Let’s face it – Surfer SEO has been the go-to tool for content optimization for years.
But it’s not the only tool. There are various Surfer SEO alternatives with more advanced features, affordable pricing, and a better approach to content optimization.
If you’re looking to explore alternatives to Surfer SEO you’re at the right place. This blog post covers the top 10 Surfer SEO alternatives that you can go for. Here’s what you’ll discover:
Tool that offers some unique features.
Options that might fit your budget better.
Alternatives that can help you streamline content workflow.
Whether you’re a content creator, digital marketer, or business, you can find options here to help boost your content’s performance and search rankings. So, let’s get started.
How we selected the best Surfer SEO alternatives
Wondering how we selected the best ones out of so many available options? Well, here are 5 factors we considered:
Functionality: Feature check over anything else! We sorted out the tools that offer similar (or even better!) features as compared to the Surfer SEO.
Interface: Next, we prioritized intuitiveness and ease of use. Why waste time on complicated interfaces when you can go for tools that are easy to use?
Pricing: Choosing a tool that offers good value for money is very important. From budget-friendly to premium, we listed down tools of all types.
Reviews: We checked what real users are saying about the product to get the lockdown on each tool’s performance.
Customer support: Great customer support can make or break your journey. We sorted and picked the best ones.
Reasons to consider alternatives to Surfer SEO
Here are a few reasons why you might want to consider Surfer SEO alternatives:
Pricing: Surfer SEO is a bit expensive, which might not be feasible for small businesses or freelancers.
Learning curve: The amount of data and suggestions provided by Surfer SEO can be overwhelming for the users, leading to a high learning curve.
Features: Depending on your industry or content type, you might need specialized features that Surfer SEO doesn’t offer. Some alternatives cater to specific niches or content types more effectively.
Manual adjustments: Though Surfer SEO provides great recommendations, some suggestions might not align with every content type, and manual changes might be required.
Remember, the best tool is the one that fits YOUR specific needs and workflow. So, let’s explore these alternatives and find your perfect match!
Top 10 Surfer SEO alternatives to try in 2024
Here’s a more detailed comparison of our top picks:
Tool Name
Best For
Pricing
Writesonic
All-in-one content creation and optimization tool
Free trial available. The paid plan starts at $12/month.
Frase
Content optimization and research
Free trial available. The paid plan starts at $15/month.
Marketmuse
AI-powered content strategy
7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $149/month.
Clearscope
Content optimization for enterprise-level content teams
The paid plan starts at $189/month.
Semrush
Comprehensive SEO and marketing
Semrush offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plans start at $139.95/month.
Ahrefs
Backlink analysis and keyword research
Ahrefs offers free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools. The paid plan starts at just $129/month.
Topic
Content outline and optimization
The paid plan starts at $99/month.
Dashword
Content briefs and optimization
Free trial available. The paid plan starts at $99/month.
Page Optimizer Pro
On-page SEO and content optimization
7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $34/month.
SE Ranking
Affordable, comprehensive tool
14-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $65/month.
1. Writesonic
Writesonic is one of the best Surfer SEO alternatives, providing a comprehensive set of tools to create and optimize your content and make it rank well on the SERPs.
Writesonic is an AI-powered content creation and optimization powerhouse that helps to 10x the content creation process while maintaining top-notch SEO standards. It leverages advanced AI models to come up with high-quality and contextually relevant content across diverse areas.
The tool is ideal for content marketers, bloggers, SEO professionals, and businesses looking for Surfer SEO alternatives that offer more features at a lower cost. Moreover, the robust set of features, user-friendly interface, and extensive template library are what sets it apart from other tools in the market.
Comprehensive AI content creation and optimization tools.
Affordable pricing plans for businesses of all sizes.
Regular updates and improvements in features.
Excellent customer support and educational resources.
Cons:
May require some fine-tuning for highly technical or specialized content (but hey, that’s true for all AI tools!)
Pricing:
Writesonic offers a free trial where you get 25 credits for free. The paid plan starts at $12/month.
Ratings:
G2: 4.7/5
Capterra: 4.8/5
Why go for Writesonic over Surfer SEO?
If you’re looking for a tool that goes beyond Surfer SEO capabilities, go for Writesonic. It helps you create superior quality, SEO-optimized content at a lower cost. Additionally, the SEO toolkit offered by Writesonic is way better than Surfer SEO, ensuring that all content is original and ready to make its mark on the web.
Unlike Surfer SEO’s complex interface, Writesonic offers a very user-friendly interface, which is suitable for beginners. And the best part? The comprehensive set of content creation tools, along with the best AI SEO tools offered by Writesonic, makes it a smart choice for people looking to automate their entire content creation and optimization process.
Why do I like this tool?
As a content marketer, I love how Writesonic provides tools for every use case, starting from generating content ideas to optimizing content so that it ranks well.
The AI Article Writer is a game-changer, allowing you to generate well-researched, SEO-optimized articles in minutes. Plus, the affordable pricing makes it accessible to businesses of all sizes, helping them get access to top-tier SEO and content creation tools.
When comparing it with Surfer SEO, here are 3 quick reasons why I would recommend Writesonic: A comprehensive set of features, affordable pricing, and a user-friendly interface. The tool has been a fantastic addition to my AI toolkit.
Next comes Frase, another Surfer SEO alternative that helps to do research, generate outlines, create content, and optimize it to rank higher on SERPs. The tool is ideal for anyone looking to generate SEO-optimized content at an affordable price.
Frase is best known for its SEO workflow, where you just need to add a keyword phrase, and it will come up with questions people also ask, search results, and more. It also lets you create an outline by calculating how long the article needs to be, how many headers need to be there, and other SEO elements.
Key Features:
AI-powered content optimization.
Question research for comprehensive content creation.
Content brief generator.
Quick SERP analysis.
Integration with popular writing tools.
Pros:
User-friendly interface.
Helps in understanding user intent.
Excellent for creating in-depth, authoritative content.
Frase primarily focuses on content optimization and less on content creation.
Glitchy at times, which can lead to delays.
Pricing:
Frase.io offers a free trial. The paid plan starts at $15/month.
Ratings:
G2: 4.8/5
Capterra: 4.8/5
Why go for Frase over Surfer SEO?
Frase excels in helping you create comprehensive content that answers user questions, which is crucial for topic authority. Unlike Surfer SEO, Frase offers a question research feature that is particularly powerful, giving you insights that can help in creating high-quality content.
Why do I like this tool?
I like how Frase focuses on creating content that truly serves the needs of the users. However, if given the choice of a top-notch content creation and optimization tool, Writesonic is hands down the best tool to go for.
3. Marketmuse
Marketmuse is another Surfer SEO alternative best for creating impactful content strategies. It’s ideal for teams looking for deep insights and data-driven content planning.
The tool quickly analyzes the entire website to come up with personalized insights, helping you plan your content in an effective manner. In short, Marketmuse helps to automate the content audit process and helps to find what’s working and what’s not quickly.
Key Features:
AI-driven content planning and strategy.
Comprehensive competitor analysis.
Content optimization suggestions.
Topic modeling for content clusters.
Pros:
Deep, data-driven insights for content strategy.
Excellent for building topic authority.
Powerful competitor analysis features.
Helps in creating comprehensive content plans.
Cons:
A steep learning curve is involved.
Can be a bit expensive for small businesses and freelancers.
Pricing:
Marketmuse offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $149/month.
Ratings:
G2: 4.8/5
Capterra: 4.8/5
Why go for Marketmuse over Surfer SEO?
If your priority is creating a killer content strategy, Marketmuse can be a good Surfer SEO alternative. Its AI-driven insights are particularly valuable for larger teams looking to scale their content operations effectively.
Why do I like this tool?
Marketmuse provides an in-depth analysis and offers personalized recommendations. Also, check out the 9 best SEO competitor analysis tools.
4. Clearscope
Clearscope is another powerful content optimization tool that has gained a good reputation as a Surfer SEO alternative, especially among enterprise-level content teams.
The tool uses AI to analyze the top-performing content and provide data-driven insights to improve the overall search engine performance. It helps to create content that not only ranks well but also provides value to the readers.
Key Features:
Keyword discovery and content briefs.
Real-time content editor with optimization score.
Content optimization recommendations based on top-performing content.
Integration with tools like Google Docs, WordPress, and more.
Pros:
User-friendly interface with clear and actionable recommendations.
Focuses on the overall quality of the content and not just the keyword usage.
Excellent tools for optimizing existing content and creating new SEO-optimized content.
Cons:
Expensive as compared to other Surfer SEO alternatives.
Limited keyword research capabilities as compared to other tools.
Lacks various customization options.
Pricing:
Clearscope’s pricing starts at $189/month for the Essentials plan, with higher tiers available for larger teams and enterprises.
Ratings:
G2: 4.9/5
Capterra: 4.9/5
Why go for Clearscope over Surfer SEO?
Clearscope offers a more holistic approach to content optimization as compared to Surfer SEO. While both tool provides recommendations, Clearscope places an emphasis on content quality and relevance, which helps to create high-quality and valuable content.
Why do I like this tool?
The tool not only tells you to stuff keywords but also helps you understand which topics and concepts to cover to create valuable content. Moreover, Clearscope integrates with both Google Docs and WordPress, which streamlines the workflow.
5. Semrush
Next on the list of alternatives to Surfer SEO comes Semrush – a comprehensive digital marketing tool for SEO, content marketing, PPC, and more.
Semrush’s AI writing assistant helps to enhance the content by optimizing it for keywords, improving readability, maintaining tone of voice, and ensuring originality. The tool provides suggestions for readability, word count, originality, and tone. It’s a go-to tool for people looking to come up with SEO-optimized content.
Key Features:
Real-time data and insights for content optimization.
Readability analysis, tone of voice recommendations, and plagiarism detection.
Compatible with Google Docs, Microsoft 365, and WordPress.
Pros:
User-friendly interface.
Part of a comprehensive SEO toolkit.
Real-time content optimization suggestions.
Maintain a consistent tone and style throughout content pieces.
Cons:
Comes with Semrush subscription, which can be a bit expensive for some users.
A steep learning curve is involved.
Pricing:
SEMrush offers a 7-day free trial. Paid plans start at $139.95/month for the Pro plan, with higher tiers available for larger teams and agencies.
Ratings:
G2: 4.5/5
Capterra: 4.7/5
Why go for Semrush over Surfer SEO?
While Surfer SEO focuses on content optimization primarily, Semrush offers a much wider range of SEO tools, giving you a more holistic view of SEO. So, if you’re looking for a tool that can handle not only content optimization but also keyword research, backlink analysis, and more, Semrush can be a great choice for you.
Why do I like this tool?
For those already invested in the SEMrush ecosystem, the Writing Assistant is a no-brainer. It provides solid content optimization capabilities without the need for an additional tool.
6. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a powerful Surfer SEO alternative, offering a wide range of features like keyword research, competitor analysis, backlink checker, and more.
While it’s not primarily a content optimization tool like Surfer SEO, its robust SEO features make it a strong alternative for content teams looking to improve their search performance. It can be your go-to tool for backlinks, keyword research, and content gap analysis.
Key Features:
Site explorer for in-depth competitor analysis.
Rank Tracker for monitoring your SERP performance.
Backlink checker and link-building tools.
Pros:
Comprehensive set of SEO tools.
User-friendly interface.
Offers free access to a few tools.
Cons:
Does not offer a content assistant like Surfer SEO.
Might be expensive for small businesses and individuals.
Pricing:
Ahrefs offers Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, where you get free limited access to a few features. The paid plan starts at just $129/month.
Ratings:
G2: 4.5/5
Capterra: 4.7/5
Why go for Ahrefs over Surfer SEO?
If you’re looking for a tool that can offer detailed insights for backlink profiles, keyword ranking, and more, go for Ahrefs. However, if you are looking for a tool that can help you end-to-end, from content generation to optimization, you can try Writesonic.
Why do I like this tool?
I love how Ahrefs offers detailed insights.
7. Topic
Next comes Topic, another great Surfer SEO alternative that helps to research, outline, and optimize your content. It has a unique approach to content optimization that focuses on creating comprehensive content briefs.
Topic analyzes top-ranking content for your target keywords and provides detailed outlines and recommendations to help you create content that covers all the necessary aspects of a topic.
Key Features:
AI-powered content brief generator
SERP analysis
Content grader
Keyword suggestions
Competitor content analysis
Readability scoring
Integration with popular writing tools
Pros:
User-friendly and clean interface.
Excellent for creating comprehensive content briefs.
Ensures that the content covers all the necessary points.
Cons:
Expensive as compared to other tools.
AI-generated outlines can sometimes be inaccurate.
Pricing:
Topic’s paid plan starts at $99/month.
Ratings:
G2: 5/5
Capterra: 5/5
Why go for Topic over Surfer SEO?
Topic is an easy-to-use content planning tool, unlike Surfer SEO, which is an expert-level SEO tool with a complex interface.
Why do I like this tool?
Topic’s focus on content briefs sets it apart from the other SEO tools. It analyzes top-performing content and provides detailed outlines, which is invaluable for creating comprehensive, authoritative content.
However, Topic is primarily a content planning tool. If you’re looking for an all-in-one SEO tool, it’s better to go for Writesonic.
8. Dashword
Dashword is another great alternative to Surfer SEO, which helps create high-quality content briefs, optimize content for SEO, and monitor performance.
Dashword’s strength lies in its ability to analyze top-ranking content and provide detailed insights on what you need to include to compete.
Key Features:
Content optimization suggestions
SERP analysis
Content brief generator
Topic clustering
Readability analysis
Competitor content gap analysis
Integration with Google Docs
Pros:
User-friendly interface with actionable recommendations.
Regular updates based on the user feedback.
Cons:
Lacks AI content generation features. Only suitable for planning.
May have a learning curve for users new to content optimization.
Pricing:
Dashboard offers a free report. The paid plan starts at $99/month.
Ratings:
G2: NA
Capterra: NA
Why go for Dashword over Surfer SEO?
Surfer SEO gives you an in-depth analysis, which can be a bit confusing for beginners. Dashboard, on the other hand, shows exactly what you need to improve your content, which gives clarity and ultimately helps to save a lot of time.
Why do I like this tool?
Dashboard is a good tool for creating a content strategy, but when it comes to topic clustering, I mostly prefer using Writesonic.
9. Page Optimizer Pro
Page Optimizer Pro is an on-page SEO and content optimization tool that helps you create, optimize, and maintain high-quality content on Google. The advanced tool helps to zoom in on the tiniest details that can make a huge impact on your rankings.
Page Optimizer Pro provides detailed recommendations based on the top-ranking pages for your target keywords.
Key Features:
Detailed on-page SEO analysis
Competitor analysis for target keywords
Content optimization suggestions
Chrome extension for easy analysis
Pros:
Affordable pricing.
Detailed and actionable recommendations.
Regular updates based on SEO trends.
Cons:
May not be suitable for beginners as it requires some SEO knowledge.
Focuses primarily on on-page SEO and is not a comprehensive tool like other alternatives.
Pricing:
Page Optimizer Pro offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $34/month.
Ratings:
G2: 5/5
Capterra: 4.9/5
Why go for Page Optimizer Pro over Surfer SEO?
While both tools focus on on-page optimization, Page Optimizer Pro offers a more granular approach to page analysis. If you’re looking for detailed, actionable recommendations for optimizing individual pages, Page Optimizer Pro is an excellent choice.
Why do I like this tool?
I appreciate Page Optimizer Pro’s laser focus on on-page SEO. The detailed recommendations are incredibly valuable for fine-tuning your content for specific keywords.
10. SE Ranking
SE Ranking is another popular Surfer SEO alternative that offers a comprehensive SEO toolkit. It guides you through every step of your optimization journey with actionable and in-depth insights.
SE Ranking offers a wide range of tools, including keyword research, competitor analysis, content editor, rank tracker, and so on. The tool is best known for its user-friendly interface.
Key Features:
A complete SEO toolkit.
SEO keyword tools.
Backlink monitoring and analysis.
Competitor SEO/PPC research.
Website audit and on-page SEO checker.
Pros:
User-friendly interface.
Affordable and flexible pricing plans.
Cons:
High learning curve.
The tools are not as comprehensive as other alternatives available in the market.
Pricing:
SE Ranking offers a 14-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $65/month.
Ratings:
G2: 4.8/5
Capterra: 4.7/5
Why go for SE Ranking over Surfer SEO?
SE Ranking offers a more comprehensive SEO toolkit at a more affordable price point. If you’re looking for an all-in-one SEO solution that won’t break the bank, SE Ranking is an excellent alternative to Surfer SEO. However, if you are looking for an even more affordable SEO tool that offers many more features, try Writesonic.
Why do I like this tool?
I like the reporting feature, which is particularly valuable for agencies and consultants looking to present professional reports to clients.
Get your hands on the best Surfer SEO alternative – Writesonic
And, there you go! 10 best Surfer SEO alternatives that you can try out.
From Writesonic – an all-in-one content generation and optimization tool to Page Optimizer Pro, there’s a tool out there for every SEO need and budget.
Remember, the best tool for you depends on your specific needs, budget, and level of SEO expertise. Whether you’re looking for an all-in-one solution like Writesonic, a content optimization powerhouse like Clearscope, or a content brief generator like Topic, there’s an alternative to Surfer SEO that’s perfect for you.
And the best part? Most of these tools offer free trials or demos. So, why not start with the comprehensive SEO tool Writesonic? Its user-friendly interface, comprehensive toolkit, and affordable pricing make it a perfect Surfer SEO alternative.
Start your free trial now and see the difference for yourself!
Listicle blogs are popular simply because people are usually in a hurry to read, and lists make content much easier to scan, digest, and share.
So, if you want to learn about how to write a listicle that not only captivates your audience but also drives a ton of traffic to your site, stick around!
We’ll break down the key elements, show you some killer listicle examples, and give you practical tips to create your own.
What is a listicle?
A listicle is just a fancy term for an article that is structured as a list.
Think of it as a combination of a list and an article. You’ve probably seen titles like “10 Tips for Better Sleep” or “10 Best Content Optimization Tools.”
Each point on the list gets its own mini-section, making the blog incredibly engaging and easy to read.
The listicle template for blogs has taken over the internet for a good reason.
Listicles cater to our natural preference for organized information. Instead of wading through a wall of text, readers can quickly scan the points that interest them most.
Can you imagine reading a long, dense article about SEO strategies?
We’re pretty sure you’d much rather have that same content broken down into a listicle like “10 SEO Strategies for 2024.”
You’ll notice that listicle ideas are everywhere. From BuzzFeed’s quirky lists to Forbes’ prestigious “30 Under 30,” these structured articles dominate the content scene.
And it’s not just a fad — there’s data to back it up.
But here’s the best part: listicles aren’t confined to any one niche. They’re like that versatile pair of shoes you rely on for every event.
A listicle format can make your content more engaging and digestible, whether you’re writing about tech, health, finance, or lifestyle. That’s why this blog format is a favorite among content marketers everywhere.
Why should you write more listicles?
Let’s look more deeply into why you should be incorporating more listicles into your website blog’s content mix:
1. Easy to scan and read
Let’s face it: we’re all a bit time-crunched these days.
When was the last time you read an entire article without skimming through it first?
Listicles cater to this reality by breaking down information into bite-sized, digestible chunks that are super easy to scan.
A study shows that 79% of online readers scan rather than read word-for-word, which means your content needs to be easily skimmable, and listicles fit the bill perfectly.
And with readers’ attention spans now decreasing more than ever, they simply don’t have the time to read through long paragraphs.
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Here’s a pro tip: use clear subheadings and bullet points to enhance readability.
Each point in your listicle should be concise and to the point. This structure helps your readers quickly find the information they’re looking for without getting overwhelmed by a wall of text.
2. Highly shareable on social media
Have you ever noticed how listicles flood your social media feeds, especially on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter?
That’s because they’re inherently shareable. Their catchy headlines and easily digestible content make them perfect for social sharing.
You’ll be surprised to know that listicle blog posts receive 218% more social media shares than other types of content.
That’s a massive boost in visibility! Now just think about what it can do for your website’s traffic.
An extremely quick way to garner more shares for your blog is to create a listicle that covers other popular tools, platforms, or individual profiles, such as influencers.
Because you featured a particular person, you can reach out to the people behind each tool, and many of them will be more than happy to share your content on social media.
Plus, listicles are also great content for guest blogging collaborations, leading to higher visibility.
3. Listicles attract higher clicks on Google SERPs
Google loves listicles, and so do users.
When you search for something, you’re often greeted with listicles right at the top of the search results.
And this isn’t a coincidence.
Listicles often snag the coveted featured snippets spot because they provide clear, structured answers to users’ queries.
By structuring your content in a listicle format, you’re more likely to rank higher and attract more clicks.
Plus, the clear structure of listicles means they’re more likely to keep readers engaged, reducing bounce rates and improving your site’s SEO metrics.
How to write a listicle: 9 proven steps that drive engagement + traffic!
Creating a listicle that captivates your audience and drives engagement isn’t just about slapping a few points together.
It requires strategy, creativity, and a touch of data-driven insight.
So, let’s break down the steps to crafting a listicle that engages readers and ranks well in search engines.
Step 1: Choose a topic
Your topic is the foundation of your listicle.
It needs to resonate with your audience and align with your expertise.
Use keyword research tools like BuzzSumo and Google Trends to discover trending topics and listicle ideas. Aim for a topic specific enough to provide value but broad enough to attract a wide audience.
For example, a topic like “10 Content Marketing Strategies for 2024” can be timely and relevant if you’re in the marketing niche.
Ensure your topic addresses a common problem or interest among your target audience to grab attention.
Your headline is your first impression, so make it count.
Craft a headline that grabs attention and clearly states the benefit or takeaway. For instance, “7 Proven Steps to Boost Your SEO Rankings” tells readers exactly what they’ll gain from the article.
Here are some tips to follow for a compelling and impactful listicle headline:
Use power and emotional trigger words to make your headline more enticing.
For example, the title “5 Strategies to Boost Your Website Traffic by 200% in 30 Days” is much more effective than “Guide to Website Traffic”
Keep it short and sweet.
Here’s an example of a compelling listicle blog title:
As you can see, this blog title consists of a number and power words to attract readers.
At the same time, it’s short and sweet but also very clear and descriptive, so readers know exactly what to expect from this listicle article.
One thing to note here is that crafting an attractive title is also a great way to boost the SEO quality of your listicle blog.
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Pro tip: If you’re stuck and need ideas for your next listicle blog headline, try Writesonic’s FREE AI Title Generator!
Step 3: Write a compelling introduction
A captivating introduction is the key to setting the tone of your listicle blog and keeping your readers hooked.
