Tools are a must for serious SEOs; they deliver the flexibility and capability to tackle jobs of any size. Knowing which ones best fit your needs, budget and the scale of the sites you work on is critical.
In this clinic, our veteran SEOs open their own tool chests, share with you their favorites (both free and paid) and take your questions about how to use them (and others) effectively. These are tools that have earned the loyalty of our speakers thanks to their utility, features and ability to help maximize time - no sponsored advice here!
2. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
SEO Tools
Ahrefs
Answer the Public
Archive.org
Botify
BrightEdge
Chrome Developer Tools
Google Local Search Results
Google Data Studio
Google Search Console
HTTP Headers
HTTPstatus.io
Keywords Everywhere
Link Clump
Link Redirect Trace
Local Falcon
Moz Pro
PowerBI
Rich Results Test
Schema Markup Generator
Screaming Frog
SEMrush
SEO Meta in 1-Click
Structured Data Testing Tool
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREEFREE
FREE
FREE
6. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
COMMON TASKS:
Google Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool
See the current index status of a URL
Test whether a live URL is able to be
indexed
Check validity of page enhancements:
mobile, AMP, & rich results
Request indexing (or re-indexing) of a
URL
36. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
Ahrefs Site Explorer
What keywords should I target for featured snippets?
HOW TO:
Ahrefs Site Explorer
Search: your domain
Filter for featured snippets
Filter for top positions
Export results
Filter out featured snippets
you already rank for
39. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
Ahrefs Content Explorer:
Are there any unlinked mentions of my brand?
HOW TO:
Ahrefs Content Explorer
Search: “brand name”
-site:example.com
Highlight unlinked domains
> enter domain
Export > Check “Only pages
with highlighted domains”
54. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
LinkClump
HOW TO:
Search for any query
Add "&num=100" to the end
of the URL (for more results)
Download Link Clump
extension > settings > copy
to clipboard
Control +V into excel/sheets
65. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
• To do SEO at scale you need a broad ecosystem of
tools
• Leverage Twitter, industry news, & conference decks
for recommendations from experts
• More experimentation now = more efficiency later
• Share what tools work best for you
66. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
• Can’t get enough tools? Annie Cushing has you covered with possibly
the most comprehensive list of SEO tools in a Google Doc: Annie
Cushing's Must-Have Tools
• Also consider checking out https://www.themarketertoolbox.com/
and https://backlinko.com/seo-tools for even more tools to explore.
• And we’re sure many of these brands and other cool tools are
represented here at SMX, so go check ‘em out. The best way to know
if a tool is right for you is to try it out.
67. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
SEO Tools Appendix
Ahrefs https://ahrefs.com/
Answer the Public https://answerthepublic.com/
Archive.org https://archive.org/
Botify https://www.botify.com/
BrightEdge https://www.brightedge.com/
Chrome Developer
Tools
CTRL + Shift + I in Chrome
Google Local Search
Results
https://technicalseo.com/tools/local-search/
Google Data Studio https://datastudio.google.com/u/0/
Google Search Console
https://search.google.com/search-
console/welcome
HTTP Headers
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ht
tp-
headers/nioieekamcpjfleokdcdifpmclkohddp
HTTPstatus.io https://httpstatus.io/
Keywords Everywhere https://keywordseverywhere.com/
Link Clump
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lin
kclump/lfpjkncokllnfokkgpkobnkbkmelfefj
Link RedirectTrace
https://www.linkresearchtools.com/seo-
tools/free-seo-tools/link-redirect-trace-
extension/
Local Falcon https://www.localfalcon.com/
Moz Pro https://moz.com/products/pro
PowerBI https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/
Rich ResultsTest https://search.google.com/test/rich-results
Schema Markup
Generator
https://technicalseo.com/tools/schema-
markup-generator/
Screaming Frog
https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/web-
scraping/
SEMrush https://www.semrush.com/dashboard/
SEO Meta in 1-Click http://www.seo-extension.com/
Structured DataTesting
Tool
https://search.google.com/structured-
data/testing-tool/u/0/
68. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
SEO Tools By Job
Screaming Frog
Botify
OnCrawl
Google Search Console GSC (Webmaster Tools)
DeepCrawl
https://httpstatus.io/
Stat
Chrome Dev Tools UA Switcher
Google Mobile Friendly Test
Screaming Frog
SEO Browser
Google Search Console GSC (Webmaster Tools)
Chrome Dev Tools UA Switcher
Google Mobile Friendly Test
Screaming Frog
SERPerator (MobileMoxie)
Google Search Console
Crawling Rendering Mobile
SEO Meta in 1 Click
GSC Fetch and Status Reports
HTTP Header Check
Indexing
Screaming Frog
GSC Coverage Reports
Sitebulb
Chrome Dev Tools UA Switcher
Signaling
SEMRush
Ahrefs
BrightEdge
Conductor
Yext
Google Search Console
SEOClarity
Moz/Stat
Performance Analysis
69. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
SEO Tools By Job
Content Ideation Competitive Research LinkAssessment
SEMRush
Ahrefs
BrightEdge
Conductor
MarketMuse
Answer the Public
Google Trends
SEOClarity
Moz/Stat
People Also Ask
SEMRush
Ahrefs
BrightEdge
Conductor
MarketMuse (Content)
Google SERPs
SEOClarity
Moz/Stat
SEMRush
Ahrefs
BrightEdge
Conductor
Botify
Google Search Console
SEOClarity
Moz/Stat
LinkMiner
70. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
SEO Tools By Job
PageContent Structured Data Site Speed
SEMRush
Ahrefs
BrightEdge
Conductor
MarketMuse
Botify
Google Search Console
SEOClarity
Moz/Stat
Merkle Schema Generator
Google Structured Data Tester
Google Search Console
Botify
Screaming Frog
Joe Hall’s JSON Generator
Google Search Console
Chrome Dev Lighthouse
WebPageTest.org
Botify
Screaming Frog
Cloudinary (Image Optimization)
Excel
PowerBI
Google Data Studio
Botify
Screaming Frog
Adobe Analytics
Google Analytics
DataVisualization and Reporting
71. @abbynhamilton
@chriscountey
THANK YOU
Abby Hamilton
SEO Associate Manager Merkle Inc.
www.linkedin.com/in/abigailnhamilton/
@abbynhamilton
Chris Countey
Sr Technical SEO Manager Comcast
www.linkedin.com/in/chriscountey/
@chriscountey
