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128 Top SEO Tools That Are 100% Free

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These are some of the top SEO tools you can use for free to improve your marketing.

Software makes the SEO world go round. From analyzing your website data to performing research, effective SEO relies on a series of tools to assist humans in decision-making.

Paid subscription tools can be highly effective and usually come with support. But if you don’t have a large monthly budget, they might be out of the question.

The good news is that there are plenty of free tools. With a bit of time and know-how, you can create a free stack of software that helps you achieve your SEO goals.

What Are SEO Tools?

Think of SEO tools as your digital magnifying glass and toolkit for your website. They’re not just about providing numbers and graphs; they’re about offering insights and strategies to enhance your website’s visibility and performance.

These tools are the compass and map for navigating the vast world of search engine optimization, helping you pinpoint exactly where you stand and what steps you need to take to improve and boost visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Each SEO tool has a unique function, just like how a hammer is distinct from a screwdriver in a traditional toolbox. They offer specialized assistance in various aspects of SEO:

  • Analytics – Understand your website traffic and user behavior.
  • Keyword Research – Discover what your audience is searching for.
  • Links – Analyze your backlink profile and build quality links.
  • Local SEO – Optimize your site for local search results.
  • Mobile SEO – Ensure your site is optimized for mobile users.
  • On-page SEO – Improve the content and structure of your website pages.
  • Research – Dive deep into market trends and competitor strategies.
  • Rank Checking – Monitor where your pages stand in search results.
  • Site Speed – Enhance the loading speed of your pages.
  • WordPress SEO – Optimize your WordPress site specifically for SEO.

SEO tools are incredibly useful, but you must understand how to use them to get the most out of them.

There are even a few toolsets that can help you in more than the areas we just mentioned, giving you more of an all-at-once glance at your SEO performance.

Do You Need SEO Tools?

The short answer is yes, you need SEO tools.

Imagine trying to build a table using only your hands.

You wouldn’t get very far, would you? No.

You will need tools – saws, a measuring tape, a drill, and screwdrivers, to name a few.

Similarly, while you can certainly create a website with basic knowledge and intuition, truly optimizing and understanding its performance requires the right tools.

Without them, you’re essentially playing a guessing game.

Without SEO tools, you’re missing out on:

  • The volume of traffic reaching your site.
  • Alerts on sudden drops in website visits.
  • Identifying and fixing HTML errors.
  • Tracking the quantity and quality of your backlinks.
  • Discovering potential keywords to drive more traffic.
  • And much, much more.

So, while it’s theoretically possible to manage a website without SEO tools, if you’re serious about maximizing its potential and reaching your audience effectively, leveraging these tools isn’t just recommended – it’s essential.

What Are The Best Free SEO Tools?

If you’re looking to get started with SEO or want to achieve better results for the low cost of $0, here are 110 of the best free SEO tools you should be using.

Free SEO Analytics Tools

1. Google Analytics 4

Screenshot by author, May 2022

Google Analytics 4 is an invaluable resource that is virtually indispensable to any digital marketer serious about SEO.

It provides plenty of handy data about websites, such as the number of site visits, traffic sources, and location demographics.

With the detailed information from Google Analytics, digital marketers can tweak their content strategy and figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Google Analytics 4 is one of the best free SEO tools that every digital marketer should be using.

2. Looker Studio (Formerly Data Studio)

Google Looker Studio lets you merge data from varying sources, such as Google Search Console and Google Analytics, and create sharable visualizations.

If you’re just getting started with it, this beginner’s guide to Data Studio will be helpful.

More advanced users can learn how to use CASE statements for better Data Studio segments here.

3. Keyword Hero

Missing keyword data? Leave it to Keyword Hero, which uses advanced math and machine learning to fill in the blanks.

This service is free for up to 2,000 sessions per month. Keyword Hero also provides a 14-day free trial of any of its  plans.

4. Mozcast

Mozcast tracks changes big and small to Google’s search algorithm.

With Google making hundreds of changes every year, keeping abreast of the latest developments helps you ensure you’re doing everything to have the best SERPs.

5. Panguin Tool

The Panguin Tool, provided by Barracuda Digital, lines up your search traffic with known changes to the Google search algorithm.

If you see a drop that lines up with an update, you’ve likely found the culprit and can work on fixing it!

6. Google Search Console Enhancer

A Chrome extension that beefs up your Google Search Console (GSC) with additional features and insights. Google Search Console Enhancer is like putting a turbocharger on your Console, providing you with more detailed data to fine-tune your SEO approach.

7. Better Regex In Search Console

This nifty Chrome extension amps up your Google Search Console experience.

If you’re into the nitty-gritty of SEO data, this tool helps you create more sophisticated search patterns to dive deeper into your website’s search query data.

8. Lost Impressions Index Check

This tool from TameTheBots helps you uncover potential SEO opportunities by identifying where you might be losing visibility in search results.

Free Crawling & Indexing Tools

9. Redirect Path

Redirect PathScreenshot from Redirect Path, March 2024

The Redirect Path Chrome extension will flag 301, 302, 404, and 500 HTTP Status Codes.

