SEO Tools
SEO Tools: Brief Summary
SEO tools are programmes that support website operators and SEOs in search engine optimisation. They serve to analyse content, keywords, backlinks or an entire website concerning its current ranking and its ranking potential according to search engines.
SEO Tools: Detailed Summary
SEO tools are used to analyse websites in respect of their placement in search engine rankings. In addition to software that provides analysis of a variety of important SEO factors associated with a domain, some programmes provide information on individual sub-areas such as backlinks or keywords. SEO agencies often offer the customer a toolbox so that they can select the required programmes themselves or receive a ready-made summary of various analysis programmes. Using the data provided by the SEO tools, website operators and SEOs can optimise content and thus influence the ranking of a page on search engines such as Google.
What do SEO tools analyse?
For SEO experts and webmasters, tracking a domain is essential for optimisation. Different parts of a website can be examined and optimised.
Keywords
Keyword research includes determining the appropriate keywords in terms of the number of search queries they generate and the competition they face. SEO tools can also determine where in the HTML code of the website the keywords are or should be present, what ranking they achieve and how much traffic they generate.
Example: Google Keyword Planner, Google Webmaster Tools
Content
With the help of content analysis, page content can be examined to see if it complies with search engine guidelines. For example, from the results page, operators can see if titles and descriptions have been included and if relevant keywords in the content have been marked with the appropriate HTML tags. You can also determine whether texts are the right length or whether the format and size of the images on the page are correct. Text analysis based on WDF*IDF aspects is now widespread, and many providers have developed tools especially for this type of text optimisation. Many tools check texts for duplicates and therefore aim to avoid penalisation for using duplicate content. The content that can be analysed includes images and videos as well as your blog or simple website texts.
Example: Screaming Frog SEO Spider Tool, Copyscape, Ryte
Backlinks
High-quality backlinks are important for gaining a good ranking. This is why many SEO tools check the web for links. The programmes analyse where the link comes from and how “valuable” it is – the more trustworthy the linking page, the more valuable the link. These tools also recognise where links are coming from, whether to the blog, start page or a subpage. This allows website operators to deduce which content is well received and which may still need to be optimised.
Example: SEO-united Backlink Checker
Website
Like the content, an entire website can be checked to see whether it meets the requirements of Google and other search engines. SEO tools not only analyse the meta tags, titles, descriptions, etc., but also the page’s internal links, outgoing links or redirects. Loading times and the availability of individual subpages for Google can also be tested using Noindex, robots.txt or canonical markings. The domain name and the individual URLs can be important for ranking a website and so are included in this audit. SEO tools often create an overall result for a domain based on these different factors and thereby demonstrate its value or ranking potential.
Example: Searchmetrics Suite
Ranking
Many SEO tools indicate the ranking of individual subpages such as the blog or the homepage and show where a particular keyword (in connection with a website) ranks or how large the website’s current market share is. Comparative information on the competition is often included.
Example: Sistrix
Traffic
In order to precisely track the flow of visitors from external sources and within one’s own website, some tools record visitor traffic. You can measure how many users come to the site from which sources and how they navigate through the website. Good monitoring also shows which keywords the users searched for in order to subsequently land on the domain.
Example: Google Analytics
Social media
Some SEO tools evaluate data from social networks such as Facebook, Google+ or Twitter. They measure how many users access the blog or other subpages of a domain from there or, for example, how often a certain blog article is linked via social media. There are also many tools to help to identify trends in social networks by searching for frequently used keywords. This enables website operators to produce content related to topical issues and thus increase traffic to the site.
Example: hootsuite
Analysis Tools Providers
For many application areas of SEO analysis, free tools can be found that can cover a webmaster’s basic needs. However, for really convenient or more in-depth analyses, professional tools can be indispensable, but some require a fee. The best-known providers of programmes and associated services include Sistrix, Searchmetrics, Xovi, Ryte and Dinorank.
Costs and payment models for SEO tools
These five payment models for search engine optimisation tools are in widespread use:
- Freeware: Many tools can be used free of charge – partly as full versions, partly as (performance-limited) test versions.
- One-off payment: Some providers require a one-off payment to enable the use of their tool.
- Regular payment: Most professional tools are financed by a regular payment, usually per month or per year.
- Payment per volume: Occasionally, tool providers require payment for certain volumes, such as a certain number of searches.
Conclusion
SEO tools are an important tool for search engine optimisation of websites. Many tools differ not only in their range of functions but also in how they serve to analyse different SEO factors. The most important areas to be analysed include keywords, content, backlinks, the interaction of the entire website, ranking (potential), traffic or social media use.
Join over 80,000 customers world-wide, and use Textbroker for your Content Marketing.Register now for free