Search Engine Optimisation is everywhere, but it’s something that few of us think about. But SEO is vital for any business that wants to rank in the search engines. In this post, we’re going to discuss the best SEO tools for small and medium enterprises.
Is SEO That Important?
Yes, yes and yes! The fact is without SEO, ranking on search engines is a game of luck. Every time someone asks a question to Google, they use a set of words. Google’s crawlers scan content that contains these words and ranks the website according to their algorithm.
If you don’t optimise your content to include these keywords, then it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever reach that coveted first-page rank status. As you can see from these statistics from The Search Engine Journal, you should never underestimate how powerful SEO can be.
Here are some of the biggest reasons SEO is vital for your business:
User Experience: Google ranks websites based on the experience they offer users. When a site focuses on SEO, people visiting the site often find the information they need through backlinks and internal linking strategies too.
More Buyers: Everyone (and we mean everyone) does their research before buying a product or service. They look at reviews and ask questions to find out if they’re investing their money wisely. SEO provides answers to questions, so combining it with your products can result in more sales.
Save Money: Using Facebook and Google to create adverts costs money. The best thing about SEO is it saves you money on other marketing methods and enables you to invest that money in other areas of your business.
It’s for the Long-Term: SEO is a long-term strategy. Yes, you’ll spend a lot of time optimising your website and content at first, but it’s worth the effort. Once you appear on the first page of Google, you’ll have an endless stream of free traffic.
So, now you know why SEO is essential for businesses of all sizes, let’s take a look at the best SEO tools around. Whether you’ve got hundreds to spend on optimisation or are looking for a free application that doesn’t skimp on its tools, then read on.
Premium SEO Tools
The following tools are the ones used by big businesses. Yes, they can be expensive, but their features are well worth the money. Investing in your SEO can turn your business around, so let’s take a look at the best SEO software for premium users.
If you’ve heard of SEO, then the chances are you know about Ahrefs. It’s one of the most effective SEO tools on the internet, and many companies credit Ahrefs with helping them build and scale their business.
The SEO platform has all of the tools you’d expect, including keyword research, website audits and competitor analysis. One of the things we like most about Ahrefs is the site audit feature. While most tools give a basic overview, Ahref’s site audit tells you exactly where the issues lie on your website and how to correct them.
Overall, Ahrefs is a fantastic tool – but it does come at a price. If you can afford to invest in the software, then you should give it a go and see how it can turn your business around.
SEMRush is a definite favourite among marketers and SEO professionals. The easy-to-use platform packs a range of features, including highlighting your opportunities to rank. If you’re looking for a way to analyse your competition, the domain to domain feature can show you how you build your backlinks.
If you’re looking for a host of features, then SEMRush won’t disappoint. At Zapp, we particularly love the SEO writing aid because it makes it simple to optimise each piece of content and measures the keyword density on each web page.
Moz is another fan favourite because of its ease-of-use. While many SEO tools take time to learn, you’ll pick up Moz without a problem. The platform comes with all of the features you’d expect to see, but there’s also a lot more to offer.
SEO specialists choose Moz because of the toolbar application. There’s also a page optimiser with step by step instructions on how to improve your SEO score. Google changes its algorithm regularly, but Moz somehow manages to hold its own and continues to offer one of the best SEO tools available today.
Cora comes with an incredibly expensive price tag, but it’s also one of the most advanced SEO tools around. The expert software analyses your website for 2040 ranking factors, giving you the best chance of getting onto that coveted first page of Google.
You can also run monthly reports on a static site and gain valuable feedback about the algorithm. Overall, Cora is an incredible tool, but it’s more suited to the pros. At $250 a month, you’ll want to make sure you can understand the complex software before you commit.
Budget SEO Tools
It’s hard when you have a small business because your budget can limit what you can do to market your company. Spend too little, and you won’t get anywhere, but spend too much, and it could place you in debt and perhaps even ruin your business.
Luckily there are two fantastic budget options for SEO apps. Here they are.
