Having an effective SEO system, plus completing the many other tasking an online marketer needs to do so they can successfully conduct online marketing business, can be an expensive and complicated proposition.
This is especially the case if you are just starting out. There are so many other tools you see on line once you start often it can be quite overwhelming. How to find the tools that will really work for you and help you without spending and arm and a leg?
Background
Table of Contents
Let’s start with SEO. Many web themes now come with SEO tools already installed or you can download plugins that will take carry of most of what you need, eliminating requirements for any other tool.
Nonetheless, lots of people are told time and again they need to do more or extra to make chances their site will be ranked higher by Google better. There are also geeks that just like to drill down deep and monitor what is going on with their site.
Personally I think you can do 95% using one of the plug-ins available, and many of these you can use for free, and save yourself a lot of time and trouble. There are so many other things to concentrate on, and yes traffic is driven by good SEO, but other factors are also important.
OK What Now?
So which is right, my view or the gurus out there? I don’t know for certain, but with the Google bot updates that have been implemented, if you do use any tools that are not completely white hat, you risk getting in hot water.
Now for those of you out there that still insist on using more than a standard plug-in for your site (such as All-In-One SEO), which is pretty much what I use, I decided to gather a list of tools and software available to you so you can have a look.…
These are free trial software and tools I have found in my own searches, using many different sources. The list is accurate as of the time of writing this, but of course everything changes on the Internet all the time, so have a look yourself. Then decide…
If you think they may be right for you, try them…See which if any will work for you. Only THEN spend money as you see fit from your own experience…You may find that they are bells and whistles, and save yourself money!
By the way this will work for other different tools and software that may or may not be helpful to you as well. That subject is for another post…The list is below, but first…
Prior to Getting Started
As stated, most of the tools I mention have a free trial period. To maximize the time you have, it pays to know a bit about each, so do some research on them (i.e. reviews, videos, articles, etc.). A simple search will give you plentiful information…
This information will in turn help you make the decision on which to try, and also provide how can most efficiently use of each, right off the bat when you sign up. This way you can immediately get productive with each, and see results during that free period, and better be able to see what is smart to buy and what not.
Plan ahead….Make a list of all of the trials you want to use, and write down what you want to get accomplished during that trial period for each. Don’t overload yourself with getting too much on hand at a time, or you will find yourself not able to get the most out of each, you are overwhelmed.
Make sure you also keep track of the free period remaining for each. Some will require you to provide your credit card but will not charge until the trial period is over with. Cancel those programs you feel do not meet your requirements early enough so that the charge does not take place.
OK, On To Some Free SEO Tools & Software I Have Found
For your ease in getting to what you need, I broke the list into categories below. Here are some free trial tools to set up, track, and monitor a link building campaign. Remember you are not looking for quantity of links here (Google no longer thinks this adds much to the quality of your site), rather the quality (links from sites with authority, real links not fake ones)!
Adding to this post, today I came across what I think is another good page that will be useful for us all, it lists 300+ tools and service sites that we online marketers can use…It was put together by a gentleman named Guaurav Madaan….You can find the page here:http://bit.ly/1F8jzxP …
The page contains curated information on a huge amount of sites that cover different subjects. Once you get there, I recommend bookmarking the page (this one too BTW!) for your use as you build your sites and programs.
Below find a list of what is found on that page:
1 Business + Marketing
1.1 A. FREE WEBSITE + LOGO + HOSTING + INVOICING
1.2 B. FREE BUSINESS / PROJECT NAME GENERATORS
1.3 C. WRITING / BLOGGING
1.4 D. FIND (TRENDING) CONTENT (IDEAS)
1.5 E. FREE SEO + WEBSITE ANALYZERS
1.6 F. FREE IMAGE OPTIMIZERS
1.7 G. FREE IMAGE EDITORS
1.8 H. COLLECT & SEND EMAILS FOR FREE
1.9 I. FREE SOCIAL MEDIA + COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT + SURVEYS
1.10 J. A/B TESTS & GROWTH HACKING
2 Design + Code
2.1 A. FREE DESIGN RESOURCES
2.2 B. COLOR PICKERS
2.3 C. INSPIRATION
2.4 D. FREE STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
2.5 E. FREE TYPOGRAPHY
2.6 F. FREE ICONS
2.7 G. USEFUL STUFF
3 Work & Productivity
3.1 A. BACKGROUND SOUND TO FOCUS
3.2 B. AVOID DISTRACTION
3.3 C. ORGANIZE & COLLABORATE
3.4 D. DIGITAL NOMADS & REMOTE WORKING
4 Discover & Learn
4.1 A. DISCOVER TOOLS & STARTUPS
4.2 B. BUILD TOGETHER
4.3 C. LEARN
4.4 D. NEWSLETTERS THAT DON’T SUCK
4.5 E. USEFUL
OK on to more of such info below….Keep Reading!
