SEO Tools

My SEO Toolbox is always expanding as I add new elements too it here and there as I find new sites and applications that I find useful when it comes to SEO .  I would definitely not be where I am today without the help of these awesome SEO tools that are readily available on the web.  Here I will put together a compilation of some of the SEO Tools that I use the most in order to get a leg up on the competition.

Every SEO’s toolbox should consist of a good backlink checker.  Some of the top SEO backlink checkers require some sort of monthly or yearly subscription in order to use their service.  However I have found a few that are free and hosted online.

All of these tools are great but my personal favorite is Analyze Backlinks.  I usually hit up AnalyzeBacklinks.com about 2-3 times daily in order to run a backlink analysis on a competitor or potential client.  After much use with the majority of the tools above, it seems to be the fastest and least buggy.  It only returns 1000 results, but usually gives you a very good look into a site’s backlink profile.  Yahoo Site Explorer returns one of the most comprehensive lists of backlinks but is pretty overwhelming at first.

Next on the list of must haves in your toolbox would be a keyword tool.  After all, keywords are what we are trying to optimize our sites around, no?  Here are some of the top keyword tools out on the ‘net.

My favorite is Google’s Keyword tool by far.  It’s very easy to use, free, and returns very good results.  I mean it is served up by the best search engine on the internet, so it has to have some authority behind it.  I use this tool at least once a day, whether to check out something crazy that pops into my head, or see if any long tail terms I am working on actually have any search volume.  Either way, its a great and easy tool.

Backlinks, check.  Keywords, check.  Next on the list of tools would have to be Ranking tools in order to figure out where you rank in the SERPs.  You could do this the old fashioned way by sitting at your desk for hours Googling every term under the sun and manually checking where you rank, or you could just use one of these handy dandy Ranking tools and save yourself some time, effort, and frustration.

Personally I use Digital Point’s Keyword Ranking tool when it comes to checking my top keywords for these respective positioning in the SERPs.  Basically you input however many keywords you want and your top level domain for that keyword.  It stores your information in your profile and whenever you come back and click run, it will scan the SERPs to see where in fact your site appears for said keyword.  The best feature about this tool is that it stores data historically and will show your movement over time (daily, monthly, yearly) for all of your keywords.  However you need to grab a Google API and it can be pretty hard to find one of those floating around the internet now.

Other Quality Tools to add to your SEO Toolbox:

PageRank Checkers:

Traffic & Trends:

Domain/IP Info:

SEO Addons and Toolbars:

If you have any tools that you use personally and would like to see added to the list, or just give me a heads up about, please contact me and let me know.  Like I said, I am always expanding my SEO toolbox, and if there is something out there I haven’t found yet or haven’t tried, I would love to hear and give it a test run.