Mangools packs a host of features, and it comes with a very reasonable price tag. The platform contains four useful apps for small businesses that need to up their game. Mangools keyword planner features an auto-complete, relevant words and questions sections, with detailed information of keyword difficulty.
There is also a SERP feature so you can track your companies rankings and monitor other businesses for their keywords and backlinks. Overall Mangools is a welcoming budget option as it has a vast selection of features. The lowest-cost plan is applicable when you pay annually.
Majestic is one of the top SEO tools around today, and it has some unique features. For example, The Majestic Million lists the top websites in the world and their rank, which can help you see what it takes to get to the top.
You can also use the keyword tool to find high ranking optimisation opportunities. Majestic is renowned as an expert backlink checker, and it allows you to add your website along with your competitors.
Overall, specialists love Majestic, but if you’re looking for a tool that’s easy to use, you might find the platform too complicated.
Free SEO Tools
Just because an SEO platform is free, doesn’t mean it’s useless. Many of the apps on our list have a free option with limited features. Let’s take a look at our top three SEO tools that won’t cost you a penny.
Google is a powerhouse platform, and it has so many useful apps for your website. The best thing is, they’re completely free! We particularly love three applications from the internet giants:
Keyword Planner: Users can view a range of keyword suggestions, look at how popular they are and choose ones that fit your SEO strategy.
Trends: Google Trends is the go-to place for content marketers because it enables them to look at which topics are trending and how the trends change over time.
Search Console: Analytics measures a range of factors, but Google Search Console tracks your organic visitors. It focuses on your search engine marketing strategy, making it an invaluable tool when you need to improve your organic rankings.
If you’re struggling to find topics to write about, then Answer the Public is the tool you’ve been searching for. It focuses on showing you what others are asking. For example, if you typed in Small Business into the search, you’d find a range of popular small business topics and questions.
It’s also a great way to find keywords, through looking at the results that Answer the Public offers. Overall, this is a wonderful tool, and it’s also ideal if you want a complete list of topics you can write about in under five minutes.
SpyFu does have a premium version, but it’s free features go above and beyond most other top SEO tools. If you’re just starting with SEO, you can use the free version and upgrade when you’re ready.
The free features of SpyFu include keyword research, competitor analysis, and our favourite is the ability to check out your competitors’ adverts. SpyFu is a fantastic app that gives you in-depth insights that should come at a premium price but remains completely free.
The Wrap Up
While some things go out of style, SEO will be around for the foreseeable future. Remember, building an effective SEO strategy takes time, but once you have content that ranks on the search engines, it’s free traffic.
If you’d like some help using your choice of the best SEO tools, then don’t hesitate to contact us today. Zapp is an expert website management platform that saves you time, money and a lot of headaches! Contact us today, or check out our blog for other helpful tips and guides.
SEO is a difficult practice, especially with so much competition out there. Did you know that in the UK alone there 1.2 million business websites? One of the best chances you have of boosting your visibility is by using long-tail keywords. So, what are long-tail keywords, and why do small businesses need them? Read on to find out.
What Are Long Tail Keywords?
Long-tail keywords are specific variations of generic keywords. In simple terms, a long-tail keyword goes into more detail and narrows down a simple topic. For example, a generic keyword would be web design, but a long-tail variation could say web design platform UK.
While most businesses want to rank for a range of keywords, your primary keyword should be relevant to your niche. The main issue with this is there are so many businesses around, going for generic keywords means it will be almost impossible to rank on the search engine results pages.
Why Are Long-Tail Keywords Essential?
Small businesses find that by narrowing down their keywords, they have more chances of achieving first-page ranking. The vastness of the web means you can find an audience for any niche, so long-tail keywords are ideal if you want to boost your rankings.
One significant benefit of long-tail keywords is they attract qualified leads. While a lot of people land on a website after a generic search engine query, people searching for specific items will always use long-tail keywords.
For example, if a company offers website design, they’re in a highly competitive field and will find it difficult to gain any traction with their organic ranking. But if they narrowed down their keywords to web design for personal trainers, they’d have more chances of finding a personal trainer that is looking for someone who understands their design needs.