You can do this by sharing an interesting fact, statistic, or personal example.
This sets the stage and entices readers to continue.
Finally, remember to clearly explain exactly what readers will learn from the listicle and why they should keep reading.
If you don’t offer a compelling reason to keep reading, you’ll just end up with a high bounce rate.
Step 4: Provide valuable content for each point
Each item on your list should provide actionable insights or valuable information. Avoid vague or generic advice. Enrich your content with data, examples, and practical tips.
Be sure to use your H2 and H3 headings properly.
Your list of items should be well-structured and have headings that are easily scannable and very clear for readers.
But it’s important not to make this structure too confusing for your readers otherwise, your listicle will end up serving more as an in-depth guide.
Remember that a lousy list post is filled with fluff and offers no tangible, valuable takeaways for the reader.
Your listicle should give readers more than a list of things to do. It should also include valuable content that explains each step.
Step 5: Use a consistent structure
To improve readability, maintain a uniform format for each point. Start with a brief explanation, followed by tips or examples.
This consistency helps readers easily follow along and absorb the information.
For example, each point could start with a bold subheading, followed by a couple of sentences explaining the tip, and then a relevant example or data.
Also, avoid having large chunks of text throughout your listicle blog. Long paragraphs on a complex topic can overwhelm readers just by scanning an article.
To prevent this issue, keep each section between 100 and 200 words.
Making every sentence count is essential, so condense points wherever possible while maintaining clarity.
Some other strategies for a well-structured listicle include:
Follow the KISS formula: Keep it short and simple
Make clean points: Each sentence should talk about one point. Nothing more, nothing less.
Be thorough but not verbose: Wordy explanations lose readers faster than an abrupt ending.
Support your points with statistics or case studies to add credibility.
For instance, if you’re writing about social media marketing, simply discussing its importance, benefits, and types of strategies will not be enough.
To really tap into your reader’s mind, mentioning facts from valid and reliable sources backs up your claims and provides readers with valuable insights.
Including data and examples makes your content more trustworthy and engaging. It shows that you’ve done your research and provides concrete evidence to support your advice.
Step 7: Interlink to other related articles
You might have noticed how some listicles have hyperlinks within the blog that lead to other pages of their website.
Adding links to your other relevant blog posts keeps readers on your site longer.
Interlinking improves SEO and provides additional value to your audience by offering more in-depth information on related topics.
For example, if you’re writing a listicle about content marketing strategies, you could link to a previous post about “The Ultimate Guide to SEO.”
This keeps readers engaged with your content and increases the likelihood they’ll explore your site more.
Here’s another example directly taken from one of our blogs:
These links should be hyperlinked to relevant target keywords and not randomly placed throughout your listicle.
Step 8: Proofread and edit
Ensure your listicle is free of grammatical errors and typos.
Reading your blog aloud is a great way to catch awkward phrasing and ensuring a smooth flow. This will also help you determine your listicle’s readability and engagement level.
Ultimately, a polished article enhances your credibility and reader trust.
Even minor mistakes can distract readers and undermine your authority. So, take the time to proofread and refine your content before hitting publish.
Step 9: Include a call to action
When concluding your blog, end with a clear call to action that encourages readers to share the post, leave a comment, or try out your product.
This drives engagement and provides a pathway for further interaction with your content.
The goal is to leave the readers with something actionable so you can get the most ROI out of your listicle.
What we love: This listicle template delivers exactly what it promises—a concise list of the best keyword clustering tools for content writers and SEO specialists.
Each tool is briefly described, allowing readers to grasp the benefits quickly. You’ll also notice how each tool’s section follows a particular pattern covering key features, pros, cons, and pricing.
With this skimmable structure, readers can find what they’re looking for in an organized manner.
2. Definitive list post
Features: A definitive listicle is an exhaustive compilation that covers all facets of a topic in great detail.
When to use: Perfect for creating in-depth guides that aim to provide an all-inclusive look at a subject, making it invaluable for readers seeking thorough information.
What we love: This listicle is a masterclass in providing exhaustive, high-value content. The blog clearly guides readers through different scenarios like cold emails and follow-ups, making it an invaluable resource for sales professionals.
It dives deep into various sales email templates, offering specific examples, detailed explanations, and practical tips, ensuring that the content is immediately useful and adaptable.
3. Checklist list post
Features: A structured list that provides a series of steps or items to check off.
When to use: Great for procedural content where readers need to follow a series of steps to complete a task.
What we love: This listicle offers a practical, step-by-step checklist for creating successful blog posts. Each item is clearly explained, making it easy for readers to follow along and ensure they cover all essential elements.
The checklist format is perfect for helping bloggers systematically improve their content, ensuring nothing is overlooked.
4. Resource list post
Features: A curated compilation of valuable resources, such as facts, articles, or references.
When to use: Best for sharing resource lists that readers can use to enhance their work.
What we love: This listicle compiles an extensive list of HR blogs, each with a brief description and link. The blog content serves as a valuable resource for HR professionals looking to stay updated on industry trends and best practices.
Readers can quickly discover new, high-quality content in their field, providing a centralized hub for ongoing learning and development.
5. Expert roundup list post
Features: A collection of insights and tips from industry experts.
When to use: Ideal for providing expert opinions and showcasing diverse perspectives on a specific topic.
What we love: This listicle gathers insights from over 20 experts on the topic of deleting old content. Each expert shares their unique perspective and advice, providing readers with a well-rounded view of the issue.
The diverse opinions help readers make informed decisions about their own content strategy. This format not only offers valuable advice but also builds credibility by featuring respected voices in the industry.
6. “Best of” list post
Features: A compilation of the best items or resources in a particular category.
When to use: Ideal for reviews or recommendations, helping readers make informed decisions about the best options available.
What we love: This listicle provides a curated selection of the top movies released in 2024, each accompanied by a brief review and insightful commentary.
It’s perfect for film enthusiasts looking to catch up on the year’s standout films. The post offers a diverse range of genres and styles, ensuring there’s something for every taste. The engaging descriptions and expert reviews help readers decide which films are worth watching, making it an invaluable resource for staying updated on the latest cinematic highlights.
7. Step-by-step list post
Features: A detailed guide that breaks down a process into manageable steps.
When to use: Perfect for tutorials or instructional content that requires clear, sequential guidance.
What we love: This listicle provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide on outsourcing content writing. Each step is clearly explained with practical tips and examples, making it easy for readers to follow and implement.
This format ensures that readers can systematically follow the guide and achieve successful results in outsourcing their content writing tasks.
Listicle ideas for your next blog
Finding the right topic for your next listicle can make all the difference in engaging your audience and driving traffic to your site.
Here are some sample listicle blog titles tailored for various domains, designed to spark your creativity and help you brainstorm compelling content.
Listicle ideas for e-commerce or B2C companies
10 Must-Have Gadgets for Your Smart Home
15 Summer Fashion Trends You Need to Know
8 Eco-Friendly Products for a Greener Lifestyle
12 Easy Recipes for Quick Weeknight Dinners
9 Tips to Enhance Your Home Decor on a Budget
Listicle ideas for B2B companies
7 Strategies to Boost Your Business’s Online Presence
5 Steps to Implement an Effective SEO Strategy
10 Tools Every Small Business Should Use in 2024
How to Manage a Remote Team: 6 Effective Tips for Leaders
8 Key Trends in Digital Marketing for 2024
Listicle ideas for health and wellness blogs
10 Superfoods to Boost Your Immune System
7 Easy Yoga Poses for Beginners
12 Mental Health Apps You Need to Try ASAP!
A Step-by-Step Guide to Maintaining a Healthy Work-Life Balance: 8 Practical Steps
5 Essential Oils and Their Benefits
Listicle ideas for technology and innovation blogs
10 Breakthrough Technologies to Watch in 2024
7 Tips for Enhancing Cybersecurity in Your Business
12 Must-Have Apps for Productivity
5 Trends Shaping the Future of AI
8 Practical Ways to Implement IoT in Your Home
Listicle ideas for travel and adventure blogs
10 Hidden Gems to Explore in Europe
7 Adventure Sports to Try This Summer
A 10-Step Checklist for Stress-Free Vacation Planning
8 Budget-Friendly Travel Destinations in USA
5 Best Road Trips for Summer 2024 in USA
Write Listicles that go viral with Writesonic AI Article Writer 6.0!
There you have it!
It’s clear that listicles are a powerful addition to your website’s content strategy.
But if you’re looking to take your listicle game to the next level, Writesonic AI Article Writer 6.0 is your go-to solution.
Writesonic’s AI makes the entire listicle creation process smooth and efficient. Here’s how:
One of the most critical steps of owning the top Google spot for desired keywords is ensuring that SEO is set up correctly. SEO is an ongoing process with many moving parts—on-page, technical and link-building.
That’s not to mention the frequent Google algorithm updates that are hard to keep up with.
Given these challenges, it’s understandable that SEO can be complex, manually tasking and time-consuming. Thankfully, lots of SEO professionals now use AI for SEO to automate many of the tedious tasks involved in SEO.
If you want to take your SEO strategy to the next level, utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for SEO is the smart way to go. This article will guide you through using AI in SEO and help you discover its full potential.
What is AI-based SEO?
AI-based SEO involves integrating AI into SEO tools to automate and optimize various aspects of an SEO strategy. These SEO tools use AI to speed up manual tasks and automate repetitive SEO tasks like keyword research, content ideation, optimization and analyzing competitor strategies.
And that’s just scratching the surface of its potential. AI tools have many undiscovered capabilities, but for now, here are some ways to use AI for SEO.
How to Use AI for SEO Optimization?
SEO specialists use AI tools for various tasks, from keyword research to on-page optimization and technical SEO. But that’s not all there is to using AI. Here are some ways to align AI tools with your SEO strategy.
Before Writing
Much work goes into laying the groundwork for a successful SEO strategy to ensure it drives organic traffic. Here are some essential SEO tasks to perform and how AI can help.
1. Automated Keyword Research and Targeting
Keyword research identifies search terms your target audience uses on search engines like Google when searching for information. These could be questions, phrases, or specific words related to a topic of interest.
Before AI, keyword research used multiple keyword research tools to find thousands of keywords. Then, you’d have to gather data on search volumes and manually analyze each keyword in Excel. This was time-consuming and often required the expertise of a senior SEO specialist.
Thanks to AI, this process has been cut short so anyone with basic knowledge can carry it out. AI-powered keyword research tools, such as Writesonic’s Keyword research tool, can help find valuable keyword ideas quickly.
To get started, Writesonic asks for a seed keyword or popular phrase related to your business to generate a list of keywords. For example, if you sell fashion items, your seed keyword might be “sustainable fashion.” This is your primary keyword.
For each keyword, Writesonic displays its search volume, keyword volume, difficulty, potential traffic, high-potential keywords and questions. These keywords can be used to optimize website copywriting or inputted into blogs to optimize it.
For example, the phrase “fast fashion vs. sustainable fashion” can be added as a heading in the article to make it more optimized.
Writesonic’s keyword research tool also goes beyond the seed keywords and suggests variations of keywords, including long-tail keywords, short-tail keywords, product keywords, competitor keywords and more. These are the secondary keywords.
2. Analyze Search Intent
Part of creating helpful content that ranks is understanding the search intent behind the keyword. In simple terms, this means identifying the goal of a user’s query and creating relevant content that meets that need. This could involve answering questions, buying a product, finding information, or reading up on a topic.
In SEO, search intent is categorized into four types: information, commercial, transactional and navigational.
Once you have your list of keywords, AI tools like ChatGPT can help identify the search intent for each one. This saves you time from manually researching and analyzing SERP results to understand user intent.
I asked ChatGPT to give me a list of keywords for the term “electric cars” and the search intent.
Here’s the output it displayed:
Let’s do a quick test comparing ChatGPT results to SERP results for the keyword “Electric car reviews” to see if the intent is truly informational.
The first three Google search results are blog posts, which tells me that people are looking for information about the search term.
Taking it further, I asked ChatGPT for a list of content types that would satisfy this intent. Consequently, this removes much of the guesswork and helps businesses targeting this keyword know what kind of content they should create to rank.
3. Content Audit
Auditing existing content is challenging, especially if you have a large website with thousands of pages. Instead of scouring through each one to determine its performance, AI can reduce the hours of manual inventory.
It can analyze your site’s web pages and give back results on the number of pages, keywords, content assets, page URLs and internal links on each page. Platforms like Clearvoice and Marketmuse already incorporate AI to fast-track content optimization.
A note of warning: while AI shortens the content audit process, it should not be left to fully handle it as AI is still subject to hallucination and bias. Often, this leads to AI generating data that sounds plausible, inaccurate or subject to prejudices.
4. Competitor Analysis
Much of SEO is understanding what the competition is doing and beating it. This includes researching the keywords they’re targeting, backlink profiles, and SEO strategies that keep them ranking at the top of the organic search results.
You could manually find the competition by searching multiple websites targeting the exact keywords, but that would take forever. This is where AI SEO tools like Semrush Copilot AI and Ahrefs come in.
Semrush Copilot AI, for example, gives you insight into your competitors’ content ideas and even generates recommendations based on traffic lost.
5. Topic Cluster Analysis
Clustering keywords is an excellent way of connecting keywords and linking them. Each cluster is connected with internal links that link one page directly to the other. Typically, a cluster contains one pillar page and multiple related sub-pages, which shows a semantic relationship between the pages and topical authority.
Say you’re building out a topic cluster on digital marketing. Since this is a broad topic, you’ll need to create a pillar page and thousands of subpages on content marketing, SEO, social media marketing etc.
Before AI, SEOs built topic clusters using Google to find topical clusters related to a seed keyword, which is time-consuming and very limiting.
Input the main keyword into Writesonic, and in seconds, it generates two types of topic clusters. Each contains a Pillar content keyword, which are the main keywords for the main page and a Cluster content keyword, which are the keywords for additional pages.
Writesonic provides an analysis of each keyword and groups keywords that are semantically related so they are correctly targeted. It also offers various subtopics related to your keyword and suggests article ideas for each secondary keyword.
6. Plan Content Outline
A content outline is an overview of what an article would look like. This includes the H1 title, H2 and H3 subheadings, internal links and talking points, keywords, and desired word count. In essence, this is to guide and organize the writing process so that the final output is not far off from what is expected.
AI shortens the content outline process and cuts back on time spent looking through the SERP result, choosing the right angle, and finding the suitable headings, facts, or stats to include.
AI tools like Writesonic can generate detailed outlines to cut back on research time. It takes on the task of researching information relevant to your blog outline and brainstorming unique angles.
Enter a topic, country, reference content, primary keywords, secondary keywords and Writesonic generates a well-detailed outline that structures your content.
Alternatively, you can choose to individually select outline, add, remove, or re-arrange it to meet your taste.
7. Content Gap Analysis with AI (Explain Content Grader Steps)
Content gap is the process of finding untapped gaps in a content topic to improve its output and meet search intent. It’s defined as content with outdated information or lacking key information that users are searching for.
The content gap analyzer feature in Writesonic is a great tool for finding hidden SEO gems that your competition is currently milking to rank high on Google, and you’re missing out on. Just input your main keyword and select competitor links.
Then, the AI tool compares your existing content on a topic with the competitor’s and grades it on a 5-point scale.
Also, you get additional metrics on content performance (think word count, heading, images), performance (think domain rating, backlinks, URL, domains, traffic) and keywords (think top keywords, sub-keywords, volume). You get the whole deal.
A big plus of this tool is its suggestions for re-optimizing each section of the article. These suggestions are actionable and easy to implement. Here’s an example.
During Writing
When writing, AI tools are the best assistants for articulating the right words and cutting research time. Here’s how to use AI during writing.
1. Finding Relevant Research and Statistics
Adding relevant statistics to content can make the messaging more accurate and persuasive. It adds depth to the research and makes your argument plausible to the reader.
While adding stats to content can significantly improve its authority, finding relevant stats can be a chore. Unless you create original research, you’ll have to comb through hundreds of pages to find it and then try to make it fit into the context of the content. Or you could use an AI tool like Chatsonic to speed up the process and find original seconds on the internet in minutes.
Writesonic’s Chatsonic feature is a conversational AI bot that uses machine learning and NLP to engage in human-like conversations. Think of it as an advanced ChatGPT with built-in web search so that the information provided is accurate.
Here’s an example to find research on climate change and relevant papers we can link to.
Chatsonic even gives you the author, title, publication year and a summary so you can decide if the link is relevant to the context of your research.
Likewise, you can also ask Chatsonic questions to find answers scattered all over the internet faster. Here’s an example.
Here’s the response.
2. Brainstorm SEO-optimized titles and headers
Titles and headings play a huge role in SEO and user experience. For search crawlers, they provide semantic context and a hierarchical structure to understand relevance. For readers, they give a preview of what each section contains and aid its readability.
AI can analyze the headlines of top-ranked sites and generate variations of SEO-optimized titles and headers. Some tools, like Writesonic, have this added advantage over ChatGPT because they have access to the Internet to analyze the ranking headlines and provide recommendations.
Say you want to write an article about “building a personal brand.” Here, I ask ChatGPT to generate headline ideas on the topic and here’s the result.
You can also use Writesonic to generate SEO-optimized headlines that you can use as is. Just input the topic and choose five references from competitor articles to help the AI understand the topic, including the keyword strategy, word length, heading distribution etc.
Next, choose the primary keyword you want to target. Writesonic shows you the volume and difficulty
After this, Writesonic generates a list of engaging blog titles. At first glance, the results are more optimized than ChatGPT’s results.
3. Generate First-draft Content
To rank high on SERPs, you must create good content people want to read. It’s that simple. Here’s where AI comes in.
AI tools are well-known for generating content for blog posts, but here’s the caveat: AI is still subject to hallucinations, and since it is trained on existing articles, it can struggle to produce truly creative and original content. In other words, AI content can be highly plagiarized.
However, do not entirely disregard using AI for SEO content. It can be a great writing assistant for providing the first draft. An AI writer is great for helping marketers overcome writer’s block and generate ideas to work with.
Tools like Writesonic’s “Article Writer” use natural language processing (NLP) to generate a well-written first draft which sounds human-like. This draft is detailed with stats, images and links to research references, which makes it more impressive than ChatGPT. Even better, you get access to multiple templates that you can work with to generate the first draft quickly.
Overall, Writesonic generates a first draft that you can work with, which is a great starting point for optimizing the content generation process. Here’s an article about a first draft from Writesonic.
After Writing
Even after writing, AI tools can supercharge the SEO process to ensure that you create optimized content.
1. Grammar and Plagiarism Checker
Once you’ve created your content, AI tools can help spot elusive mistakes and tighten sentences so they hit the right note and match your brand tone. It’ll check grammar errors, punctuation mistakes, writing tone, readability issues, plagiarism issues and more.
Grammarly is the go-to AI tool for many writers, and they recently added a Generative AI assistant that you can use to write based on a prompt, personalize your content tone, ideate and generate responses.
Here, I have my finished article ready to go. While reading it, it reads well, and there are no noticeable mistakes.
But put it inside Grammarly, and it highlights noticeable mistakes that were missed.
Grammarly also provides advanced performance reports showing the content’s engagement level, delivery, clarity, and correctness.
2. SEO Content Optimization with AI
Beyond creating content, AI can help make your content more SEO-optimized, so it performs well on SERP. Content optimization is vital for refining content to become more engaging, but it’s not easy to achieve because it demands expertise in SEO.
AI tools like Writesonic SEO Checker and Optimizer can help with everything from keyword usage to on-page SEO to internal linking to UX. Everything. Here are a few examples.
Keyword optimization: Writesonic helps integrate and target keywords so they’re not overused within the content. It monitors the density of primary and secondary keywords to ensure a natural flow without overstuffing.
SEO suggestion: Writesonic also optimizes the SEO of your content based on its type. For example, you can optimize blog posts, product descriptions and website copy. It also gives suggestions on word count, the number of headings, paragraphs and images to include.
3. Write metadata
Metadata are snippets of text that provide information about a web page’s content for users and search engines. Good metadata is unique, between optimal length and informative, and has a persuasive CTA that enables readers to take action.
AI tools can analyze a web page’s content and summarize it to create engaging meta tags within the correct character limit. This includes title tags, meta descriptions, and keywords. If you have to generate multiple metadata without wasting time, AI can help generate these tags in seconds.
I asked ChatGPT to write the metadata for this article, and here’s what it gave me.
This is a good starting point. Just edit the results from ChatGPT to suit your content tone.
4. Content Accessibility
If you’re targeting customers in multiple countries, you must ensure that web content is accessible and usable for all readers, including those with disabilities. AI can help with content that meets this standard.
Content translation: AI can translate content to over 100 languages. With tools like chatGPT, you can translate an entire blog post from one language to another without hiring a third-party translator. AI tools like ChatGPT can do a
Alt text for images: AI tools can provide descriptive ALt text to images so the screen reader can convey the information to visually impaired readers.
Audio and Video transcription: AI tools can transcribe and caption video and audio content for readers with audio and video impairments. VEED uses AI to generate accurate captions.
Post-Publishing
After publishing an article, there’s still much work for the content to generate traffic and attract qualified leads. Without the right distribution strategy, even the best content would get no visitors and no engagement. Here’s how AI tools can help post-publishing.
1. Analyze data and Improve SEO Performance
Analytics gives insight into content performance and audience engagement, such as page views, bounce rates, conversion rates and more. This helps you understand how users interact with your website’s content so you can make informed decisions to improve your ranking and drive more organic traffic.
AI tools can automate the entire process with little human intervention. Use AI tools to collect data from various sources like social media, Google Analytics, and more. AI driven seo tools can analyze these data and identify trends that can be difficult to spot manually. It can also monitor search engine rankings, track changes, and provide insights through comprehensive reports.
2. Content Distribution and Repurposing
Once you’ve created your content, the next step is sharing and promoting it through multiple channels to maximize its reach. To achieve this, you need to create a variety of content for different channels, such as blogs, social media, email newsletters, and more.
AI tools can speed up the process and help brainstorm ideas for content promotion, unique angles and hashtags.
If you’re struggling to repurpose your existing content into engaging formats, Writesonic is an excellent AI tool to help. It has over 100+ templates specifically for transforming long-form content into different formats, such as social media content, email, and even video scripts. You can also use it to plan your content to have an entire content calendar and a consistent flow of engaging content.
With Photosonic, you can create visually stunning images that match your social content. The tool gives you different image types, including photorealistiic images, abstract art, or character design in different image sizes.
Simply input a text description, choose an image size and generate up to 5 Photosonic creates captivating images that complement your repurposed content.
I asked Photosnic to generate an image of sunset and here are the results.
You can also use AI tools like Descript AI Video to generate and edit blog posts into tutorials that can be shared on YouTube.
