If you want to do SEO for your website or a client, you must use some tools. Though most SEO tools are paid, some great free tools can help you improve your website’s rankings, attract more visitors, and grow your online presence.
Below, I’ve rounded up the 10 best free SEO tools for beginners, explaining what they do, how to use them, and why they’re great for boosting your SEO.
1. Google Search Console
Google Search Console is like a dashboard that shows you how Google sees your website. It helps you track your site’s performance in search results, spot technical issues, and find improvement opportunities.
Why it’s fantastic for beginners: It’s free, straight from Google, and gives you insights into what’s working (and what’s not). You can see which keywords bring people to your site, check for errors like broken links, and even submit your sitemap to help Google find your pages.
- Sign up with a Google account and verify your website (you’ll need to prove you own it by adding a small piece of code or connecting via Google Analytics).
- Check the Performance Report to see which search terms people use to find your site and how many clicks you get.
- Use the URL Inspection Tool to check if specific pages are indexed (i.e., included in Google’s search database).
- Look at the coverage report to find and fix errors, such as pages that Google can’t crawl.
Pro tip: If you notice pages with errors, like “404 Not Found,” fix them by updating broken links or redirecting them to the correct page. This keeps your site user-friendly and search-engine-friendly.
2. Google Analytics
Google Analytics tracks who visits your website, where they come from, and what they do while they’re there. It’s a goldmine for understanding your audience and improving your SEO strategy.
Why it’s awesome for beginners: It’s free and helps you see which pages are popular, how long people stay, and which keywords drive traffic. This data tells you what content works and where to focus your efforts.
How to use it:
- Sign up for Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and add the tracking code to your website (many website builders like WordPress have plugins to make this easy).
- Check the Acquisition Report to see how much traffic comes from organic search (i.e., people finding you on Google).
- Look at the Behaviour Report to find your top-performing pages and see which ones have high bounce rates (when visitors leave quickly).
- Set up goals (like form submissions or purchases) to track conversions and measure your SEO success.
Pro tip: A page with a high bounce rate might not match visitors’ expectations. Try improving the content or making it load faster to keep people engaged.
3. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner, part of Google Ads, helps you find keywords people search for and shows you their search volume and competition level.
Why it’s awesome for beginners: It’s free and comes directly from Google, so the data is reliable. You can discover keywords to target in your content to attract the right audience.
How to use it:
- Sign up for a Google Ads account (no need to run ads).
- Go to Tools & Settings > Keyword Planner > Discover New Keywords.
- Enter a topic related to your website (e.g., “dog training tips” if you run a pet blog).
- Review the list of keyword ideas, focusing on those with decent search volume (e.g., 100-1,000 searches per month) and low to medium competition.
- Export the list to plan your blog posts or page updates.
Pro tip: Look for long-tail keywords (longer, specific phrases like “how to train a puppy not to bark”) – they’re easier to rank for and often attract more targeted visitors.
4. Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest, created by digital marketer Neil Patel, offers keyword research, site audits, and competitor analysis to help you optimise your website.
Why it’s fantastic for beginners: The free plan gives you access to many features, like keyword suggestions, content ideas, and a basic site audit to spot SEO issues.
How to use it:
- Visit ubersuggest.io and enter a keyword or your website’s URL.
- Check the Keyword Ideas section to find related keywords and their search volume, SEO difficulty, and cost-per-click (if you ever run ads).
- Use the Site Audit tool to get a report on your website’s health, including issues like slow-loading pages or missing meta descriptions.
- Explore the Content Ideas section to see what topics are trending in your niche.
Pro tip: Use the content ideas to create blog posts that answer popular questions in your industry. This can help you rank for featured snippets (those boxes at the top of Google’s results).
5. AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic generates a visual map of questions, prepositions, and related searches based on a keyword, helping you create content that matches what people are searching for.
Why it’s fantastic for beginners: It’s free (with limited searches) and perfect for brainstorming blog topics that align with your audience’s needs.
How to use it:
- Go to answerthepublic.com and type in a keyword (e.g., “yoga for beginners”).
- Explore the questions (e.g., “What is yoga for beginners?”) and prepositions (e.g., “yoga for beginners near me”) to get content ideas.
- Use these ideas to write blog posts or FAQs that directly answer your audience’s queries.
Pro tip: Create content that answers specific questions to increase your chances of appearing in Google’s “People Also Ask” section, which can drive more clicks.
6. Yoast SEO (WordPress Plugin)
Yoast SEO is a free WordPress plugin that guides you through optimizing your blog posts and pages for search engines.
Why it’s fantastic for beginners: It’s like having an SEO coach built into your website. Yoast gives real-time tips on improving readability, keyword usage, and meta tags.
How to use it:
- Install the Yoast SEO plugin on your WordPress site.
- Enter your target keyword in the Focus Keyphrase field when writing a post.
- Follow Yoast’s suggestions, like adding your keyword to the title, meta description, and headings, and improving sentence length for readability.
- Check the SEO Analysis to ensure your content is optimized before publishing.
Pro tip: Aim for a green light in Yoast’s SEO and readability scores, but don’t obsess over perfection-focus on creating helpful content for your readers.