Long-tail keywords can be beneficial for weeding out the browsers and going straight to the buyers. You won’t get as much traffic, but when people do come to your website, they’ll be more open to making a purchase.
Why Is It So Difficult For Small Businesses?
If you’re about to throw in the towel with your SEO efforts, then you’re not alone! Small businesses find it so difficult to rank on the search engine results page, and the number one reason for this is their industry.
Website design, marketing and e-commerce are three of the most popular businesses around, which means they’re also more challenging for search engine marketing. People think it’s easy to rank for these niches because they have a high keyword volume, but there’s also a lot of competition.
Another primary reason is the budget your competitors have. It doesn’t matter how good your keyword research is, because some companies have thousands to spend on their marketing efforts. If you’re a start-up with limited funds, you’re never going to be able to compete with nationally recognised companies.
The Bottom Line
Now you know why long-tail keywords are vital; you can use them to improve your chances of ranking on the search engine results pages. Remember, SEO is free marketing because once you achieve first-page ranking, you’ll attract traffic without having to pay for PPC.
The Google keyword planner tool can help you to identify some long-tail keywords that work for your niche and if you need some support, then contact Zapp today. As a specialist website management platform, we’re happy to advise and assist you on which keywords work best.
Internal links are vital for any business, but people often overlook them in favour of external links. If you think directing people from one blog post to another is all there is to internal linking, you’re wrong. In this post, we’re going to tell you how to create a comprehensive linking strategy. But first, we’ll answer: what is an internal link and what are the benefits of internal linking?
What Is An Internal Link?
Internal links are hyperlinks that direct people to different pages within the same domain. They’re different from external links, which take people to other domains – but just as important.
Most people know how vital external links are for ranking on search engines, but don’t think about their internal linking.
Why Are Internal Links Important?
There are many reasons why linking internally is essential, including:
Ranking on Search Engines
Search engines use complicated algorithms to crawl websites and index web pages. You can think of internal linking like providing search engines with a map to travel through your website and rank each page.
If you want your website to rank on Google, you need to implement both internal and external linking.
Keeping Users Engaged
It’s also beneficial to keep users on your website for longer. Imagine if someone clicked on a link to a blog post on your website and read the post. If you have links pointing to other posts or areas on your site, they’re likely to stay longer.
You’ve probably heard of bounce rates, and they refer to the amount of time someone spends on your website. High bounce rates can damage your ranking, but by directing people to other pages on your domain, you can decrease your bounce rates.
Improves Site Usability
Website usability is important because nobody wants to use a poorly designed website. Take a look at these shocking website designs, and you’ll see what we mean. While links can’t improve the appearance of your site, they can offer more powerful navigational features.
When you link to other pages, users can find the information they need, without having to browse through your site. They’re more likely to have a positive experience and return to your site.
The Basics of Internal Links
Adding internal links to your content is easy, and the best thing is most platforms have integrated features that mean once you transfer your copy to another platform, the links follow. This includes Google, WordPress and Grammarly.
If you know how to create internal links in Google Docs (hint – it’s the little button in the top bar that looks like a paperclip), then you can do it pretty much anywhere.
Before we get into the best practices of linking, it’s essential to remember these points:
Never fill a page with links. It doesn’t look right, and it will put people off.
Think about what you’re linking to. You don’t need to connect to a page just because it holds some relevance to what you’re talking about.
Internal links aren’t just for blogging. They can be an integral part of taking people through your sales funnel.
The Best Ways to Use Internal Linking
Now you know the answers to questions such as what is an internal link and why are internal links important, it’s time to talk about how to use them to your advantage. Once you understand these methods, you can combine internal and external linking to create a strong presence for your website.
Content is King
Yep, it’s true. Content is crucial for every business, and you should have as much of it as possible – just make sure it’s relevant. You can’t have a robust internal linking strategy without lots of content to link from and to.
