Top Digital Marketing Tools - BrightLocal

Top SEO Chrome Extensions for Local Businesses in 2024

Mike Hawkes — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 10:26:37 +0000

Working with local businesses , you are likely to wear many hats. Having tools that can save you time, while providing you with useful insight, is therefore key to keeping your local SEO progress on track when life gets busy.

In addition to your existing local SEO tools, it can be beneficial to add SEO extensions for Chrome to your digital toolkit. To help you make the most of your new Chrome SEO extensions, don’t forget to check out our local SEO resources for useful business listing information, citation sites, and review platforms.

What are Chrome extensions and why are they useful?

Think of a Chrome extension as a small piece of software that adds an extra capability to your standard Chrome browser. Once downloaded from the Chrome Web Store, your extension will usually appear as a small icon next to the address bar of your browser. You can then click on it to perform the task that that extension has been designed to carry out.

How do I find extensions if they’re not in my taskbar?

Not all extensions appear automatically at the top of your browser. If you can’t see the icon once it’s installed, click the “kebab” menu (three vertical dots) in the top-right corner. Scroll down to ‘More tools’ and select ‘Extensions’. From here you’ll be able to manage all your extensions, choosing which you want to be pinned and whether you want them activated.

Chrome extensions are useful as time-saving devices. They empower Chrome to accomplish a specific task that it may not have the functionality to achieve as easily or seamlessly otherwise. They also allow you to tailor your Chrome experience so that it behaves in a way that’s aligned with your specific needs.

For example, if you want to know when you have new messages but don’t want to continually log in to Gmail or have an open tab, you can use a Gmail Chrome extension. Once installed, it will monitor for new email messages and offer a new message alert without you having to manually navigate to your Gmail inbox in the browser window.

There are a number of extensions that have been specifically designed for SEO, so we’re going to run through the best.

Chrome Extensions for Keyword Research

Keywords Everywhere

Keywords Everywhere is a powerful keyword research tool. It packs in a whole host of useful information and handy functionality including ‘people also search for’ suggestions.

You can use Keywords Everywhere to quickly find search volumes for any keyword, see the cost per click on Google Ads, check competition levels, and view trends data.

If you’re keen to spy on your competitors, Keywords Everywhere will also show you the top 5,000 keywords any webpage is ranking for. Use this data to plug gaps in your own keyword strategy by discovering terms you aren’t targeting, but should be.

Keywords Everywhere: Additional Information

Is it free?

No. Keywords Everywhere works on a credit system. One credit equals one keyword. Credits are priced at $10 per 100,000.

What makes it useful?

Keywords Everywhere provides very useful keyword data, right within the browser window so you don’t need to waste time flicking back and forth between windows or applications.

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/keywords-everywhere-keywo/hbapdpeemoojbophdfndmlgdhppljgmp?hl=en

Keyword Planner

Keyword Planner makes light work of keyword research for any local business hoping to dominate on Google, YouTube, Amazon, eBay, or Etsy.

Note: Keyword Planner is not to be confused with Google’s own ‘Keyword Planner’ tool!

To use this Chrome SEO extension for local businesses, simply enter a search term into your chosen platform. The extension will then display a list of related search terms below the search box. The keyword lists make it easier to identify keywords that consumers may be using that you aren’t yet targeting. Incorporate them into your SEO activity to grow your visibility on any of the supported platforms.

As well as keyword lists, Keyword Planner provides useful reference data to help you prioritize new search terms. This includes search volume, competition levels, and cost per click.

Keyword Planner: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

No.

What makes it useful?

The extension uses supported platform APIs so you can generate relevant lists of long-tail keywords specific to Google, YouTube, Amazon, eBay, or Etsy in seconds.

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/keyword-planner/ohffmmbmebhcljgcdijjlepjaoladfag?hl=en

Universal Keyword Planner Box

Another easy-to-use keyword extension for Chrome, Universal Keyword Planner Box does exactly as its name suggests. Simply head to one of the supported platforms, type in a search term, and then review the list of associated keywords displayed below the search bar.

You can copy and export the keyword suggestions presented, making it easier to analyze the keyword lists later. From there, you can pinpoint keywords to add to your local SEO strategy to close any gaps that may have appeared.

At present, Universal Keyword Planner Box is compatible with Google, YouTube, Aliepress, Amazon, eBay and Etsy.

Universal Keyword Planner Box: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

No.

What makes it useful?

The ability to export keyword suggestions is very useful, as you can then refer back to your data later.

Link:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/universal-keyword-planner/niaagjifaifoebkdkkndbhdoamicolmj

Chrome Extensions for On-page SEO

Lighthouse

Source: Lighthouse

SEO Minion is a free Chrome SEO extension which helps local business owners to perform seven local search tasks directly from their browser window.

