Imagine being a market trader selling scarves, and being at a market where everyone is selling scarves and scarf-related products. Not only that, but it includes everyone in the world that’s selling scarves and scarf-related products, now that’s what it’s like on a search engine. The stalls that will sell the most are probably the ones that attract the most attention and have the best footfall, and that’s what SEO is all about.
Here we have a quick guide to eight free SEO resources to help you understand what SEO is, and how you can improve your market share. We’re not including jargon-heavy tools that those who are already in the game use, but tools to give an understanding of the importance of SEO, and how you can up your game.
1 – Answer the Public
As a beginner in the world of SEO, Answer the Public is a great tool to help you understand why it’s so important. It’s extremely simple, all you have to do is put in a keyword and it will tell you the most common google queries relating to it. The premise being that if your website can answer these questions, and include some of this vocabulary in headings, then you can increase your chances of appearing in certain internet searches.
2 – Browseo
This is a great representation of why SEO is key. This presents your website in the way that a search engine will see it, so you can see the difference between how an algorithm will look at your website as opposed to a human looking at it. This kind of x-ray vision should highlight why engaging with services that help you with SEO and SEM is vital for your business.
3 – Yoast
This one is only for WordPress users since it operates as a plugin. It offers advice for each page about how to better optimise the page for search engines. It is not comprehensive, and it does not have all the answers. However, if you are just getting into SEO it can offer some nice pointers to get you started.
4 – Keyworddit
This one is great for finding out the sorts of conversations people are having surrounding a particular topic. It works within Reddit, you simply enter a term and it will give you some of the most talked about subjects within subreddits with that term. Knowing what people are talking about is key to SEO, and this includes a great little context tool where you can see not only what people are discussing, but how they are discussing it.
5 – The Wayback Machine
This one may be a little left field. This allows you to view archives of the internet. So let’s say your website has dropped off in traffic a lot in the past 6 months, here you can see what your website used to be like, and then it can be a kind of spot the difference as you identify what potential issues might be.
6 – Google’s SEO Starter Guide
(https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide)
Let’s face it, when actioning SEO on your website, Google is the one you want to sit up and take notice. Where better to get advice on how to do that than from the horse’s mouth itself? Google’s SEO started guide is packed full of tips, definitions and resources to help you get started with SEO.
7 – Semrush
Whilst the free option of Semrush does have its limitations, it is still a fantastic free SEO tool to use. With Semrush you’ll be able to perform keyword research, track keyword rankings and more with plenty of SEO tools to get to grips with. You’ll also be able to use this tool to analyze competitors and see how your pages and website should be performing in your industry.
8 – Moz
As one of the most respected tools in the industry, Moz is a key part of your SEO toolkit. Use Moz to check your website’s domain authority, analyse backlinks and conduct keyword research all in one tool. Moz’s site audits can help you identify weak areas of your site and set targets for SEO improvements on your website.
Contact the Specialists in SEO
There we have it, five useful tools for getting started in SEO. If you use these and want to know more, SEM Consultants are specialists in this field and can deep dive into the more technical aspects of SEO and SEM to make sure you stand out in a crowded market space. Contact our SEO team online or by calling 0121 552 6500 now.