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Small businesses face unique challenges when it comes to their marketing operations. For one thing, very few have dedicated staff to manage marketing campaigns (there may be few team members who wear many hats). They may also have limited financial resources, making it difficult to subscribe to the latest and greatest marketing tools.
But running a small business also has its advantages. There is often much less competition within a small niche market and successful marketing campaigns are significantly less expensive. Likewise, amazing results can still be achieved with even a small repertoire of marketing tools.
If you want to increase organic traffic to your business through search engine optimization (SEO), here are some cost-effective software solutions to have in your toolkit.
Related: 5 Simple SEO Methods That Drive Big Traffic for Small Businesses
1. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is Google’s own SEO keyword research tool. While the Keyword Planner is primarily used to identify keywords to target with Google Ads, the same data can be used to inform your organic keyword strategy for your website.
Use the Keyword Planner to find keywords your target audience may be searching for, validate the search volume and level of competition for each, and discover related keywords that can help you reach people interested in your products or services.
Cost: Free
Related: 5 Simple SEO Strategies to Improve Your Ranking
2. Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) is another SEO tool hosted by Google, but specific to your website performance and analytics. GSC measures your website traffic, identifies site issues and allows you to monitor your ranking keywords. Sign in to GSC using your Google Account, add the code to your website, and start tracking. This data will allow you to make improvements to your website that can help increase your organic traffic.
Cost: Free
3. Google Analytics
Google analytics is perhaps the most well-known SEO analysis tool, and for good reason. On the one hand, it is fed with its own data directly from Google, which makes it one of the most accurate analysis tools. It also allows you to implement conversion tracking to track what actions users take on your website, whether it’s filling out a form, subscribing to a newsletter, buying a product, etc. You can also monitor traffic from other channels, not just Google, such as referral traffic, direct traffic, or social media traffic.
Cost: Free
Related: 7 Ways Small Businesses Can Use SEO to Boost Customer Service and Growth
4. Yoast (WordPress only)
Since WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS), it only bears mentioning Yoast. Yoast is a WordPress-specific SEO plugin that allows businesses to add essential on-page elements to their sites, including meta titles, meta descriptions, keywords, and internal links. Once activated, the Yoast plugin displays a score (red, yellow, or green) to reflect how well your website is optimized. Some alternatives to Yoast include RankMath i SEOPress.
Cost: $99 per year
5. Semrush
Semrush is one of the best “freemium” SEO software options, with a wide range of keyword research features, site audit features, content optimization tools, and more. Just like Google’s Keyword Planner, you can research keywords relevant to your service or product and even discover the keywords your competitors are ranking for. You can audit your site for on-page SEO and technical issues and receive an easy-to-follow report on how to fix them. Semrush also includes backlink analysis tools, listing management, and local SEO tools, which are not available through Keyword Planner or Google Analytics.
Cost: Free (limited); payment starts at $129.95 per month
6. SpyFu
SpyFu is a small business friendly competitive keyword research tool. Their complete SEO marketing suite includes a pay-per-click ad analyzer, robust historical data, competitor analysis tools, backlink disclosure, and even custom reports. SpyFu is a close second to Semrush as it offers a number of useful SEO features at an affordable price. However, Semrush is often the preferred choice as it includes on-page, off-page and technical SEO tools (the trifecta).
Cost: Free (limited); $16 per month (annual plan)
7. AnswerTheAudience
AnswerThePublic isn’t explicitly an SEO tool, but a “search listening tool,” but it made the list because it’s so useful when it comes to content strategy for small businesses. And content is one of the biggest drivers of organic traffic. AnswerThePublic allows you to search for a main keyword and discover a “web” of questions and/or topics to turn into blog posts or web pages.
For example, let’s say you sell dog toys online; Some topic ideas generated might include “Can dog toys be machine washed?” or “Which toys are safe for dogs?” These can make interesting blog posts that appeal to the interests of your target audience.
Cost: Free
Related: How to Create an Effective SEO Strategy in 2023
8. Screaming frog
Screaming Frog is an industry-leading website tracking and log analysis tool. Its purpose is to mimic a Google web crawler, “crawl” your website and identify any issues that hinder its organic performance. These issues can include broken links (404 pages), missing page titles, large images, unused JavaScript, and many others. Addressing these issues can help you speed up your website, make it more visible to real search engines, and increase your organic rankings, resulting in more site traffic. Screaming Frog is best paired with a keyword research tool like Semrush to ensure a holistic SEO strategy.
Cost: Free (limited); payment starts at $259 per year
And now what?
In small business marketing, the challenges are unique, often stemming from limited resources and staff juggling multiple roles. SEO can feel intimidating, especially for small business owners facing limited technical and financial resources. However, the advantages of operating in a niche market with less competition and profitable campaigns are undeniable. To take advantage of these benefits, businesses can take advantage of powerful yet inexpensive SEO tools. Increase your small business’s online presence with these tools, turning challenges into opportunities for growth and visibility. So, dig in, optimize and start seeing the organic benefits of your website.
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