Additionally, client-side redirects like meta and JavaScript redirects will also be flagged, ensuring any redirect issue can be uncovered immediately.

HTTP Headers, such as server types and caching headers, as well as the server IP address, can also be displayed with the click of a button.

Furthermore, all of these details can be copied to your clipboard for easy sharing or addition to a technical audit document.

10. Link Redirect Trace

Use this Chrome plugin to make sure all your link redirects are directing people and crawlers to where you want them to go.

11. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Crawl your website for SEO errors.

Discover HTTP header errors, JavaScript rendering hiccups, excess HTML, crawl mistakes, duplicate content, and more with Screaming Frog SEO Spider.

12. Screaming Frog Log File Analyzer

Upload your log files to Screaming Frog’s Log File Analyzer to confirm search engine bots, check which URLs have been crawled, and study search bot data.

13. SEOlyzer

Another SEO log analysis tool that provides data in real-time and page categorization.

14. Xenu

One of the original free SEO tools, Xenu is a crawler that provides basic site audits, looks for broken links, and the other usual suspects.

15. Where Goes?

Track where redirection URLs and shortened links go with Where Goes?

16. Check My Links

Check My Links sampleScreenshot from Check My Links, May 2024

Check My Links is a nifty Chrome Extension that crawls through your webpage and identifies the status code for each link on the page – including broken links.

Each status code is color-coded with 200 status codes returning dark green, 300 status codes returning light green, and 400 status codes returning red.

Once identified, you can copy all bad links to your clipboard with one click.

17. Robots.txt Generator

Create a correct robots.txt file instantly so search engines know how to crawl your website.

Advanced users can customize their files with Robots.txt Generator as well.

18. HEADMaster SEO

Checks URLs in bulk for status code, redirect status, response time, response headers, and HTTP header fields with HEADMaster SEO.

Get results in real-time, sort and study your findings, and export your work to CSV.

19. Keep-Alive Validation SEO Tool

Check URLs in bulk – or one by one – to see if their servers support persistent connection, which makes your website load faster.

Check what version of HTTP your server is on and whether there are any external connections on your URL with this tool.

20. Hreflang Tag Generator

Generate hreflang tags so that Google knows which language particular pages on your website are in.

This will allow Google to search those pages in that language.

21. XML Sitemaps

Create a site map of up to 500 pages for free without registration.

Download your sitemap as an XML file or get it via email.

22. SERP Checker

Determine the potential ranking difficulty of a keyword with Ahrefs’ free SERP Checker tool.

You can check the top 10 search ranking results from any location without using proxies or location-specific IP addresses.

23. SFAIK Screaming Frog Analyzer

A robust visualization of Screaming Frog crawl data using Google Data Studio.

24. SEOWL Google Title Rewrite Checker

This Google Title Rewrite Checker will allow you to check if Google is rewriting the title of a list of pages, allowing for deeper Title Tag structure analysis.

Free Keyword Research Tools

25. AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic for marketingScreenshot from AnswerThePublic, May 2024

AnswerThePublic is a nifty tool that provides content marketers with valuable data about the questions people ask online.

Once you input a keyword, it fetches popular queries based on that keyword and generates a cool graphic with the questions and phrases people use when they search for that keyword.

This data gives content creators insight into potential customers’ concerns and desires, and enables them to craft highly targeted content that addresses those needs.

AnswerThePublic also provides keyword suggestions using prepositions such as “versus,” “like,” and “with.”

It is an excellent research tool that can help you create better content that people will enjoy and be more likely to share.

26. Keyword Explorer

This keyword research tool will give you up to 1,000 keyword suggestions, a keyword difficulty score, a click-through rate date, and SERP analysis.

You get three free searches per day.

27. Keyword Planner

Google’s Keyword Planner is designed for ad campaigns, but you can use it for keyword research by seeing how keywords perform in ads.

28. Keyword Sheeter

Get keyword volume, cost per click, and competition data with this free keyword tool.

29. Keywords Everywhere

Keywords Everywhere sampleScreenshot from Keywords Everywhere, May 2024

Keywords Everywhere is a must-use keyword research tool due to the massive list of sites that it provides free search volume, CPC, and competition data for:

  • Google Search.
  • Google Trends.
  • eBay.
  • AnswerThePublic.
  • Google Keyword Planner.
  • Bing.
  • Etsy.
  • Soovle.
  • Google Search Console.
  • YouTube.
  • Ubersuggest.
  • Majestic.
  • Google Analytics 4.
  • Amazon.
  • Keyword Sheeter.
  • Moz Open Site Explorer.

It’s available for Chrome and Firefox.

30. Ahrefs Keyword Difficulty

This tool lets you discover how difficult it will be to rank in the top 10 search results for any keyword.

Simply enter your term and choose your location, and Ahrefs will give you a score, with 0 being easy and 100 being extremely difficult.

31. Also Asked

Find out what questions people are asking about particular keywords so that you can write content that answers those questions with Also Asked.

Conduct searches by country and in different languages. You can claim three free searches to start.

32. Google Trends

With Google Trends, you can see the interest in a particular term from as recently as an hour to as far back as 2004.

