SEO Toolbox For Content Creators & Marketers – Top SEO Tools & Features

It’s estimated that by 2028, the SEO market in the UK could reach a valuation as high as £25 billion.

Having a set of efficient SEO tools at hand as a blogger and marketer can help you achieve better search results and higher rankings, not only for your website but also for those of your clients.

In my course “How to create SEO-friendly content” I cover and share some of the SEO tools I use, including how I use them to strategically utilise relevant keywords that I have researched. You can also watch how Fernando and I find the best keywords to embed in an article so it ranks quickly and effectively:

In this article, I want to help you identify an SEO tool that will work best for you. Try a search for an online tool that can help you perform search engine optimisation. You’ll find too many to count, literally. Don’t let the overload of choices weigh you down.

I’ve done the hard yards and can save you hundreds of hours of search, trial, and frustration.

The first step I took was to make a list of the functions that I needed my SEO tools to perform.

After that, I went on to choose the tools for my SEO toolbox as I already had a clear idea of what kinds of SEO tools and features I wanted.

Checking Your SEO Needs

Be it a professional website, a blog, or an e-commerce site, there are some basic functions that the tools in your SEO toolbox must be able to perform.

These include:

• Analyse the performance and functionality status of your website.
• Ensure that content is optimised for better web visibility
• Compare the site performance with competing sites.
• Track visibility on social media and platforms to monitor the web traffic.
• Check backlinks and plan link building.

My SEO Toolbox – What’s in it?

You don’t need complex and time-consuming software. Simple and small tools can easily perform SEO as well as their complex and often expensive counterparts.

Have a look at what I’ve included in my SEO toolbox. The listed SEO tools allow me to perform the required optimisation whenever I need to, without burning a hole in my pocket.

Because if you’re just starting out as a blogger or marketer for the web, you won’t be in a position to pay for expensive tools yet. But you still want to create content that is popular on search engines like Google.

So the below SEO tools may not be completely free, but some offer certain features for free or they are at the lower end of the scale and many offer free trials to test them as well.

Disclaimer: The listed SEO tools are ranked based on their average ratings from higher to lower. All the information provided was correct at the time of this publication but may be subject to change.  

1. Google Analytics

I mainly use this tool to analyse Google data and as a website owner, you will have free access to Google Analytics once your website is submitted and indexed. I also use it via the seekahost.app to check all my blogs hosted there and their analytics.

Pros:

• Google Analytics offers detailed insights into your website’s traffic patterns, top-performing content, and visitor behaviour over time.
• Because of its intuitive interface, monitoring performance and evaluating optimisation efforts are simple and accurate.

Cons:

• It only covers Google searches, not other search engines like Bing.

Plans:

• Google Analytics offers a free version with essential features for tracking website traffic and user behaviour, including real-time reporting, custom reporting, audience analysis, conversion tracking, and attribution modelling.
• Google Analytics 360, the premium version, starts at $50,000 per year and provides enhanced data processing, more customisation options, advanced integrations, dedicated support, faster data freshness, higher limits on custom dimensions and audiences, unsampled explorations, and guaranteed service level agreements (SLAs) for data collection and reporting.

Ratings & Reviews:

4.5 out of 5 with 6427 reviews on G2

2. SEMRush

Semrush is a comprehensive tool I use for keyword research, competitor analysis, and SEO strategy. I also use it to manage my socials as these increasingly impact SEO. Its advanced features help me gain data-driven insights to finalise my upcoming content strategy.

Pros:

• Semrush offers access to over 26 billion keywords and 43 trillion backlinks, delivering accurate data directly from top search engines.
• Semrush allows you to understand your competitors’ strategies and explore their keywords & backlinks, uncover new opportunities, and gain insights to enhance your approach.
• Semrush can identify broken links, and orphan pages, and protect your website from spam link attacks.

Cons:

• Switching between dashboards presents a difficult learning curve for novice users.

Plans:

• Semrush offers three main plans for different business needs. The Pro Plan at $139.95/month provides essential SEO, PPC, and research tools, including keyword research, competitor analysis, backlink analysis and website audits. The Guru Plan, priced at $249.95/month, includes all Pro features plus the multi-location tracking, Content Marketing Toolkit, Looker Studio integration, and historical data. For larger businesses, the Business Plan at $499.95/month adds advanced features such as API access, Share of Voice, free migration from third-party tools, and extended limits.
• For local businesses, Semrush offers Local Essentials and Local Advanced plans at $50 and $60/month respectively, designed to manage business listings, enhance local visibility, track local rankings, and optimise Google Business Profiles. The Semrush Trends plan, at $289/month per user, delivers consumer insights through tools like Traffic Analytics, Market Explorer, and EyeOn, providing detailed traffic data across 190+ countries.
• Additional users can be added for $45–$100/month, depending on the plan, and various add-ons are available, such as Semrush Social for $29.99/month to manage social media accounts, Social Content AI for content creation, and the Agency Growth Kit ranging from $69 to $249/month, designed to support agencies with CRM, lead generation, and client reporting tools. For AI-driven content analysis, ImpactHero is available for $200/month.