Use it to perform on-page analysis for any web page quickly and easily (this could be your own or that of another local business for competitive insight).

Broken links can easily derail your local search visibility and frustrate website visitors. SEO Minion’s backlink checker will flag up broken links and allow you to sort by status so you can prioritize remedial action.

There’s also a multi-location ranking checker, allowing you to recreate search listings from any location to get a better overall picture of your local visibility.

SEO Minion: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

No.

What makes it useful?

The collection of seven different tools makes light work of everyday SEO tasks for time-poor local business owners.

Link:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/seo-minion/giihipjfimkajhlcilipnjeohabimjhi

MozBar

The MozBar Chrome extension is especially useful for conducting competitor research. The free version of the tool offers six functions.

One of the most useful is the on-page highlighter which enables you to highlight keywords and link types on the page. If you’re more of a visual learner, the ability to color code the page while studying a competitor URL can make analysis much easier.

You can also click to bring up a page overlay. This allows you to see HTTP status, page elements, and markup.

Many SEOs and digital PRs also use the MozBar to look at a site’s Domain Authority (DA), which is Moz’s way of ranking the overall authority of a site.

A Moz subscription unlocks further features such as at-a-glance keyword difficulty ratings for any keyword in the search results page and on-page optimization suggestions.

MozBar: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

Yes. $99-$599/mo.

What makes it useful?

It’s a fast way to uncover lots of useful SEO information, and you can export your findings to CSV for further study later.

Link:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mozbar/eakacpaijcpapndcfffdgphdiccmpknp

Chrome Extensions for Google Business Profile

GMB Everywhere

GMB Everywhere (yes, the name hasn’t changed since the update from Google, we know) is one of the top Google Business Profile extensions in the Chrome Store. It helps you to conduct competitor research by making it easier to snoop on other local business listings.

Once installed, navigate to a local search results page. From there, you can use GMB Everywhere to see which primary and secondary categories other local business listings have chosen.

You can also use it to analyze review profiles and benchmark performance against your own reviews.

If you’re new to Google Posts, the Post Auditing feature enables you to dive into your rivals’ Post strategy and understand their approach. Use this information to finetune your own Post content.

GMB Everywhere: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

Yes. $25/mo.

What makes it useful?

GMB Everywhere makes it quick and easy to delve into your competitors’ Google Business Profile strategies. The Teleport feature is also helpful for conducting searches as if you were in another location.

Link:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gmb-everywhere-gbp-audit/oibcaeeplepnjfjhokfcabnaafodppik

PlePer Local SEO Tools

The PlePer GMB extension can perform four different local search listing analysis types from Maps results. Pull it up to understand what categories other listings are using to obtain their rankings.

You can also use PlePer to dive into the review profiles of your local competitors. The extension will give you data such as number of reviews, average star ratings, the number of listings without reviews, and the maximum and minimum number of reviews obtained.

As reviews are a core component of local search visibility, this insight can help you understand how your own review profile holds up against your closest competitors. PlePer will also show you business hours and business attributes directly from Maps listings.

PlePer Local SEO Tools: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

No.

What makes it useful?

PlePer’s level of detail from Map results is incredibly helpful for understanding how others are approaching their local listing optimization.

Link:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pleper-local-seo-tools/cpdkchkkmcpnfgbpjjgfhcbcaceeandd

Chrome Extensions for Rankings

GMB Crush

GMB Crush (another that fell foul of the GBP name change) could easily function as a Google Business Profile Chrome extension but it’s also incredibly helpful for exploring your local rankings in more detail.

You can search from your physical location or, if you want to see search results for other zip codes, change your geo-location directly in GMB Crush. From there, you can see which of your competitors are ranking well in other areas and where your own business is appearing.

If your listing isn’t doing as well as you’d like in zip codes that matter to your business, use one of the GMB extensions to understand why.

GMB Crush: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

No.

What makes it useful?

The ability to perform zip code-specific searches gives you an accurate understanding of where your listing is ranked away from your immediate physical location.

Link:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gmb-crush-gmb-audit-tool/aakkhbloifflgelkkikmbakldbhllbfj

Semalt SEO Extension

The Semalt SEO extension for Chrome shows you which keywords your site is ranking for in Google search. If you’re time-poor, the ability to see rankings at a glance directly from your browser window can be extremely beneficial.

The extension covers search positions one to 100. And in addition to quickly checking up on your own progress, you can use this same extension to keep tabs on your competitors. Semalt will record whether you’re ranking for more or fewer keywords over the last day or months. You can also view the keywords any website ranks for, helping you to identify new phrases that competitors are targeting but you haven’t yet considered.

