If you are a blogger you need to know how to optimize your website for search engine optimization. Learning about SEO and optimizing your site doesn’t have to be expensive. Below you will find 4 completely free SEO tools for you to use to increase your search traffic!
4 Free SEO Tools to Increase Your Search Traffic
SERPS.com
Serps.com has 2 free SEO tools to use. One is the Keyword Rank Tool which will tell who ranks for a particular keyword.
I like to use this one to see where I rank for keywords so that I know if I need to work harder on optimizing that post or not. I have also use it to check the ranks of others sites (Such as where Pinterest ranks on Google)
The second tool is the Keyword Research Database. I use this one often when choosing keywords to focus on in my articles.
I start by entering the short keyword phrase I want to rank for.in the search box. This tool then tells you the approximate monthly search volume for that term, plus other related terms and long tail keywords. It helps to narrow down focus keywords and choose ones with better search volume.
For example- in the picture above you can see that the term wood pallet projects has a higher search volume than wooden pallet projects. That simple change in words can lead to being found more often.
Kwfinder (limited)
Kwfinder can be used in a limited form for free. I like to use this free SEO tool after I have narrowed down my terms a bit to do fine tuning on my focus keywords.
For free you get 3 keyword searches per day which are limited 50 search results each which is why I use it for fine tuning only.
On Kwfinder you can arrange the data by any of the data- search term, search volume, difficulty, etc.
I look for words that are given green for difficulty since those are easier to rank for, but that isn’t a make it or break it metric. I also like that it gives you the links to the currently ranked websites and the average monthly search volume for the year.
Yoast SEO Plugin
Once you have done your keyword research, you can’t beat Yoast SEO plugin to help you optimize as you write. It basically gives you a checklist as you write to remind you do to the little things like use keywords in headlines, in images, your URL, and more.
For free you can only target one focus keyword, so make sure you put your most important keyword phrase in there.
I shoot for an overall green light on Yoast, even if I don’t get green on each individual element.
Yoast can be found in Plugins->Add New on your WordPress Dashboard.
Google Search Console
When it comes to optimizing articles that are already written, I love to use Google Search Console.
Google Search Console is part of your Webmaster tools and if you don’t already have it set up- do that now! The information you can find there is extremely valuable.
From here you can see what terms people are searching to land on your site. What you rank for these terms. The clickthrough rate and more.
This is a great free tool to sue when you are trying to rank higher for a term you are already ranking for.
Learn how to use Google Search Console for SEO and Rank Higher in Search!
Google Keyword Planner
Google’s keyword planner isn’t my favorite tool, but it is worth mentioning. I find the interface confusing and much prefer to use the above tools.
You can use this Keyword Planner much the same as the Serps.com tool. Enter a keyword phrase or phrases and you can find out the approximate search volume and other related terms that you could also target.
There they are- 4 absolutely free SEO tools to use for your blog that will help you bring in more traffic from organic search! Do you have a free tool to add to this list? I’d love to hear about it!
