If you're a small business owner, you might be thinking, "SEO sounds great, but I hear it’s expensive and too slow to show results. This is not something for me right now."
But think twice! There are plenty of tools out there to help you boost your online presence without breaking the bank.
Let's dive into the best affordable (or even free!) SEO tools that can help your small business grow.
Free Google Tools
These free Google tools are a must-have for virtually any company - if you haven’t set them up yet, now is the best moment!
Let’s see what these four essential tools can offer for you to get in front of your potential customers, optimize your performance, and stay on top of trends - without spending a penny.
1. Google Analytics
What it is: Google Analytics is a free tool that tracks and reports website traffic and user behavior.
To use GA4 for SEO insights, check out the Traffic Acquisition report to see where your traffic is coming from, especially organic searches. Click ‘Export this report for analysis’ and check the traffic from the Referral channel group. This way, you will ascertain which external sites are sending visitors your way. In the same chart, scroll to the ‘Key events’ column. Here, you can find out whether the users from a specific source perform key events on your site, such as a signup form completion or a purchase.
These reports give you a clear picture of how your SEO and marketing efforts are paying off and what you can improve.
- Key features: Traffic and user acquisition reports, user attributes overview, and events tracking.
- What we love about Google Analytics: Extremely powerful and provides a comprehensive view of website performance, user behavior, and conversion metrics.
- Can I use Google Analytics for free? Yes, the tool is completely free.
- Ideal for: All businesses needing detailed website traffic insights.
2. Google Search Console
What it is: Google Search Console is another free tool that helps monitor and maintain site presence in Google search results.
The Search Console has some essential reports for anyone doing SEO. The Performance Report shows how your keywords and pages are doing with metrics like clicks and impressions. The URL Inspection Tool lets you check how Google views your pages and helps you get new pages indexed faster. The Coverage Report highlights any indexing issues to fix, and the Links Report gives insights into your internal and external links, which is great for improving your link-building strategy.
- Key features: Performance reports, URL inspection, Links report.
- What we love about Google Search Console: It's indispensable for monitoring search performance and identifying issues that might affect site’s ranking.
- Can I use Google Search Console for free? Yes, the tool is totally free.
- Ideal for: All businesses aiming to improve their presence on Google.
3. Google Business Profile
What it is: If your business serves customers locally, Google Business Profile is the free tool that helps you manage your online presence across Google, including Search and Maps.
The tool helps you show up in local search results, making it easier for nearby customers to find you. By keeping your listing updated with accurate details, photos, and regular posts, you can snag a spot in the local pack and on Google Maps, which are prime real estate for getting noticed. Plus, a solid Business Profile boosts customer trust and gives you insights from reviews and engagement metrics, helping you fine-tune your local SEO game.
- Key features: Business profile management, Reviews, Chats with customers, insights on customer engagement.
- What we love about Google Business Profile: Helps increase local visibility and allows businesses to engage directly with customers through reviews and posts.
- Can I use Google Business Profile for free? Yes, the tool is absolutely free.
- Ideal for: Local businesses (retail, HoReCa, services, etc.) looking to attract customers in their area.
4. Google Trends
What it is: Google Trends shows how often a particular search term is used, so it’s great for staying on top of what’s hot in your industry.
For example, if you have a local coffee shop, Google Trends helps you identify at what time during the year the searches for "pumpkin spice latte" spike vs. search for other coffee varieties in your country (you can even see a breakdown by region). The report also shows you the search queries that include a specific keyword. Armed with this knowledge, you can plan promotions more efficiently.
- Key features: Trend data, keyword insights, comparative keyword analysis.
- What we love about Google Trends: Great for discovering trending topics and understanding the popularity of search terms over time.
- Can I use Google Trends for free? Yes, the tool is completely free.
- Ideal for: Content creators and marketers looking to stay on top of trending topics and keywords.
SEO Optimization Tools
Because SEO optimization software tools boast an impressive set of features, they are not free, but we’ve chosen the most affordable ones for a small business.
Think of the tools in this category as a set of expert advisors who guide you on how to make your website more attractive to search engines, which can lead to more visitors, and ultimately, more customers and revenue.
5. Ahrefs
What it is: One of the industry leaders, Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO platform known for its robust backlink analysis and keyword research capabilities.
- Key features: Backlink checker, Keyword explorer, Site audit, Rank Tracker, Competitive Analysis.
- What we love about Ahrefs: Ahrefs provides detailed insights into your site and content performance and assists you in many scenarios. Another big plus is the free Academy where you can take a beginner SEO course, learn how to set up a blog or an affiliate program, and watch tutorials on using Ahrefs.
- Can I use Ahrefs for free? Ahrefs offers free Webmaster Tools with limited access to Site Explorer and Site Audit.
- How much are the paid plans? With the just added Starter plan, Ahrefs now offers five plans starting from $29/month per user.
- Ideal for: Small businesses ready to invest in content planning, extensive backlink strategies, and competitor analysis.
6. Semrush
What it is: Similarly to Ahrefs, Semrush is a outstanding, versatile SEO platform that covers keyword research, competitor analysis, and site audits.
- Key features: Keyword research, Site audit, Rank tracking, Competitive research, Backlink analytics.
- What we love about Semrush: Semrush offers not only a comprehensive set of features, but a vast choice of educational resources: how-to videos, a free Academy, and a Local Marketing Hub with insights for locally-oriented businesses.
- Can I use Semrush for free? Yes, with limited capabilities.
- How much are the paid plans? Semrush offers three plans starting from $139.95 per month.
- Ideal for: Small and medium-sized businesses, preferably at a growth stage and with a dedicated marketing team, who are ready to invest in extensive SEO analysis and optimization.
7. Screaming Frog
What it is: Screaming Frog is a powerful website crawler used for in-depth technical SEO audits.