Semalt SEO Extension: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

No.

What makes it useful?

Semlat provides an abundance of ranking intel. A particularly helpful feature is the ability to generate a top 100 competitor list for any keyword you’re interested in ranking for.

Link:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/website-ranking-and-seo-c/npapojppkmfhefbokolngnomlgkkpcnc

The Top Free Local SEO Tools

Jamie Pitman — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 15:00:25 +0000

You’ve got your optimization checklist ready to go. But whether you’re working on your own local business site or on behalf of a client, you might have realized that you need a little extra help. One question we’re often asked is:

“What are the best free local SEO tools and browser extensions to help me do the manual work?”

We all love a freebie, but when it comes to the complex and multi-location world of local SEO, the tool still has to be top-notch so that you can sit back and trust that it’s doing the job you want it to. There are a host of local SEO tools with advanced features that come at a cost, but we know how valuable it can be to perform some tasks for free.

In this reactive industry, you also want free local SEO tools to give you a quick and accurate answer as soon as you’ve thought of the question. That’s why we’ve compiled some of the industry’s top free local SEO tools and Chrome browser extensions so that you know where to turn. At the very least, we’ve made sure each of these tools offers a free trial.

Top Free Listings Management Tools for Local SEOs

Keeping on top of your listings manually could well feel like an impossible task. Listings management tools help to keep things organized and automate everyday tasks to free up time.

Postamatic

Postamatic allows you to easily create, schedule and publish Google Business Profile (GMB) Posts and Q&As through the GMB API. It’s perfect if you’re managing multiple locations and struggling to keep each place’s profile up to date.

There’s no technical know-how needed to use Postamatic: just fire up Google Sheets, and you’re ready to go. You can also use Postamatic to schedule posts in different languages if required.

Another helpful feature of this app is the ability to respond to Google Reviews. This is a must for local SEO success and can be accomplished easily with Postamatic. Couple it with one of our top keyword research tools to ensure your posts and review responses are optimized for local search.

Postamatic: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

It’s free to use.

Does it have a free trial?

N/A.

What makes it unique?

UTM tagging is included so you can track which posts are performing best via Google Analytics.

Website

https://workspace.google.com/marketplace/app/%F0%9F%A4%96_postamatic/460920737213

PlePer Local SEO Tools Chrome Extension

PlePer’s Chrome extension features a wide array of features that allow you to dive deep into your competitors’ Google Business Profile listings.

Top Free Keyword Research Tools for Local SEOs

Solid keyword research is the backbone of any good local search strategy. But it’s almost impossible to brainstorm relevant keywords manually. Keyword research tools make it easier to spot missed opportunities and identify potentially lucrative new keywords to target.

It’s fair to say that local link building can be challenging. But it’s not impossible if you have a few clever tactics and approaches up your sleeve. One of the ways that you can acquire highly relevant local links is by partnering with other local organizations.

That’s where the hyper-local focus on ZipSprout comes in. You can search for local sponsorship opportunities at scale with ZipSprout by automating city or topic-specific searches. You can also save time by favoriting certain locations and letting ZipSprout’s matchmakers take care of the outreach. It’s a perfect solution for local businesses who haven’t got the team or the time to send hundreds of emails themselves.

ZipSprout: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Contact sales. Zipsprout is completely free for non-profits and charities.

Does it have a free trial?

No.

What makes it unique?

ZipSprout will seek out local event and sponsorship opportunities on your behalf and report back to you for approval.

Website

https://zipsprout.com

Top Competitor Analysis Tools

Mike Hawkes — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 10:56:57 +0000

Ready to steal an extra advantage over the competition? Maybe you just need some inspiration, or perhaps you just need to cement your spot at the top. Competitor analysis is an essential part of your strategy and competitor analysis tools can give you the edge.

You’ll find a wide range of competitor analysis SEO tools out there, many of which excel in a particular area. For example, one tool may be especially strong at sniffing our competitor citations. Another may be better suited to identifying your rivals’ best-performing keywords.

Having a couple of these tools in your arsenal can help fill gaps in your strategy. Use them to quickly identify what works well for others without having to invest time and resources of your own.

The data gleaned from these tools can also explain why competitor sites might outperform your own in certain areas. With this knowledge and our library of local SEO resources, you can begin to revise your approach and put together a plan of action to drive improvements.

Pairing your chosen competitor analysis tools with other specialist local SEO tools will give you an even bigger advantage.

iSpionage

iSpionage is an excellent tool for finding out information about your competitors for both PPC and SEO. It is suitable for both in-house marketers and larger agencies. It offers both monitoring and research functionality.