Ratings & Reviews:

4.5 out of 5 with 2290 reviews on G2

3. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool that helps me manage, track and optimise my and ClickDo’s many websites’ performance. It simplifies complex SEO processes, helping me discover valuable marketing opportunities and drive targeted traffic efficiently.

Pros:

• Ahrefs uses AI-powered tools to generate thousands of niche-specific keyword suggestions, revealing untapped opportunities.
• Identify low-competition keywords, track SERP volatility, and uncover ad trends for smarter, data-driven content strategies.
• Study top-ranking pages, backlink profiles, and historical trends to refine your content and outperform competitors.
• Can generate group keywords by topics, analyse search volume, keyword difficulty, and user intent to prioritise high-impact terms.

Cons:

• This tool can be intimidating for first-time

Plans:

• Ahrefs offers four main plans to suit businesses of all sizes. The Lite Plan at €119/month is ideal for small businesses, providing tools like Dashboard, Keywords Explorer, Site Explorer, Site Audit, SERP history, and Rank Tracker. The Standard Plan at €229/month adds features such as Batch Analysis, Content Explorer, SERP comparison, and AI-driven keyword suggestions with search intent analysis. For growing teams, the Advanced Plan at €449/month introduces Web Explorer, Looker Studio integration, HTTP authentication, and access to video, image, and news search volume data. The Enterprise Plan starts at €1,394/month (annual commitment required) and includes advanced audit logs, SSO, API access, and custom solutions for large agencies.
• For beginners, Ahrefs offers an initial plan at €27/miss, providing limited access to Keywords Explorer, Site Explorer, and Site Audit, while Ahrefs Webmaster Tools gives free, restricted access to website owners. Add-ons are available to enhance functionality, including Content Kit (free during beta, then $99/month), Report Builder (€89/month), Project Boost Pro (€18.7/month per project), and Project Boost Max (€180/month per project). Data add-ons include extra export rows and credits starting at €46.7/month, while additional Rank Tracker keywords cost €46.7/month for 500 keywords.
• For Enterprise-level needs, tailored add-ons like 1M Site Audit crawl credits (€1,120/year) and 1M API units (€467/year) ensure scalability. Ahrefs’ flexible pricing and customisable add-ons make it a versatile SEO platform for businesses, freelancers, and enterprises alike.

Ratings & Reviews:

4.5 out of 5 with 543 reviews on G2

4. UberSuggest

Ubersuggest is an SEO tool that I utilise for my and ClickDo’s websites. Created by the ultimate SEO guru, Neil Patel, this tool’s many features help me know what is trending in my target market, improve my competition’s strategies and get better search visibility.

Pros:

• UberSuggest helps reverse-engineer competitors’ SEO and content strategies, revealing top-ranking pages, social media performance, and backlink opportunities.
• With hundreds of keyword suggestions, seasonal trends, and competitor analysis, you can craft engaging, shareable content tailored to your audience.
• UberSuggest highlights content that attracts backlinks, helping you develop a focused plan to enhance your link profile and improve search rankings.

Cons:

• Its backlink audit capabilities aren’t up to the mark.

Plans:

• UberSuggest offers three pricing plans to meet diverse business needs. The Individual Plan at £29/month is perfect for solo entrepreneurs managing 1 website, offering 150 daily searches, 125 rank tracking keywords per project, 1,000 weekly site audit pages, and 20,000 keyword suggestions monthly. For growing teams, the Business Plan at £49/month supports 2-7 websites, with 300 daily searches, 150 rank-tracking keywords per project, 5,000 weekly site audit pages, and 50,000 keyword suggestions monthly.
• For larger enterprises, the Enterprise/Agency Plan at £99/month handles 8-15 websites, providing 900 daily searches, 300 rank tracking keywords per project, 10,000 weekly site audit pages, and 100,000 keyword suggestions monthly. All plans include competitive analysis, backlink tracking, and access to the Chrome extension with varying limits.
• Customisation is available with Add-Ons at £5/month each, including 500 additional daily searches, extra domains (with 125 keywords and 3 competitors), 250 extra tracked keywords, competitor domains, and additional users. Each plan comes with a 7-day Free Trial, allowing you to explore the full potential of UberSuggest before committing.

