical for this page and let your social media know-how to display this web page.
Pro tip: do not stare blindly at the green balls of Yoast. These are more suggestions than rules. After all, you write for people, not for search engines.
#19. MozBar
The MozBar is unfortunately somewhat outdated in 2019. Because how accurate are website metrics like DA and PA now?
Yet it is a useful SEO tool to get an idea of the authority of domains that currently dominate search results.
It is also a handy tool to quickly get an on-page SEO overview of the crucial issues such as H1, meta-title, etc.
Even freer SEO tools
In this blog post, I have shared some of my favorite SEO tools that are absolutely free for you. But there are, of course, many more tools to think of. Let me know in the comment section below.