You can use iSpionage to monitor other companies’ multi-country paid search ad campaigns and benchmark competitors’ share of ad impressions. It also shows the results of competitor A/B testing, so you can apply their lessons to your own ad campaigns at no cost to you. Additional features include keyword research and information about competitor advert effectiveness, including ad spend.

Want even more insight? Use iSpionage to explore how your rivals funnel visitors through to conversion.

iSpionage: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$59-$299 /mo. Custom solutions are also available.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. You can register for a free account and receive 10 competitor reports per day and three complimentary alerts.

What makes it unique?

Extensive monitoring and research functions mean you can deep dive into the nuts and bolts of any competitor’s SEO or paid search activity. You can also uncover profitable keywords, landing pages, and ad copy.

Website

https://www.ispionage.com

Spyfu

Spyfu can be used for both PPC and SEO competitor research. On the SEO side, you can search competitor domains and find out where they are showing up on Google. It will tell you how many clicks they get, what their backlink strategy is, and how their rankings have changed.

Spyfu is also one of the most impressive competitor research tools for PPC. Use it to discover every keyword your competitor is bidding on and how much they pay. Another nice feature is the ability to see what split tests rivals have performed.

In addition, Spyfu will flag up keywords that competitors use that you don’t already bid on, including the keywords that are most profitable for rivals.

Spyfu: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$33 – £299/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

No, but they do offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

What makes it unique?

The Backlink Kombat feature is a favorite, allowing you to compare up to three competitors and find keywords you might have missed.

Website

https://www.spyfu.com

Rival IQ

Rival IQ is a powerful social media competitive analysis tool. Use it to track your competitors’ performance across social media and beyond. With Rival IQ you can monitor competitor activity, such as when they boost a post or share a new update.

The ability to track mentions of rivals means you can see where their customer service has failed or take inspiration from what is resonating with their audience. Use this knowledge to inform your own social media activities.

Looking for influencers? Use Rival IQ to search keywords and hashtags and identify top-performing content within your niche. For help scheduling posts, study your competitor engagement metrics to uncover optimal post times.

Rival IQ: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$239 – $519/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. 14 days.

What makes it unique?

Powerful social media analytics include the ability to monitor for boosted posts and easily identify content popular within your niche. There’s also the option to benchmark performance across your industry.

Website

https://www.rivaliq.com

Crayon

Crayon is an award-winning competitor analysis tool. You can use it to track any company’s complete digital footprint, both on and off its website. This covers online branding, content, news articles, review profiles, product updates and pricing changes. You can additionally see everything from a company’s social media activity as well as case studies and new partnerships. Awards they’ve won and press releases they’ve issued will also be reported back. This allows you to keep a complete competitor portfolio and track all their intel in one spot.

Crayon: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Variable. Pricing is tailored to the needs of each user.

Does it have a free trial?

No.

What makes it unique?

Crayon’s degree of competitor intelligence information is exhaustive. It tracks every aspect of competitor activity, from sales and marketing to product development and pricing changes. Crayon also means you won’t miss executive team announcements or audience engagement information.

Website

https://www.crayon.co

Google Similar Pages

This Chrome extension lets you see other pages similar to the one you’re currently browsing. Google Similar Pages is useful for discovering other sites within your niche that may not already be on your radar. You can build a list of businesses that you may not have been aware of by visiting a known competitor’s site and then exploring the similar pages suggested. You can plug those new business names into your preferred competitor analysis tools and build a more complete picture of the search landscape.

Google Simple Pages is an extension for Chrome, so you’ll need to download it to your device before using it.

How much does it cost?

$99 – $299/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. 30 days.

What makes it unique?

You can easily see the best performing and most engaging content from across the web by adding that term to the Content Analyzer. Or use the Trending Content tool to see what’s hot right now to inform your content strategy.

Website

https://buzzsumo.com

Pathmatics

If you’re a brand, you can use Pathmatics to aid in your advertising decision-making. Use it to learn what messages competitors are using and how they are targeting audiences. It will also help you to understand how they are choosing publishers, what they’re spending, and how many impressions they’re receiving.

By getting a clear picture of competitor ad strategies, you can revisit your own ad creatives, targeting options, and channel selection. This will ensure you aren’t operating at a disadvantage. You can also use it to quickly see what promotional offers rivals are running and what creative they are using across social media, ad networks, and the wider Internet landscape.

For agencies, you can use those same tools to unpick the strategies your clients’ competitors are successfully deploying. Then, use that information to perfect your own approach.

Pathmatics: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Pricing on request.

Does it have a free trial?

No.

What makes it unique?

You can quickly get a snapshot of the most compelling ad creatives across various channels. Place that in context with data gathered around ad spending, buying strategy, and media placement.