Ratings & Reviews:

4.6 out of 5 with 369 ratings on Trustpilot

5. Google Trends

Google Trends is a very handy tool that enables me to create better and more relevant content. Use this tool to avoid wasting your time covering topics that your potential readers don’t care about.

Pros:

• Effortlessly discover trending and emerging topics with tools like “Trending Now” and “Explore” to craft timely, high-impact content.
• Align your content calendar with recurring trends, holidays, and audience interest cycles for consistent engagement.
• Leverage regional insights and platform-specific filters (e.g., YouTube Search or Google News) to deliver highly relevant, targeted content.
• Stay ahead of competitors by analysing their top-performing topics, refining your strategy, and focusing on high-conversion opportunities.

Cons:

• Google Trends requires a minimum amount of search traffic to display data. This means that for niche topics or low-volume keywords, it may not provide any insights, making it less useful for content writers focusing on specific or emerging trends.
• Google Trends shows relative search interest over time rather than absolute search volumes. This can make it challenging to gauge the exact popularity of a keyword, requiring content writers to use additional tools for precise data.
• While Google Trends provides broad trends, it lacks detailed demographic and psychographic data. Content writers may need to supplement it with other tools to gain a deeper understanding of their target audience.

Plans:

Google Trends is available at no cost. It doesn’t have any subscription plans or usage restrictions, making it easy for anyone to use.

Ratings & Reviews:

4.6 out of 5 with 230 ratings on G2

6. AIO SEO

This tool is a WordPress plugin that helps you optimise your site and content for search engines, so it can only be used by WordPress webmasters via the backend. I use it for all the blogs I manage and so do all of the SeekaHost and ClickDo teams hence why we have published a detailed blog about the step-by-step installation guide and created a tutorial of a whole AIO SEO course:

 

Pros:

• AIOSEO’s Keyword Rank Tracker can easily monitor and evaluate keyword performance, improve visibility and optimise your SEO strategy.
• Apply “Focus Keywords,” which are pre-configured in WordPress posts, or import keyword data from CSV files to seamlessly include existing keyword data.
• To protect traffic and keep a strong presence in search results, proactively track and fix ranking declines.
• Make better, data-driven decisions by streamlining your workflow with accurate keyword grouping and accurate performance analytics.

Cons:

• Expensive plans are not well suited for freelancers and small businesses.

Plans:

• AIOSEO offers four main plans to suit different needs. The Basic Plan at $49.60/year is ideal for single-site users, providing unlimited TruSEO analysis, SEO audits, advanced schema markup, AI writing tools, WooCommerce SEO, and seamless integrations with Google Search Console and Semrush Keyword Suggestions.
• The Plus Plan at $99.60/year supports up to 3 sites, adding features like Local Business SEO, strategic image SEO, Google Maps Integration, and advanced tools such as WordPress REST API and Author SEO (E-E-A-T). For larger operations, the Pro Plan at $199.60/year covers 10 sites, offering event schema, 30 SEO revisions, 404 error tracking, internal link assistance, and priority support.
• For agencies and power users, the Elite Plan at $299.60/year manages up to 100 sites, advanced 404 management, delivering unlimited SEO revisions, SEO changes performance tracking, dynamic job listing schema, and multi-site network-level management tools. All plans come with a 60% discount on the first year, effectively offering seven months free, along with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Ratings & Reviews:

4.5 out of 5 with 282 reviews on Trustpilot

7. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo offers powerful tools to enhance content discovery by helping me explore trending topics, forums, and themes, making it easy to identify what’s gaining or losing popularity in real-time.

Pros:

• With its content ideas generator, users can access thousands of ideas in a single search, ranging from evergreen content to viral trends, with data spanning 24 hours to five years.
• Uncover high-demand keywords with detailed insights on monthly search volume, PPC cost-per-click data, and seasonal trends for smarter targeting.
• It enables filtering by content type to identify popular formats, benchmarking competitors’ top-performing content, and tracking trends over five years for long-term analysis.
• BuzzSumo tracks global trends in real-time, helping users discover what’s being shared worldwide.

Cons:

• Topic Explorer function offers room for improvement.