- Key features: Site audits, Broken link checker, and On-page SEO analysis.
- What we love about Screaming Frog: Screaming Frog makes it easy to find broken links, review page titles/meta descriptions, uncover duplicate content, and optimize URL structure for better SEO and user experience.
- Can I use Screaming Frog for free? Yes. The free plan allows you to find broken links, analyze metadata, review directives, discover duplicates, and generate sitemaps.
- How much are the paid plans? To crawl more than 500 URLs and benefit from advanced features, you can buy a license at $259 per year.
- Ideal for: Businesses that want to conduct a detailed technical site analysis.
8. Ubersuggest
What it is: Launched by one of the most renowned SEO experts worldwide, Neil Patel, Ubersuggest is a cost-effective tool offering keyword suggestions, site audits, and competitor analysis.
- Key features: SEO Analyzer, AnswerThePublic, A/B Testing Calculator, and Backlink Checker.
- What we love about Ubersuggest: It's a beginner-friendly tool with interesting capabilities such as AnswerThePublic where you can see what questions your audience asks online, and a few AI-powered features to simplify content creation.
- Can I use Ubersuggest for free? Only within a 7-day free trial.
- How much are the paid plans? From $12/month per user, with yearly and even lifetime plans available.
- Ideal for: Budget-conscious businesses that need essential SEO tools.
9. Yoast SEO
What it is: Yoast SEO is a popular WordPress plugin that helps optimize content for SEO.
- Key features: Keyword optimization, readability analysis, metadata management.
- What we love about Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO is a user-friendly plugin that simplifies website submission, SEO scoring, and sitemap creation and suggests actionable tips to improve rankings without slowing down your site. If you’re new to SEO, Yoast offers a free Academy, but more advanced guides are worth a look, too.
- Can I use Yoast SEO for free? Yes, the plugin with basic features is free.
- How much are the paid plans? There are two paid plans. For real-time suggestions, advanced keyword optimization, and automatic redirects, you can choose the Premium Yoast plugin for $99/year. For $229/year, you also get Local SEO, News SEO, WooCommerce SEO, and Video SEO.
- Ideal for: Small businesses, bloggers, and webshops that run their site on WordPress and look to optimize them for higher search rankings.
Link-Building Tools
Backlinks are one of the major factors for your search visibility. The link-building process, however, comes as daunting, tiresome, or too expensive if you outsource it to an external party.
Thankfully, there are amazing tools out there that make it easier to find and secure high-quality backlinks - without giving out large sums of money.
10. Ranking Raccoon
What it is: Ranking Raccoon is a spam-free link-building platform for sites in SaaS, eCommerce, and 50 other niches where you can send a backlink request to verified site admins directly.
- Key features: Direct messaging, Shared site management, Instant link confirmation.
- What we love about Ranking Raccoon: it only allows trustworthy websites and users to the platform so you can build links safely. Also, you don’t have to waste time prospecting the right contacts and sending cold emails. Instead, you can send a pre-filled link request form to a real site admin in just one click, which saves you hours and days.
- Can I use Ranking Raccoon for free? Yes, you can use the free plan that allows you to show your site and get incoming messages from other site admins.
- How much are the paid plans? You can get Ranking Raccoon Pro for $25/month. The free trial lasts for 14 days, so you can try it out without risks.
- Ideal for: Budget-conscious small and medium-sized businesses looking to build links more easily with verified, genuine sites.
11. Linktopia
What it is: Linktopia is a platform where you earn credits for backlinks by submitting blog articles and giving backlinks to others. When you’ve given enough links to other users, you can use these credits to request backlinks for your own site.
- Key features: Ahrefs-based credit values, separate listings for websites and blog articles, and tracking of incoming and outgoing links.
- What we love about Linktopia: The credit system will appeal to those who like the concept of a marketplace, and the detailed metrics and separate listings make it easier to find the right opportunities.
- Can I use Linktopia for free? Yes, the free plan lets you make up to 3 link requests per month. If you need more, you’ll need to upgrade.
- How much are the paid plans? Linktopia offers two plans: Startup at $29 per month (up to 3 projects), and Professional at $59 per month (up to 50 projects)
- Ideal for: startups and budget-conscious SEOs who want a link-building tool with a credit system, and who are ready to first provide links to others before getting links for themselves.
Read more: 9 Best Link-Building Tools You Should Try in 2024
12. BuzzStream
What it is: BuzzStream is a CRM for digital PR and link-building that, despite the rather steep learning curve, helps find relevant sites with metrics, social profiles, and email addresses.
- Key features: Prospecting, automated email campaigns, and performance dashboard.
- What we love about BuzzStream: The detailed metrics and relationship stages help you keep tabs on your outreach efforts. The advanced dashboard and export options make tracking and reporting more efficient.
- Can I use BuzzStream for free? Not exactly, but there’s a 14-day free trial.
- How much are the paid plans? BuzzStream offers four packages starting from $24 per month, depending on the number of users, contacts that you plan to reach out to, and the features you need.
- Ideal for: Small to midsize businesses as well as larger marketing teams.
What next?
SEO is a crucial part of your overall marketing strategy, and it doesn't have to make a hole in your budget. Luckily, as a small business owner or marketer at a start-up, you have access to many affordable, and even free, software tools that can assist you in driving your search visibility, traffic, and site conversions.
Let's summarize what amazing, budget-friendly SEO tools you can choose for your small business.
Ranking Raccoon is a perfect link-building outreach tool for small businesses where you can build quality backlinks from genuine websites. We filter out shady websites and users, so you can reach out to trustworthy site admins directly with peace of mind.
Give the tools in this article a try, assemble your personal SEO toolkit, and conquer search engines!
Natalia Toth
Head of Marketing