Sort by categories, country, and type of search. See related topics, popularity by region, latest most frequently searched-for terms, and compare to other terms.

33. Glimpse – Google Trends Search Extension

This Chrome extension brings Google Trends right to your browser, offering instant insights into trending topics.

It’s a goldmine for SEO strategists looking to tap into current interests and emerging searches.

34.  Keyword Surfer

This Chrome extension shows you the search volume in your Google search results. You can also see the word count and the number of keywords for top-ranking pages.

35. CanIRank

CanIRank homepageScreenshot by author, March 2024

As the name implies, CanIRank helps you determine if you can rank on the first page of search engines for a particular keyword.

Unlike other tools that merely provide data about how competitive keywords are, CanIRank lets you know the probability that you’ll rank for a search term and uses AI to give you suggestions on how to better target keywords.

CanIRank provides great competitive analysis data and actionable steps to get your site ranking higher with better SEO.

36. Seed Keywords

Come up with a question or topic you want to research, send it to your contacts, and have them select the keywords they would search for to get the information you want with Seed Keywords.

37. Exploding Topics

Similar to Google Trends, Exploding Topics will help uncover topics that are about to become popularly searched before they become popularly searched!

38. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest exampleScreenshot by Ubersuggest, May 2024

Ubersuggest is a simple keyword research tool that scrapes data from Google’s Keyword Planner for keyword ideas based on a keyword you provide.

The tool also returns handy data for each keyword, including the search volume, CPC, and level of competition.

An excellent feature of Ubersuggest is its ability to filter out keywords you’re not interested in from search results.

The tool has recently added a feature where you can type in a competitor’s domain to get better keyword ideas.

39. Keys4Up

Get the related keywords, also known as semantically linked keywords, for any search with Keys4Up.

40. Wordtracker Scout

Wordtracker Scout will help discover what keywords people search for when they’re ready to make a purchase.

41. KWFinder

With KWFinder, you can discover long-tail keywords – those more specific, less frequently used keywords that yield higher results because of how specific they are.

42. Keywords People Use

Get into the minds of your audience by discovering the exact phrases and questions they use.

This tool helps you align your content with real user searches, making your site more visible and relevant.

Free Link Tools

43. Disavow Tool

Use Google’s Disavow Tool to free yourself from toxic backlinks.

44. Moz Link Explorer

See the backlink profile and domain authority of any URL with Link Explorer.

45. Link Miner

Discover if a given URL has any broken links and discover the metrics of those links, including both search and social data with the Link Miner extension.

46. Backlink Checker

Use this Backlink Checker to discover all the backlink data about a particular URL.

See the number of referring domains, the number of backlinks, the domain and URL rating, and its Ahrefs Rank, a domain’s position in Ahrefs’s list of most powerful sites.

47. The Anchor Text Suggestion Tool By Outreach Labs

Discover the best anchor text to use for any URL with this Anchor Text Suggestion Tool.

48. SendPulse

SendPulse allows for the configuration of chains of emails, notifications, and SMS messages based on user actions, variables, or events.

49. Scraper

This Chrome extension lets you scrape data from any URL and export the info into a spreadsheet.

50. Help A Reporter (HARO)

Help A Reporter is a resource that connects journalists and experts who act as sources for stories.

51. Streak

Convert your Gmail inbox into customer relationship management (CRM) software with this free extension.

Local SEO

52. Google Business Profile

Connect with customers across Google Search and Google Maps using a free Google Business Profile.

53. Whitespark Google Review Link Generator

Use this tool to find your Google Review listing and generate a shortened link to your page.

54. Local Search Results Checker

Conduct local searches using Google Search or Google Maps with Brightlocal’s Local Search Results Checker.

55. Moz Local Check Business Listing

Confirm that your company’s details appear correctly on various directories with Moz’s Local Business Checker.

56. Whitespark Local Citation Finder

Track your citations, discover new opportunities, and get the citations your competitors have with this Local Citation Finder.

57. Review Handout Generator

Print instructions on how to leave a Google review via desktop or mobile device for your business with Whitespark’s Review Handout Generator.

58. Fakespot Review Checker

This Chrome extension lets you know if the product you’re about to buy comes from a reputable seller and, if not, provides an alternative.

59. Mobile SERP Test

See your local SERPS on various mobile devices with Mobile SERP Test from Mobile Moxie.

Mobile SEO Tools

60. WebPageTest

webpagetest mobile seo toolScreenshot by author, March 2024

Get visual insights for Core Web Vitals, including the primary image responsible for low LCP scores, scripts responsible for render-blocking, and .gif examples of cumulative layout shifts from the WebPageTest.

61. Merkle Mobile-First Index Checker

See how your website stacks up relative to SEO best practices, depending on whether it’s your desktop or mobile version, with Mobile-First Index Checker.

62. Google Page Speed Insights

Test your website’s mobile-friendliness with Google’s Page Speed Insights tool.

63. GTMetrix

See how quickly your website loads with GTMetrix.

Discover what’s keeping it from loading as fast as possible, and see what steps to take to optimize load speed.

64. Cloudflare

A free content delivery network (CDN) is a network of servers that speeds up content loading by using the server closest to the person doing the loading.