Website

https://www.pathmatics.com

With dedicated tools for SEO, content marketing, PPC, and social media, SEMrush really digs deep into competitor strategies across the board. Use the Domain Overview feature to explore your rivals’ SEO strategies by checking keywords they’re ranking for. Or, explore where their traffic is coming from and understand how well they perform on different devices.

Helpful Keyword Gap and Backlink Gap features make it quick and easy to see where your site is missing out and how to close that gap. This means you can shut down any advantage your competitors currently enjoy over your domain.

On the PPC side, use SEMrush to identify your closest competitors, uncover which keywords they’re bidding on and review their ad content.

SEMrush: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$119.95 – $449.95/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. Seven days.

What makes it unique?

SEMrush offers more than 55 different tools for competitor research, SEO, PPC, and social media marketing. It’s a versatile suite of solutions for marketers and agencies.

Website

https://www.semrush.com

Citation Tracker

Citation tracker makes light work of building and studying any competitor’s citation profile. You can enter their business information for a complete list of all their citations. This makes it easy to uncover new citation opportunities to help in your local SEO strategy. It also removes any local SEO or referral traffic advantage they may enjoy by being visible on a site where you don’t currently have a presence.

Citation Tracker will also show you the top business mentions five of your most important competitors have built that you don’t have. This opens the door to you creating a more hyper-focused presence.

Citation Tracker: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

From $39/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. 14 days.

What makes it unique?

Citation Tracker removes the time-consuming manual legwork of finding new citation opportunities and managing existing citation profiles. You also get access to the brilliant collection of local ranking tools like Local Rank Tracker and Local Search Grid too, all in one platform.

Website

https://www.brightlocal.com/local-seo-tools/auditing/citation-tracker/

Top Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tools

Mike Hawkes — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 10:58:04 +0000

Conducting any kind of SEO activity requires a considerable amount of research, number crunching, and targeted action. Having the best SEO tools in your arsenal isn’t just a welcome time saver, however.

Whether you’re an agency or individual, they can help you uncover more insights and identify more opportunities than manual processes alone. In addition, modern SEO tools can automate some of the tedious aspects of SEO. Popular automations include link prospecting and site auditing. This allows you to focus more resources on the actions that will make a real difference to your rankings.

Try our local SEO tools for even more help ranking higher, or these local SEO resources for industry-leading insight. While many of the tools on this list offer free trials and versions, we also have a list of free local SEO tools if you’re on a very tight budget.

SEMrush

SEMrush is one of the more well-known SEO tools thanks to its range of useful features. Of particular benefit is the extensive keyword research tool. Within this, position tracking makes light work of monitoring your organic search positions and those of your competitors. It will also identify opportunities to rank in the search results pages by target keyword.

A site audit tool can crawl each page on your site and report back on any underlining issues, with the helpful creation of a to-do list to prioritize your SEO tasks. This can inform your SEO strategy. A core web vitals check gives peace of mind your site’s page experience is as good as it could be. SEMrush will also check your structured data markup, internal links, and page load speed.

Finally, if you’re optimizing a larger multilanguage site, there’s an international SEO checker, too.

SEMrush: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$119.95 – $449.95/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

There is a free version of this tool.

What makes it unique?

There’s a good variety of targeted SEO tools, such as the international SEO checker, to allow you to go deeper into your organic search strategy.

Website

https://www.semrush.com

DashThis

DashThis is a powerful yet easy-to-use, automated marketing reporting tool to track all your data from 34+ platforms such as Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, Facebook, Moz, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and much more.

You can showcase data from multiple marketing platforms and accounts in one easy-to-understand report and then share them automatically with email dispatches. This is especially useful for SEO as you don’t need to log in and out of countless platforms to gather your most important data and get a global view of progress.

The preset dashboards and templates make it easy to get started, but they are also fully customizable if you’re an agency preparing progress reports for clients.

DashThis: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$39-$399/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. 15 days.

What makes it unique?

The ability to pull in multiple reports from a wide range of digital channels and platforms is a huge time saver.

Website

https://dashthis.com

Schema App

Having the correct markup embedded into your web pages can make a real difference to your organic search position. However, it can be tricky to implement correctly without coding knowledge and time-consuming even with it.

It should come as no surprise to see Google Analytics make a list of top SEO tools. Originally launched in 2005, it’s been a stalwart of the search marketing scene for decades. Its strength lies in the breadth of data gathered and the degree of visualization and customization available.

The Acquisition dashboard provides an at-a-glance view of where your traffic is coming from, so you can compare your SEO performance against paid search, for example. Search Console can also be integrated. You can use the data from Search Console in conjunction with Analytics data. This could help you to flag up pages with a good search position but minimal click-through traffic or location pages with poor rankings.

Google Analytics: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Free.

