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Small businesses face unique challenges when it comes to marketing operations. For one, there are few dedicated people to manage marketing campaigns (there may be few members of the marketing team who wear many hats). Limited financial resources can also make it difficult to subscribe to the latest and greatest marketing tools.
However, running a small business also has its advantages. Smaller niche markets often have much less competition and the cost of a successful marketing campaign is much lower. Similarly, you can achieve amazing results even with 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 Easy SEO Ways to Generate Massive Traffic for Your Small Business
1. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is Google’s own SEO keyword research tool. Although Keyword Planner is primarily used to identify keywords to target with Google Ads, you can also use the same data to inform your website’s organic keyword strategy.
Use Keyword Planner to find the keywords your target audience might be searching for, examine the search volume and competition level for each, and find related keywords to help you reach people interested in your product or service. find.
Fee: free
Related: 5 Easy SEO Strategies to Improve Your Rankings
2. Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) is also an SEO tool hosted by Google, but it is specialized for website performance and analysis. GSC allows you to measure your website traffic, identify problems with your site, and monitor your ranking keywords. Sign up for GSC using your Google account, add the code to your website, and start tracking. This data allows you to improve your website and increase organic traffic.
Fee: free
3. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is probably the most widely known SEO analysis tool, and for good reason. For one thing, it’s powered by first-party data directly from Google, making it one of the most accurate analytics tools around. You can also implement conversion tracking to monitor the actions users take on your website, such as filling out forms, subscribing to newsletters, and purchasing products. You can also monitor traffic from other channels, not just Google. Referral traffic, direct traffic, social media traffic, etc.
Fee: free
Related: 7 Ways Small Businesses Can Leverage SEO to Drive Customer Service and Growth
4. Yost (WordPress only)
Since WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS), it makes sense to mention Yoast. Yoast is a WordPress-specific SEO plugin that allows businesses to add important on-page elements to their sites, such as meta titles, meta descriptions, keywords, and internal links. When you enable the Yoast plugin, you will see a score (red, yellow, or green) that reflects how well your website is optimized. Alternatives to Yoast include RankMath and SEOPress.
Cost: $99 per year
5. Semlash
Semrush is one of the best “freemium” SEO software options, with extensive keyword research features, site audit features, content optimization tools, and more. Similar to Google Keyword Planner, you can also research keywords related to your services or products and find out which keywords your competitors are ranking for. You can audit your site for on-page and technical SEO issues and receive easy-to-understand reports on how to fix them. Semrush also includes backlink analysis, listing management, and local SEO tools that are not available in Keyword Planner or Google Analytics.
Price: Free (limitations apply).Paid prices start at $129.95 per month
6. Spy Who
SpyFu is a competitive keyword research tool for small businesses. Its complete SEO marketing suite includes a Pay Per Click advertising analyzer, robust historical data, competitive analysis tools, backlink outreach, and even custom reports. SpyFu is a service that comes second to Semrush as it offers a variety of useful SEO features at an affordable price. However, since Semrush includes on-page, off-page, and technical SEO tools (triangular), Semrush is often the preferred option.
Fee: Free (limitations apply). $16/month (annual plan)
7. Answer the Public
Although AnswerThePublic is not explicitly an SEO tool, but rather a “search listening tool,” it made the list because it is extremely helpful when it comes to content strategy for small businesses. And content is one of the most important drivers of organic traffic. With AnswerThePublic, you can search for key keywords and discover a “web” of questions and topics to turn into blog posts and web pages.
For example, let’s say you sell dog toys online. Generated topic ideas might include, “Can dog toys be washed in the washing machine?” or “Which toys are safe for dogs?” These can be interesting blog posts that appeal to the interests of your target audience.
Fee: free
Related: How to create an effective SEO strategy in 2023
8. Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog is an industry-leading website crawling and log analysis tool. Its purpose is to imitate the Google web crawler and “crawl” a website to identify issues that are preventing it from performing as it should. These issues can include broken links (404 pages), missing page titles, images that are too large, unused JavaScript, and more. Addressing these issues will make your website faster, more discoverable on real search engines, improve your organic rankings, and increase your site’s traffic. Screaming Frog is best paired with keyword research tools like Semrush to ensure a comprehensive SEO strategy.
Fee: Free (limitations apply).Paid prices start at $259 per year
So, what should we do?
Small business marketing challenges are unique and often stem from limited resources and people juggling multiple roles. SEO can be intimidating, especially for small business owners facing limited technical and financial resources. However, the benefits of operating in a niche market with less competition and cost-effective campaigns are undeniable. To take advantage of these benefits, businesses can take advantage of his powerful yet budget-friendly SEO tools. Use these tools to grow your small business’s online presence and turn challenges into opportunities for growth and visibility. So, dig in, optimize, and start seeing the natural benefits of your website.