Now some marketers treat internal links like they’re a mathematical equation. They make calculations and have set goals for the number of links on each page. You can do that if you want, but it’s better to focus on the quality of your links and where they’re taking people to.
Internal Linking For SEO
Internal links can improve your SEO, so instead of thinking about filling pages consider how useful the links are. You can improve your SEO by using keyword research tools to provide opportunities for your internal links.
For example, say you’re a car sales company, and you write a post on the best cars. You might decide at a later date to do separate reviews for different vehicles, and you could link between those pages using keyword research to get the best results.
There are some fantastic SEO tools around, or you can ask a specialist marketing company to perform keyword research and implement linking strategies for you.
Use Anchors Correctly
We’re all guilty of not putting too much thought into our anchor text, but this article from Quick Sprout shows how the misuse of anchor text can impact the credibility of a website. If you’re wondering whether it’s better to use images or texts for linking, we recommend text.
Images are fine in moderation, but you can make anchors an integrated part of your content. Instead of optimising them, try to keep it simple and use them as you would in a conversation.
What we mean by this, is never compromise the quality of your writing to optimise your anchor text. Instead, concentrate on making sure your writing flows and highlighted areas that lead to other pages integrate seamlessly into your content.
Don’t Be Shallow
One of the biggest mistakes people make (even us) is continuously linking to their homepage. A couple of links here and there don’t matter, but if your links go straight to your homepage, it won’t help your SEO.
The idea of internal linking is sending people to all of the pages on your site. If you only link to the homepage, your overall SEO score won’t increase. Look at which pages are relevant and link to those.
You should also refrain from including too many links to your contact pages and focus on sending people to other areas, where they can learn more about your business. Everyone knows that they can easily find a contact page, so use the opportunity to send them to other blog posts, your pricing pages and FAQ sections.
Shallow links don’t do your business or your SEO any favours, so make an effort to look at where you can link to before sending people to pages that are top of your navigation bar.
Remain Relevant
Just like your content, your links should be relevant. What we mean by this is don’t link to useless pages. For example, if you write a post about hair care, then add an internal link to another post about nail varnish, it won’t make sense – unless it’s relevant to the overall content.
Writing a review of hair care products then randomly linking to a nail varnish guide makes no sense, but if you’re creating hub and spoke content about preparing for a night out, then you can link to your nail varnish guide as part of your overall content strategy.
It doesn’t sound straightforward so if you read what we just wrote and are scratching your head, try to think about your readers. If you look at your links and wonder what relevance they have, then your readers will too.
Strategise Your Links
Your main goal with internal linking should be to improve the overall SEO of your site. Some of your pages will have more links than others and therefore have a higher authority score. It’s important to know which ones rank higher because when you link from one of these pages, your low ranking page scores will improve.
For example, if you have a blog post with a lot of views and links, you can go back to this post and change the content to include an internal link to a new post. But how do you know which pages rank highly?
There are lots of internal link checkers available, but we like SEO Review Tools because they provide top-grade SEO equipment for free.
Let People Know What They’re Getting
People don’t click for no reason, so you need to give them one. When you’re reading a blog post or content, do you click on a link because it’s there? No. You click on it because it’s going to offer you something.
You don’t need to ask people to click on your link, but the way you word your anchor text can compel people to take action. Let’s take these two examples of internal linking:
SEO is difficult, but you can use tools to help you.
SEO is difficult, but these excellent free SEO tools can help you improve your visibility and rankings.
See the difference? The first example leaves little to the imagination, but excellent and free give the link more credibility and make it appealing to readers.
Never change the context of your content to make a link more appealing, but always try to add calls-to-action wherever you can.
The Takeaway
Internal linking is a valuable but often overlooked part of SEO, and small changes to your strategy can make a big difference. Remember to think about the context of your links and make sure you use an internal link checker to get the best results.
Links are only useful if you have the best web pages for your site. Once you start improving your SEO, your business will have a bright future.
Are there any tips we missed out? Let us know what you do to manage your internal links below. We’d love to know your thoughts!
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