3. Technical SEO
AI can help identify and fix technical issues that affect search engine crawling and indexing, such as broken links, duplicate content, and site speed optimization.
AI can help with website crawling and indexing to enhance your website’s visibility. It crawls websites to detect issues such as broken internal links, duplicate content, and missing meta descriptions that may prevent search engine crawlers from finding them.
AI powered seo tools like Screaming Frog and Deepcrawl can conduct a comprehensive site audit, finding and fixing issues that could impact indexing.
4. Generating schema markup
Generating schema code can be complex if you have no prior coding skills. Schema markup helps search engines understand the content of your web page better. Using AI tools, you can automate the process of generating a schema code to save yourself time manually doing it.
All we need to do is give the AI a prompt, and you will have it within seconds. Tools like Rank Math and MarketMuse use AI to generate schema code without coding from scratch. They can analyze your content and automatically recommend appropriate schema types, simplifying the process.
5. Automated testing and monitoring
Since SEO is a never-ending task, you need to deploy suitable assistants to handle it, and AI fits right in. SEO automation tools available 24/7 to continuously monitor website performance analytics, including technical errors, traffic patterns, user engagement metrics and search engine ranking, and alert on potential issues as soon as they arise. It can also detect unusual patterns in SEO data, such as traffic drops or unexpected changes in rankings.
AI tools like SE Ranking can also compile data from various sources and generate detailed data in an easy-to-understand format to track progress.
Use AI tools to complement SEO strategy
Using AI tools to complement your SEO strategy can provide many benefits—automation, scalability and cost-saving.
The sooner you adapt AI to your SEO strategy, the faster you’ll harness the power of AI for SEO to elevate your content strategy. But remember, AI tools are assistants. Hence, they should not replace your entire plan; they should only complement it.
With tools like Writesonic at your fingertips, you can automate your SEO strategy from keywords to content gap to content creation. So why wait? Sign up to try out Writesonic today.
FAQ
What are the benefits of using AI for SEO?
AI tools can process extensive SEO data sets to find opportunities and gaps. It also automates routine SEO tasks such as site audits and keyword research.
What is the future of AI in SEO?
The future of AI in SEO includes advanced personalization, producing user-specific content, local search and optimized voice search.
How does AI help in improving search engine rankings?
A: AI can help improve search engine rankings by identifying relevant keywords and optimizing content
75% of users never scroll past the first page on Google.
If you are tired of seeing your website languish on the second or third page of search results, you’re at the right place. From keyword research tools to backlink analysis tools, this blog covers 60+ SEO tools that can help you transform your digital strategy and climb SERPs.
Ready to leverage the powerful SEO tools to boost your online visibility and drive more traffic to your website? Let’s get started.
Best Keyword Research Tools
Ranking higher on SERPs isn’t an easy task! But with the right keyword research tool, you can simplify the process. Here are a few of the best keyword research tools that can help you find relevant keywords, understand their search intent, and ultimately improve your website traffic.
1. Writesonic Keyword Research Tool
Designed specifically for marketers and SEO professionals, the Writesonic Keyword research tool helps to simplify the keyword research process by finding relevant and trending keywords for your content quickly.
The advanced tool provides detailed insights into keyword difficulty, traffic potential, search volume, and more, helping you make an informed decision about which keyword to target. The user-friendly interface, cost-effectiveness, and integration capabilities make Writesonic’s keyword research a must-have tool.
Cost: Writesonic offers a free trial, with a paid plan starting at just $16/month.
Moz Keyword Explorer is a keyword research tool by Moz that helps to perform in-depth keyword and SERP analysis. The tool provides a comprehensive overview of keyword metrics, including CTR, KD, and search volume.
It also offers keyword suggestions, creates lists, and performs competitor analysis to find the right keywords and boost your SEO efforts. Moz Keyword Explorer leverages an extensive keyword index of over 1.25 billion keywords to help you discover traffic-driving keywords and enhance the site’s visibility.
Cost: Moz offers a 30-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $49/month.
3. Semrush Keyword Research
Next on the list of best SEO tools for keyword research comes the Semrush Keyword Research tools. It offers 6 powerful tools to meet all your keyword research needs – Keyword Overview, Keyword Magic Tool, Organic Research, Keyword Gap, Keyword Strategy Builder, and Organic Traffic Insights.
The advanced tool helps find the right keywords from the extensive database. It offers detailed keyword analysis, competitive research, and comprehensive content optimization features, making it a must-have for SEO professionals and marketers.
Cost: Semrush Keyword Research tool lets you analyze 10 keywords/day. The paid plan starts at just $139.95/month.
4. Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
Best known for its vast database and detailed metrics, Ahrefs Keywords Explorer provides detailed insights into keyword difficulty, search volume, and traffic potential, helping you decide which keywords to target. Moreover, it provides data on CTR, making it super easy for you to prioritize keywords that can drive maximum traffic.
From generating and analyzing keyword ideas to skillfully targeting them, Ahrefs Keywords Explorer can help you in your keyword research journey from start to finish.
Cost: Ahrefs paid plan starts at just $129/month.
5. Keywords Everywhere
Keywords Everywhere is a powerful SEO keyword research browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. It shows the data directly in the search engine results.
The tool provides insights into search volume, CPC, and competition levels. It can simplify the process of keyword research, content optimization, and competitor analysis by helping you uncover the high-value keywords that can help you climb SERPs.
Cost: Keywords Everywhere is free to use.
6. Ubersuggest
Developed by Neil Patel, Ubersuggest is a versatile tool that offers a wide range of features. Ubersuggest keyword research tool is a free Chrome extension that can help you gain insights related to a particular keyword query.
The tool provides keyword suggestions, search volume, CPC, and competition data. It’s a great tool for both beginners and seasoned SEO professionals.
Cost: Ubersuggest Keyword research tool is free to use.
7. KWFinder
Looking to find easy-to-rank keywords? KWFinder can help!
KWFinder by Mangools is another best SEO tool that helps to find long-tail keywords with low SEO difficulty. KWFinder can help find the right keywords, analyze competitors, find exact search volume and trends, or find location-specific keywords.
Cost: KWFinder offers a free trial where you get a limited number of searches. The paid plan starts at $14.95/month.
8. AlsoAsked
AlsoAsked is a unique and advanced keyword research tool that uses Google’s ‘People Also Ask’ data. It helps to find related queries, understand the search intent, and discover trending topics.
AlsoAsked can prove to be an invaluable tool for people looking to create content that addresses specific queries or improves their chances of appearing in the featured snippet.
Cost: AlsoAsked offers 3 free search credits/day. The paid plan starts at $12/month.
9. KeywordTool.io
If you are looking for the best long-tail keyword research tool, look no further than KeywordTool.io.
KeywordTool.io is a robust keyword research tool that uses Google Autocomplete to quickly come up with a plethora of relevant and long-tail keyword suggestions related to any topic. The tool understands what people are searching for across various platforms like YouTube, Google, and more. It provides insights into metrics like volume, trend data, CPC, etc.
Cost: KeywordTool.io is free to use, but the free trial offers limited data. If you’d like to see all teh data available, you can opt for a paid plan.
Best On-Page SEO Tools
Looking to rank higher and get more relevant traffic to the website? On-page SEO tools can help! Here’s a list of some of the best on-page SEO tools that can help you optimize your web page content and rank higher on search engines.
10. Writesonic’s On-Page SEO Checker
Writesonic’s On-Page SEO Checker is an innovative tool to analyze and optimize web pages and boost rankings. It conducts an on-page SEO audit to identify areas of improvement and provides in-depth analysis and insights regarding how to improve.
The tool analyzes various on-page elements like headings, keyword usage, meta tags, etc. to ensure you not only create SEO-optimized content but also rank. And the best part? The on-page SEO checker also helps with real-time feedback to create and edit content pieces that can rank well.
Cost: Writesonic offers a free trial, with a paid plan starting at just $16/month.
SEO Checker is an SEO audit tool that helps to analyze a website’s SEO performance and gives recommendations to improve your ranking and traffic.
From page load speed and title tag optimization to mobile friendliness and URL optimization, the tool analyzes various factors. Then, it generates a report that contains a summary of your website’s SEO health, points out where your site has issues, gives suggestions on how to improve, tells which issues to prioritize, and more.
Cost: SEO Checker offers a 10-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $24/month.
12. Semrush On-Page SEO Checker
Semrush On-Page SEO Checker is a robust tool that provides detailed recommendations to optimize your web pages.
By providing a list of actions to improve the landing page, Semrush On-Page SEO Checker makes it easy to improve the overall website’s SEO performance. It covers various aspects like keyword usage, content length, readability, and more, helping you enhance the page performance.
Cost: Semrush offers a free plan with limited features. The paid plan starts at just $139.95/month.
13. Surfer SEO
Surfer SEO is the best data-driven on-page SEO tool that provides actionable insights to improve your content. The tool analyzes the top-ranking pages based on your target keywords and offers recommendations regarding the content length, keyword usage, page speed, meta tags, NLP sentiment, and content structure.
Apart from the on-page optimization, Surfer SEO also offers various other mind-blowing features like SERP analyzer, content editor, etc., to create SEO-optimized content.
Cost: Surfer SEO offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at just $89/month.
14. Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a powerful and advanced SEO site audit tool that crawls the website to identify on-page SEO issues quickly.
The tool helps to find broken links, analyze metadata, audit redirects, discover duplicate content, and more. Screaming Frog is also an important tool for technical SEO audits and ensures that all the on-page elements are optimized for better performance.
Cost: The free plan offers limited functionalities. If you want more, you can go for a paid plan starting at just $259/year.
15. Clearscope.io
Clearscope.io is a sophisticated content optimization tool that leverages the power of AI to come up with keywords and topic recommendations.
The tool checks the content in real time and provides a score based on the search metrics, keyword usage, readability, word count, and competitors. Clearscope.io helps to make sure the content is highly relevant and meets the search engine standards.
Cost: The paid plan starts at just $189/year.
16. Yoast SEO
Known as the best WordPress plugin for on-page SEO, Yoast SEO helps optimize the content and rank it higher.
Yoast SEO offers numerous features to make sure your content meets the highest SEO standards, like keyword optimization, meta tag management, XML sitemaps, etc., for proper content analysis and better search visibility.
Cost: Yoast SEO offers a free plan. However, for more functionalities, the paid plan starts at just $8.25/month when billed annually.
17. Content King
Want to monitor a website in real-time? Content King can help. The advanced platform helps with real-time SEO auditing and platform monitoring.
Content King crawls the website to provide instant alerts related to any issues that can impact the SEO performance. By offering detailed insights into metadata, internal links, headings, and more, the tool ensures that your website stays on the top.
Cost: Content King offers a free trial.
18. PageOptimizer Pro
PageOptimizer Pro is another on-page SEO tool that helps to optimize the content based on data-driven recommendations.
The tool provides detailed insights into keyword placement, content structure, and competitive analysis. Also, PageOptimizer Pro uses a US-patented ranking factor scoring system, which helps to discover the important things to optimize on the page to drive more traffic and boost the rankings.
Cost: PageOptimizer Pro’s plan starts at just $34/month.
19. Crazy Egg
If you’re looking to improve your site’s user experience, look no further than Crazy Egg.
Crazy Egg is another website optimization tool that provides insights regarding user behavior through visual analytics. It offers features like heatmaps, scrollmaps, and click reports that help to understand how visitors interact with your web page. These insights help to make the improvements backed by data and not some random outdated practices.
Cost: Crazy Egg offers a 30-day free trial. The paid plan starts at just $99/month.
Best Technical Analysis Tools
What if you could identify and resolve all the technical issues on your website and ensure that it complies with the guidelines and delivers a seamless experience? Technical analysis tools can help. From crawling and indexing to error detection and performance monitoring, these tools can help you maintain the efficiency and health of your website. Here are a few of the best technical SEO tools that you can try out.
20. DeepCrawl
DeepCrawl is a powerful cloud-based web crawling tool that helps to perform an in-depth technical audit of your website. It helps to monitor, identify, and optimize the website’s performance and SEO.
DeepCrawl helps to uncover and fix a wide range of potential technical SEO-related issues like backlinks, 404 errors, competitive analysis and more.
Cost: DeepCrawl plans start at just $89/month.
21. Ahrefs Site Audit
When talking about technical SEO tools, you cannot miss out on Ahrefs!
Ahrefs Site Audit is a comprehensive tool that helps identify technical issues on your website. It quickly crawls the website’s pages, identifies and flags all the technical SEO issues, provides recommendations on how to improve, visualizes data in chart format, and delivers an overall SEO score. The advanced tool scans for 170+ SEO issues.
Cost: Ahrefs paid plan starts at just $129/month.
22. GTmetrix
Looking to come up with a faster and more efficient website? Try GTmetrix!
GTmetrix is a web-based tool that helps to analyze page speed and performance. It generates a detailed report on various performance metrics and offers suggestions to improve the site’s speed and user experience.
Cost: GTmetrix offers a free trial. The paid plan starts at $5/month.
23. Semrush Site Audit
Semrush Site Audit is a robust tool that helps comprehensively analyze your website’s technical health.
The advanced tool analyzes the website and generates a technical report on crawlability, site performance, internal linking, HTTPS, and international SEO. It gives actionable insights that can improve your search engine rankings and overall site performance.
Cost: Semrush offers a free plan with limited features. The paid plan starts at just $139.95/month.
24. WebPageTest
WebPageTest is another popular free website performance and optimization test tool that can help monitor and improve your site’s page load speed.
The tool lets you do some super cool things like waterfall speed tests, competitor speed tests, competitor speed videos, identify how long it takes to load the website, and many more things.
Cost: WebPageTest is free to use.
25. Pingdom
Next on the list is Pingdom, a website performance monitoring tool that helps to track the uptime and loading speed of websites, servers, and online services. It helps to make sure that the website is accessible and operational for the end users.
The tool generates a detailed report on the performance metrics and provides recommendations on how to improve the website’s speed and user experience.
Cost: Pingdom offers a 30-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $10/month.
26. Moz Pro Site Crawl
Quickly find common technical SEO issues that are impacting your website’s ability to rank higher, achieve high-quality traffic, or get indexed by search engines with the help of Moz Pro Site Crawl.
Moz Pro Site Crawl is a powerful tool that helps identify and fix technical issues on your website. From broken redirects to missing title tags, it can help you with all. The tool provides detailed reports on various SEO factors and recommendations to improve your site’s health and performance.
Cost: Moz offers a 30-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $49/month.
27. Sitebulb
Want to make SEO audits easy, efficient, and more accurate? Sitebulb can help! Sitebulb is a great website crawler that can help you throughout the journey, from investigation to reporting.
Sitebulb conducts website audits and provides actionable insights and visual reports to aid in the optimization of the website’s performance.
Cost: Sitebulb offers a 14-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $13.50/month.
28. Barracuda Panguin Tool
Barracuda Panguin Tool is a tool designed to help website owners investigate the impact of Google’s algorithm update on the website’s organic traffic.
It connects with the Google Analytics profile and helps you visually correlate the changes in the search traffic with the specific updates. These insights help to understand the reason behind the change in search traffic, which in turn helps to make data-driven adjustments in the SEO strategy.
Cost: Barracuda Panguin Tool is free to use.
Best Local SEO tools
Local SEO tools are essential for businesses looking to increase their visibility in localized search results. From managing and optimizing the local listing to tracking search ranking, these tools make sure to improve your businesses’ visibility in the localized search results. Here are some of the best local SEO tools available:
29. Moz Local
Moz local is an advanced and powerful local SEO and reputation management tool that makes sure your business listings are accurate and consistent across the web.
The tool lets you manage and sync business listings, easily post new updates and offers, track performance, and create reports. By automating the process of managing local listings, the tool helps to boost your business’s online visibility.
Cost: Moz Local plan starts at just $14/month.
30. Brightlocal
Here’s the only tool you need for local SEO, from start to finish – Brightlocal.
Brightlocal is a web-based, all-in-one SEO tool for rank tracking, review management, and citation building. It helps to audit locations to find the opportunities to rank higher, track rankings, generate reports, scale review generation, and manage listings.
With Brightlocal, you can easily make improvements and grow your business.
Cost: Brightlocal offers a 14-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $39/month.
31. Whitespark
Want to get the most out of your local search? Try Whitespark!
Whitespark offers a suite of local SEO tools designed to improve your local search rankings. It helps to rank better and drive more conversions from Google.
The tool helps to manage Google Business profiles, track rank, monitor and find the best citations, and generate reports.
Cost: NA
32. GeoRanker
GeoRanker is a local SEO tool that helps businesses improve their local SEO strategy. It helps businesses identify link-building opportunities, find powerful competitors, generate traffic from local searches, and monitor link profile changes.
GeoRanker’s comprehensive reports help guide your local SEO optimizations and measure their impact over time.
Cost: GeoRanker offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $99/month.
33. GMB Everywhere
GMB Everywhere is a free Chrome extension that lets you analyze GMB for better rankings. It can simplify the process of gathering data, conducting audits, and simplifying competitor profiles.
The extension also offers features like review analysis and performance metrics, helping you make data-driven decisions to enhance your local search presence. By streamlining the process of managing and optimizing GMB profiles, GMB Everywhere proves to be a must-have tool for anyone serious about local SEO.
Cost: GMB Everywhere offers a free trial. The paid plan starts at $15/month.
34. Localo
Localo is a comprehensive local SEO tool for GBP. The easy-to-use platform helps you focus on optimizing the GMB profiles, ensuring that your business’s information is accurate and complete.
Localo provides insights and recommendations for enhancing local listings, like managing customer reviews, optimizing business descriptions, and analyzing local search performance. This helps boost online visibility and attract more customers.
Cost: Localo offers a free trial. The paid plan starts at INR 2390/month.
35. Semrush Local
Businesses that rank higher get more clicks, views, and site visits; this is exactly where Semrush Local helps.
Semrush Local is a comprehensive tool designed to enhance your local SEO efforts. This powerful feature helps businesses manage their local listings across various directories, ensuring consistent and accurate information.
The tool lists and manages business information in the top 150+ directories, centralizes review monitoring and gives a 360-degree view of where you stand in Google Maps.
Cost: Semrush Local costs $20/month.
Best SEO tools from Google
Google offer a suite of powerful tools designed to help businesses, marketers, and web developers optimize their online presence, analyze performance, and make data-driven decisions. Here are some of the best tools from Google that can significantly enhance your digital strategy.
36. Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool by Google that helps to monitor and maintain the website’s presence in Google Search Results.
With features like performance reports, URL inspection, and mobile usability analysis, Google Search Console enables you to identify and fix issues that may affect your search rankings.
Cost: Free to use
37. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a comprehensive web analytics tool that provides various analytical tools to track and report website traffic. It offers detailed insights into user behavior, traffic sources, and conversation rates, which can in turn, help you make informed decisions to improve the overall ROI.
By integrating Google Analytics with other Google tools like Google Search Console, Google Ads, etc., you can get a holistic view of your digital marketing performance.
Cost: Free to use
38. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is another powerful tool used by advertisers to find the right keywords for the campaign. Though it is a PPC tool, it is often used for SEO because it provides great keyword suggestions directly from Google. The tool uses Google Autocomplete to generate various long-tail keywords for any topic.
Google Keyword Planner offers crucial data like exact monthly search volume, historical search volumes from up to 2014, mobile search volume, keyword ideas based on your seed keyword, and more.
Cost: Google Keyword Planner is free to use.
39. Google Trends
If you are looking to find what’s trending on the internet, there’s no better tool than Google Trends.
Google Trends can help you find trending keywords and analyze the popularity of search queries over time. It helps to compare the relative volume of different keywords and also discover emerging trends.
The tool can help you stay ahead of the curve by finding keywords to create content that matches the current interests and demands of the audience.
Cost: Google Trends is free to use.
40. Google PageSpeed Insights
Google PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is a free tool that helps to analyze the performance of your web page on both mobile and desktop.
It helps to assess the page speed and user experience and provides a score between 0 and 100 (also known as Core Web Vitals), along with actionable recommendations to improve the load time and performance. Implementing the suggestions can enhance user satisfaction and boost your SERP rankings.
Cost: Google PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is free to use.
41. Google Data Studio
Google Data Studio is a powerful web-based data visualization tool that helps to build interactive, customizable, and easy-to-understand reports.
The tool integrates with various data sources like Google Analytics, Google Sheets, Google Ads, and more to visualize data in a meaningful way. It can help visualize trends, compare performance over time, and do a lot more things. The tool also allows you to share the insights with the team and other decision-makers, thereby improving the decision-making process.
42. Google My Business
If you run a business in a particular location or target customers in a specific area, Google My Business can help people find you easily.
Google My Business (GMB) is a tool that helps businesses manage their online presence across Google. It lets you manage how your local business shows up on Google Maps, Google Search, and more, which helps businesses stand out when customers search online.
The tools provide accurate and up-to-date information to potential customers, respond to reviews, and post updates. In short, the platform helps to improve the visibility of local searches.
Cost: Free to use.
43. Google Tag Manager
Google Tag Manager helps to simplify the process of managing and deploying the marketing tags on your website. It enables you to add and update tags without modifying the site’s code, reducing the reliance on developers.
Google Tag Manager can easily integrate with other tools like Google Ads, Google Analytics, and more, and allows you to track any kind of behavior like link clicks, button clicks, form submissions, conversions, etc.
Cost: Free to use.
44. Google Ads
Google Ads (previously known as Google AdWords) is an advertising platform by Google that lets businesses create and manage paid search campaigns. You can use Google ads to promote your business, raise awareness about your product or service, and increase traffic to your website.
Google Ads provides robust targeting options, detailed metrics, and integration with other Google tools, which helps to reach the right target audience and achieve marketing goals.
Cost: Pay-per-click (PPC) model
45. Google Lighthouse
Google Lighthouse is a free, open-source tool that helps to audit the performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices of web pages. It generates detailed reports with actionable insights to improve the quality of your web pages.
Google Lighthouse can prove to be a great tool for developers and SEO professionals looking to learn more about the website’s performance and take steps to optimize it for better search engine rankings.
Cost: Pay-per-click (PPC) model
Best Link Building Tools
Link building is the most important component of any successful SEO strategy. Getting good hyperlinks from other websites can help you improve your website’s visibility and drive more traffic. Here are a few link-building tools that can help you streamline this process:
46. Ahrefs Backlink Checker
Ahrefs is one of the most popular comprehensive SEO tools in the market, and it is best known for its backlink analysis capabilities.
The powerful Ahrefs Backlink Checker helps to see the domain and page-level metrics, monitor the growth and decline of backlink profiles, get a breakdown of the target’s backlink profile, check most linked-to pages, and more.