Does it have a free trial?

This tool is free to use.

What makes it unique?

You can not only gather endless amounts of data regarding your site and its performance in search thanks to Google Analytics. You can use its data visualization charts and dashboards to understand that data and derive meaning from it.

Website

https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/

Searchmetrics

Searchmetrics is designed to help you create a search presence that drives increased revenue. It’s an enterprise-level SEO tool for larger businesses and marketing teams who want to get a firmer handle on their data and dominate in search.

Use the Research Cloud tool to perform a competitive analysis. This will identify gaps in your strategy and show how competitors execute their SEO strategies. You can also use it to measure how each page of content you own is performing and how it can do better.

A Content Experience tool guides you through the creation of content that establishes authority and increases search prominence. In addition, keyword tracking and recommendations provide data-driven insights to increase sales from search. The Site Experience tool meanwhile has technical SEO covered.

Searchmetrics: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Contact sales.

Does it have a free trial?

Contact sales.

What makes it unique?

Unique search data tracks changes in market demand on a global scale so you can home in on opportunities to grow your revenue as a result of targeted SEO efforts.

Website

https://www.searchmetrics.com

Google Search Console

If you’re searching for small SEO tools to help you keep up with the basics, Search Console from Google is well worth checking out. A totally free tool, it is designed to guide you toward better rankings. You’ll find several tools and reporting options to work with. These provide a straightforward way to keep tabs on search traffic and keyword rankings.

Even if you’re already using other SEO tools, it’s well worth registering for Search Console just for the email alerts Google will send you if it detects an issue with your site. Other features include a URL inspection tool that pulls crawl information from Google’s Index to share with you.

Google Search Console: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Free.

Does it have a free trial?

Search Console is free to use.

What makes it unique?

As a registered Search Console user, you’ll receive email alerts directly from Google if it detects any issues on your site. Once fixed, you can use Search Console to tell Google you’ve resolved the problem.

Website

https://search.google.com/search-console

FATRANK

FATRANK is a rank tracking tool – but it has a different spin than other rank tracking tools you may have used previously. The standard way to check SEO rankings would be to add a website URL and then wait for a list of keywords the site ranks for, along with their position, to be returned.

With FATRANK, you can download a Chrome extension to your browser. Just visit any website and enter a keyword of your choice to see where that site ranks on Google in any country. You can easily toggle between different countries to compare rankings on different versions of Google for that exact keyword.

There’s also a downloadable app for iOS and Android.

FATRANK: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Free.

Does it have a free trial?

This is a free-to-use tool.

If you hadn’t guessed from the name, Linkody is entirely dedicated to the link building and link management aspect of SEO. Once you’ve entered a URL, Linkody will build a list of domains linking back to that site.

From your dashboard, you have an at-a-glance view of new links built. This confirms the date the link was discovered and whether it’s follow or nofollow, making it easy to keep track of your link acquisition efforts.

Linkody can also help with competitor research. Add a competitor to your dashboard to see a list of their links. You can reverse engineer this list to build a pipeline of new link prospects to work through.

Linkody: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$14.90 – $153/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. 30 days.

What makes it unique?

You can stack your competitor’s link profile side-by-side with your own for easy comparison.

Website

https://www.linkody.com

Buzzstream

Buzzstream is an outreach CRM and one of the best SEO tools for building links via influencers and digital PR. It is a perfect tool for bigger link-building campaigns and agencies.

The platform takes care of the whole outreach process, with no spreadsheets or email tracking required. You can use it to build lists of bloggers, influencers, and media outlets to secure digital PR placements. For traditional link builders, use Buzzstream to create and manage prospect lists and keep track of acquired links.

There’s also the ability to set reminders, create to-do lists, and assign tasks to other team members.

Buzzstream: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$24 – $999/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. 14 days.

What makes it unique?

It’s an easy way to find and reach out to influencers and press outlets to build links. The management tools and scalability are big time savers for busy individuals and teams.

Website

https://www.buzzstream.com

Moz Pro

Moz Pro is arguably one of the most well-known SEO tools out there and will be a familiar name to SEO pros. It is a comprehensive suite of tools designed to cover most areas of search engine optimization.

Use Keyword Explorer to plan your content and identify profitable new phrases to target.

Rank Tracker accurately tracks keyword rankings across any search engine – and can be used to monitor competitors.

Site Crawl is a detailed auditor which will crawl each page on your site to discover hidden errors.

For on-page optimization, the content auditor will consider each page element and provide targeted recommendations for improvement.

Moz Pro: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$99 – $599/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. 30 days.

What makes it unique?

Moz Pro is a robust all-in-one suite of SEO tools that makes managing and monitoring SEO performance much easier.