7. Ahrefs’ Free SEO Tools
Ahrefs offers a suite of free tools, including a keyword generator, backlink checker, and keyword difficulty checker, to help you improve your SEO.
Why it’s fantastic for beginners: While Ahrefs is known for its paid tools, the free versions are powerful enough to give you actionable insights without cost.
How to use it:
- Use the Keyword Generator to find keywords for Google, Bing, YouTube, or Amazon, along with their search volume and difficulty.
- Try the Backlink Checker to see which websites link to your site or your competitors’ sites, helping you find link-building opportunities.
- Use the Keyword Difficulty Checker to estimate how hard it is to rank for a keyword (aim for scores below 10 for easier wins).
Pro tip: Check your competitors’ backlinks to find websites that might link to your content, like blogs or directories in your niche.
8. Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free Version)
Screaming Frog is a desktop tool that crawls your website to find technical SEO issues, like broken links, duplicate content, or missing meta tags.
Why it’s fantastic for beginners: The free version lets you crawl up to 500 pages, which is plenty for small websites, and helps you fix problems that could hurt your rankings.
How to use it:
- Download and install Screaming Frog (available for Windows, Mac, and Linux).
- Enter your website’s URL and start the crawl.
- Review the report for issues like 404 errors, missing title tags, or slow-loading pages.
- Export the data to a spreadsheet for easy reference and prioritize fixing high-impact issues.
Pro tip: Fix broken links first, as they frustrate users and can lower your site’s credibility with search engines.
9. Google Trends
Google Trends shows you how popular a search term is over time and compares it to other terms, helping you find trending topics to target.
Why it’s fantastic for beginners: It’s free, easy to use, and helps you create timely content that aligns with what people are searching for right now.
How to use it:
- Visit trends.google.com and enter a keyword or topic.
- Check the Interest Over Time graph to see if the topic is gaining or losing popularity.
- Use the Related Queries section to find similar keywords or trending questions.
- Filter by location or time range to target your audience more precisely.
Pro tip: Create content around seasonal trends (e.g., “Christmas gift ideas” in November) to capture high search volume at the right time.
10. MozBar
MozBar is a free browser extension (for Chrome) that shows SEO metrics like domain and page authority while browsing websites.
Why it’s fantastic for beginners: It’s a quick way to check the strength of your website or competitors’ sites without needing a paid tool.
How to use it:
- Install the MozBar extension from the Chrome Web Store.
- Log in with a free Moz account.
- Visit any website, and MozBar will display metrics like Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) at the top of your browser.
- Use it to analyze competitors’ pages and see their SEO strength.
Pro tip: Look for competitors with low DA (under 30) to find opportunities where you can outrank them with better content or more backlinks.
Why These Tools Matter for Beginners
As a beginner, your goal is to make your website as search-engine-friendly as possible while creating content your audience loves. These 10 free tools cover the key areas of SEO:
- Keyword Research: Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, AnswerThePublic, Ahrefs’ Keyword Generator, and Google Trends help you find the right words to target.
- On-Page SEO: Yoast SEO and MozBar make it easy to optimize your content and check your site’s strength.
- Technical SEO: Google Search Console and Screaming Frog help you fix issues that could hold your site back.
- Analytics: Google Analytics tracks your progress and shows you what’s working.
- Competitor Analysis: Ahrefs’ Backlink Checker and MozBar let you learn from others in your niche.
Using these tools together, you can build a solid SEO strategy without spending money. Start small-pick one or two tools, like Google Search Console and Yoast SEO, and focus on fixing errors and optimizing a few pages. As you get comfortable, add more tools to your workflow.
If SEO feels too much to handle on your own or you want to save time while getting faster results, consider hiring an SEO virtual assistant. They can manage these tools for you, optimize your content, and help your website climb the rankings while you focus on running your business.
Tips to Get Started with SEO Using These Tools
- Start with a Site Audit: Use Google Search Console or Screaming Frog to check for technical issues like broken links or slow pages. Fixing these is like cleaning up your lemonade stand before opening for business.
- Research Keywords: Use Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to find 5-10 keywords with low competition and decent search volume. Write blog posts or update pages to include these keywords naturally.
- Create Helpful Content: Use AnswerThePublic to find questions your audience is asking, then write explicit, valuable content to answer them.
- Track Your Progress: Check Google Analytics weekly to see which pages are getting traffic and where you can improve.
- Learn from Competitors: Use MozBar or Ahrefs’ Backlink Checker to see what your competitors are doing well, then aim to do it better.
Final Thoughts
SEO doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. These 10 free tools give you everything you need to improve your website’s ranking, from finding keywords to fixing technical issues and tracking your success.
As a beginner, focus on taking small, consistent steps-optimize one page, write one blog post, or fix one error at a time. Over time, these efforts will add up, and you’ll see more visitors to your site through Google.
Ready to get started? Pick one tool, like Google Search Console or Yoast SEO, and dive in today. Your website-and your audience-will thank you!
is a seasoned SEO expert with over 10 years of experience helping businesses improve their online visibility and increase organic traffic. He specializes in creating and implementing effective SEO strategies tailored to each client’s needs, ensuring maximum results and ROI. In his free time, he enjoys keeping up with the latest SEO trends and sharing his insights through blog posts, webinars, and conferences.