The in-depth link analysis features include backlink anchor text, check follow and no-follow links, disavow link spam, export to PDF and CSV, and inbuilt features in the report.
Cost: Ahrefs Backlink Checker is free to use but offers limited features. The paid plan starts at just $129/month.
47. Majestic
Majestic is a dedicated link-building tool that is all about backlinks. It has the largest link database in the world.
Majestic offers many unique features you won’t find in any other SEO tool. Its proprietary metrics like Trust Flow, Citation Flow, and Topical Trust help to assess the quality of backlinks.
Cost: Majestic paid plan starts at $49.99/month.
48. Semrush Link Building Tool
Known as an all-in-one SEO tool, Semrush offers a link-building tool that can help you find link-building opportunities by analyzing your competitors’ backlink profiles.
The powerful tool helps enhance the backlink strategy and build links that can help improve the domain rating and SEO of your website. It helps to find the best fit for outreach, track the progress, and monitor the results.
Cost: Semrush offers a few free tools. The paid plan starts at just $139.95/month.
49. BuzzStream
BuzzStream is another well-known tool designed to help you build relationships with influencers and manage link-building projects.
The tool is ideal for managing large-scale outreach campaigns and helps to find contact information, send personalized emails, and track the progress of the outreach efforts.
Cost: Buzzstream’s paid plan starts at $24/month.
50. Monitor Backlinks
Looking to track backlink changes over time? Monitor backlinks can help!
The tool is designed to help you track backlink profiles and monitor the competitors’ backlinks. It generates alerts for new and lost backlinks, which helps you to stay ahead. Also, the tool generates a detailed report and insights that can help you optimize your SEO strategy.
Cost: Monitor Backlinks offers a 14-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $19/month.
Best Rank Tracking Tools
Rank tracking tools help SEO professionals or digital marketers who are looking to monitor the website’s performance on SERPs. Here are a few rank-tracking tools that you can try out:
51. SERPWatcher
SERPWatcher by Mangools is an advanced rank-tracking tool that can help you track where you rank on Google for specific keywords. The tool provides in-depth insights and has a user-friendly interface.
SERPWatcher lets you see ranking on a day-to-day basis, track rank in multiple locations, and share an interactive report that can keep you updated.
Cost: SERPWatcher offers a free trial. The paid plan starts at $14.95/month.
52. ProRankTracker
ProRankTracker is a comprehensive and powerful SEO tool that helps you with rank tracking. Known for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features, ProRankTracker is a top choice for SEO professionals.
ProRankTracker helps with daily position tracking, competitor analysis, and detailed reporting. Also, it supports tracking across multiple search engines and locations.
Cost: ProRankTracker offers a free trial. The paid plan starts at $49/month.
53. AccuRanker
AccuRanker is one of the most popular rank trackers, best known for its speed and accuracy. It offers instant on-demand updates that help you get better control of your SEO strategy.
AccuRanker also gives you a brief idea about which SERP features are driving traffic to your website so that you can modify the strategy accordingly. The tool also provides customizable and automated reports, making it a great option for businesses of all sizes.
Cost: AccuRanker offers a 14-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $129/month.
54. Rank Ranger
Rank Ranger is an all-in-one SEO tool that offers a robust rank tracking tool. It lets you track, tag, and evaluate your website’s SERP performance.
Rank Ranger allows you to track rank on both mobile and desktop, on any search engine, and for any location. Also, it lets you do the same for your competitors, for you to understand where you stand.
Cost: Custom pricing based on needs.
55. AuthorityLabs
AuthorityLabs is a straightforward rank-tracking tool that offers daily updates and accurate rank tracking. It automates local and mobile rank tracking using daily reporting.
AuthorityLabs also offers a white-label option, making it suitable for agencies that need to provide branded reports to clients.
Cost: AuthorityLabs offers a 14-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $49/month.
Other SEO Tools
Apart from the above-listed best SEO tools, here are some notable tools that can help you improve your website’s SEO and overall performance.
56. Answer The People
Looking to create content that your audience is exactly interested in? Answer The People by Writesonic can help.
The advanced tool helps you find the most searched topics and questions relevant to your audience instantly. It gives a comprehensive analysis including the keyword volume, CPC, keyword difficulty, search trends, and more.
Cost: Included in Writesonic’s plan. Writesonic offers a free trial, with a paid plan starting at just $16/month.
SEO PowerSuite is an all-in-one SEO tool that covers everything from keyword research to rank tracking tools. It includes Rank Tracker, WebSite Auditor, LinkAssistant, and SEO SpyGlass.
Cost: SEO PowerSuite offers a free plan. The paid plan starts at $299/year.
58. SpyFu
Looking to outsmart your competitors? Try SpyFu! The advanced competitive research tool provides insights into competitors’ SEO and PPC strategies and provides you with a robust set of tools to gain a competitive edge.
Cost: SpyFu’s paid plan starts at $39/month.
59. MarketMuse
MarketMuse is a content optimization tool that leverages the power of AI to analyze and improve content. From content quality to keyword usage, it provides insights that can help create high-quality content faster.
Cost: MarketMuse offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $99/year.
60. Topic Cluster Generator
The key to creating a killer content strategy is to identify the top-ranking keyword clusters. And this is where Writesonic’s Topic Cluster Generator can help!
The advanced tool helps to come up with high-quality and relevant pillar page topics along with the sub-topics that you can create content on.
Cost: Included in Writesonic’s plan. Writesonic offers a free trial, with a paid plan starting at just $16/month.
Get your hands on an all-in-one SEO tool – Writesonic
Woosh! That was a long list of the best SEO tools.
While there are numerous best SEO tools available, each search is for specific purposes, and Writesonic stands out as an all-in-one SEO solution.
From content generation to SEO optimization, the powerful tool can prove to be a great add-on to your SEO toolkit. Its user-friendly interface, coupled with advanced AI capabilities, makes it accessible for beginners while offering the depth that professionals are looking for.
By choosing Writesonic, you not only invest in a tool – you get a versatile partner that can help you automate the entire content creation and optimization process.
Whether you’re a small business owner, a marketing professional, or an SEO expert, Writesonic has the features to streamline your workflow, enhance your online visibility, and drive meaningful results.
Do you subconsciously equate the value of SEO tools with their price tags? You might think, “The more expensive the tool is, the better the results are.”
But expensive ≠ better.
Remember, high price tags don’t necessarily guarantee stellar results, and low-cost tools aren’t all about compromises.
There are various top-of-the-line, feature-rich, affordable SEO tools delivering results at par (or even better than them!) It’s all about finding a balance between affordability and efficiency.
This blog post covers the 10 best affordable SEO tools that deliver top-notch results without burning a hole in the pocket. Let’s get started!
10 Best Affordable SEO Tools in 2024
Tool Name
Unique Features
Pricing
Writesonic
AI-powered content creation and comprehensive SEO toolkit
Free plan available. Paid plan starts at $12/month.
Semrush
Keyword research, competitor analysis, and site audit
Semrush offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $139.95/month.
Ahrefs
Backlink analysis, content explorer, rank tracker
Free tools available. The paid plan starts at just $129/month.
Screaming Frog
Technical SEO audits
Screaming Frog is free to crawl up to 500 URLs. For access and advanced features, you can go for a paid plan starting at just £199.00/year.
KWFinder
Long-tail keyword research
Free trial available. The paid plan starts at $24.50/month.
Ubersuggest
Keyword ideas, content ideas
Ubersuggest offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at just $12/month.
Google Search Console
Performance reports, indexing status, mobile usability
Completely free to use.
Answer The Public
Question-based keyword research, visual data
Answer The Public offers a 7-day trial. The paid plan starts at $5/month.
Serpstat
Keyword research, competitor analysis, site audit
Serpstat offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $59/month.
SpyFu
Competitor keyword research, backlink outreach
SpyFu paid plan starts at $39/month.
1. Writesonic
Best suited for: Content marketers, SEO professionals, and businesses looking to boost their online presence.
About the tool:
Writesonic is an all-in-one content creation tool and optimization tool designed specifically for marketers, agencies, and enterprises. From creating high-quality content to optimizing it to rank on the top of SERPs, Writesonic can help you with all.
Writesonic leverages advanced AI models to create high-quality and contextually relevant content across diverse areas. Its robust features include a user-friendly interface, an extensive template library, and integration capabilities with other marketing tools.
Have a look at the SEO tools offered by Writesonic:
The advanced tool can help you come up with factually accurate, high-quality, and SEO-optimized articles aligned with your brand voice in seconds.
How to use: Say you want to write a blog post on “AI writing tools.” Simply add this topic, select keywords, and the AI Article Writer will create a comprehensive, SEO-friendly article that covers all the essential aspects, complete with headings, subheadings, and relevant information.
Use case: Perfect for crafting various forms of blog posts and articles like how-tos, listicles, and more that can rank well on search engines.
Build a killer content strategy using Writesonic’s Topic Cluster Generator. The tool can help you find pillar page topics and sub-topics that you can create content on.
How to use: Go to Writesonic’s Topic Clusters and add the primary keyword in the input section. Let’s say you add ‘AI writing tools,’ the tool will provide a list of sub-topics like ‘best free AI writing tools,’ ‘SEO AI writing tools,’ and more to choose from.
Use case: Ideal for creating a content calendar and ensuring that you cover all the aspects of the topic to boost your topical authority.
Sounds like having a brainstorming session with an SEO expert, right?
Stay ahead of your competitors with Writesonic’s Content Gap Analyzer tool. The powerful tool can help you find the content opportunities your competitors are capitalizing on, and you’re missing out on.
How to use: Simply go to Writesonic’s Content Gap Analyzer, add the content, file, or link that you want to analyze, and hit the ‘Next’ button. Then, add the keywords you would like to rank for, select the top 4 competitors, and hit ‘Start Analysis.’ And ta-da! There you go!
Use case: Content Gap Analyzer is great for finding new content ideas and ensuring you don’t miss out on any important keywords.
Ensure that your content is fully SEO-optimized before you hit the publish button with Writesonic’s On-Page SEO Checker. Get real-time SEO insights and improve your content accordingly to make it rank higher on SERPs.
How to use: Go to Writesonic’s On-Page SEO Checker and add the content you want to optimize. Then, add the details and hit ‘Start Analysis.’ The tool will come up with a content score and a few recommendations on how to improve your content. You can also use the ‘Improve SEO’ feature to quickly optimize your content.
Use case: Use this tool to fine-tune your content (blog posts, articles, landing pages, and more) for better search engine rankings and to ensure you’re following SEO best practices.
Discover the questions your audience is asking about your topic. Writesonic’s Answer The People tool helps you create content that directly addresses user queries, improving your chances of appearing in featured snippets and voice search results.
How to use: Simply go to Writesonic’s Answer The People tool, add the topic, and hit ‘Get Suggestions,’ and there you go. The tool will come up with comprehensive data related to your question/topic.
Use case: The tool can help you come up with FAQs section, blog post ideas, and long-tail keywords that your audience is interested in.
Generate question-based keywords related to your topic, address user queries, and improve your chances of appearing in the featured snippets.
Writesonic offers a free plan where you get 25 free credits. The paid plan starts at just $12/month.
2. Semrush
Best suited for: SEO professionals, digital marketers, and businesses.
About the tool:
Semrush is the powerhouse when it comes to SEO and digital marketing. From keyword research and on-page optimization to competitor analysis and site audit, the comprehensive SEO tool offers a wide range of features.
Semrush is a go-to tool for anyone looking to improve their online presence and drive traffic to their website. While some of its features are limited to paid plans and are on the pricier side of our “affordable” list, its robust capabilities make it worth considering for serious SEO enthusiasts.
Pros:
All-in-one SEO and content creation tool.
Huge database of keywords and backlinks.
Offers user-friendly interface.
Excellent competitor analysis feature.
Cons:
Can be a bit overwhelming for beginners.
Data covers only Google and not other search engines.
Why go for it:
Semrush is a powerhouse in the SEO world, and its free tier offers significant value. While the paid plans can be pricey, the features available in the free version make it a must-try for anyone serious about SEO.
Ratings:
G2: 4.5/5
Capterra: 4.7/5
Pricing:
Semrush offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $139.95/month.
Now let’s move on to the next affordable gem of SEO tools…
3. Ahrefs
Best suited for: SEO professionals, digital marketers, and businesses looking for an all-in-one SEO toolkit.
About the tool:
Ahrefs is a comprehensive (and often pricey) SEO suite known for its powerful backlink analysis tools, but it also offers excellent keyword research and content exploration features. It’s a favorite among SEO professionals for its depth of data and user-friendly interface.
Ahrefs also offers a free version called Ahrefs Webmaster Tools. This tool is a godsend for those looking to dive into backlink analysis and site audits without spending a dime.
Pros:
All-in-one SEO and content creation tool.
Offers one of the largest backlink databases.
Extensive keyword data across various search engines.
Cons:
High learning curve.
No integration with Google Analytics or Search Console.
Can be a bit pricy for individuals and small businesses.
Why go for it:
While it doesn’t offer the full power of the paid Ahrefs suite, the Webmaster Tools version is an excellent starting point for those on a tight budget. It’s particularly useful for understanding your backlink profile and identifying potential SEO issues on your site.
Ratings:
G2: 4.5/5
Capterra: 4.7/5
Pricing:
Ahrefs offers Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, where you get free limited access to a few features. The paid plan starts at just $129/month.
4. Screaming Frog
Best suited for: SEO specialists, website owners, and marketers looking for a powerful SEO tool for technical website audits.
About the tool:
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a must-have tool for technical SEO audits.
The powerful desktop-based website crawler helps to crawl websites efficiently and analyze results in real time. It can quickly find broken links, audit redirects, analyze page titles and meta titles, discover duplicate content, and do much more.
Screaming Frog offers a free version that allows users to crawl up to 500 URLs, making it an excellent option for small websites or those just starting with technical SEO.
Pros:
Extremely detailed technical SEO analysis.
Generates detailed reports that can help make necessary changes.
Highly customizable and can suit the specific needs of users.
Cons:
Steep learning curve.
Limited features as compared to other tools.
Why go for it:
While it can be a bit overwhelming for new users, Screaming Frog is a great tool for technical SEO audits. Moreover, the free version offers significant value, making it a must-have for any SEO toolkit.
Ratings:
G2: 4.7/5
Capterra: 4.9/5
Pricing:
Screaming Frog is free to crawl up to 500 URLs. For access and advanced features, you can go for a paid plan starting at just £199.00/year.
5. KWFinder
Best suited for: Content creators, SEO specialists, and marketers looking for an easy-to-use long-tail keyword research tool.
About the tool:
KWFinder by Mangools is a powerful tool designed to help users find long-tail keywords with low competition.
KWFinder is an excellent tool for those looking to target niche markets or find untapped keyword opportunities to improve their rankings without getting overwhelmed by the complex data.
Pros:
Excellent for finding long-tail and low-competition keywords.
Offers an easy-to-use interface.
Provide accurate search volume and historical data.
Cons:
Offers limited features.
Keyword data is not as comprehensive as compared to other tools.
Why go for it:
KWFinder is an excellent choice for people looking to simplify their keyword research process. The easy-to-use interface makes it an ideal tool for beginners and small businesses. If you are looking for long-tail keywords with low competition without investing much, you can go for a free trial.
Ratings:
G2: 4.4/5
Capterra: 4.7/5
Pricing:
KWFinder offers a free version where you get 5 lookups per 24 hours, with 15 related and 5 competitors keywords. The paid plan starts at $24.50/month.
6. Ubersuggest
Best suited for: Content creators, SEO specialists, and marketers looking for an affordable keyword research tool.
About the tool:
Ubersuggest is a tool developed by Neil Patel to simplify the keyword research process. Known for its simplicity and affordability, Ubersuggest offers a wide range of tools, including keyword suggestions, content ideas, and site audits.
Ubersuggest offers a free version with limited features, making it easier for anyone to start their SEO journey.
Pros:
Intuitive and user-friendly interface.
Very affordable and generous plans.
Provides actionable keyword insights.
Cons:
Offers limited features as compared to other tools.
Very basic features, not suitable for advanced users.
Why go for it:
Ubersuggest is an excellent choice for those looking for a keyword research tool with a limited budget. It’s a straightforward approach to keyword research and SEO insights making it a go-to tool for beginners looking to optimize their website without getting overwhelmed.
Ratings:
G2: 4.2/5
Capterra: 4.4/5
Pricing:
Ubersuggest offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at just $12/month.
7. Google Search Console
Best suited for: Website owners, SEO experts, and businesses looking to get insights from Google about their website’s performance.
About the tool:
Google Search Console is a free tool offered by Google that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s presence in Google Search results.
It helps to understand how Google views your website and improve the website’s SEO performance.
Pros:
Provides data directly from Google about the website’s search performance.
Offers insights about indexing issues, mobile usability, etc.
Helps to quickly identify and fix issues affecting the rankings.
Cons:
Limited to Google search results only.
Can be overwhelming at the start because of the amount of data.
Why go for it:
GSC is one of the most important tools for anyone looking to improve their website’s SEO. It provides data from Google helping you quickly understand how your website performs in search results and identify areas of improvement.
Ratings:
G2: 4.7/5
Capterra: 4.8/5
Pricing:
Google Search Console is completely free to use.
8. Answer The Public
Best suited for: Content creators, SEO experts, marketers, and businesses looking to understand what users are searching for and generate content ideas.
About the tool:
Answer The Public is a search listening tool that helps to get insights into what people are searching for. It’s an excellent tool for content ideation and understanding user intent.
Answer The Public tool presents the data in a visually appealing format, making it extremely easy to identify the search trends and patterns in behavior.
Pros:
Comprehensive keyword discovery and question generation.
Visually appealing data presentation.
Helps to identify content gaps and opportunities.
Cons:
Focuses solely on question-based queries.
Limited searches on the free plan.
Why go for it:
Answer The Public is a fantastic tool to understand what your audience is asking. While it’s not a comprehensive SEO tool, it can prove to be an invaluable tool for content planning and addressing user intent in your SEO strategy.
Ratings:
G2: 4.5/5
Capterra: 4.6/5
Pricing:
Answer The Public offers a 7-day trial. The paid plan starts at $5/month.
9. Serpstat
Best suited for: SEO experts, marketers, and businesses looking for an affordable all-in-one SEO toolkit.
About the tool:
Serpstat is a growing player in the SEO market, offering a comprehensive suite of tools like keyword research, content generation, competitor analysis, and site auditing. It helps to optimize websites, improve rankings, and gain insights into competitors’ strategies.
Serpstat is a great tool known for its affordable pricing and user-friendly interface.
Pros:
Comprehensive SEO toolkit.
User-friendly interface with a clean design.
Regular updates and improvements in the tool.
Cons:
Database is not as extensive as other tools.
Some features might require a learning curve, making it hard for beginners.
Why go for it:
Serpstat is an excellent choice for people looking for a comprehensive SEO tool at a cheaper price. The wide range of features makes it a great tool for optimizing websites and climbing SERPs.
Ratings:
G2: 4.6/5
Capterra: 4.7/5
Pricing:
Serpstat offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plan starts at $59/month.
10. SpyFu
Best suited for: Digital marketers, SEO professionals, and businesses looking to gain competitive insights and improve marketing strategies.
SpyFu is a competitor research and keyword analysis tool that helps users see the competitors’ most profitable keywords and ads. It’s a great tool for those looking to gain an edge in your niche.
SpyFu provides comprehensive data on competitors’ keywords, ad copy, and search rankings, helping users uncover valuable insights and opportunities.
Pros:
Excellent competitors’ analysis features.
Helps with both PPC and SEO.
User-friendly interface with intuitive data visualization.
Cons:
Focus on competitor analysis means less comprehensive general SEO features.
U.S.-centric data may be less useful for international markets.
Why go for it:
SpyFu is a great choice for marketers and businesses looking to gain a competitive edge in their marketing efforts. Its focus on actionable insights and competitor analysis makes it a valuable tool for those who are looking to outsmart competitors without breaking the bank.
Ratings:
G2: 4.6/5
Capterra: 4.5/5
Pricing:
SpyFu paid plan starts at $39/month.
Expensive vs. Cheap SEO tools: What’s the real difference?
Now that we’ve explored some affordable SEO tools, you might be wondering: “What am I missing out on by not investing in the most expensive tools?” Let’s break it down:
Features
Expensive Tools
Affordable Tools
Data comprehensiveness
Often offer more comprehensive data.
May have smaller databases but are often sufficient for most small to medium-sized businesses.
Update frequency
Typically offers real-time or very frequent data updates.
It may update less frequently but still provide valuable, actionable data.
Advanced features
Often include AI-powered insights, predictive analytics, and advanced reporting.
Focus on core SEO functionalities that cover most users’ needs.
Customer support
Usually offers dedicated account managers and 24/7 support.
May have limited support options but often compensate with robust community forums and knowledge bases.
Integration capabilities
Often offer extensive API access and integrate with a wide range of other tools.
It may have limited integrations but usually covers the most essential connections.
Scalability
Designed to handle enterprise-level data and user loads.
Perfect for individuals and SMBs, but may struggle with very large websites or agencies managing multiple high-traffic clients.
The bottom line? Expensive doesn’t always mean better.
While expensive tools might offer some advantages, affordable SEO tools have come a long way. For most businesses, they offer the perfect balance of functionality and value.
The key is to choose tools that align with your specific needs and budget.
Common pitfalls to avoid when selecting affordable SEO tools
Here are a few things you should not be ignoring when selecting an affordable SEO tool:
Overlooking hidden costs: There are a few tools that charge additional fees for extra features or increased usage. Make sure to check it beforehand.
Falling for ‘too good to be true’ options: If a tool promises instant results, double-check! SEO is a long-term game.
Ignoring user reviews: Always check what other users have to say about the tool’s reliability. It should play an important role when finalizing the tool.
Check out the free tools: Don’t forget about powerful free tools like Writesonic, Google Search Console, and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools. They are gems!
Forgetting about scalability: Consider whether the tool can grow with your business. Sometimes, investing a bit more upfront can save money in the long run.
Underestimating the learning curve: Some affordable tools might require more manual work or have a steeper learning curve. Factor in the time investment needed.
Invest in the best and most affordable SEO tool – Writesonic
And, there you go!
There are plenty of affordable SEO tools that can help you level up your digital marketing efforts without burning a hole in your pocket. From Writesonic to Google Search Console, there are tools out there for each use case.
Remember, SEO success isn’t about having the most expensive software in your toolkit but about using it effectively.
If you are looking for SEO tools at cheap price, there’s no better option than Writesonic. By combining these affordable SEO software and smart SEO strategies, you can compete with the big players and climb the SERP rankings quickly.