Website

https://moz.com/products/pro

Top Social Media Tools

Mike Hawkes — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 10:58:43 +0000

There’s more than first meets the eye to planning, managing, and executing successful social media campaigns. Whether you’re responsible for just one business or multiple, content creation, scheduling and measurement can be complex and time-consuming.

In the same way that local SEO tools can help to grow your local search visibility, the right social media tools can be incredibly beneficial. Having a few select tools at your disposal can streamline workflows, simplify technical tasks such as video editing, and do the heavy lifting of optimization and analytics.

Want more insight to inform your social media strategy and better integrate it with other areas of your marketing? Check out our local SEO resources for helpful guides and best-practice advice.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is one of the most widely used social media tools, allowing you to manage all your social media profiles from one platform. You can schedule and publish content, promote posts, and perform easy social listening.

Quuu is a little different from some of the other social media management tools you may be considering. While many alternatives are built around scheduling and post management, Quuu is dedicated to content curation.

If you’re too busy to create enough original content or don’t have the resources to search out third-party content regularly, Quuu curates posts for you.

Powered by AI, Quuu will seek out appropriate podcasts, blog posts, videos, etc., across 500 different categories. Then, Quuu can share the post for you, or you can review and schedule yourself via a tool such as Hootsuite.

Quuu: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$5 – 15.83/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

There is a free version.

What makes it unique?

Quuu allows you to find and share relevant curated content to your social profiles with no hands-on work required.

Website

https://quuu.co

Brandwatch is one of the social media big hitters. Its suite of tools covers almost everything you could possibly need for social media management.

For small businesses, an Essentials package includes a content calendar to keep content planning and scheduling organized and visible. Analytics offer useful data around post reach and audience engagement, which can feed into future content planning.

If you offer customer service via social media, a single inbox brings together all direct messages from each connected network, cutting down the time required to respond.

Brandwatch also has crisis and brand management tools, with real-time alerts and live data so you can spot trends. Are you planning an influencer marketing push? You can also use Brandwatch to identify influencers and manage the whole campaign right through to measuring results.

Brandwatch: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Contact sales.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. 14 days for SME users.

What makes it unique?

Industry-leading AI keeps close tabs on emerging trends so you’re always in the know with real-time data and alerts.

Website

https://www.brandwatch.com

$19-$199/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. 14 days.

What makes it unique?

There’re unlimited message permutations, making for a high degree of customization. Plus, the geo-location feature means you can prioritize social proof from the visitor’s immediate local area.

Website

https://fomo.com

Optimizely

For conversion rate optimization at a massive scale, Optimizely has your back. This leading CRO tool allows you to create web experiments to find the aspects of your pages that lead users to conversion. You can perform individual tests, such as testing two different call-to-action statements or use exclusion groups to perform multiple tests on the same page.

Experiments can be created using a visual editor, so there’s no need to pay expensive developer fees.

Dedicated mobile experience testing is also perfect for those with a predominantly mobile audience or a higher rate of mobile conversions.

Optimizely: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Contact sales for a custom quote.

Does it have a free trial?

There is a free version of this tool.

What makes it unique?

The visual editor makes for intuitive testing with no waiting for a coder to bring your experiments to life. Plus, you can run multiple tests on the same page using the handy exclusion groups feature – this is a game changer for conversion rate optimization tools.

Website

https://www.optimizely.com

A comprehensive website personalization platform, Yieldify provides rich capability to improve website conversions and the overall visitor experience. It offers an AI-powered testing engine for A/B/n testing and measurement. Yieldify additionally benchmarks performance against similar businesses, so it becomes easier to see how you measure up from a customer perspective.

Testing can be targeted at specific user segments and the best variants can be quickly identified. Incremental control testing sees visitor experiences compared with control groups to improve the validity and accuracy of results. Finally, Yieldify’s AI engine distills results down into easily actionable insights.

Yieldify: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Contact sales.

Does it have a free trial?

Contact sales.

What makes it unique?

The AI engine developed by Yieldify’s data scientists powers actionable insights. It also helps you to measure and forecast outcomes more easily.

Website

https://www.yieldify.com

AB Tasty

AB Tasty could just as easily feature on a list of top user engagement tools as one dedicated to CRO tools. You can use it to carry out A/B and multivariate testing as well as develop personalized experiences for website visitors.

AB Tasty has full omnichannel capability, so it can be used to improve the performance of your app or product line in addition to your website. Testing requires little to no coding ability. AI enables granular audience targeting, and pre-configured templates can be customized to speed up the testing process.

Experiment variations can be set at the click of a button while setting goals for testing is equally straightforward. You can also control your traffic and allocate segments to be exposed to experiments.

AB Tasty: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Contact sales.