65. Reddico SERP Speed Test

Reddico’s SERP Speed Test tool allows you to compare your page speed at keyword level with the rest of the pages ranking on page 1.

The best part? Most countries are supported – simply choose your local from the drop-down.

Free Multi-Tools

66. Semrush Free Account

Semrush for SEJScreenshot from Semrush, March 2024

Semrush is an excellent keyword research SEO tool that, among other things, makes it easy to find out what keywords any page on the web is ranking for.

It provides detailed information about those keywords, including their position in SERPs, the URLs to which they drive traffic, and the traffic trends over the past 12 months.

With this feature-packed tool, you can easily find out what keywords your competitors are ranking for and craft great content around those terms and phrases.

Semrush also offers more features and unlimited access with various paid plans.

While they’re not cheap, you can get started with a 14-day free trial to test the premium features. Or follow the company’s guide on how to use features with a free account.

67. Chrome DevTools

Edit pages in real-time using tools that are built into Google Chrome DevTools.

Diagnose problems as you encounter them.

68. Marketing Miner

Get SERP data, ranking, tool reports, and competitive analysis all in the form of convenient reports with Marketing Miner.

69. MozBar

MozBar sampleScreenshot from Mozbar, March 2024

MozBar is a free SEO toolbar that works with the Chrome browser. It provides easy access to advanced metrics on webpages and SERPs.

With MozBar and a free Moz account, you can easily access the Page and Domain Authority scores of any page or site.

The Page Analysis feature lets you explore elements on any page (e.g., markup, page title, general attributes, link metrics).

You can find keywords on the page you’re viewing, highlight and differentiate links, and compare the link metrics of different sites in SERPs.

If you need to do detailed SEO research on the go, MozBar is one of the best options.

You can unlock even more advanced features, such as Page Optimization and Keyword Difficulty, with a MozPro subscription.

70. SEO Minion

Conduct on-page SEO analysis, check for broken links, get a SERP preview, and more with this Chrome extension.

71. SEOquake

See SEO metrics and conduct an SEO audit with this Chrome extension.

72. Sheets For Marketers

Learn how to automate tasks in Google Sheets and discover the best automation templates and tools via this curated list.

73. Sheet Consolidator

Create workbooks using CSV exports with a table of contents and enabled hyperlinks using this simple Excel Sheet Consolidator tool.

74. Google Search Console

Google Search Console sampleScreenshot by author, May 2022

This list wouldn’t be complete without a mention of Google Search Console.

Aside from the fact that the data comes from Google, Google Search Console is rich with insights related to:

  • Keyword and URL performance.
  • Indexation issues.
  • Mobile usability.
  • Sitemap status.
  • And much more!

75. Small SEO Tools

A suite of tools to make it easier to create content, including a plagiarism checker, article rewriter, grammar check, word counter, spell checker, paraphrasing tool, and more.

76. Internet Marketing Ninjas

From social tools and schema generator tools to webmaster tools and web design tools, check out the free suite of tools from Internet Marketing Ninjas.

77. Ahref’s SEO Toolbar

Get SEO metrics and SERP details from Ahrefs free Chrome or Firefox extension.

78. Bing Webmaster Tools

Featuring keyword reports, keyword research, crawling dates, and more.

Unlike Google Analytics, Bing Webmaster Tools only focuses on organic search. It’s a must-have for anyone who wants to be ranked on Bing.

79. Woorank

WoorankScreenshot by author, May 2022

Woorank is a handy website analyzer that provides useful insights that can help you improve your site’s SEO.

It generates an SEO score for your site and an actionable “Marketing Checklist,” which outlines steps you can take to fix any problems with your site’s SEO.

Another cool feature of this free tool is the social shareability pane. This section provides social network data such as the number of likes, shares, comments, backlinks, and bookmarks across popular social networks.

Woorank also has a great mobile section where you can find information on how your pages render on mobile devices and how quickly they load.

80. SEObility

Find a suite of SEO tools that includes a site auditor, a SERP tracker, a backlink tracker, and more with SEObility.

81. Dareboost

This tool will provide you with an audit of your technical SEO, content, and website’s popularity.

You can also find out which keywords you should add to your pages.

82. Siteliner

Discover duplicate content, broken links, and page authority, and get both an XML sitemap and a detailed report of key site information with Siteliner.

83. InLinks

InLinks is about enhancing your content’s SEO by understanding and optimizing for the context of your topics, not just keywords.

It’s like having an SEO coach who helps you make your content more relevant and engaging through internal linking recommendations, AI content generation, content brief automation, and more.

On-Page SEO

84. Named Entities Indexing Checker

Part of InLinks, this indexing checker tool checks how well search engines understand the named entities (people, places, things) in your content.

Ensuring your content’s context is spot-on for better SEO performance is crucial.

85. JSON Crack

While more technical, this online JSON tool can help SEO professionals work with JSON, a common data format, making it easier to analyze and utilize structured data for SEO purposes.

86. Counting Characters Google SERP Tool

Counting Characters homepageScreenshot by author, May 2024

While counting characters has been a long-standing approach to evaluating meta description and title tag length, the reality is Google doesn’t count the meta title and description in the number of characters. It uses pixels instead.