Building Tiered Links
Market Samurai – I own and use this software (I am not an affiliate seller). It is one of the best in the business for keyword research and it the same goes for its SEO competition modules.
GSA Search Engine Ranker (5 Day trial) – This tool is like a ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of link building, and it does so by targeting over 120 platforms. It works well for automating your tier 2 and 3 links!
Link Emperor (50 Links for $7) – Link Emperor is a web based service that builds backlinks, easily including private blog network posts & tiers. Remember the quality is what you are looking for, so check out how this tool works and see if it would fit into your program.
Drip Revolution (7 Day Free Trial) – This is a service to help you build a range of social signals for your site , and it does so on the schedule you set up.. It integrates with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+. YouTube & more!
SEO Powersuite (Free Version) – There are several programs here to try and include RankTracker, Website Auditor, SEO Spyglass and Link Assistant. I have not tried any of these but do have several free versions I have picked up from other software buys. I will try it soon.
SENuke XCR (Free 14 Day Trial) – This is a tool I tried but it did not suit me needs. Plus I thought it was too expensive. There are cheaper alternatives out there.
Competitor Analysis
Ahrefs – (Use the Free Version) – They have the largest database of backlinks which you can use to conduct audits of your competitors link profiles to see their best links. You can also conduct an analysis on your own backlink profile.
SEMRush (Use the Free Version) – This tool your competitor’s top keywords, how much traffic they get, who their competitors are in search and much more! I have played with this and like it.
WebMeUp (Free Version) – The free account at WebMeUp will let you take a look at the backlink profile of your site or your competitors. It doesn’t have the largest database of links compared to Ahrefs – but it does have a different database that is worth checking out!
Content Creation
I do NOT recommend using any spinning software to rewrite articles and such. The Google search engines nowadays likely will catch it and you will get penalized. Just. Don’t. Do. It!
Educational Sites
Wealthy Affiliate (7Day Free Trial) – There is no need for more than one entry on this subject. Wealthy Affiliate is is simply the best site on the internet that I have found. Let me expand a bit on why I have only one entry and also added some space here to give you more information than with some of the other tools available…
They have a complete, up to date, and effective all around program that will help you address ALL the needs you may have for Online Marketing, period. This site is easily the number one place I would send the newbie…
You can read a detailed review on this program HERE (CLICK AND A NEW WINDOW OPENS!). Here you will learn everything you need to know from start to finish on how to set your self up for making money online with your own Online Business. The co-founders have a passion for what they do, are involved daily on the site, and are continually improving things there.
This site has been around for 10 years now, a testament as to the efficacy of what they offer. I am a member and will say it was the best thing that happened to me after having been scammed several times and wasting lots of money and time. Try it our yourself and see what I mean…You can get there easily here: WEALTHY AFFILIATE SIGN UP
Here is a picture of their packages available…
Email Marketing
AWeber (30 Day Free Trial) – I have used Aweber in the past and have had no problem. Because of some of the tols I use, I switched to GetResponse (below) but botgh are equally as good. Both automate your email marketing and make it easy to stay in touch with everyone from the different list you will develop.
GetResponse (30 Day Free Trial) – As stated GetResponse is very similar and it is really matter of personal preference between the two of these autoresponder programs!
Host Monitoring
Cloud Flare (Free To Use) – This service helps you to speed up your site load time, which is a factor Google takes into consideration with the ranking algorithm they use. You can also get added security & protection from bots/spam.
