The episode offers a straightforward discussion aimed at explaining SEO tools and providing practical advice on how to process the overwhelming variety available. I share what SEO tools can offer, such as monitoring keyword rankings, generating content ideas, and analyzing technical aspects of websites, among other features. I also provides guidance on how to select the right tool. Important considerations like tool interface, functionality, cost, and how it fits into one’s workflow are discussed to help you make an informed decision.
00:32 Diving Into SEO Tools: Do You Really Need One?
01:49 Understanding SEO Tools and Their Benefits
02:52 Navigating the Maze of SEO Tools
03:58 Testing and Choosing the Right SEO Tool
05:36 Key Takeaways on SEO Tools
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Hello, and welcome to the small business sweet spot. I’m your host Barb Davids, and this show is dedicated to helping small business owners like you get more organic website traffic and also to help create and distribute content and analyzing the numbers so that we can make better informed marketing decisions. It is action oriented, direct, and conversational. And if you’ve been looking for SEO or content marketing help, please stick around to the very end where I share about the group coaching program, small business sweet spot. I’m so glad you’re here. Let’s go.
Welcome back to the sweet spot. This episode is about SEO tools. Answering the question, do you need one? The short answer is no. Keep listening to learn what they are good for and how they can help. And this episode is meant to be super high level. This is not an exhaustive guide to SEO tools. There’s a million kazillion articles that claim that.
I want you to walk away with an understanding of what’s actually relevant and important.
Because as someone who lives and breathes SEO day in, day out, I hear from a lot of business owners searching for DIY SEO tools that it’s an overwhelming experience. And I want to help reduce that overwhelm.
The type of overwhelm that’s like trying to choose what to watch on Netflix when you have no idea what you’re in the mood for. So, think about it. 30 minutes later, you’re still scrolling no closer to pressing play on anything and eventually turning it off in a fit of rage because there’s nothing good on and sitting in silence is preferable.
That kind of frustration.
A lot like this Netflix example, it’s pretty normal to get frustrated and give up on finding the right SEO tool. How do you cut out the noise for all the choices and focus on the one that will best help you optimize your website leading to higher quality organic traffic?
We first have to identify what an SEO tool is. An SEO tool is a program or a piece of software, usually with a separate login to another website. They can give performance insights so you can assess how well your search engine marketing is working. And I’m not talking about the WordPress plugins that claim if you make all the lights green, you’ll have higher search rankings.
That is a topic for another day.
The SEO tools that I’m referring to may help in the following areas.
Monitor keyword rankings. Generate content ideas. Monitor backlinks, the links you get from other websites to your website. Analyzing website speed. Reporting on technical aspects. Monitoring your local standings, create schema code that speaks in search engine language, spy on your competitors, SEO monitor search engine algorithm updates, or even find and correct business citations.
Some popular ones are Ahrefs, SEMrush, and MyFave SE ranking. If you do a search for DIY SEO tools, you’ll see over 15 million results that talk about them.
There are free ones. The best ones. The complete list of the simple ones, the top ones, the recommended ones, the industry specific ones, the most loved, the most hated, the ones that increase traffic, the ones that improve rankings, the all in ones, And the ones you actually need just to name a few.
There are a couple of things you can do to filter out the crap tools from the ones that are worth your time and energy to try out things like read reviews, ask fellow biz besties what they recommend. And most importantly, knowing why you are needing this SEO tool. If you’re looking for one, just because Susie down the street said you need one.
I’d say hold off on that. But if you’re looking for assistance, if you’re looking for assistance in any of the previously mentioned areas, then okay.
Doing those three things can give you your shortlist of tools to try. Next you’re going to want to carve out some time to use the various options. Order them in some way, perhaps by trial period length, time of period length,
order them in some way, perhaps by trial period length of time, cost, even your gut feeling. Then test. Here are four things to look at when testing an SEO tool. Again, not an exhaustive list. However, they are areas that might prove to be most effective when trying to decide.
First, is the interface pleasing and easy to navigate? If something isn’t easy to navigate relatively quickly, frustration sets in and it’s unlikely you’ll ever open the tool again. Second, what will this tool help me accomplish? What will this tool help you accomplish? Understanding the main function of the tool and the information you want to show you.
Second, what will this tool help you accomplish? Understanding the main function of the tool and the information you want it to show you. Is it just to measure rankings or is it to analyze competitor keywords?
Third, is the tool within your budget? At the end of the free or low cost trial period, can you continue to see the value in the tool and is it within your budget? Most tools are subscription based and offer tier pricing. Work out the monthly and annual cost. See if you can save by paying an annual rather than a monthly subscription.
And lastly, will this tool improve your workflow? Consider how you will use the tool. Will it be your own personal source of reference to pull into another reporting method or will you use it directly?
The key takeaway from this episode is you don’t technically need an SEO tool to have good SEO. And frankly, you could even just use different trial ones on an as needed basis. I like having one primarily because it can alert me to changes in ranking, or with any technical issues, rather than my having to pull that information after it’s already too late.
Whatever tool you choose, give it time. Get used to the new interface. And remember that you are not stuck with the tool you choose. You can choose a different one later. Your goals may change as time passes, and tool requirements cause you to want to change. That’s it for this episode. Stay tuned for more episodes on making your business thrive online.
See you in the next sweet spot. Cheers.
Thank you for sticking around. I hope you enjoyed the episode. If you’re looking for SEO and content marketing help, consider joining the small business sweet spot. It’s a group coaching program where you can get answers to your questions about your business directly and clarity around the marketing strategies that you would like to implement in your business.
You can find all kinds of information at compassdigitalstrategies. com. And if you liked the episode, please tell a friend. Cheers.