The Counting Characters tool will provide both the character count and the pixel count to ensure you are creating meta tags that are not cut off by an ellipsis – represented by (…).

87. Natural Language API Demo

Use machine learning to determine the sentiment of text with the Natural Language API Demo.

New customers get $300 in free credits to spend on Natural Language. Use this data to improve your product or site design.

88. Rich Results Test

The Rich Results Test will discover if your website can support rich results, which is when your Google result includes non-textual elements like images.

89. Structured Markup Validator

Google’s structured data tool no longer exists. The Schema Markup Validator is the recommended alternative.

90. Ryte Structured Data Helper

The Ryte Structured Data Helper will provide you with a handy overview, showing you how to quickly and clearly validate your page’s Schema markup.

91. Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager allows you to manage your website tags without editing any code!

92. View Rendered Source

See how your browser renders a page with this Chrome extension, including modifications made by JavaScript.

Differences between raw and rendered versions are shown line-by-line.

93. Higher Visibility Google SERP Snippet Optimization Tool

Find out what your SERP snippet will look like with Higher Visibility’s Google SERP Snippet Optimization Tool.

94. Merkle’s Schema Markup Generator

Merkle’s Schema Markup Generator tool will help create JSON-LD markups for articles, breadcrumbs, events, FAQ pages, and how-to guides.

95. Animalz Revive

Find out which of your pages needs an update or an upgrade with Animalz Revive.

You can see the traffic for your pages, including the percentage of traffic your page lost since its peak.

96. Copyscape Free Comparison Tool

Copyscape’s Comparison Tool will help you check the percentage of shared text between two different pages to weed out plagiarism.

97. Internal Linking Tool

An internal linking tool to help you weave a web of internal links on your website, boosting your SEO by making your site more navigable and interconnected. Think of it as laying down a network of roads within your website, guiding visitors and search engines alike.

SEO Research Tools

98. Hunter

Hunter will help find all the important email addresses associated with a given domain.

99. SimilarWeb

Conduct competitor analysis with SimilarWeb that shows you a given domain’s traffic, top pages, engagement, marketing channels, and more.

100. Wappalyzer

Wappalyzer will help you determine if a given website is using a CMS, CRM, ecommerce platform, advertising networks, marketing tools, or analytics.

101. Wayback Machine

See a website throughout time, including pages that are no longer on the web with the Wayback Machine.

Bonus* check out the Compare tool to visualize how a page has changed based on specific timestamps.

wayback machine compare datesScreenshot by author, March 2024

102. SEO Explorer

SEO Explorer is a free tool for keyword and link research.

103. RedditInsights.ai

This is a cool tool for peering into the vast world of Reddit to uncover trends and topics.

Understanding what’s buzzing on Reddit can guide content creation, helping you tap into what your audience is interested in to inform your keyword and content strategy.

104. Thruuu Page Comparison Tool

Dive into side-by-side SEO comparisons of different web pages with the Thruuu Page Comparison Tool.

You can use this to help you understand how to optimize your own content.

Free Rank Checking Tools

105. Ahref’s SERP Checker

See the domains that place in the top 10 for any given keyword in 243 countries, and get robust analytics from Ahref’s SERP Checker.

106. SERPROBOT

Find a dedicated SERP tracking tool with the appropriately named SERPROBOT.

Set up automatic alerts, choose the frequency with which your SERP is checked, and get visual representations of changes.

107. Bulk Google Rank Checker

See your website’s SERPs for various keywords en mass with the Bulk Google Rank Checker.

Free Site Speed Tools

108. Lighthouse

This is Google’s open-source site speed utility. Lighthouse provides audits of performance, accessibility, web apps, SEO, and more.

109. WebpageTest

WebpageTest conducts site speed tests from different locations using different browsers.

110. Web Vitals

This GitHub extension measures Core Web Vitals, providing instant feedback on loading, interactivity, and layout shift metrics.

Here is an additional list of plugins to improve site speed.

WordPress SEO Tools

WordPress is a robust SEO-friendly CMS platform with numerous plugin options available to improve SEO.

While this post isn’t a WordPress-specific list of plugins, it is worth mentioning a handful of key plugins worth considering.

111. RankMath

A newer SEO suite for WordPress, RankMath has 15 modules and provides SEO guidance using 30 different types of improvements.

112. Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is the most installed SEO suite for WordPress, with regular updates and new tools.

113. Ahrefs WordPress SEO Plugin

The Ahrefs WordPress SEO plugin will provide you with content audits, backlink checking, and tools to monitor and grow your organic traffic.

Here are additional lists of Google Analytics plugins and plugins to improve site speed.

Free AI SEO Tools

Last but not least, we cannot ignore AI.

For better or worse, artificial intelligence has completely shaken up the digital world. While it should never replace your current SEO activities, it can certainly enhance them.

Here are some free AI SEO tools; we’ll also explain how to use them.

114. OpenAI Chat (ChatGPT)

chatgpt seo toolScreenshot by author, March 2024

Perhaps the most famous AI tool out there, ChatGPT can be a great help in your SEO efforts.