The global marketing automation market size is expected to reach USD 13.71 billion by 2030. Impressive, right?
However, when talking about marketing automation, you cannot sideline the power of content automation.
Automating your content saves time and enhances efficiency, helping you to focus on what truly matters, like growing your business or engaging with your audience.
But here’s the million-dollar question: How do you leverage this booming trend to elevate your content strategy for 2024? What essential steps should you be taking, and which tools can help you gain an edge?
Well, this blog covers everything you need to know about content automation strategy. Let’s get started.
What is content automation?
Content automation refers to leveraging technology to perform various content-related tasks that would otherwise require manual intervention. It involves various processes like content creation, distribution, and management.
Content automation is important because of its ability to enhance efficiency, reduce errors, and streamline workflows. By automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, content teams can save time and boost productivity.
In short, content automation isn’t to replace human writers or marketers but to 10x their efficiency. The process helps businesses publish high-quality and personalized content at scale while the content team focuses on more strategic tasks that require a human touch.
To sum up, content automation is all about working smarter, not harder.
How can businesses benefit from content automation?
Content automation offers a wide range of advantages to businesses. Here’s a look at some of the most impactful benefits:
Improves efficiency: By automating repetitive tasks like researching, drafting, and more, content automation can help businesses improve overall efficiency.
Streamlines workflow: Content automation software can help manage and schedule tasks while reducing human errors and ensuring the process is streamlined.
Consistency: With content automation, you can maintain a consistent tone across all the pieces of content, which is crucial for brand identity and building trust.
Performance analysis: Content automation tools offer a comprehensive analysis of how the audience engages with content, helping businesses make necessary changes.
Cost saving: By reducing manual work, content automation helps businesses reduce operating costs, which in turn leads to improved efficiency and higher profit.
Steps to Implement a Content Automation Strategy
Implementing a content automation strategy can be a transformative decision for your business. Here are the key steps to guide you through the process:
1. Define clear objectives and KPIs: Start by identifying content goals, whether it’s increasing brand awareness, boosting engagement, or driving more conversions and sales. Set proper KPIs and measure the success of your content efforts.
2. Develop a content strategy: Build a compelling content strategy as per your target audience and business goals. It should include all types of content, channels of distribution, post frequency, and more.
3. Select the right tools: Based on your objectives and strategy, check out and choose the best automation tools to meet your specific needs. This could include tools for content creation, scheduling, distribution, SEO, and analysis.
4. Ensure data accuracy & quality: High-quality content is the foundation of all the automated content processes. Make sure to get the correct data to make the most of your automation tools.
5. Monitor performance: Track your content’s performance based on the KPIs you’ve set. Automated analytics tools can provide valuable insights into viewer engagement, content reach, and conversion rates.
6. Iterate and optimize: Finally, use the performance data to refine and improve your content strategy continuously. Regularly review your KPIs, adjust your content based on feedback, and keep optimizing for better results.
By following these steps, you can implement a successful content automation strategy that drives efficiency, enhances content quality, and contributes significantly to your business goals in 2024.
How to automate the content marketing process?
From brainstorming and idea generation to content creation and distribution, every aspect can be easily automated. Let’s break down the process.
Keyword Research
Every successful content strategy starts with Keyword Research.
Keyword research is about finding the right words or phrases that your target audience uses when searching for your products or services online. By identifying and selecting the right keywords, you can create targeted content and gain an edge.
The traditional process involves brainstorming possible search queries, running them through different tools, understanding the search intent behind those queries, and finally analyzing the competition. This manual process consumes a lot of time and resources.
However, content automation tools have made this process faster and easier. Here’s how you can automate the keyword research process.
Let’s say you run an online store that sells eco-friendly home products.
Identify the broader topics that align with your business, such as ‘eco-friendly products,’ ‘sustainable living,’ etc.
Select any of these topics that you want to rank for, let’s say, ‘eco-friendly products’, add it to Writesonic’s Keyword Research tool, and hit ‘Identify Keywords.’
The tool will provide comprehensive data, including keyword difficulty, search volume, and traffic potential, to help you make an informed decision.
Finally, you can create a list of relevant keywords for which you would like to create content.
This quick, precise, and streamlined approach can help you make sure that your content is always aligned with what your audience is looking for.
Also, if you are looking to discover the most searched topics or questions relevant to your audience, here’s another interesting tool that you can check out – Answer The People.
Simply add the topic and hit ‘Get Suggestions,’ and there you go.
The tool offers comprehensive data, including search volume, CPC, search difficulty, search trends, questions, comparison, and a lot more related to your topic/question.
Now that we are done with keyword research let’s move on to the next step.
Idea generation or topic clustering
Once your keywords are in place, next comes ‘Idea Generation and Topic Clustering.’
First, let’s talk about generating content ideas that can keep the audience hooked.
Finding content ideas involves intensive brainstorming sessions, extensive research, competitor analysis, checking past data, and more. The entire process is time-consuming and labor-intensive.
But what if you can automate this entire process and generate ideas in seconds? With Writesonic’s Free AI content idea generator, you can.
Simply add the niche and topic of interest and hit ‘Generate’ and there you go.
The tool generates multiple content ideas that you can choose from.
2 hours of work in merely 2 seconds. Interesting, right?
When going with the manual process, topic clustering involves identifying ‘pillar’ topics, brainstorming narrow ‘cluster’ topics that fall under each pillar theme, and then linking these clusters back to the pillar page.
Immense organization and planning, isn’t it?
Now, let’s automate this process.
Go to Writesonic’s Topic Clusters add the keyword, let’s say ‘AI writing tools,’ and hit ‘Create Clusters.’
And there you go! The tool generates sub-topics that you can create content on, and link back to the pillar pages.
Also, here’s the best part: Simply, click on ‘Write’ to generate an article on the particular topic or keyword.
Add a title and select the keywords you want to target. And ta-da! The tool generates a high-quality and engaging article in seconds.
Amazing, right? With Writesonic, you can easily automate idea generation and topic clustering and save time.
Next comes the most important step: Content Generation
Creating high-quality and unique content is the most crucial part that often consumes a lot of time and resources. After all, crafting social media content, blog posts, email copy, product descriptions, and more, requires a blend of creativity, domain knowledge, and a deep understanding of the target audience.
But what if there was a way to automate this process as well?
Well, there is! With Writesonic you can significantly cut down time and come up with well-written, high-quality content in a fraction of a second.
Looking to generate an article? Try Article Writer 6.0!
Simply, go to Writesonic’s dashboard and select Article Writer.
Then, add all the details like topic, references, keywords, and more related to the article you would like to create and hit the ‘Generate’ button.
The Article Writer will quickly come up with a factually accurate, high-quality, and SEO-optimized article aligned with your brand voice in seconds.
Simple, right?
Give it a try and create an article that can rank well and drive organic traffic to your website.
So, article generation is easy with Writesonic, but what about other forms of content?
Well, Writesonic offers 100+ content templates that can help you automate the content creation process. From landing pages and social media content to email copy and product description, Writesonic has got you covered.
Go to Sonic Editor (just like Notion AI) and start creating content.
Let’s say you are launching a new feature and you want to create a product update email. Just click on the ‘Product Update Email’ option.
Add all the details and hit the ‘Generate’ button.
And ta-da! There you go. The tool generates a well-crafted email copy that you can edit if needed and use.
Saves tons of hours, isn’t it? Try out these 100+ AI templates and level up your content generation process.
Creating content isn’t just writing but also refining and polishing it to ensure clarity and accuracy. And here comes: editing and proofreading.
However, manually going through each and every sentence, checking the grammatical errors, correcting punctuations, and refining sentences take a lot of time.
But no worries! Even this process can be automated easily. First, let’s talk about the easiest way to edit your content.
Go to Chatsonic – an advanced AI chatbot, and ask it to edit your piece of content.
And voila! There you go!
Now let’s say you want to rewrite sentences. Simply, go to Sentence rewriter (and it’s a free tool!🤫), add the sentences you want to rewrite and tone of voice, and hit the ‘Generate’ button. Watch how quickly the tool rewrites sentences.
Similarly, you can use the paraphrasing tool to rewrite anything, from a full-fledged article to paragraphs.
Now, to make sure your content is error-free, you can try Writesonic’s free Grammar Checker. Also, use a plagiarism checker to ensure that the content is 100% unique.
No more tedious and time-consuming methods. Writesonic’s AI tools can help you improve the quality of content while saving time.
Content optimization
Once your content is polished to perfection, the next step comes: Content optimization.
After all, there is no point in a well-crafted piece if it does not get the visibility it deserves. To make sure your content ranks well on the search engine page results, you need to optimize it by incorporating proper keywords, crafting meta descriptions, adding title tags, structuring URLs, and much more.
Such a time-consuming process. But here’s an easier way: On-Page SEO Checker.
Writesonic’s On-Page SEO Checker helps you optimize the content piece strategically so that it can rank well on SERPs. Here’s how to use it:
Go to Writesonic’s On-Page SEO Checker and add the content piece you want to optimize. Then, add the details and hit ‘Start Analysis.’
And, there you go! The tool will provide you a ‘Content SEO Score’ and you can manually make the improvements that are suggested.
If you are looking to automate even this process, click on ‘Improve SEO’ and ta-da; the tool will optimize the entire piece of content for you in seconds.
Now that your content is well-optimized, it’s time for Content Distribution.
Content distribution is the process of getting your content to as many people as possible across various platforms.
However, manually tailoring, scheduling, and posting content on multiple platforms is a very tedious process. From adapting to each platform’s specific requirements to peak activity times, it can consume a lot of time.
What if you can automate this part as well? With Writesonic, you can.
Now, let’s say you wrote a blog post, and you want to reach the right audience at the right time with the right piece of content. Here, all you have to do is use the ‘Highlights’ feature.
Go to tools and click on ‘Highlights.’
Then, choose the type of supporting copy you need and hit ‘Generate.’
And, there you go!
The tool will generate a copy based on your needs.
You can then use a social media tool to schedule the content for multiple platforms at once.
By using these automatically ‘generate highlights’ options, you maintain consistency in conveying your content’s essence across all platforms.
Content Analysis
Finally comes the last and the most important stage: Content Analysis.
It’s about measuring the performance of your content, understanding what worked and what didn’t, and using those insights to fine-tune your content strategy.
To automate this you can use Writesonic’s integration with Google Search Console. Simply, go to the dashboard and click on ‘Connect your Google Search Console.’
And once you’re done, you can check out the analytics dashboard and keep track.
With Writesonic, you can save a lot of time and resources and 10x your efficiency. What are you waiting for? Sign up and start automating your content creation process.
1. Writesonic: An all-in-one content creation tool that can help you simplify and automate content creation process. From keyword research to content generation, Writesonic can help you with all.
2. ChatGPT: Struggling to find content inspiration? ChatGPT can help! It can help you come up with new content ideas and human-like text, making it a go-to tool for brainstorming ideas.
3. Semrush: If you want to improve your online visibility and content performance, Semrush is the tool for you. From finding keywords to tracking rankings, Semrush can help you automate various content management tasks.
Use cases of content automation
Content automation is transforming various sectors, streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency.
Let’s explore some key use cases:
Ecommerce product descriptions: Content automation tools like Writesonic can help generate thousands of high-quality and SEO-optimized product descriptions in seconds. This can not only help in saving countless hours but also ensure consistency in brand voice.
Social media marketing: From creating and scheduling posts to analyzing the engagement and optimizing strategy, content automation tools can help with all. Moreover, by automating these tasks, you can focus on higher-level strategy.
Email marketing: Transform your email marketing from one-size-fits-all approach to hyper-personalized communication. Be it segmenting audience, writing email copy, keeping a track of analytics, content automation tool can dramatically improve the efficiency.
Automate your content creation process with Writesonic
Now that you know how to automate content marketing tasks and how Writesonic can help, what’s stopping you from leveraging the power of content automation?
From keyword research to creating content, Writesonic is an all-in-one content automation tool that can help you improve your efficiency and productivity.
So why wait? Start automating your content process today!
If you’re running a website or planning to launch one, learning how to write SEO content is non-negotiable for ranking higher in Google search results.
This is because if a search engine can’t find and crawl your content, even the most helpful content will not show up in the top search results, and will not bring organic visitors to your website.
On the other hand, when you create content with SEO in mind, you’re making it easier for search engines to understand and rank your website. This means more people can find your content when they search for topics related to your site.
In this article, we have shared some advanced & highly effective SEO content writing tips you can utilize to boost your website’s visibility and attract more visitors.
What is SEO writing?
So, what is SEO writing?It is the process of writing and structuring content that helps to attain higher rankings in search engines, such as Google, and attract relevant traffic to your website.
Writing SEO-friendly content with target keywords can help search engines like Google understand and index your content. This, in turn, can help you achieve higher rankings in search results and bring in more organic visitors.
Even if you write an in-depth and engaging piece of unoptimized content bound to amaze readers, your post might not reach them without effective SEO strategies. Your content should be such that it provides value to your audience, not just catching the robots’ attention.
In a nutshell, SEO content writing is about creating a balance between satisfying humans and robots.
Why is SEO writing important?
Writing SEO content is important as it helps rank the content higher, increase organic traffic to your website, and reach your target audience.
SEO works as a bridge that helps search engine users reach your content. This is an excellent marketing technique that drives results for your website.
You can use numerous SEO content optimization tools to help you find high-search volume keywords with high click-through rates, improve readability, and identify & correct grammatical errors as well as style inconsistencies to rank your content better.
Tips for creating SEO-Optimized content
Want to know how you can infuse SEO magic into your writing? Let’s dive in and learn some of the best SEO tips that are loved by search engine algorithms.
1. Find Keywords
Finding the right keywords is the first part of your SEO content strategy. Once you know the topic you are writing about, you will need to identify appropriate high-volume search terms.
You can search for the keywords using any keyword research tool. You just need to mention the topic name, and the tool will provide you with various metrics, such as keyword difficulty, search volume, average CTR (click-through rate), and organic traffic potential.
Remember, the less difficult the keyword, the better the chances of ranking. Keyword difficulty ranges from 0 to 100. It is recommended to opt for a keyword on a scale of 0 to 14 as these provide the opportunity to start ranking on Google quickly with the least amount of effort.
The search volume provides insights into how many times users search for a particular keyword per month, which can be an important factor in choosing the primary or secondary keyword.
Writesonic, for example, is a powerful keyword research tool that is remarkably easy to use. You just need to enter the topic name, and it will provide you with the relevant primary and secondary keywords.
2. Keyword Placement
Using keywords strategically in your content can help you attract the right audience and grow your organic traffic. The best part is you can get the relevant keywords as per your blog topic in just a single click without extra effort with Writesonic’s Keyword Research Tool.
Once you have the keywords, the next important thing is their placement. You should always use keywords in your H2 or H3 headings, meta descriptions, the first 100 words of your content, the main body, and the conclusion.
Using keywords thoughtfully and organically improves the chances that your content will appear in the search engine when a user searches for that related term or phrase.
Another crucial thing to remember is that you should prefer using long-tail keywords as they focus on a larger audience. Plus, the competition is also, compared to short-tail keywords.
Also, do not opt for short-tail keywords that are highly competitive. It is because everyone tries to target them due to their high traffic potential. So, your chances of ranking on the search engine decrease.
However, if you have a very high-authority website or have already built brand credibility to a great extent, you might rank on the first page of Google targeting these keywords.
3. Search Intent
For SEO content to do its job, it is important to first understand your user’s search intent. Search intent is the primary objective of a website visitor when typing a query into a search engine.
It tells what the user is trying to achieve through their search, whether they want to make a purchase, look for a particular website, find an answer to a query, etc.
For example, if your customers search for ‘how to assemble a steam iron,’ this means that they are not looking to buy a new product or navigate a particular page. Instead, they are looking for basic information.
Therefore, you can use this knowledge to target this keyword better.
The content you create should satisfy your customers and solve their problems or queries, as search intent is depicted by what type of keywords your prospects are using. Search intent is the major reason why users search for your keywords.
4. Create a blog post outline
Creating the blog post outline and keeping SEO content tipsin mind can be quite stressful, isn’t it? A blog post outline helps organize your ideas before you start writing a blog.
Creating a blog post outline ensures that you do not miss any important points, helps you arrange your thoughts and ideas in a logical sequence, makes it easier to incorporate your targeted keywords effectively, lets you stay focused on the core message, and prevents you from being off-topic.
All these things, incorporated together, set an SEO foundation for your content.
Well, I made my work easy by using the AI article outline generator. All I had to do was write the topic name and primary keyword, and it provided me with the SEO-optimized blog post outline. What else can you ask for?
While creating the outline of your blog, here are a few things that you should keep in mind:
The topic should cover the primary keyword
Next is to select the content format
Decide on the content tone, for, e.g., first person, second person or third person.
Decide the article’s angle and its purpose
Think about your customer’s queries and, as per that, create the sub-headings
Add bullets under subheadings if required
Plan out the best introduction and conclusion
Add a call to action (CTA)
Clear and concise headings and subheadings can help Google better understand the primary topic of longer articles or blog posts.
5. Quality Content
Quality content refers to content that is accurate, reliable, useful, engaging, and relevant to the potential audience. It is basically how well a piece of content achieves its goals. Writing quality content demands a lot of time and effort. But your content must be fact-checked, accurate, valuable and unique to rank high.
If you do not want to spend a lot of time and money on writing long-form blogs or other content, you can use an AI Article Writer.
It will do everything for you, from finding the topic to doing keyword research and even allowing you to select subheadings. I highly recommend this tool; the content writing process is seamless and faster than ever before.
The key to robust SEO content writingisusing relevant, keyword-rich phrases in your headlines as well as throughout your content to let both your readers and the search engines know what your post is about.
Another element that improves your content quality is by inserting visually appealing content. Use images and other attractive visuals to make your content intriguing, which can help with better readability and ranking. You can also create image using any AI image generator, to create images quickly and easily.
Also, ensure that you write clear subheadings, which means that the visitor should, at one glance, understand whether the content is likely to answer their queries. So once you are done writing the content, it is always better to ask yourself-
Is the content accurate and unique
Does it provide value to your audience
Is the content likely to generate meaningful engagement or discussion?
Is the tone of the content appropriate for the platform it will be posted on?
By creating quality content, you will build trust with your audience and establish yourself as an expert in your niche.
6. Long-form content
After watching short reels and films, many people think that shorter blogs are better at gaining the audience’s attention. But you will be amazed to know that it is different when it comes to blogs.
Thus, always aim for scannable and detailed posts that cover everything your users might want to know.
Search engines prefer long-form blogs and rank them better. The reason behind this is that the more content you post, the more clues search engines will have to figure out what the content is about. Although there is no ideal blog length, depending on the topic, it is recommended that the blog length be at least 2000 words.
To make the content engaging, you should break down your content into headings and subheadings, which makes it easy for readers to digest.
Don’t forget to use bullet points to break down information into digestible chunks. I used a paragraph writer to make the content SEO-optimized and presentable, which helped me grab my audience’s attention and make it easy for mobile users to consume the content.
7. Internal linking to helpful resources
If you wish to create SEO content, remember that adding internal and external links is of the utmost importance. Let us understand both individually.
When using external links in your blog, strike a balance between providing valuable & authoritative sources and avoiding linking overload. These high-value external links provide readers with additional information they can read and help search engines understand your website’s authority and credibility.
The best approach is to put facts or data on your website, backed by any influential website. Stats or facts build authority and make your argument more convincing, which helps you gain more trust from your readers.
So, by adding external links to authority sites, you’re making your content more SEO-friendly.
Now, let’s talk about how internal linking is beneficial when writing content for SEO optimization. Linking to other posts on your website helps the search engines create an accurate sitemap. Other than that, it helps to:
Enhance the user experience as it clearly tells the reader that there is additional information on our site to help you understand what you are looking for in detail
Increased time on your website, which helps reduce the bounce rate
Creating a robust internal linking structure enhances user navigation and drives conversion
It also helps your audience know more about your products or services and get to know you as a trustworthy, credible source of information
Remember, you should never force-feed links; instead, include links that organically connect with the subject matter.
8. Optimize content for featured snippets
This is one of the best SEO content writing tips,as it plays an important role in improving your website’s ranking. Wondering, what are featured snippets?
Featured snippets appear at the top of the search engine results page, even before the first-ranking article. They help you gain maximum exposure to your content and let users easily discover what they are seeking.
To get your blog featured, you will have to follow some crucial steps, such as –
Do add a ‘What is’ heading
Fully define the topic
Do not use a first-language person
Do not use your brand name
Write descriptive headers that comprise long-tail and question-like keywords with direct answers under them.
Google chooses featured snippets from content in its index that it thinks best meet users’ search intent for that particular query.
Thus, whenever you write on any topic, ensure you define it well. For example, if it is an ‘SEO Best Practices’ blog, explain what SEO is concisely. Keep in mind that the answer should not exceed 58 words.
According to Search Engine Land, a Featured Snippet gets approximately 8.6% of all clicks. Therefore, by featuring it at the top of the first page, and luckily, if Google picks up the featured snippet from your blog, you can drive more traffic to your website.
9. Leverage social media
When it comes to SEO writing tips, you must recognize the power of social media. Social media plays a major role in content optimization by directing the traffic from social media platforms to your company’s website, where your audience can find more information.
You can use various social media platforms to increase your visibility in web search engines, especially Google Search. However, make sure you select the platform that best suits your target audience and create the post accordingly.
Using these platforms can be quite helpful for businesses as they can reach a wider audience and enable you to find people interested in your products or services. This can also increase brand awareness, which will ultimately help you achieve a better ranking in SERP.
With more eyes on your content, you increase the chances of someone linking to it, and you know backlinks are a huge part of SEO. You can also use Writesonic’s Social Media Content Generator to generate content for different platforms.
To do this, you need to write the objective and select the platform, and it will prepare the post for you within seconds, making your work quick and easy.
This tool will give your customers a personal touch, improving engagement and relationships. This social media content generator can also increase your page’s authority, helping it get higher rankings.
10. Create Optimized Title Tag and Meta Description
Creating optimized title tags and meta descriptions is important for SEO as they show visitors at a glance how relevant that site is for those keywords, helping sites with the right keywords in the right places stand out.
So, let’s first understand what is a title tag and meta description.
A title tag is an HTML code tag that enables you to give a web page a title. You can find this title in the browser title bar and the SERPs. Adding descriptive and concise website’s title tags is important as they improve organic ranking and enable search engines to understand what the page is all about.
On the contrary, the meta description is a short and relevant summary of what a particular page is about. In a short description, it tells visitors what is in there for them.
Keep in mind that every meta description should include the primary keyword. Although it might not affect the SEO directly, it will encourage people to click on your page.