Plans:

• BuzzSumo offers four strong plans customised for different needs. The Content Creation Plan at $199/month is perfect for solo marketers and small agencies, featuring unlimited searches, 2 alerts, and essential tools like the Trending Feeds, Content Analyzer, and Question Analyzer to fuel content strategies effectively.
• The PR & Comms Plan at $299/month expands on Content Creation, supporting 5 users and 5 alerts. It includes Coverage Reports, Media Database & Outreach, and Slack Integration, making it ideal for agencies focused on journalist outreach, media monitoring, and PR campaign tracking.
• For larger teams, the Suite Plan at $499/month supports 10 users and 10 alerts, adding advanced tools like the Advanced Chrome Extension, YouTube Analyzer, and Article Uploads. This plan is designed to deliver comprehensive insights and collaboration tools for big marketing teams.
• At the top tier, the Enterprise Plan at $999/month provides 30 user seats, 50 alerts, and exclusive features such as Granular Location Search, RSS Feeds, and Early Access to New Features, offering a no-limits solution for global brands and large-scale agencies.

Ratings & Reviews:

4.5 out of 5 with 146 ratings on Capterra

8. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

As a desktop-based website crawler that scans your site for SEO issues, I use Screaming Frog for auditing a website’s SEO health, identifying errors and warnings, and exporting reports for further analysis, which comes in handy when pages have been deindexed for example.

Pros:

• Quickly identify broken links (404s) and server errors, with detailed exportable reports for seamless issue resolution.
• Optimise content by analysing page titles and meta descriptions, flagging those that are too long, too short, missing, or duplicated.
• Ensure content quality with duplicate content detection, low-content page identification, and a spelling and grammar check (premium feature).

Cons:

• Being a software-based tool it is pretty resource intensive.

Plans:

• Screaming Frog offers a Free Version with essential SEO tools, including metadata analysis, broken link detection, XML sitemap generation, duplicate content checks, and site visualisations. However, it’s limited to 500 URLs per crawl.
• The Paid Version, starting at £199 per licence, per year, removes crawl limits and adds advanced features like JavaScript rendering, crawl comparison, scheduling, structured data checks, AMP validation, mobile usability audits, and integrations with Google Analytics, Search Console, and PageSpeed Insights. Additional tools include spelling and grammar checks, custom extraction, and accessibility auditing, all backed by free technical support.
• Volume discounts are available: £199 per licence for 1–4 licences, £189 per licence for 5–9 licences, £179 per licence for 10–19 licences, and £169 per licence for 20+ licences. Licences are valid for one year, with renewal required annually.

Ratings & Reviews:

4.9 out of 5 with 130 ratings on Capterra

9. WooRank

This tool provides a comprehensive website analysis and SEO audit, as well as suggestions for improvement. I use it to check a website’s performance, usability, mobile-friendliness, social media presence, and more. WooRank also offers a Chrome extension that lets you analyse any webpage with one click.

Pros:

• Access fresh, real-time keyword data to create a targeted marketing strategy & prioritise high-value keywords for maximum ROI.
• Track Keywords with granular precision, including local searches by city, and monitor long-term performance against competitors.
• Detect new keyword opportunities, identify Google-featured result triggers, and streamline campaigns with CSV exports.

Cons:

• Not meant for novice users in the SEO field.

Plans:

• WooRank offers four hand-picked plans to meet diverse SEO needs. The Lite Plan at $19.99/month ($12.99/month when billed yearly) provides unlimited PDF reports, 100-page reviews, and instant reviews via Chrome and Firefox extensions, ideal for quick and actionable SEO insights.
• The Pro Plan at $89.99/month ($53.25/month when billed yearly) is perfect for growing websites. It supports 1 website, 2,500-page site crawls, 50 keyword tracks, 500 API calls, Core Web Vitals monitoring, and unlimited browser-based reviews.
• For agencies and professionals, the Premium Plan at $199.99/month ($133.25/month when billed yearly) optimises 5 websites, crawls 10,000 pages, tracks 250 keywords, and includes 1,000 API calls, white-label PDF reports, and a Lead Gen Tool. For larger businesses, the Enterprise Plan offers custom pricing with features like unlimited projects, keywords, API integrations, bulk review generation, and dedicated phone support.

Ratings & Reviews:

4.4 out of 5 with 68 ratings on Capterra

Start Building Your SEO Toolbox

Now that you’ve seen what my toolbox looks like, why don’t you get on with putting together your toolbox with the SEO tools that suit your needs best?

Remember, first prioritise the functionalities you need and the budget you have available. Then, test the SEO tools I have introduced here to find out which works best for your requirements. You can research more tools, and I have compared a few link analysis tools as well, to make your SEO and marketing journey as effective as possible. And if you’re trying to land your first content writing job, check out my previous article about copywriter job platforms.

Feel free to contact me with regards to my SEO copywriting course or any other questions you may have about this topic via info@manuelawillbold.com or the contact form here.

Author Profile

Manuela Willbold

Blogger and Educator by Passion | CMO at ClickDo Ltd. | Editor in Chief of various English and German Blogs | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism.

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