You can ask for advice, generate content ideas, and even get help with keyword research. It’s like having an SEO buddy you can brainstorm with anytime.

While the Premium ChatGPT, i.e., ChatGPT 4, is paid, ChatGPT 3.5 is free of charge.

115. AIRPM for ChatGPT

Think of AIPRM as your personal assistant to supercharge ChatGPT’s capabilities.

It helps you craft prompts that get straight to the point, whether you’re looking for keyword suggestions, content ideas, or SEO strategies, making your interactions with ChatGPT even more fruitful.

116. SEO.AI

This innovative tool leverages AI to analyze your content’s alignment with SEO best practices and offers suggestions for improvement.

It can provide insights into keyword optimization, readability, and other on-page SEO factors, helping you refine your content to better match search engine algorithms and user expectations.

You can get 10 content audits free!

Time to Take Your SEO Efforts To New Heights

In today’s digital landscape, standing out is not just about having a great website; it’s about making sure it’s seen.

With well over 100 free SEO tools at your disposal, the power to elevate your online presence is literally at your fingertips.

We’ll leave you with some parting tips to help you while using these free SEO tools:

  • Start with a goal – Have a clear objective before diving into the sea of tools. Are you looking to increase traffic, enhance user engagement, or improve your search engine rankings? Knowing your goal will help you select the right tools and focus your efforts effectively.
  • Experiment and explore – Don’t hesitate to try different tools to see which ones resonate with your workflow and provide the most valuable insights. What works for one site might not work for another, so exploration is key.
  • Integrate SEO into your routine – Make SEO a regular part of your content creation and website maintenance routine. It’s not a one-off task but a continuous effort that pays dividends over time.
  • Stay updated – The world of SEO is dynamic, with search engines constantly updating their algorithms. Keep abreast of the latest trends and adjust your strategies accordingly to maintain and enhance your site’s visibility.
  • Use data wisely – Leverage the data and insights from these tools to make informed decisions. But remember, data is most powerful when combined with creativity and a deep understanding of your audience.
  • Patience is key – SEO results don’t happen overnight. Be patient, keep refining your strategies, and the results will come.

So, whether you’re a seasoned SEO strategist or just starting, the wealth of free tools available means there’s no excuse not to optimize your site.

Dive in, explore, and watch as your website climbs the ranks, attracting more visitors and turning clicks into customers.

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SEO

Gen Z Ditches Google, Turns To Reddit For Product Searches

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In this photo illustration, the Reddit logo is displayed on a smartphone screen.

A new report from Reddit, in collaboration with GWI and AmbassCo, sheds light on the evolving search behaviors of Generation Z consumers.

The study surveyed over 3,000 internet users across the UK, US, and Germany, highlighting significant changes in how young people discover and research products online.

Here’s an overview of key findings and the implications for marketers.

Decline In Traditional Search

The study found that Gen Z uses search engines to find new brands and products less often.

That’s because they shop online differently. They’re less interested in looking for expert reviews or spending much time searching for products.

There are also frustrations with mobile-friendliness and complex interfaces on traditional search platforms.

Because of this, traditional SEO strategies might not work well for reaching younger customers.

Takeaway

Companies trying to reach Gen Z might need to try new methods instead of just focusing on being visible on Google and other search engines.

Rise Of Social Media Discovery

Screenshot from Reddit study titled: “From search to research: How search marketers can keep up with Gen Z.”, June 2024.

Gen Z is increasingly using social media to find new brands and products.

The study shows that Gen Z has used social media for product discovery 36% more frequently since 2018.

This change is affecting how young people shop online. Instead of searching for products, they expect brands to appear in their social media feeds.

1719123963 547 Gen Z Ditches Google Turns To Reddit For Product SearchesScreenshot from Reddit study titled: “From search to research: How search marketers can keep up with Gen Z.”, June 2024.

Because of this, companies trying to reach young customers need to pay more attention to how they present themselves on social media.

Takeaway

To succeed at marketing to Gen Z, businesses will likely need to focus on two main things:

  1. Ensure that your content appears more often in social media feeds.
  2. Create posts people want to share and interact with.

Trust Issues With Influencer Marketing

Even though more people are finding products through social media, the report shows that Gen Z is less likely to trust what social media influencers recommend.

These young shoppers often don’t believe in posts that influencers are paid to make or products they promote.

Instead, they prefer to get information from sources that feel more real and are driven by regular people in online communities.

Takeaway

Because of this lack of trust, companies must focus on being genuine and building trust when they try to get their websites to appear in search results or create ads.

Some good ways to connect with these young consumers might be to use content created by regular users, encourage honest product reviews, and create authentic conversations within online communities.

Challenges With Current Search Experiences

The research shows that many people are unhappy with how search engines work right now.

More than 60% of those surveyed want search results to be more trustworthy. Almost half of users don’t like looking through many search result pages.

Gen Z is particularly bothered by inaccurate information and unreliable reviews.

1719123963 785 Gen Z Ditches Google Turns To Reddit For Product SearchesScreenshot from Reddit study titled: “From search to research: How search marketers can keep up with Gen Z.”, June 2024.

