The importance of search engine optimization (SEO) must be balanced to generate quality traffic to the website. Yet, most beginner entrepreneurs and start-ups tend to dread it. Even paid tools may be quite costly, considering the budget constraints of entrepreneurs and startup businesses.

Fortunately, there are plenty of SEO audit tools that allow you to conduct technical audits, keyword research, ranking analysis, and rival evaluations, and you won’t have to use your credit card for those. The site is among the most important for e-commerce purposes, as these best free SEO tools will enhance your site’s functionality and speed to ensure ease of use for all.

This guide discusses the top free SEO tools, what they do, and how beginners can use them to improve their website rankings.

Understand the SEO fundamentals first

Before diving into tools, get familiar with some SEO basics. SEO aims to improve ranking in search engines like Google for relevant queries so more organic traffic discovers your site. But how exactly do the intricate algorithms determine rankings?

There are over 200 ranking factors, but some significant components include:

• Technical site health elements like page speed and mobile optimization
• Content relevance, quality, and engagement
• Keyword usage and optimization
• Quality backlink profile

It is impossible to undermine the importance of SEO because high rankings mean more visibility and chances to get qualitative visitors. Taking time to learn the best practices will be an added advantage by magnifying your messaging and content. These key areas can also be audited or improved using free SEO tools. As a novice, you should concentrate on the basics rather than venturing into complex strategies. It takes a lot of time to learn SEO; however, free tools greatly help provide accessibility.

10 Best Free SEO Tools To Try

Fortunately, some helpful free tools are available if you’re on a tight budget. Here are 10 best free SEO tools to help boost your website’s search rankings.

1. MozBar

MozBar is a free Chrome browser extension that provides useful SEO information about webpages and websites. After creating a free account, it shows any site’s Page Authority, Domain Authority, and Spam Score. This helps in competitor analysis to understand the difficulty of ranking for keywords and the backlink quality needed. MozBar also has convenient tools for checking on-page SEO and evaluating potential backlinks.

Use MozBar For: Competitor keyword research and finding backlink opportunities.

Free or Paid: The basic MozBar is free. The Premium version includes a paid Moz Pro account (free 30-day trial available).

2. Ahrefs

Ahrefs offers a full SEO toolset for a monthly fee. But it also recommends several free and paid SEO tools:

• Free Keyword Generator – Get keyword volumes and related questions across major search engines and Amazon.

• Free Backlink Checker – Crawl the web to see the top 100 sites linking to yours.

• Free Keyword Rank Checker- Check your keyword rankings in search engines.

• Free Broken Link Checker – Get 10 broken links on your site.

If you don’t need detailed analysis or tracking, the free Ahrefs tools may meet your needs.

Use Ahrefs For: Keyword research and backlink tracking.

Free or Paid: The recommended tools are free. Paid packages start at $99 per month.

3. SEMrush Free SEO Tools

SEMrush provides a wide range of paid SEO features. But it also offers limited access to these tools for free:

• Position Tracking – Track up to 10 keywords.

• Site Audit – Audit up to 100 pages.

• Listing Management – Audit 70+ local listings.

• SEO Content Template – 1 keyword content brief.

• SEO Writing Assistant – Optimize 1 piece of content.

• On-Page SEO Checker – Optimize 10 keywords.

• Keyword Magic Tool – 10 keyword reports daily.

• Domain Overview – Analyze 10 competitors.

Use SEMrush For: Rank tracking and site audits.

Free or Paid: The tools above are free. Paid plans start at $129.95 per month. 7-day free trials available.

4. Keyword Tool

Keyword Tool helps find relevant short and long-tail keywords across search engines, YouTube, Amazon, and social media.

The free version shows keyword lists. Search volume and difficulty estimates require upgrading to the paid Pro plan (starts at $69 per month).

Use Keyword Tool For: Keyword research.

Free or paid: Limited keyword lists are free. More data and features require the paid plan.

5. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest provides free daily keyword suggestions based on a site URL or seed keyword. You get 3 free searches per day. Beyond that, it requires a paid account. Ubersuggest returns long lists of content, products, and traffic growth ideas.

It also shows the top-ranking sites for each keyword to understand user intent and content gaps.

Use Ubersuggest For: Keyword research and SERP analysis.

Free or Paid: 3 searches per day are free. Paid plans start at $29 per month. 7-day free trials available.

6. Google Analytics

You can track your SEO ranking with Google Analytics to understand how visitors find your site and measure success. The free tool gives insights into the keywords people use to locate your content in search engines. View traffic sources and volumes over time to optimize pages for better rankings. Dive deeper into visitor behavior metrics like bounce rates to improve conversions. With easy tracking code installation, Google Analytics is invaluable for monitoring SEO performance.

Use Google Analytics For: Website traffic and performance analytics.

Free or Paid: Fully free to use with standard features.

7. Merkle SEO Tools

Merkle provides customer experience services and leverages data science. It offers two free SEO tools:

• Google SERP Simulator – Edit metadata to preview Google snippet results.

• Schema Markup Generator – Easily add schema markup for rich snippets.

• Use Merkle For: Optimizing snippets and schema.

Free or Paid: These two tools are 100% free.

8. RankMath WordPress SEO

One WordPress SEO plugin that covers everything is RankMath for businesses, big and small. The free account covers standard SEO audits and 18 types of schema markup. It is also interlinked with Google Search Console, Divi, Elementor, etc.

Paid accounts unlock more features like rank tracking, Google Analytics integration, and custom reports.

Use RankMath For: Audits and on-page optimization.

Free or Paid: The free version has limited capabilities. Paid plans start at $5.75 per month.

9. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Screaming Frog is a free tool that crawls websites to analyze technical SEO issues like broken links. It audits up to 500 URLs for free. More URLs require paid plans.

Use Screaming Frog For: Crawl analysis and technical audits.

Free or Paid: Key features are in the free version. Advanced capabilities require paid plans starting at $259 per year.

10. Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is a free plugin for WordPress and Shopify sites. It helps optimize content for keywords by evaluating use in headings, meta tags, descriptions, etc. Yoast provides real-time content scores.

Use Yoast For: On-page optimization and content improvement.

Free or Paid: The free version covers core capabilities. The paid premium plan for quality checks and social media is $99 annually.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are a variety of powerful free SEO tools available covering areas like:

• Keyword Research
• Competitor Analysis
• Rank Tracking
• Site Audits
• On-Page Optimization
• Analytics

Many tools offer both free and paid versions. The free options provide a great starting point, while paid plans unlock more advanced functionality.

These free SEO tools provide immense value for initial optimization without a big investment. All top SEO companies leverage the offerings to support early client audits, tracking, keyword research, and on-page improvements cost-effectively. Though premium software provides more advanced analysis, free tools facilitate foundational website health checks and SEO guidance even for consultants managing enterprise-scale optimization.