Uptime Robot (Free to Use) – Use this to monitor your websites uptime and get instant notifications if your site goes down for any reason. Use this in combination with the free Pingdom Tools account & monitor.
Keyword Research
Market Samurai (14 Day Free Trial) – The keyword research and SEO competition modules of Market Samurai are some of the best in the business and this is solely what I use the software for.
Long Tail Pro – (10 Day Free Trial) – A great tool for finding profitable keywords quickly. You can also use the tool to measure the competitiveness of the search results.
Jaaxy – (30 Free Searches) – This is the best program I have found next to Market Samurai. It is easy to use, effective, and does not have a lot of bells and whistles, it just works.
Keyword Research (Free Trial) – This is great for generating keyword ideas and is fantastic for coming up with Google Alerts to monitor. It doesn’t pull in any search volume numbers though so may not be the best all around tool for you to consider using.
Link Building
RankCracker (Free) – This is free software from Mathew Woodward and is available 100% free. It will show you the quickest and easiest way to replicate your competitors backlink profile & rankings.
GSA Search Engine Ranker (5 Day trial) – This tool is like a ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of link building, and it does so by targeting over 120 platforms. It works well for automating your tier 2 and 3 links!
Link Emperor (50 Links for $7) – Link Emperor is a web based service that builds backlinks, easily including private blog network posts & tiers. Remember the quality is what you are looking for, so check out how this tool works and see if it would fit into your program.
Drip Revolution (7 Day Free Trial) – This is a service to help you build a range of social signals for your site , and it does so on the schedule you set up.. It integrates with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+. YouTube & more!
RankWyz (30 Day Free Trial) – Create & manage private blog networks easily with RankWyz. It offers a full range of tools to help you manage everything and publish updates easily.
Inspyder Backlink Monitor (Free Version) – This is a very good tool for monitoring your backlinks. It is easy to use and automatically sorts out all of your tiers for you.
I Spyglass (Free Versions) – This tool can be used to discover your competitors backlinks and provides a breakdown for you of key metrics such as anchor text usage that is useful in checking your own. It also can be used to monitor your own sites backlink profile.
Link Assistant (Free Version) – This is one tool of the SEO Powersuite suite of programs/tools and works well for prospecting link partners.
SENuke XCR (Free 14 Day Trial) – This is a tool I tried but it did not suit me needs. Plus I thought it was too expensive. There are cheaper alternatives out there.
On Site SEO
Raven Tools (Free 30 Day Trial) – Provides a full suite of tools, the SEO module included spiders your site and it provides a detailed audit of problems. It has a range of features across SEO, social, content, PPC and more, as modules.
Website Auditor (Free Version) – Part of SEO Powersuite, you can use Website Auditor to spider your site and report any issues it finds.
Xenu Link Sleuth (Free) – A simple easy to use tool to spider your entire website and uncover potential problems like broken links. This is a great free tool!
Microsoft Toolkit (Free) – This is useful product that will spider your site and report back on any issues.
Pingdom Tools (Free) – this site tests your sites speed from 3 locations. If you decide to sign up for a free account, you can also use it as an uptime monitor.
WebPage Test (Free) – This site tests your websites load time from a huge choice of browsers & locations from around the world. It provides lots of data you can use to optimize your site.
Rank Tracking
Rank Tracker (Free Version) – This is a part of the SEO Powersuite bundle of tolls and is a good rank tracking solution. This is a software that is stored on your computer as opoosed to being cloud-based, which means you own the data and you can track an unlimited amount of keywords as well as your competitors.
SerpBook (14 Day Free Trial) – This tool monitors the rankings of all your keywords in their cloud. It checks results for you 12 times per day, and also provides other metrics like PR, Alexa rankings & full reports.
SEO Multi Tools
Because these tools have a wide range of functions, they don’t really fit in one category, so may fall into more than one. They are worth repeating here for ease of finding them in this article.
Market Samurai (14 Day Trial) – This is my tool of choice because of its versatility for many things…It does keyword and competition research, and includes a rank tracker, a domain finder, a content finder, a content publishing and link finder even. Very powerful!