Takeaway

Given the frustration with search quality, marketers should prioritize creating accurate, trustworthy content.

This can help build brand credibility, leading to more direct visits.

Reddit: A Trusted Alternative

The report suggests that Gen Z trusts Reddit when looking up products—it’s their third most trusted source, after friends and family and review websites.

1719123963 403 Gen Z Ditches Google Turns To Reddit For Product SearchesScreenshot from Reddit study titled: “From search to research: How search marketers can keep up with Gen Z.”, June 2024.

Young users like Reddit because it’s community-based and provides specific answers to users’ questions, making it feel more real.

It’s worth noting that this report comes from Reddit itself, which probably influenced why it’s suggesting its own platform.

Takeaway

Companies should focus more on being part of smaller, specific online groups frequented by Gen Z.

That could include Reddit or any other forum.

Why SEJ Cares

As young people change how they look for information online, this study gives businesses important clues about connecting with future customers.

Here’s what to remember:

  • Traditional search engine use is declining among Gen Z.
  • Social media is increasingly vital for product discovery.
  • There’s growing skepticism towards influencer marketing.
  • Current search experiences often fail to meet user expectations.
  • Community-based platforms like Reddit are gaining trust.

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Google Clarifies Organization Merchant Returns Structured Data

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Google updates organization structured data for merchant returns

Google quietly updated their organization structured data documentation in order to clarify two points about merchant returns in response to feedback about an ambiguity in the previous version.

Organization Structured Data and Merchant Returns

Google recently expanded their Organization structured data so that it could now accommodate a merchant return policy. The change added support for adding a sitewide merchant return policy.

The original reason for adding this support:

“Adding support for Organization-level return policies

What: Added documentation on how to specify a general return policy for an Organization as a whole.

Why: This makes it easier to define and maintain general return policies for an entire site.”

However that change left unanswered about what will happen if a site has a sitewide return policy but also has a different policy for individual products.

The clarification applies for the specific scenario of when a site uses both a sitewide return policy in their structured data and another one for specific products.

What Takes Precedence?

What happens if a merchant uses both a sitewide and product return structured data? Google’s new documentation states that Google will ignore the sitewide product return policy in favor of a more granular product-level policy in the structured data.

The clarification states:

“If you choose to provide both organization-level and product-level return policy markup, Google defaults to the product-level return policy markup.”

Change Reflected Elsewhere

Google also updated the documentation to reflect the scenario of the use of two levels of merchant return policies in another section that discusses whether structured data or merchant feed data takes precedence. There is no change to the policy, merchant center data still takes precedence.

This is the old documentation:

“If you choose to use both markup and settings in Merchant Center, Google will only use the information provided in Merchant Center for any products submitted in your Merchant Center product feeds, including automated feeds.”

This is the same section but updated with additional wording:

“If you choose to use both markup (whether at the organization-level or product-level, or both) and settings in Merchant Center, Google will only use the information provided in Merchant Center for any products submitted in your Merchant Center product feeds, including automated feeds.”

Read the newly updated Organization structured data documentation:

Organization (Organization) structured data – MerchantReturnPolicy

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What Is It & How To Write It

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What Is It & How To Write It

In this guide, you will learn about alternative text (known as alt text): what it is, why it is important for on-page SEO, how to use it correctly, and more.

It’s often overlooked, but every image on your website should have alt text. More information is better, and translating visual information into text is important for search engine bots attempting to understand your website and users with screen readers.

Alt text is one more source of information that relates ideas and content together on your website.

This practical and to-the-point guide contains tips and advice you can immediately use to improve your website’s image SEO and accessibility.

What Is Alt Text?

Alternative text (or alt text) – also known as the alt attribute or the alt tag (which is not technically correct because it is not a tag) – is simply a piece of text that describes the image in the HTML code.

What Are The Uses Of Alt Text?

The original function of alt text was simply to describe an image that could not be loaded.

Many years ago, when the internet was much slower, alt text would help you know the content of an image that was too heavy to be loaded in your browser.

Today, images rarely fail to load – but if they do, then it is the alt text you will see in place of an image.

Screenshot from Search Engine Journal, May 2024

Alt text also helps search engine bots understand the image’s content and context.

More importantly, alt text is critical for accessibility and for people using screen readers:

  • Alt text helps people with disabilities (for example, using screen readers) learn about the image’s content.

Of course, like every element of SEO, it is often misused or, in some cases, even abused.

Let’s now take a closer look at why alt text is important.

Why Alt Text Is Important

The web and websites are a very visual experience. It is hard to find a website without images or graphic elements.

That’s why alt text is very important.

Alt text helps translate the image’s content into words, thus making the image accessible to a wider audience, including people with disabilities and search engine bots that are not clever enough yet to fully understand every image, its context, and its meaning.

Why Alt Text Is Important For SEO

Alt text is an important element of on-page SEO optimization.

Proper alt text optimization makes your website stand a better chance of ranking in Google image searches.

Yes, alt text is a ranking factor for Google image search.

Depending on your website’s niche and specificity, Google image search traffic may play a huge role in your website’s overall success.

For example, in the case of ecommerce websites, users very often start their search for products with a Google image search instead of typing the product name into the standard Google search.