Also, be mindful while writing a meta description that it should provide readers a reason to click your content through the search results. Mention the primary motive behind your blog post and how this information can benefit them.
Furthermore, you should try to use active voice, as it addresses users directly, and action verbs such as read, learn, find out, etc., as they create excitement among users to click and read the article.
11. Add Alt text for images
Adding alt text is an integral part of SEO content strategy. Alt text should be added to the images below because it provides better image descriptions to search engine crawlers, which helps them index and rank the image properly in image searches. It also helps Google understand why that image is in your post.
Another reason to use alt text in the blog is that if the image fails to upload, this written copy can explain the image and help screen-reading tools describe images to visually impaired readers.
Pro tip: Use secondary keywords in image alt-texts to strengthen your SEO optimization.
Your description should align with your blog post and be easy to understand. Also, ensure that the image size is adjusted correctly so all images load and are fully visible.
12. Make your content easy to read
SEO content writing is about improving user experience, which is only possible when your content is simple and reader-friendly. While writing the content, you should ensure your audience can easily understand and relate to your message.
If they find your content full of jargon or difficult to read, they might lose interest and bounce off your page. This might indicate to Google that the content is of poor quality, and your ranking might drop.
Readability is vital as you only have a limited time to capture visitors’ attention. To make your content engaging and digestible, use these few tips:
Keep your sentences short and crisp
State the purpose of the blog in the first two paragraphs and how readers can get the benefit
You can use quotes as they improve the engagement and relevance
The language you use should be simple and clear
Use visuals such as videos, images, graphs, infographics, etc., as it makes your content more attractive and engaging
Highlight the important points by using bullets and numbered lists
Never do keyword-stuffing
Resist over-formatting
Write content for real people as it can immensely improve the reader’s time on the site. You can do this by writing organically and naturally, in a conversational tone.
Bottom Line
To stand out in a crowded digital marketplace, you cannot overlook the importance of optimizing your content with SEO.
Implementing SEO strategies that create high-quality, unique, and informative content and cater to your audience’s needs can help you rank at the top of search engines like Google. This will enhance your online visibility and drive traffic.
Now that you know, SEO content writingis one of the most potent ways that allows you to build authority, increase brand awareness, and gain a competitive advantage over your competitors. What’s next? I mean, how do you make your research and SEO implementation easy in your content?
Writesonic’s SEO Tools streamline this process by providing numerous products and solutions, such as a Keyword Research Tool, SEO Checker and optimization, AI Content Gap Analyzer, and much more. You can do all this within minutes, and the best thing is that it will help you save time and money, which you can invest in other productive things.
Having a hard time ranking your content on the first page of SERPs? You’re not alone—only 5.7% of pages rank in the top 10 search results for at least 1 keyword within a year of publishing.
However, creating SEO content that ranks well on SERP does not have to be intimidating. Having said that, you need the right set of SEO content writing tools to streamline workflow and improve the quality of your writing. Only then can it rank at the top of SERPs.
From keyword research tools to advanced content optimization platforms, there are different solutions designed to help you at every stage of the content creation process.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the best SEO content writing software available. You can use these tools for thorough keyword research, to draft compelling and optimized content, as well as to track content performance to ensure continuous improvement.
Whether you’re a seasoned SEO content writer or just starting out, these tools can help you create high-quality, SEO-optimized content efficiently.
Let’s check them out.
Best SEO Content Writing Software in 2024
1. Writesonic – overall best SEO writing tool
Best suited for
G2 ratings
Trustpilot ratings
Pricing
SEO & marketing content creation
4.7
4.8
Chatsonic: $12/month, Individual: $16/month, Standard: $79/month Enterprise: Starts at $9999/ year pricing
Writesonic offers a wide range of AI-powered SEO content marketing applications. And, of course, it tops our list as the overall best content writing tool for SEO. From keyword research to planning content strategy and execution and creating content drafts, Writesonic comes as one unified solution for content writers and marketers.
Key features
1. Chatsonic for content research and planning:
At Writesonic, Chatsonic works as a great starting point for us when creating SEO content. The ChatGPT alternative tool helps with research and brainstorming. It also suggests ideas for covering different angles on the same topic.
Ask Chatsonic for ideas that will make your blogs and articles more engaging and visually appealing. You can ask the chatbot different questions about the blog topic to gather insights and create an initial framework for your SEO blog or articles.
2. Comprehensive keyword research:
Writesonic offers specialized tools for creating the best keyword strategy. The keyword research tool shows the volume, difficulty, and total traffic that the specific keyword generates.
You can also use Topic Clusters to find keyword clusters that build topical authority.
Also, Writesonic has the Answer The People feature. The tool lists the questions people are asking for a specific topic, helping you find long-tail keywords.
3. AI Article Writer 6.0:
One of the standout features of Writesonic is its AI Article Writer 6.0. Internally, we use the tool to create the first draft of our articles. Also, we find the tool useful for creating guest posts and highly informative articles.
It conducts thorough research on the topic and analyzes the already ranking content on SERP to come up with articles that are SEO-optimized, 100% plagiarism-free, and free of AI hallucinations.
Also, you get complete control over the length and the outline of your article. Apart from that, the SEO writing assistant lets you select your choice of primary and secondary keywords and maintains your unique brand voice and style across the blog.
4. SEO checker and optimizer:
We use the Writesonic SEO Checker and Optimizer tool to check and improve our content SEO score. The tool analyzes content against SEO best practices and available keyword data.
Then, it offers suggestions for including different secondary and LSI keywords as well as enterprise terms in the blogs and articles to improve SEO scores and rank in better positions.
With its intuitive features, BuzzSumo is a great tool for finding new content ideas and conducting content research. The platform helps us discover trending topics and analyze content performance. You can also use the tool to find popular influencers in your niche.
Key features:
1. Content discovery:
BuzzSumo’s content discovery feature is incredibly powerful. It lets you find the most shared and trending content across social media platforms. By entering a keyword or topic, you can quickly see what content resonates with audiences, which helps generate ideas for your own content.
2. Content research and analysis:
BuzzSumo offers detailed content performance analytics for different marketing channels. As you can see a complete breakdown of metrics such as the number of shares, comments, and likes for your posts on each social media platform it becomes much easier for you to figure out what types of content perform well on which platform and why.
3. Question analyzer
While creating SEO content on trending topics, I also found BuzzSumo’s question analyzer feature pretty useful. The tool crawls hundreds of forums and sites like Quora and Reddit to check what questions people are asking on a certain topic.
Once you identify the questions, it’s pretty easy to address them as a solution through your blogs or articles, making your content much more relevant to your audience. Apart from that, you can also use the feature to identify new long-tail keyword ideas.
Pros:
Lets you easily discover the most shared and trending content.
Helps with detailed analytics and performance metrics to understand what works.
Offers tools to analyze competitors’ content strategies and find new opportunities.
Helps you identify and connect with key influencers in your industry.
The platform has an intuitive design that is easy to navigate and use.
Cons:
Small businesses or freelancers might find the premium features to be expensive.
The free version offers limited access to a lot of useful features and metrics.
The platform seems over-reliant on social media metrics and thus does not suit all kinds of content strategies.
3. AnswerThePublic
Best suited for
G2 ratings
Trustpilot ratings
Pricing
Content Ideation and Planning
4.5
4.3
For $5/month, Pro: $49/month, and Expert: $99/month annually
AnswerThePublic is one of the most crucial tools for SEO content writing. The platform can help you gain a proper understanding of what your audience is searching for.
You can use the AnswerThePublic tool to uncover questions and phrases people are actively searching for on specific keywords. The tool can be a great help for finding content ideas that resonate with your audience.
Key features:
1. Visual representations of data:
I’ve found the visual representation very appealing. AnswerThePublic represents keyword search data in formats such as mind maps and search clouds. You can just enter the keyword and get a comprehensive visualization of questions, prepositions, comparisons, and related searches that people are using. This allows you to easily correlate different topic queries and cover them in a broader sense in your blogs and articles.
2. Questions and topic discovery:
AnswerThePublic gathers data from different search engines and shows the questions people have about a specific keyword. While creating an SEO content outline for a particular keyword, you can directly use these questions related to the topic as subheadings in your content.
3. Trend monitoring:
The platform is also useful for trend monitoring. You can set up alerts for the entry of new questions and topics related to your keywords. As you stay updated with the current trends, you can quickly talk about them in your blogs and articles while keeping your content fresh and relevant to your audience.
Pros:
Represents data in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand format.
Generates content ideas while ensuring relevance and accuracy with real search data.
Covers questions, prepositions, comparisons, and more for comprehensive insights into what users are asking.
A simple interface makes it accessible for both beginners and experienced marketers alike.
Premium users can export data to CSV files, facilitating deeper analysis and easier sharing with teams.
Cons:
The free version has a limited number of searches per day, which can be restrictive for extensive research needs.
Primarily focuses on question-based queries, lacking broader SEO analysis features found in more comprehensive tools.
The premium version can be relatively expensive for small businesses or individual marketers.
Exploding Topics is another tool you can try for research and planning your SEO content writing task. The SEO content writing software lets you identify emerging trends before they actually become mainstream. You can try Exploding Topics to get fresh content ideas and stay ahead of your competitors.
Key features:
1. Trend identification:
The platform uses smart machine learning algorithms, NLP, and techniques for analyzing time series. It tracks emerging trends by studying search data, mentions on social media, and online conversations. Then, it makes a list of topics that are becoming popular.
2. Category filtering:
While searching for trends in a specific industry the tool lets you filter the data from categories such as technology, health, or finance. Thus, you can easily find niche specific trends.
3. Growth score:
Each trend comes with a growth score that indicates how quickly it is gaining popularity. This number helps to prioritize trends for content creation.
4. Weekly reports:
Exploding Topics sends weekly reports that spotlight the newest trends in the categories you choose. You can use these reports to stay informed about what’s new and upcoming, so you never overlook a crucial trend.
Pros
Helps identify emerging trends before they hit the mainstream.
Can find niche-specific trends, helping users create targeted content.
Provides clear indicators in numbers to help you understand the trend’s popularity.
Not just data but offers context and interpretation to help understand why a trend is growing.
Cons
Advanced features and detailed trend data require a premium subscription, which might be costly for small businesses or individual marketers.
Primarily focuses on trend identification rather than providing a full suite of SEO tools.
Best tools for keyword research and strategy
5. Google Keyword Planner
Best suited for
G2 ratings
Trustpilot ratings
Pricing
Free Keyword Research
Not available
Not available
Free with Google Ads account
Google Ads account users can access Google Keyword Planner for free. If you are an individual SEO content writer or a small business owner on a budget, you will definitely find this tool very useful.
The SEO content writing software provides keyword search volume, competition, and CPC data. You can use these critical keyword metrics to build a keyword strategy that enhances SEO content.
Key features:
1. Keyword research:
With Google Keyword Planner, you can find new keywords relevant to your business and understand the searches they attract and the cost of targeting them. Input a basic keyword to receive a list of related keywords with their search volume and competition level.
2. Useful CPC Data for better conversion:
Even though it’s for Google Ads, the CPC data from Keyword Planner also helps with SEO. Keywords with higher CPC show strong commercial intent. You can use these to create content that attracts more valuable traffic. This lets you focus on keywords that not only bring in visitors but traffic that are more likely to convert.
3. Identifying long-tail keywords
The tool is very useful for finding long-tail keywords. These longer, detailed phrases have less competition and are more precise, perfect for niche topics. By targeting long-tail keywords, you can attract more focused and interested visitors to your website and boost your SEO results.
4. Search trends and seasonal insights
The tool offers views into how searches for certain keywords shift across seasons. You can follow changes from one year to the next and note seasonal patterns. This helps in planning content strategy that matches times when most searches happen. Thus, you can capitalize on seasonal trends and make sure your content fits the right timeline.
Pros
Google Keyword Planner is available for free.
The data from Google is very accurate and reliable
The platform shows detailed info about keyword search volume, competition, and CPC.
It works well with Google Ads, which makes it easy to move from researching keywords to creating an ad campaign.
Cons
The tool gives data for Google searches, so it might not show trends from other search engines.
You must create a Google Ads account to use Google Keyword Planner, and this can be tricky if you do not plan to run ads.
The search volume data is often provided in broad ranges, which can be less precise for detailed keyword planning.
Semrush has an SEO Writing Assistant that works as a smart writing editor. It helps you optimize your copy for better engagement and SEO.
Apart from the SEO writing assistant, Semrush also works as one of the best SEO automation tools and offers a range of features that can streamline your content creation process. The SEO Writing Assistant can provide guidance on optimizing content for SEO. But obviously, you shouldn’t follow the suggestions that ruin the natural flow of your writing and make the content sound like AI written.
Hence, be careful while implementing all the changes suggested by the tool, as it could potentially reduce the quality and usefulness of the content for readers.
Key features
1. Real-time SEO optimization
You can get quick tips on related keywords to include in your content and how to optimize your images, tags, and links.
2. Readability improvements
The readability improvement feature helps to assess the content readability and identify words, sentences, and paragraphs that need to be rewritten.
3. Tone of voice consistency
For creating branded content, it’s utterly important to maintain a consistent tone of voice. It gives your content the required authority to rank higher. Semrush lets you determine whether your tone of voice is consistent and relevant to your audience and adjust your choice of words where necessary.
4. AI-powered tools
Use the Rephraser, Compose with AI, and Ask AI features to save time when composing and rewriting text.
Pros
Offers detailed SEO recommendations to improve content visibility and ranking
Provides suggestions to make content more accessible and engaging
Ensures content maintains a consistent brand voice
Seamlessly integrates with platforms like Google Docs and WordPress
Detects duplicate content to protect SEO rankings and credibility
Provides instant corrections and suggestions to enhance editing efficiency
Cons
Subscription fees may be a barrier for freelancers or small businesses
New users might need time to fully leverage all features
Fewer options for tailoring feedback and analysis compared to other tools
7. Keywords Everywhere
Best suited for
G2 ratings
Trustpilot ratings
Pricing
Keyword Research
None
None
Credit-based, $10 for 100,000 credits
Keywords Everywhere is one of my go-to choices for keyword research. The tool is quite affordable and available as a browser add-on for both Chrome and Firefox, which makes it easy to access.
It shows search volume, CPC, and keyword difficulty metrics directly within the search result. The extension also offers a separate section with questions people are asking and a related keywords section within the same interface, making keyword research a breeze.
Key features:
1. Seamless integration
It fits right into your browser, showing keyword data when you surf Google, YouTube, Amazon, and more. The tool shows you the search volume, cost-per-click (CPC), and competition data right away without having to switch among different tools or pages.
2. People Also Search For
I like the “People Also Search For” and “Related Keywords” features. The tool offers keyword ideas based on what people usually search for, which helps in developing keyword plans and finding hidden long-tail keywords.
3. Historical Data from Google Trends
Keywords Everywhere uses Google Trends to show past search volumes. I can track how the popularity of keywords has shifted, which is very important for noticing seasonal trends and setting up strategies for long-term content.
4. Competitor Analysis
The extension has a Page Analyzer tool that shows the keywords that the competitors are targeting. It can help you spot keyword opportunities, get a better understanding of the competition, and tweak your SEO strategy accordingly.
Pros:
Gathers data from reliable sources like Google Trends, ensuring the information is up-to-date and accurate.
The browser extension is easy to install and use, making it accessible even for beginners.
The credit-based pricing model is affordable, allowing you to pay only for what you use.
Offers a comprehensive set of features, including search volume data, CPC, competition metrics, and more.
Cons:
The free version offers limited data, prompting users to upgrade for more comprehensive insights.
It’s easy to forget the extension is running, which can lead to accidental use of credits. Managing your credits carefully is crucial to avoid unnecessary depletion.
While it covers the basic features, some advanced users might find it lacks the depth of data provided by more expensive SEO tools.
Writing and optimization
8. Google Docs
Best suited for
G2 ratings
Trustpilot ratings
Pricing
Content Creation and Collaboration
Not available
Not available
Free, Google Workspace: $6/month per user
Google Docs offers SEO content writers a clean, distraction-free interface for writing. Whether you are a veteran or just starting your career, you are definitely going to find Google Docs one of your go-to applications for drafting your content and collaborating with your team.
With specialized add-ons and collaborative features, Google Docs is more than a simple word processor; it is a versatile application for drafting SEO-optimized content.
Key Features:
1. Real-time collaboration
Google Docs’ impressive feature is its real-time collaboration. This is helpful when a team works together on content strategies. Many people can work on a document at the same time, which makes it simple to brainstorm, draft, and improve content as a group. The feature that lets you make comments and give suggestions helps everyone keep track of changes both in actual text and in understanding.
2. SEO enhancements
Google Docs includes many add-ons designed to boost SEO content creation. For example, the Semrush SEO Writing Assistant connects with Google Docs and gives you immediate advice on how to use keywords, how readable your content is, and your overall SEO score.
3. Formatting and templates
Google Docs provides several templates and formatting options that assist in making well-organized, SEO-friendly material. Employing headings, subheadings, bullet points, and various formatting aids, you can optimize your content for users and search engines.
4. Integration with other Google tools
It works with other Google tools like Drive, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console. This integration lets you access data, work together on cloud-stored documents, and apply insights from Google Analytics to plan your content strategy.
Pros:
Google Docs is easy to use and serves people of every skill level.
The platform makes collaboration with team members easy.
Google Docs works with different SEO add-ons, making it a powerful tool for writing better SEO content.
Cloud-Based Convenience: Since Google Docs is based online, you can get to your documents from any device that is connected to the internet.
Cons:
Google Docs is just a word processor and does not have as many complex features as specialized content writing tools for SEO might have.
Though Google Docs lets you work offline, yet it’s not as smooth as working online.
Grammarly is one of the most used writing tools. The platform offers several features for creating high-quality, SEO-friendly content. Grammarly uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze and point out various issues in your writing, including grammar, spelling, punctuation, style, and tone.
Key features
1. Advanced grammar and spell check
Grammarly finds and resolves spelling and grammar mistakes in real-time. This keeps your work clean and error-free, which is very important for maintaining trust and making it easy to read.
2. Readability and style improvements
Grammarly offers advice on how to make your content easier to read and better in style. It analyzes how you structure sentences, the words you choose, and how brief you are and offers suggestions to improve all the aspects of your writing. This makes your content straightforward and simple, which gives readers a better experience. A good user experience can help your SEO rankings go up.
3. Tone detection and making changes
Grammarly’s tone detection tool helps to maintain a consistent writing tone that matches your audience and situation. If you need a professional tone for a business document or a casual tone for a blog, it suggests changes for adjusting your style.
Pros
Grammarly identifies and corrects grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and punctuation issues, enhancing the overall correctness of your writing.
It provides valuable suggestions to improve the style and tone of your writing, making it more engaging and professional.
The tool suggests synonyms and alternative word choices to help diversify your vocabulary and improve the overall quality of your writing.
Grammarly has a user-friendly interface, and its suggestions are presented in a clear and understandable manner.
Cons
Users might become overly reliant on Grammarly and may not develop their proofreading skills or critically review their writing.
Grammarly may occasionally provide suggestions that are not necessary or miss certain errors, so users should carefully review suggestions.
While pasting content from other word processors, the formatting gets distorted.
While Grammarly’s pricing may be on the higher end compared to other tools, its accurate optimization capabilities and ease of use make it a valuable investment for individuals and businesses looking to create competitive content.
10. Hemingway App Editor
Best suited for
G2 ratings
Trustpilot ratings
Pricing
Improving Readability
4.4
Not available
Free online, Desktop: $19.99 one-time fee
The Hemingway App editor helps with editing long-form content and making it more readable. Writers and marketers can use the SEO content writing tool to create blogs and articles with clear and concise sentences.
It highlights hard-to-read or very hard-to-read sentences in your content so that you can edit and make it easier to understand.
Hemingway App Editor highlights lengthy, complex sentences and common errors, suggesting ways to improve your writing style.
Key features
1. Readability improvement
The Hemingway App highlights complex sentences and common errors in your content pieces. It shows ways to simplify your writing, making your content easy to read and improving user engagement.
As users tend to spend more time on your content, it reduces bounce rates and increases dwell time.
2. Clarity and conciseness
The app detects when you use passive voice, adverbs, and complex phrases and pushes you to write direct and concise sentences. Clear and concise writing is vital for SEO, as search engines understand your content better, and it also enhances users’ experience.
3. Focus mode and editing
The app’s focus mode lets you write without distractions, and its editing mode assists in polishing your content. This two-way method ensures that you can craft high-quality, SEO-friendly content.
Pros
A powerful tool for streamlining your writing style
Excellent for editing shorter pieces with the free online version
Pushes you to be clear and punchy in your writing if you tend to use long, complex sentences
Great for assessing the readability and complexity of your work
Intuitive and user-friendly interface
The free version has most features of the paid version
Cheaper than other writing tools with a one-time cost for the desktop app
Cons
It is not great for manuscript writing or longer pieces
Can sap originality out of writing with non-customizable suggestions and style
Very few features compared to other writing tools
11. Yoast
Best suited for
G2 ratings
Trustpilot ratings
Pricing
WordPress SEO Optimization
4.6
4.6
Free, Premium: $99/year per site
Offering a comprehensive suite of SEO tools to optimize your website for search engines, Yoast SEO is both very popular and handy. Over the years, this WordPress plugin has become a staple in my SEO toolkit.
You can use it to streamline both on-page and technical SEO tasks. Here’s why Yoast SEO stands out and how it can enhance your website’s search engine performance.
Key features
1. On-Page SEO optimization
Yoast SEO is great for finding and resolving on-page SEO issues. You can pick a focus keyword for each page, and then Yoast will provide real-time feedback on how well your content is optimized for that keyword. It offers suggestions for optimizing keyword density, meta titles, and descriptions, headings, etc.
2. Readability analysis:
The plugin comes with a tool to check the readability score of your content. It looks at how long your sentences and paragraphs are and checks whether you are using the right transition words that help the writing flow. I find this feature very useful for making my writing more interesting and easy to understand for more people.
3. XML sitemap creation:
Yoast SEO makes an XML sitemap for your site by itself. This lets search engines find your pages more easily. It’s an important tool for making your website easier to find on search engines without another extra plugin.
4. Schema markup:
Yoast SEO incorporates Schema.org integration, helping search engines understand the structure of your content. It enhances how your content appears in search results, potentially leading to rich snippets and higher click-through rates.
Pros:
Yoast SEO has a simple and intuitive interface. It is designed to be easy to use, even for beginners.
The free version of Yoast SEO offers a robust set of features that cover the most basic SEO needs.
It gives immediate feedback on the SEO and readability of your content, helping you improve while you write.