SEO Powersuite (Free Version) – You can get the free versions of Rank Tracker, Website Auditor, SEO Spyglass and Link Assistant to try them out. Each is well known and regards in the community and many IM have used and relied on them for many years
Raven Tools (Free 30 Day Trial) – This tool box provides a full suite of tools. There is an SEO module that will spider your site, providing a detailed audit of problems. It can check SEO, social, content, PPC & more.
SEO Tools For Excel (Free) – This is a good plugin for Excel allowing you to retrieve a range of SEO data & metrics. It even connects to your Google Analytics account so you can create powerful Excel dashboards.
Social Media
BuzzBundle (Free Version) – This was designed by the same folks that developed SEO Powersuite. The program makes it easier to automate what you would normally have to do manually to grow traffic to your blog site..
SociSynd ($1 Trial) – This isn’t free but come’on $1 is not much! In the trial you will see it helps you drip feed social signals to any URL’s you want. This includes Facebook likes, Pinterest pins, Twitter shares & more!
DripRevolution (7 Day Free Trial) – This helps build a range of social signals to your site at your schedule. It integrates with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+. YouTube & more!
HootSuite(Free Version) – This is my preferred tool for managing Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You can monitor a number of search terms as well as schedule updates to go out.
TweetDeck (Free Version) – Now owned by Twitter this is a great desktop client to manage your Twitter account.
Buffer – (Free) – You can connect all your social accounts to Buffer and easily share/queue/schedule content to be published to them. Whether that’s sharing your new post with the browser extension or clicking a Buffer button on someone else’s site.
Tube Tool Box (Free Trial) – This is a laptop application that can manage your YouTube account. You can use it to bulk follow/comment/message different people/sites to grow your own audience.
WordPress
Social Locker (Free Version) – This is the Social Locker I use on the blog to encourage social sharing. While I run the premium version you can get the free version right here!
WP Ultimate SEO (Free Version) – I use a free version of this, and it works very well to create animated and dynamic social icons on my pages and it adds in an ability to add o[t-in and other features. Definitely worth checking out.
S2 Member (Free Version) – This is a membership plugin for WordPress, The free version has a lot you can use. Try it out and see, starting with the free, and if it works, look at the upgrades…
Thirsty Affiliates (Free) – This tool cloaks and manages affiliate links on your blog. This is easy to use to provide stats, and through using it you can auto replace text with links.WPRobot (Free Version) – This is good for auto blogging for WordPress. It can pull content from a ridiculous number of sources and when setup correctly can produce some high quality auto blogs. Perfect for tier 1 links
Conclusion
So there you have it!
I would be interested in getting your feedback on the above programs as well as hearing about other tools and software that is either free or comes with a free trial. I have no doubt there are many more we all would be able to try and use!
Please add these in your comments so we can all expand our knowledge*!
*NOTE: Had my first feedback from Rea below. In it she asked why Wealthy Affiliate was not included in the above post. She was spot on, and I have updated the post to include information on the best educational site on the Internet. Thanks Rea for starting the ball rolling here, let’s get more ideas from others, and I will add and give you credit here!
Thanks for this excellent post! I am always looking for new tools available that I can try online. My business is small but growing, and I need lots of effective tools and software, but cannot spend lots of money.
Your ideas give me a way to try before I buy. Spending some money is just normal when running a business. Wasting money is not normal. I have seen that there are too many products that simpley are not effective…
One question for you. Why didn’t you add a blurb here about Wealthy Affiliate? This is one of the best free tools I have seen available that not only covers the subjects you mention, but the entire realm of online business!
Thanks for your efforts with this, and I guess you now have your first idea on what to add above for others who happen by this post! By the way, I really like your site, it has so much information laid out nicely.
Regards,
Rea
Hi Rea,
Thanks for stopping by again. Feedback is always welcome. You are so right on Wealthy Affiliate. It definitely belongs at the top of the list! There is simply no other site out there that provides the educational tools and guidance out there on the Internet I have found. I will fix this today!