Screenshot from search for [Garmin forerunner]Screenshot from search for [Garmin forerunner], May 2024

Google and other search engines may display fewer product images (or not display them at all) if you fail to take care of their alt text optimization.

Without proper image optimization, you may lose a lot of potential traffic and customers.

Why Alt Text Is Important For Accessibility

Visibility in Google image search is very important, but there is an even more important consideration: Accessibility.

Fortunately, in recent years, more focus has been placed on accessibility (i.e., making the web accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities and/or using screen readers).

Suppose the alt text of your images actually describes their content instead of, for example, stuffing keywords. In that case, you are helping people who cannot see this image better understand it and the content of the entire web page.

Let’s say one of your web pages is an SEO audit guide that contains screenshots from various crawling tools.

Would it not be better to describe the content of each screenshot instead of placing the same alt text of “SEO audit” into every image?

Let’s take a look at a few examples.

Alt Text Examples

Finding many good and bad examples of alt text is not difficult. Let me show you a few, sticking to the above example with an SEO audit guide.

Good Alt Text Examples

So, our example SEO guide contains screenshots from tools such as Google Search Console and Screaming Frog.

Some good examples of alt text may include:

”The
”Google
”List
”Screaming

Tip: It is also a good idea to take care of the name of your file. Using descriptive file names is not a ranking factor, but I recommend this as a good SEO practice.

Bad And/Or Spammy Alt Text Examples

I’ve also seen many examples of bad alt text use, including keyword stuffing or spamming.

Here is how you can turn the above good examples into bad examples:

”google search console coverage report
”google
”seo
”seo

As you can see, the above examples do not provide any information on what these images actually show.

You can also find examples and even more image SEO tips on Google Search Central.

Common Alt Text Mistakes

Stuffing keywords in the alt text is not the only mistake you can make.

Here are a few examples of common alt text mistakes:

  • Failure to use the alt text or using empty alt text.
  • Using the same alt text for different images.
  • Using very general alt text that does not actually describe the image. For example, using the alt text of “dog” on the photo of a dog instead of describing the dog in more detail, its color, what it is doing, what breed it is, etc.
  • Automatically using the name of the file as the alt text – which may lead to very unfriendly alt text, such as “googlesearchconsole,” “google-search-console,” or “photo2323,” depending on the name of the file.

Alt Text Writing Tips

And finally, here are the tips on how to write correct alt text so that it actually fulfills its purpose:

  • Do not stuff keywords into the alt text. Doing so will not help your web page rank for these keywords.
  • Describe the image in detail, but still keep it relatively short. Avoid adding multiple sentences to the alt text.
  • Use your target keywords, but in a natural way, as part of the image’s description. If your target keyword does not fit into the image’s description, don’t use it.
  • Don’t use text on images. All text should be added in the form of HTML code.
  • Don’t write, “this is an image of.” Google and users know that this is an image. Just describe its content.
  • Make sure you can visualize the image’s content by just reading its alt text. That is the best exercise to make sure your alt text is OK.

How To Troubleshoot Image Alt Text

Now you know all the best practices and common mistakes of alt text. But how do you check what’s in the alt text of the images of a website?

You can analyze the alt text in the following ways:

Inspecting an element (right-click and select Inspect when hovering over an image) is a good way to check if a given image has alt text.

However, if you want to check that in bulk, I recommend one of the below two methods.

Install Web Developer Chrome extension.

Screenshot of Web Developer Extension in Chrome by authorScreenshot from Web Developer Extension, Chrome by author, May 2024

Next, open the page whose images you want to audit.

Click on Web Developer and navigate to Images > Display Alt Attributes. This way, you can see the content of the alt text of all images on a given web page.

The alt text of images is shown on the page.Screenshot from Web Developer Extension, Chrome by author, May 2024

How To Find And Fix Missing Alt Text

To check the alt text of the images of the entire website, use a crawler like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb.

Crawl the site, navigate to the image report, and review the alt text of all website images, as shown in the video guide below.

You can also export only images that have missing alt text and start fixing those issues.

Alt Text May Not Seem Like A Priority, But It’s Important

Every source of information about your content has value. Whether it’s for vision-impaired users or bots, alt text helps contextualize the images on your website.

While it’s only a ranking factor for image search, everything you do to help search engines understand your website can potentially help deliver more accurate results. Demonstrating a commitment to accessibility is also a critical component of modern digital marketing.

FAQ

What is the purpose of alt text in HTML?

Alternative text, or alt text, serves two main purposes in HTML. Its primary function is to provide a textual description of an image if it cannot be displayed. This text can help users understand the image content when technical issues prevent it from loading or if they use a screen reader due to visual impairments. Additionally, alt text aids search engine bots in understanding the image’s subject matter, which is critical for SEO, as indexing images correctly can enhance a website’s visibility in search results.

Can alt text improve website accessibility?

Yes, alt text is vital for website accessibility. It translates visual information into descriptive text that can be read by screen readers used by users with visual impairments. By accurately describing images, alt text ensures that all users, regardless of disability, can understand the content of a web page, making the web more inclusive and accessible to everyone.

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