Yoast SEO receives regular updates to keep up with the latest SEO best practices and algorithm changes.
Cons:
The premium version of Yoast SEO is relatively expensive, especially for small businesses or freelancers. The premium package, which includes additional features like multiple focus keywords and advanced SEO insights, costs $99 per year per site.
There is a risk of keyword stuffing if users rely too heavily on the plugin’s recommendations without considering natural language flow.
Clearscope is an AI-powered SEO content optimization platform for creating content that ranks well. This is the best content writing tool for SEO who want to focus more on competitor analysis.
The platform analyzes the top 30 articles for a specific keyword and provides suggestions on readability semantic integration of LSI keywords, themes, and sub-themes to optimize your content.
Key features
1. AI-powered content reports
Create reports for specific keywords and store them in the reports dashboard. You can check out previous reports, open new ones, or send them to colleagues for evaluation.
2. Content Optimization
Clearscope has a content grading scale to measure the quality of writing. By optimizing your writing for a better score, you can make it more relevant, comprehensive, and aligned with the top-ranking pages for your target keywords.
3. Keyword Search Tab
Get a list of relevant keywords with monthly searches, competition, and CPC figures for your target keyword.
4. Competitors Tab:
Analyze readability, word count, and content grade for the top competitors’ articles for a given keyword.
Pros
Detects keywords that are relevant not only in the present but also in the future, helping you create content that consistently generates revenue.
Intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it easy for content teams to use effectively without additional training.
Provides accurate AI-powered suggestions for LSI keywords ranked by importance and frequency.
Quick and responsive customer support, regardless of your pricing plan.
Analyzes the top 30 SERP results for a keyword, offering a comprehensive view of the competition.
Cons
Lacks detailed content briefs and collaboration tools like editing and task assignments.
Does not provide backlink suggestions for the content you write.
Limited integrations, supporting only WordPress and Google Docs.
Surfer SEO is one of the best data-driven SEO writing tools. The tool helps you find keyword ideas and improve your content ranking. It analyzes and compares your pages against those that currently rank on the SERPs, offering a data-driven analysis of exactly what’s missing from your page, site, content plan, and more.
For all queries, SERPs, and pages that you want to analyze, Surfer SEO studies the top page rankings. It looks at on-page SEO metrics like main and sub-keyword usage, LSI/NLP/TF-IDF keywords, meta tags, media elements, incoming backlinks, word count, outgoing external and internal links, headline structure, and more. With these metrics, Surfer SEO can build a useful model of what search engines want to see on a specific query.
Key features
1. Content editor
Surfer SEO’s best tool for SEO writing is its content editor. The platform can be a great choice for on-page optimization.
The main Content Editor’s interface provides a limited rich text editor and in-depth suggestions on the right. It includes a content score that assesses how Google-friendly your content is compared to the other entries on the SERP.
It also gives recommendations for formatting, like how many words you should write and how many images you should use.
2. Unique keyword recommendations
Below that, you’ll find Surfer’s unique keyword recommendations, which tell you what keywords to use in your article and how many times they should appear. Once you use the right keyword enough times, they will turn yellow and then green to let you know you’ve used them enough in the document.
3. SERP analyzer
Besides the Content Editor, Surfer SEO also offers a SERP Analyzer that provides a graph of word count in relation to average position over time and insights on the popular words to use in your articles.
The tool offers a breakdown of each page and its content score, as well as a new feature that shows you common backlinks for the SERP you’re looking at.
4. Content audit
The Content Audit feature analyzes your URL and the SERP of its main keyword and gives you a lot of suggestions for improvement based on that. The Content Planner gives you suggestions on content clusters based on your main topic.
Pros
Uses over 500 ranking metrics for content optimization
Gives relevant keyword suggestions to add to your content
The SERP analyzer tool helps you compare your content with competitors
Quick Google Docs & WordPress integration
Auditing and improving existing content is very simple
Cons
Too much data generated by the SERP analyzer can be confusing
Not very beginner-friendly
The Base Plan doesn’t support NLP queries
Plagiarism checker
14. Copyleaks
Best suited for
G2 ratings
Trustpilot ratings
Pricing
Plagiarism Detection
4.7
3.4
Starts at $10.99/month for 100 pages
Without having professionally trained LLMs for specific writing tasks tools like ChatGPT generate tons of thin content. Also, content thoroughly generated with ChatGPT has a very low information gain score resulting in poor SEO and degrading your website’s authority.
That’s where Copyleaks comes in handy. It uses trained LLMs to find and mark sentences that read like AI written.
Therefore, you can easily identify which portions of your content piece do not read well and might need some changes. Also, you can use Copyleaks to check for plagiarism in your content and ensure there is no duplicate issue.
Key features
1. Comprehensive plagiarism detection
Copyleaks uses advanced AI and machine learning algorithms to scan documents for plagiarized, paraphrased, and manipulated content. It checks against an extensive database of web pages, academic papers, and published works, ensuring thorough detection of unoriginal content.
2. AI Content Detection
One of the most impressive features is its ability to detect AI-generated content. This is particularly useful in the current digital age, where AI-written text is becoming more common. Copyleaks ensures that all forms of generated content are identified and flagged appropriately.
3. Multi-language support
Copyleaks supports over 100 languages, making it a versatile tool for global users. This capability allows for comprehensive scans across various languages, ensuring that content is original regardless of the language used.
4. Text Compare and cheat detection
The Text Compare feature allows users to upload and compare two documents, highlighting similarities and differences. Additionally, the Cheat Detection feature can identify hidden or special characters that some might use to bypass plagiarism checks, ensuring thorough verification.
5. Integration and API
Copyleaks integrates seamlessly with popular platforms such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard, and Brightspace. It also offers full API integration, making it easy to incorporate into various workflows and systems.
Pros:
Copyleaks is renowned for its precise detection capabilities, effectively identifying both exact matches and paraphrased content.
The platform is designed to be intuitive, with neatly organized features that make navigation straightforward.
It provides detailed, interactive similarity reports that are easy to understand and act upon.
Copyleaks is GDPR compliant and offers features like Copyshield, which monitors the web for any unauthorized use of your content.
Cons:
The premium plans can be expensive, particularly for small businesses or individual users. Pricing starts at $10.99 per month for 100 pages, with higher-tier plans costing significantly more.
While the tool is highly accurate, some users have reported that the scanning process can be slower compared to other plagiarism checkers.
Not as a writing tool but Ahrefs has a huge role to play in creating SEO content strategy for your website. The enterprise SEO platform offers a complete list of tools to optimize and track performance of your content.
From keyword research, backlink analysis to site audits Ahrefs has the right set of tools that cover all the aspects of SEO.
Key features:
1. Site Explorer:
This is the core feature where you’ll likely spend most of your time. Site Explorer offers detailed insights into any website’s performance, including its top content, backlink profile, and organic traffic metrics. It’s particularly useful for analyzing competitors and understanding their strategies.
2. Keywords Explorer:
Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer tool is incredibly user-friendly and powerful. It provides detailed data on search volumes, keyword difficulty, and potential traffic, helping you identify high-potential keywords to target. It also offers keyword suggestions and SERP overviews, making it easier to find and optimize for the right keywords.
3. Backlink Analysis:
Ahrefs excels in backlink analysis with one of the most extensive link databases available. It allows you to analyze your own backlink profile and those of your competitors, providing valuable metrics such as domain authority, referring domains, and anchor text distribution. This is crucial for developing effective link-building strategies.
4. Site Audit:
The Site Audit tool helps you identify and fix technical SEO issues on your website. It uncovers problems like broken links, duplicate content, and slow-loading pages, offering actionable insights to enhance your site’s overall performance and user experience.
5. Rank Tracker:
Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker lets you monitor your keyword rankings over time. You can set specific countries and keywords to track, and the tool provides metrics such as visibility, average position, traffic, and SERP features, helping you understand how your keywords are performing and adjust your strategies accordingly.
Pros:
Ahrefs provides extensive and accurate data for keyword research, backlink analysis, and site audits, making it a one-stop solution for all your SEO needs.
Despite its advanced features, Ahrefs offers a clean and intuitive interface that is easy to navigate, even for beginners.
Ahrefs offers customizable dashboards to suit your workflow.
Cons:
Ahrefs can be quite expensive, especially for small businesses or individual users. The pricing starts at $99 per month, which can be a significant investment.
While the interface is user-friendly, the sheer number of features and data can be overwhelming for new users.
Unlike some other SEO tools, Ahrefs does not offer a free version, which might be a barrier for those just starting out or with limited budgets.
16. Google Search console
Best suited for
G2 ratings
Trustpilot ratings
Pricing
Website Performance Monitoring
4.7
Not available
Free
Google Search Console is an absolutely essential tool for keeping track of and optimizing your website’s performance. The platform offers different insights and functionalities that we can use to monitor and maintain the site’s presence across Google Search results.
Key features:
1. Performance reports
GSC offers detailed performance reports that provide insights into how your site is performing in Google Search. You can track metrics such as clicks, impressions, click-through rate (CTR), and average position for your pages and queries. This data helps you understand which keywords and pages are driving traffic to your site and identify opportunities for optimization.
2. URL inspection tool
The URL Inspection Tool allows you to check the indexing status of individual pages. You can see if a page is indexed when it was last crawled, and any issues that might prevent it from being indexed. This tool is invaluable for troubleshooting indexing issues and ensuring that all your important content is visible in search results.
3. Coverage reports
Coverage reports give you details on the indexing status of all your site’s pages. They highlight errors, warnings, and valid pages so that you can identify and resolve problems that could affect your site’s search performance. For example, you can quickly see which pages are returning 404 errors or have been excluded from indexing due to no index tags.
4. Sitemaps
GSC allows you to submit your sitemaps directly to Google, ensuring that all your site’s pages are crawled and indexed efficiently. The Sitemaps report shows the status of your submitted sitemaps and alerts you to any issues that need to be addressed.
5. Mobile usability
With the increasing importance of mobile-friendly websites, GSC’s Mobile Usability report is a crucial feature. It identifies usability issues on mobile devices, such as clickable elements being too close together or content wider than the screen, helping you ensure a good user experience for mobile visitors.
Pros:
Offers a wide range of data and insights about your site’s performance.
As a free tool, GSC offers tremendous value for webmasters and SEO professionals without any cost barrier.
It has an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, even for beginners.
GSC offers direct insights from Google, making it a reliable source of information about your site’s health and performance.
Cons:
While GSC provides a lot of useful data, it lacks some of the advanced features found in paid SEO tools.
Some users report that GSC data updates can be slow, taking a few days to reflect changes or new content.
For those new to SEO, understanding and utilizing all the features and data in GSC can be challenging.
Conclusion
You can fast-forward your content creation process using the right SEO article writing tools. The tools can also make your writing clear and concise, improving content performance and driving more organic traffic to your website. While each tool we reviewed has its unique strengths, Writesonic emerges as the top choice for its all-in-one solution.
Whether you’re a seasoned SEO professional or a content writer, integrating Writesonic into your toolkit will empower you to create compelling, SEO-optimized content that resonates with your audience and ranks well on search engines. Start your journey with Writesonic today and experience the difference it can make in your SEO content creation efforts.
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when crafting a winning SEO strategy?
Keyword research?
Competitor analysis?
Back-linking?
Two tools, Semrush and Ahrefs, often come to the forefront when executing these crucial SEO tasks. But with both offering a vast array of features, deciding which best complements your SEO workflow can be challenging.
In this blog, we’re about to crack open the age-old debate: Semrush vs. Ahrefs.
This in-depth comparison will focus on Semrush and Ahrefs, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses to help you make an informed decision.
We’ll cover everything from keyword research capabilities to competitive insights, ensuring you pick the perfect tool for your workflow.
Let’s dive right in! 🧑⚖️
A head-to-head comparison: Semrush vs Ahrefs
Features
Semrush
Ahrefs
Keyword Research
✅
✅
Competitor Analysis
✅
✅
Content Creation
✅
✅
On-page Optimization
✅
✅
Backlink Analysis
✅
✅
Technical SEO
✅
✅
Rank Tracking
✅
✅
Support
Live chat, email, and phone
Chat and email
Free Trial
✅
❌ (offers a bunch of features for free)
Let’s compare the difference between Semrush and Ahrefs to understand better what each tool offers.
Semrush
Semrush is a powerful, all-in-one marketing solution offering a comprehensive tool suite to empower businesses.
Semrush equips you with the necessary resources to conduct in-depth keyword research, gain unparalleled competitive intelligence, and track and analyze website performance—all essential components of a winning SEO strategy.
However, Semrush’s capabilities extend beyond SEO.
Semrush functions as a centralized marketing command center, offering functionalities for:
social media management,
content marketing optimization, and
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising analysis.
This helps businesses gain a competitive edge, achieve online marketing objectives, and drive sustainable growth.
Ahrefs
While Semrush is a total marketing package, Ahrefs offers a powerful toolkit for search engine optimization specialists.
Ahrefs prioritizes in-depth backlink analysis, allowing users to dissect competitor strategies and identify opportunities to build their robust backlink profile.
Ahrefs’ keyword research goes beyond the usual (Google, Bing, etc.) and ventures into various other search engines like YouTube and Amazon, providing a broader scope for content optimization.
Ahrefs caters primarily to SEO professionals, providing detailed insights and diverse keyword options that empower them to craft highly targeted and effective SEO campaigns that drive organic traffic and website visibility.
How do you choose between Semrush and Ahrefs?
There are many differences between Semrush and Ahrefs, and deciding between them is potentially overwhelming.
Here are some key points you might consider when making your decision between Semrush or Ahrefs: 👇
What it does best
Ahrefs: Offers a laser focus on SEO with in-depth backlink analysis and diverse keyword options.
Semrush: Provides a comprehensive marketing suite with SEO as a core component, including social media, content, and PPC functionalities.
Your budget
Ahrefs: Offers tiered pricing based on features and domain limits. Starts at $129/month.
Semrush: Has a wider pricing range with additional costs for add-on features. Starts at $129.95/month.
Daily report needs
Ahrefs: Daily report limits can be a consideration for high-volume users. The basic (Lite) plan allows 2,500 results per report.
Semrush: Offers a generally higher daily report limit than Ahrefs. The basic (Pro) plan allows for a maximum of 10,000 results per report.
Functionality needs
Ahrefs: Primarily focused on SEO functionalities like backlink analysis, keyword research, rank tracking, etc.
Semrush: Provides a comprehensive suite of features alongside SEO tools, including social media management, content marketing optimization, and PPC advertising analysis.
User interface and ease of use
Ahrefs: Offers a clean, data-driven interface. While powerful, fully using all functionalities may require technical SEO knowledge.
Semrush: Boasts a user-friendly interface with helpful tutorials and a focus on visual data representation.
Customer support
Ahrefs: Offers email support, online chat, and a knowledge base with helpful resources.
Semrush: Provides email, live chat, and phone support options, along with a comprehensive knowledge base.
Additional considerations
Daily report limits: Ahrefs’ limits might concern high-volume users. Semrush generally offers a higher daily report limit.
Team expertise: Ahrefs caters well to data-driven SEO specialists. Semrush may be ideal for marketing agencies needing broader functionalities.
Ahrefs vs Semrush: Detailed breakdown of the features
Keyword tagsCompetitor comparisonFeatured snippet trackingAlgorithm update position tracking
Keyword tagsCompetitor comparisonGSC integration
Support
Live chat, email, and phone
Live chat and email
Unique Features
Search intentAdvertising researchToolkit for outreachSEO WordPress plugin
A lot of new features like Local SEO, always-on auditAhrefs web analytics, etc., coming soon!
From backlink analysis to technical SEO and rank tracking, we’ll compare Ahrefs and Semrush feature by feature, highlighting their strengths and potential limitations.
So, which is better: Ahrefs vs Semrush? Let’s go. 👇
1. Keyword research
You spend hours crafting killer content, but nobody finds it.
Not ideal, right?
Keyword research helps you find high-volume, low-competition keywords that drive organic traffic.
A Semrush study shows that 3-3.5 pages are visited per session when a user lands from a search. So, having a comprehensive keyword research tool is crucial for organic growth.
Let’s now look at Semrush vs Ahrefs for keyword research:
Ahrefs
Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer acts like a user-friendly GPS. Its keyword difficulty score helps you size up the competition for your target terms.
It gives you a visual cue: green for low-ranking difficulty, yellow for medium, and red for the toughest.
Features
Massive data and scalability: Ahrefs’ keyword database can analyze up to 10,000 keywords in one go, making it ideal for large-scale SEO campaigns. It has filtered 12 billion keywords from 72 billion discovered in total, spanning 216 locations.
Keyword difficulty score: Estimates the effort required to rank in the top 10 for a keyword based on backlinks and other factors.
Search volume: Provides estimated monthly search volume for a keyword.
Click-through rate (CTR): Estimates the likelihood of users clicking on a search result for a keyword.
Keyword ideas: Generates a vast list of related keywords based on the seed keyword.
Parent topic: Identifies the broader topic a keyword belongs to, helping you understand the search intent.
SERP overview: Displays the top-ranking pages for a keyword, along with their estimated traffic and Domain Rating (DR).
Limitations
The free plan offers a restricted number of keyword searches and doesn’t include features like historical keyword data or search volume for more than a handful of locations.
Semrush
Semrush, on the other hand, gives you a lot to work with. You get search volume estimates, keyword variations, and related keywords.
Semrush’s keyword research tool is called the ‘Keyword Magic Tool.’ It offers a user-friendly experience with a wealth of data and unique features.
Features
Keyword index: Semrush has a keyword database of 25 billion keywords across 142 geo databases. Analyze up to 10,000 keywords in one go, making it ideal for large-scale SEO campaigns.
Keyword difficulty score: Estimates the difficulty of ranking for a keyword based on backlinks, on-page SEO factors, and paid advertising competition.
Cost-per-click (CPC) estimates: Offers an estimate of the average CPC in US dollars if you bid on the keyword in Google AdWords.
Organic search traffic insights: Estimates a website’s organic traffic for a keyword.
Keyword variations: Provides various keyword variations based on user intent (informational, commercial, etc.)
Competitive research: It’s a great competitor analysis tool that analyzes their organic keywords and top-ranking pages.
Limitations
The tool can overwhelm new users with all this data, causing information fatigue.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Semrush wins the first round. ✌️
Both Ahrefs and Semrush offer powerful keyword research tools, but Semrush wins it by a small margin because of the range and depth of its data (SEO and PPC).
Understanding your competitors’ SEO strategies is crucial for staying ahead in the search engine game.
Ahrefs and Semrush offer robust competitor analysis features but have some key differences.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs competitor analysis helps you uncover the keywords your competitors rank for (organic and paid search).
Features
Top pages report: Identify your competitors’ most successful pages in terms of organic traffic and identify potential content gaps for your website.
Backlink analysis: Analyze your competitors’ backlinks to understand their link-building strategies and identify potential opportunities for yourself.
Keyword gap analysis: Discover keywords your competitors rank for that you don’t, allowing you to target these keywords and potentially outrank them.
Domain comparison: Compare your website’s domain rating (Ahrefs’ metric for a website’s overall SEO strength) to your competitors’, providing insights into their overall authority.
SERP overlay: View your competitor’s website directly on the search results page alongside your own, allowing for a quick visual comparison of rankings for specific keywords.
Semrush
Semrush’s competitor insights help you analyze your competitors’ organic traffic sources, top keywords, and estimated traffic share.
Features
Competitive position tracking: Monitor your ranking against competitor websites for specific keywords.
Domain vs. domain comparison: Comprehensively compare your website with up to five competitors across metrics like organic traffic, backlinks, and estimated keyword rankings.
Gap analysis: Identify keyword gaps where you’re missing out compared to competitors, allowing you to prioritize your content strategy.
Traffic sources: Analyze your competitors’ traffic sources, including organic search, paid advertising, and social media, to understand their overall online marketing strategy.
Traffic analyzer: Unveil your competitors’ top landing pages and their estimated traffic distribution across different channels.
Brand monitoring: Track brand mentions across the web, including social media and forums, to see how competitors are perceived.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Semrush wins again. ✌️
Both are almost feature-for-feature in this category, but Semrush offers advertising research and a social media tracker to analyze your competitors’ social media activity.
So, Semrush is the better overall tool for competitor analysis.
3. Content creation
While both Ahrefs and Semrush are great at SEO, content creation remains a separate battleground.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs helps you discover top-ranking content and generate content ideas but has limited functionality.
Features
Content Explorer: Discover high-performing content related to your target topics. Analyze what topics resonate with your audience and identify potential content gaps.
Keyword tool: Generate keyword ideas for your content based on search volume and competition.
Limitations
Ahrefs doesn’t offer dedicated tools within the platform, such as topic outlines, content briefs, or on-page SEO suggestions.
Semrush
Semrush has a Content Marketing feature that lets you research a topic and generate many ideas for creating content around it.
Features
Topic Research: Explore content ideas based on search intent, trending topics, and competitor analysis.
Content brief builder: Generate comprehensive content briefs with outlines, target keywords, and potential headings, saving you time and ensuring your content stays focused.
SEO writing assistant: Receive on-page SEO suggestions as you write, ensuring your content is optimized for relevant keywords and targets the searcher’s intent.
Cluster suggestion: Group related keywords into content clusters, which will help you create a strategic content hierarchy for your website.
Magic Write: A new beta feature in Semrush (as of June 2024), Magic Write allows you to generate creative text formats, such as blog post intros, product descriptions, and even social media captions, based on your input.
Limitations
Content creation features like Topic Research and Content Brief Builder are unavailable in the free plan.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Semrush wins. ✌️
When it comes to content creation features, Semrush offers a more comprehensive and user-friendly experience. It streamlines the workflow with features like topic research, content briefs, and on-page SEO suggestions.
Semrush wins this round comfortably.
4. On-page optimization
Optimizing your website’s on-page elements is crucial for ranking higher in search results.
Ahrefs and Semrush offer on-page optimization tools that cater to different needs.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs helps you crawl your website to identify on-page and technical SEO issues, such as broken links, missing alt tags for images, and slow loading times.
Features
On-page report: Analyze specific pages for on-page SEO factors like title tags, meta descriptions, and internal linking opportunities.
Content Explorer: Discover high-performing content for your target topics and analyze their on-page optimization strategies.
Technical SEO dashboard: Get a comprehensive overview of your website’s technical health, allowing for prioritized issue-fixing.
Limitations
The free plan offers basic on-page suggestions but restricts access to detailed reports and crawl data.
Semrush
Semrush has a dedicated on-page SEO checker to help you analyze individual pages for on-page SEO factors like title tags, meta descriptions, content length, and internal linking opportunities.