The reason I set up this blog site is to provide the best info I could gather and put it in one place for others to use. The other thing that was important to me is that this become a community where ideas and tips could be added so otehrs benefit.
You did that today! Really appreciate it and look forward to more of your excellent feedback! Best of luck to you in your business adventures, and keep coming back please and adding to the conversation here!
Cheers!
Dave
Wow, Thanks for replying so quickly to my comment, and even more thanks for giving me credit above when you added in the Wealthy Affiliate site! You just made my day! Rea : )
LOL, No problem Rea, I appreciate your input. All a process of making us all more informed about making money with your own online business…That is what this site is all about! Cheers! Dave : )
Hello admin, do you need some fresh articles on your website?
Daily fresh content will rank your site higher in google, if you are too
lazy to write everyday, search in google!
Yes I agree that fresh articles are nice to have on your site…I am of the sort that will take longer and do a good job rather than put just anything up on my page! Thanks for your advice though and please do come again and let me know what you think about the content here…The intent is to help people that want to make money online. Cheers! Dave
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Thanks a lot, you are welcome to stop by any time! : )
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Thanks, I do not think I am there yet but at some point maybe…..Cheers! Dave : )
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Thanks and stop by again, we are adding new information often….Cheers! Dave : )
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I like to write a little comment to support you.
Great, stop by anytime, we are always adding new information on the site….Cheers! dave : )
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Very good blog you have here but I was wondering if you knew of any discussion boards that cover the same topics discussed in this article?
I’d really love to be a part of group where I can get opinions from other
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If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Cheers!
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Bless you!
Thanks for the comments…Is there anything in particular you would lioke to read more about? Just let me know and i will gladly add it in! Cheers! Dave : )
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Thanks so much for commenting Verla, you really do not need any bravery to drop a line! Porter TX is not a place I know but I DO know Texas! Thanks for the laudatory comments, and I really look forward to hearing more from you here, I am sure you havea lot to contribute! Take care and have a nice holiday! Cheers! Dave : )
Hi, I wish for to subscribe for this blog to take newest updates, thus where can i do it
please help out.
You can sign up on the right hand menu which appears on all pages here, barring this you can also drop me a line at dave@davesweney.com too and I will get you sogned up! Thanks and have a great day! Dave : )
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Hi M8! Thanks a lot for your comment and also letting me know about this potential issue. I will definitely have a look at this, it should nit have any issues, it is also mobile ready, and this seems to be working (just checked)! Cheers! Dave : )
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Thanks M8! Please stop by anytime and love to hear feedback or suggestions on how to improve! Cheers! Dave : )
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Welcome and glad you enjoyed! Cheers! Dave : )
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was
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I’m not very web savvy so I’m not 100% certain. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
I would recommend trying out the Wealthy Affiliate site. I have some posts on this site and what it can do for you, the first 7 days are free, no need to provide any card or pay anything until you see what it is all about. They have so much to teach on how best to set your blog and online business program up, I am sure you will not be disappointed! Best of luck to you! Dave : )
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Thanks!
Good to hear, please come by anytime you would like! Dave : )
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Great read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my
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Thanks a bunch! I keep adding material to make it more useful, it is time I did add something again! Cheers! Dave : )
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And of course, thanks on your sweat!
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Hi Natalia, Good I hope you can use more information on the pages here! Cheers! Dave : )
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Thank you
I would try creating an interesting article that adds to a currently popular subject, placing additional information that is not yet being circulated, then promoting it through various platforms such as stumblupon, reddit, etc. There is a good chance it will get picked up! In any case doing all of that will get you more attenetion and site visits! Cheers and best of luck! Dave : )
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I bookmarked it.
Great M8, thanks for stopping by and please feel free to come back anytime. Were there some SEO Tools that you found particularly useful?
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Great Raphael! I appreciate that you did stop by! Have a look around and see what you think. I would suggest that you should use the ideas yoyu may get from here to make your own take on the issue…Cheers! Dave : )
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Thanks I appreciate the endorsement! Cheers and all the best for 2016! Dave : )
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Glad you liked it! Cheers…Dave
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Hi Richard, I sure do….You can find me at @DaveSweney there….Thanks for stopping by! Dave : )
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