Features
SEO ideas: Receive actionable recommendations for optimizing your content, including keyword suggestions, readability score analysis, and internal linking opportunities.
Topic research and cluster suggestion: Explore relevant subtopics and group them into content clusters, ensuring your content comprehensively covers the target topic and is well-structured for search engines.
SEO writing assistant: Offers real-time on-page SEO suggestions as you write, making optimizing content for relevant keywords and improving search visibility easy.
Page Authority score: Semrush assigns each page a Page Authority score, providing an estimate of its ranking potential based on backlinks and on-page optimization.
Limitations
Like Ahrefs, the free plan offers basic on-page SEO suggestions but restricts access to detailed reports and crawl data.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Semrush wins. ✌️
Semrush again takes a point here with its dedicated on-page optimization tool, which offers a wide range of optimization suggestions and features.
5. Backlink analysis
Backlinks are like digital gold stars—the more high-quality links pointing to your site, the higher your website’s authority in the eyes of search engines.
Both Ahrefs and Semrush have X-ray vision when it comes to backlinks.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs lets you see who’s linking to you, the quality of those links (gold vs. fool’s gold), and how your backlink profile compares to competitors.
Ahrefs gives you a crystal-clear picture of your website’s reputation online.
Features
Massive backlink index: According to its website, Ahrefs boasts one of the largest backlink indexes, with over 15 trillion backlinks.
Detailed backlink profiles: Analyze in-depth metrics for each backlink, including anchor text, referring domain rating (DR), link type (dofollow/nofollow), and first/last seen dates.
Backlink analysis tools: Explore a suite of tools like ‘Link Intersect’ to identify backlinks your competitors share and ‘Broken Link Checker’ to unearth opportunities for link-building.
Advanced filters and reports: Apply granular filters like domain rating, anchor text, and link type to pinpoint specific backlinks you’re interested in. Then, generate comprehensive backlink reports for presentations or client sharing.
Backlink alerts: Stay updated with notifications for new backlinks, lost backlinks, and mentions of your brand.
Limitations
Limited reporting capabilities for large datasets make it difficult to analyze extensive backlink profiles.
Filtering and sorting features can be overwhelming for users who are not familiar with the tool.
Semrush
Semrush boasts a larger backlink index, exceeding 40 trillion backlinks, giving you a more panoramic view of your website’s authority. It offers a wider search radius for links.
Features
Backlink profile analysis: Analyze key metrics like anchor text distribution, referring domain rating, and link type.
Backlink visualization: Semrush excels in visually representing backlink data through charts and graphs, making it easier to understand the overall backlink profile.
Backlink comparison: Compare your backlink profile with your competitors to identify areas for improvement.
Backlink monitoring: Track changes in your backlink profile, including new and lost backlinks.
Domain comparison tool: Analyze and compare backlink profiles of multiple domains side-by-side for a comprehensive overview.
Limitations
The link index, although large, is not always the most up-to-date.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
It’s a tie. 🤝
Both Ahrefs and Semrush offer formidable backlink analysis features, so this round ends in a tie.
Technical SEO ensures search engines can easily crawl and understand your website.
Ahrefs and Semrush inspect your website, identifying crawl errors, broken links, and other technical roadblocks that can tank your rankings.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs helps you crawl your website, prioritize a list of actionable fixes, and optimize it for search engines and visitors.
Features
Site audit: Ahrefs’ Site Audit crawls your website and generates a comprehensive report identifying technical SEO issues, such as crawl errors, broken links, mobile usability problems, and on-page SEO opportunities.
Detailed issue breakdown: Each technical SEO issue is categorized by severity (critical, warning, notice) and accompanied by a clear explanation and potential solutions.
Prioritization and filtering: Prioritize issues based on their impact and filter by specific categories for focused troubleshooting.
Historical data and monitoring: Track your website’s technical health over time and monitor progress in addressing identified issues.
Integration with other tools: Ahrefs seamlessly integrates with other features, such as Backlink Analysis, allowing you to analyze the technical SEO impact of backlinks.
Custom alerts: Set up custom alerts to monitor specific technical SEO parameters.
Limitations
Ahrefs does not integrate directly with Google Search Console, making comparing rankings from both tools harder.
Semrush
Semrush’s technical SEO audit is particularly thorough. It provides a detailed report with actionable fixes and helps optimize your website’s technical health.
Features
Site Audit tool: Semrush’s Site Audit crawls your website and generates a report outlining technical SEO issues, such as crawl errors, broken links, mobile responsiveness problems, and on-page SEO optimization suggestions.
Actionable recommendations: Each issue includes clear recommendations for fixing it, making it easier to take action.
Visualization and prioritization: Semrush excels at presenting technical SEO data visually, using charts and graphs for easy interpretation. Issues are prioritized based on severity, helping you focus on critical problems first.
Historical data and monitoring: Track your website’s technical health over time and monitor progress on resolving identified issues.
Comparison tool: Compare your website’s technical SEO health with that of your competitors to identify areas for improvement.
🧑⚖️Verdict
Semrush wins this round as well. ✌️
Both Ahrefs and Semrush are strong contenders in technical SEO, but Semrush clinches the win again due to its robust site audit and its presentation of solutions to fix the issues.
7. Rank tracking
Both Ahrefs and Semrush offer rank tracking tools, which let you see your website’s ranking progress over time and how you compare to competitors.
Ahrefs’ rank tracking is known for its pinpoint accuracy and user-friendly interface. It helps you track keywords’ positioning on SERPs.
Features
Track keyword rankings: Ahrefs lets you monitor your website’s ranking position for a set of keywords across various search engines.
Historical rank data: Analyze historical rank data to track progress and identify ranking trends.
Rank tracking reports: Generate detailed reports with visualizations showcasing ranking movements and average ranking positions.
Data refresh: Refresh rank tracking data once or twice weekly (depending on your plan).
SERP features and competitor tracking: Identify SERP features like featured snippets and track competitor rankings for the same keywords.
Semrush
Semrush, however, offers more granular data, including ranking distributions and historical ranking trends.
Features
Track keyword rankings: Monitor your website’s ranking position for a set of keywords across various search engines (including Google, Bing, and Yahoo!).
Rank tracking reports: Generate reports with visual representations of ranking movements, average positions, and top-ranking competitors.
Data refresh: They update their rank tracking data almost every day.
SERP features and visibility score: Identify SERP features like featured snippets and track a ‘Visibility Score’ that estimates organic search traffic based on rankings.
Local rank tracking: Track your website’s ranking for local searches (available in paid plans).
🧑⚖️Verdict
Semrush wins. ✌️
Both Ahrefs and Semrush share many rank-tracking functionalities, but Semrush refreshes its ranking data more often than Ahrefs, so it again takes this round by a slim margin.
8. Support
Ahrefs and Semrush offer the same resources and help options. Both tools offer chat, email, and knowledge-base articles.
The only difference is that Semrush lets you connect with a live representative for a more immediate solution.
🧑⚖️Verdict
Semrush wins again. ✌️
Both tools provide fantastic support to their users, but Semrush has an edge with its live chat feature.
9. Unique features
Semrush has considerably more features than Ahrefs.
Semrush has an SEO checker and optimizer. This tool lets you paste your content into it and run a quick SEO check. It suggests ways to optimize your content for better keyword intent and can help you audit content at scale.
Also, Semrush has its own AI assistant within its platform named Semrush Copilot. It analyzes data from Semrush tools to provide personalized recommendations for improving your website’s SEO.
Copilot helps you save time, prioritize tasks, and stay informed about critical SEO issues, making it a valuable tool for SEOs, website managers, and content creators using Semrush.
🧑⚖️Verdict
Semrush rules the reigns here.
Which tool is superior overall?
While both Ahrefs and Semrush are exceptional SEO tools, diving deeper reveals Semrush’s potential edge.
The focus on features and usefulness makes Semrush a compelling choice for SEO professionals.
Up your content creation and SEO efforts with Writesonic
Content creation still remains a constant challenge for many.
Writesonic helps you streamline your content workflow and take your SEO efforts to the next level.
Here’s how Writesonic helps you with content creation:
Budget-friendly: Compared to the comprehensive (and often pricier) SEO tool sets of Ahrefs and Semrush, Writesonic offers a budget-conscious solution. This makes it ideal for startups, solopreneurs, and content creators who want to maximize their SEO impact without breaking the bank.
Effortless content creation: Forget writer’s block and long hours of staring at a blank page. Writesonic’s user-friendly interface empowers anyone to generate high-quality content in seconds, regardless of technical expertise.
AI-powered automation: Accelerate your content creation process with Writesonic’s suite of AI-powered features. Generate various content formats with Writesonic’s AI Article Writer and automatically personalize them with relevant keywords and on-page SEO suggestions.
Keyword research and strategic clustering: Don’t waste time chasing irrelevant keywords. Writesonic assists with SEO-checking and optimizing, helping you identify high-potential keywords that drive organic traffic. It also helps you group these keywords into strategic clusters, ensuring your content targets the right audience with the right information.
Writesonic connects your SEO strategy and content creation efforts. It takes valuable data and insights from Ahrefs or Semrush and translates them into actionable content that ranks higher in search results and attracts your target audience.
By combining the power of these tools with Writesonic’s content creation magic, you’ll be well on your way to dominating the SEO content creation.
Even with a great product and top-notch customer service, getting your small business noticed online is a real challenge without a small business SEO strategy in place.
Here’s the truth.
Contrary to popular belief, search engine optimization (SEO) is still a powerful tactic for gaining visibility. By optimizing your website with the right keywords, creating high-quality content, and improving site structure, you can climb search engine rankings and attract more visitors.
More than that, staying current with effective small business SEO trends helps you stand out in search results and shows potential customers that you’re relevant.
Investing in a well-planned small business SEO strategy can improve your online presence and attract organic traffic without spending a fortune.
In this article, we will share some actionable, effective tips to build that strategy. ✅
Let’s get started.
But first, why do small businesses need SEO?
For small businesses, the perks of doing SEO go way beyond snagging a top spot in search results.
Let’s dive into some of the benefits of SEO for small business website success. 👇
1. SEO improves your brand’s visibility and traffic
SEO helps small businesses like yours gain visibility on search engines by optimizing your website with relevant keywords, improving site structure, and creating quality content.
This makes it easier for search engines to find and rank your site higher, giving your business a greater chance of attracting local customers searching for your products or services in your area.
2. SEO Is a cost-effective way to market your business
Unlike paid advertising, SEO is a cost-effective marketing tactic that delivers lasting results.
According to HubSpot, 61% of marketers put more money and effort into SEO over tactics like PPC to grow their businesses.
If you’re running a small business with a tight budget for SEO marketing for small business, choosing SEO over PPC can fuel sustainable growth without the ongoing costs of pay-per-click campaigns.
3. SEO builds credibility and trust
A survey by Search Engine Journal found that 70-80% of users ignore paid ads and focus on organic results. This preference suggests that appearing on the first page of search results makes your company look more trustworthy and credible to customers.
Is small business SEO the same as local SEO?
Small business SEO and local SEO have some similarities and often overlap.
Still, they each have distinct focuses and strategies to enhance online visibility and connect with your ideal customers.
Here’s a quick table showing how they differ: 👇
Aspect
Small Business SEO
Local SEO
Focus
Boosting website visibility globally or nationally for relevant keywords
Enhancing visibility for local searches within specific geographic areas
Target Audience
Customers searching for products or services on a broader scale
Potential customers looking for local businesses or services, often relying on local proximity
Scope
Targets broader audiences and markets across regions
Focuses on specific local markets and optimizing for local search queries
Importance
Critical for businesses aiming to reach a wide audience beyond their local area
Essential for businesses relying on local foot traffic or serving specific geographic markets
Strategies
Keyword optimization, content creation for broader appeal, backlink building
Local keyword optimization, Google My Business optimization, local citations, local content
In short, small business SEO focuses on boosting your website’s visibility in search results for relevant keywords, targeting customers searching for your products or services nationally or globally.
Local SEO, on the other hand, is about getting noticed by potential customers in your area. It fine-tunes your online presence to attract local searches, making it essential for businesses relying on foot traffic or serving specific local markets
💡 Think of it this way: Small business SEO casts a wide net to attract customers interested in your offerings. Local SEO strategically fishes in a specific pond to target customers in your immediate area.
10 SEO tips for small business owners
Here are our best SEO tips for small businesses to help you make the most of your SEO efforts:
Tip #1: Lay the groundwork for SEO
If you’re diving into SEO for your small business, Google Analytics and Google Search Console are your go-to tools. Google Analytics reveals who’s visiting your site, how they found you, and what they’re up to once they’re there.
Google Search Console is your direct line to Google. It shows you how your site appears to the search engine and flags any technical issues that could hinder your performance.
These tools are especially suited for small businesses, as they require no upfront investment and have a smooth learning curve.
Set these up early to gather data from the start and optimize your website for search engines.
Check out these tutorials to learn more: 👇
Tip #2: Set up your Google Business profile
Your Google Business Profile acts as your digital storefront, showcasing your business to customers searching online.
Make sure your info is spot-on—your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) should match your website and all online listings.
Also, pick categories that truly describe your business. This helps Google understand your products and services and match you with the right searches.
Sprinkle your profile with high-quality images and videos that position your offerings in an attractive light, setting a great first impression.
That’s not all. Customer reviews play a big role in SEO. Be sure to engage with all reviews—positive and negative—to show you value customer feedback.
Regional credibility also goes a long way toward establishing your small business as a trusted name. To build local credibility, ask fellow local businesses, directories, and organizations to link to your website.
Create dedicated landing pages for specific services or products for local keyword targeting.
Check out this video tutorial to get started: 👇
Tip #3: Research your keywords
Kick off your keyword research by jotting down topics and terms your customers are likely searching for. These keywords will be relevant to the niche of your small business. For instance, if your small business is concerned with upcycled menswear, keywords will be something like “upcycled menswear,” “sustainable men’s fashion,” or “upcycled denim.”
Next, check out your competitors—see what keywords they’re ranking for. This will uncover opportunities to target similar keywords and gain an edge.
Most people miss out on the power of long-tail keywords. These longer, more specific phrases may have less competition, but they attract highly targeted traffic.
To simplify your keyword research, use tools like Writesonic or Google Keyword Planner to expand your list, analyze search volume, and assess keyword difficulty.
Writesonic’s Keyword research tool is free and handy. It finds all relevant and trending keywords for a particular query and provides detailed data on keyword difficulty, volume, and traffic.
To use this tool, simply jot down a list of terms or words you think people will use when searching for a business similar to yours. Then, insert these terms in the Keyword Research tool and click ‘Identify Keywords.’
For instance, for the query ‘thrift store los angeles’, the tool shows the following results:
Next, expand your keyword list with any relevant terms or phrases, and use this list as a guide when creating content, designing your website’s structure, and implementing other optimizations.
Note that Google Keyword Planner’s competition metric reflects paid advertising efforts, not organic search competition, but it’s still useful for assessing which keywords to target.
Tip #4: Perform a competitive analysis
Your SERP rivals are aiming for the same online visibility as you.
Analyzing your competitors on search engine results pages (SERPs) helps you uncover additional keywords and understand the type of content that resonates with users.
By observing which keywords your competitors are ranking for and examining the content they have optimized, you gain insights into what topics and approaches are effective in your industry.
Use this analysis to refine your SEO strategy. Incorporate successful keywords and create content that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience. This will improve your search engine visibility and boost user engagement.
Start by examining how they use keywords and structure their websites (💡tip: look at their menus, headers, and footers), as well as the type of content they publish.
Take this intel to improve your website.
Pay attention to the pages your competitors use to rank for relevant keywords (homepage vs. dedicated pages) and identify their target audience.
Uncover competitors’ keyword rankings, monthly traffic, and top-performing keywords with Writesonic’s SEO Research and Optimizer and find potential keywords you should target.
For example, suppose a competitor gets a lot of traffic from a specific keyword. In that case, it’s a sign you should also start using that keyword in your SEO strategies for small businesses.
Tip #5: Conduct keyword mapping
Keyword mapping assigns relevant keywords to specific pages, giving each a clear focus and purpose. This helps users and search engines understand your content better, making your pages more likely to rank for relevant searches.
Effective keyword mapping hinges on understanding search intent.
Ask yourself: Why are people searching for this keyword?
Are they seeking information, buying something, or finding a local service?
Aligning your content with their intent boosts your chances of attracting the right audience.
Keyword clustering takes it further by grouping related keywords. This way, you can cover more search queries and increase your chances of ranking for multiple terms.
To use this tool, enter your primary keywords and select a country. You’ll then receive pillar content keywords and a list of cluster content keywords.
For instance, ‘thrift store los angeles’ from our previous query returns the following results:
Tip #6: Plan your site structure
A well-structured site creates a win-win: improving visitor experience and boosting organic traffic.
Clear navigation and logical organization make it easy for users to find what they need, leading to longer visits, higher conversions, and lower bounce rates.
Plus, search engines can better grasp your content’s hierarchy and importance.
Here’s how you can plan your site effectively for SEO:
Define your goals for your website
Begin by clearly defining your business goals and target audience. Consider what actions you want visitors to take and what information they seek.
Then, prioritize your content and design a structure that prioritizes the user.
Create a visual sitemap
A visual sitemap is a hierarchical diagram that outlines your website’s structure.
It helps you see how pages are connected and logically organize your site. Tools such as FlowMapp or Slickplan are great for creating detailed sitemaps.
In addition, use a hierarchical structure where the homepage links to main category pages, which in turn link to subcategory pages. This top-down approach is intuitive for users and search engines.
For example, an e-commerce site might have a structure like this:
Home
Products
Electronics
Mobile Phones
Laptops
Optimize URL structure
Your URLs should mirror the structure of your website, making it easy for users and search engines to understand the organization of your content.
Keep them straightforward and descriptive, and incorporate relevant keywords to indicate what each page is about. This helps improve usability, enhances SEO by signaling content relevance, and improves overall user experience.
For instance, a URL for a product page might look like this: www.example.com/products/electronics/mobile-phones
Implement internal linking
Internal links serve two important purposes, they:
improve how users navigate your site by connecting related pages and guiding them through your content, and
help search engines discover and index your pages by establishing connections between different parts of your website
By strategically linking from high-authority pages to newer or less prominent ones, you spread page authority throughout your site, which enhances the visibility and ranking potential of all your pages.
Use breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are navigation aids that show users exactly where they are within your site’s hierarchy. They improve user experience and help search engines understand the structure of your site.
Avoid very complex site structures. Keep your site shallow by ensuring important content is no more than three clicks away from the homepage.
Tip #7: Create a well-thought content strategy
A well-structured content strategy maintains your brand’s online visibility.
Create a content calendar that outlines the blogs or articles you have set aside for publication, their publication dates, and who is responsible for each piece.
Mix up your content to cater to various preferences and learning styles. Offer a mix of content, from informative blog posts and detailed articles to engaging videos, cool infographics, and fun interactive quizzes!
The goal is to keep your audience hooked and eager to come back for more. Don’t forget to include seasonal or trending topics to keep your content fresh and timely.
Writesonic relies on thorough competitor analysis and in-depth web research with internal linking and citations to deliver high-ranking, SEO-optimized articles.
Plus, you can upload your documents to Writesonic and transform them into engaging, E-E-A-T satisfying articles.
Check out this video to dive deeper into Writesonic’s AI Article Writer: 👇
Tip #8: Prioritize on-page optimization alongside content creation
On-page optimization is the technical side of the equation, where you fine-tune your content for search engines.
On-page optimization involves:
integrating relevant keywords into your text,
writing concise and descriptive meta tags,
using header tags to structure your content, and
adding descriptive alt text to images.
On-page optimizations help search engines understand your content better, improving your chances of ranking higher.
Writesonic’s On-page SEO Checker and Optimizer make it easy to check your SEO content’s quality instantly. It includes real-time Google data integration and automated SEO for small business SEO optimization.
Plus, it supports multiple languages to cater to diverse audiences.
Tip #9: Do not ignore Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO builds your reputation and authority beyond your website.
Start from the basics—ensure your business information is accurate and consistent across online directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and any industry-specific platforms.
Next, form relationships with local organizations, businesses, and influencers. Local partnerships often lead to valuable backlinks to your website and signal to search engines that you’re a trusted and relevant resource.
Consider guest posting on reputable websites or blogs in your niche. Sharing your expertise and insights can help you gain exposure and earn valuable backlinks.
Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of public relations. Seek opportunities for media coverage, press releases, or mentions in online publications as they massively influence your brand’s reach.
Tip #10: Regularly monitor SEO performance
Check your Google Analytics and Search Console dashboards frequently to track website traffic, keyword rankings, and user behavior. Then, use that data to improve your online presence.
Here’s how to track your SEO performance with these tools:
Google Analytics: Navigate to Acquisition > All Traffic > Channels > Organic Search to see the number of sessions from organic search.
Google Search Console: Use the Performance report to see the average position of your keywords.
Tools like Writesonic provide comprehensive backlink analysis at your fingertips, including the number of referring domains and the quality of backlinks.
SEO is an ongoing process. You can make smart decisions that boost your website’s performance and keep traffic flowing by leveraging data.
Don’t let your competitors write you out. Use Writesonic
Success in SEO isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon.
With consistent effort, a sprinkle of creativity, and a capable tool like Writesonic by your side, you’ll be the one crossing the finish line with a gold medal (and a fatter wallet!).
Yes, it does. SEO is not just for big brands anymore—It’s arguably more crucial for small businesses to stand out in a crowded market.
With the right strategy, even a small budget can bring tangible results in increased website traffic and revenue.
How to improve SEO for small businesses?
You can improve SEO for your small business by first mastering the basics:
Keyword research: Identify the terms your target audience is searching for and incorporate them into your website content.
On-Page optimization: Keep your site technically sound and optimized for search engines. That means fine-tuning your meta tags, headers, and image descriptions to boost your visibility online.
Local SEO: If you have a physical location, optimize for local searches to attract nearby customers.
Content creation: Regularly publish high-quality, relevant content that answers your audience’s questions and provides value.
Link building: Earn backlinks from reputable websites and boost your website’s authority and credibility.
What are the common SEO issues small business owners make when using SEO?
Here are some of the most common SEO mistakes we’ve seen business owners make that can be avoided by using the tips in this article:
Ignoring keyword research: Failing to research and target relevant keywords leads to missed opportunities.
Neglecting on-page optimization: Technical issues like slow loading speeds or poor mobile optimization hurt your rankings.
Overlooking local SEO: Not optimizing for local searches means missing out on potential customers in your area.
Focusing only on keywords: Stuffing keywords unnaturally into your content harms your user experience and damages SEO.
Ignoring analytics: Not tracking your SEO performance means you won’t know what’s working and what’s not.
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