Does it have a free trial?

Contact sales.

What makes it unique?

You can use AB Tasty to drive improved user experiences and performance across all of your digital channels.

Website

https://www.abtasty.com

Top Keyword Research Tools in 2024

Mike Hawkes — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 11:03:34 +0000

It’s no secret that a solid keyword research strategy is a prerequisite for PPC and SEO access. But how do you ensure you’re targeting the right keywords?

Gone are the days when keyword research tools simply presented you with a list of words. Today’s solutions are incredibly advanced, with a considerable amount of data, insight, and helpful metrics.

Details such as alternative phrases, associated phrases, and competitor strategies help you to see the bigger picture. Features such as competition levels and how likely you are to rank, plus which keywords you should make a priority, mean you don’t have to second guess your strategy.

A good keyword research tool should provide you with the data you need to make informed decisions, whether you’re targeting improved local search visibility or better-paid search performance. The keywords you discover can then be used to help you track your local rankings with tools like Local Rank Tracker or Local Search Grid.

Whether you’re looking to rank better or produce more relevant content, you absolutely need to have a keyword assistant within your local SEO tools collection. For more information about how to perform local keyword research and how to turn your keywords into successful campaigns, head over to our local SEO resources.

Semrush

Semrush offers no less than six different keyword research tools as part of their suite of SEO tools. They include Keyword Overview, which helps you discover keywords, and Organic Research to help you rank for keywords that benefit your competitors.

The Keyword Magic Tool generates keyword combinations, while Keyword Gap can help you pinpoint new areas to target for better SEO. Keyword Manager aids in the creation of master lists tied to your SEO strategy.

Finally, if you integrate your Semrush account with your Google Analytics, you can use the Organic Traffic Insights tool for hunting down ‘not provided’ keywords. You can also use this tool to find your most valuable keywords across the search landscape.

Semrush: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$119.95 – $449.95/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

There is a free version of this tool.

What makes it unique?

Semrush has a huge database of more than 20 billion keywords.

Website

https://www.semrush.com

Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is an invaluable keyword suggestion tool – and best of all, it’s free to use. The straightforward interface is not overly complicated and therefore is easy to get to grips with even if you’re new to performing keyword research.

All you need to do is enter your chosen keyword to generate a list of related keyword suggestions Ubersuggest will provide valuable data on metrics that can help you decide which keywords to target in SEO or PPC.

Information includes search volume, cost-per-click, the number of results, competition levels, and even seasonality.

Ubersuggest: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

Free

Does it have a free trial?

It’s free to use.

Originally created for affiliate marketing, Jaxxy is suitable for all kinds of keyword research. Keyword lists come complete with useful data easily seen at a glance. This includes the average number of searches for each keyword, the amount of traffic you can expect from a page one ranking, and the number of websites competing for that exact search term on Google. In addition, an SEO score will tell you how likely you are to rank for that term.

If you’re feeling stuck for inspiration, a ‘Brainstorm’ feature gives you a list of keywords to help you brainstorm.

Jaxxy: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$49 – $99/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

Yes. 30 keyword searches.

What makes it unique?

The SEO metric tells you how likely it is you’ll get page one rankings.

Website

https://www.jaaxy.com/keywords/

Top User Experience (UX) Tools

Mike Hawkes — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 11:03:56 +0000

User experience tools are a tried and tested way to deepen your understanding of your audience’s needs and expectations. UX tools can be deployed for several reasons and at different stages of your project lifecycle.

UX designers may conduct extensive customer research right at the start of the design process, for example. Being able to survey targeted users, ask them questions and understand their expectations before spending time on a design is a more efficient way of working than seeking input at the final approval stage.

As a marketer, you may be concerned about how many visitors drop out of your funnel before converting. It could be that you’ve noticed a sticking point during the checkout process. Carrying out user experience testing can help uncover the underlying issues provoking dropouts. You can then take steps to remove the friction for happier customers and better conversions.

If you’ve ever wondered what tools do UX designers use? Query no more. From free tools like Google Optimize to more premium solutions, we’ve rounded up the most helpful and innovative of the bunch here. If you’re looking for additional tools to save you time and improve project outcomes, check out our top local SEO tools or local SEO resources.

Google Optimize

Ensuring users enjoy a seamless experience when visiting your website can dramatically boost conversions and sentiment. Getting that experience right requires extensive testing. Google Optimize is a free UX design tool that can help you deploy carefully controlled experiments that deliver helpful, reliable data.

UsabilityHub allows you to embed user experience considerations into the earliest stages of your design process. With an eye on giving your visitors exactly what they need and expect from your site from day one, you’re less likely to go back and make significant revisions.

UsabilityHub’s testing tools include design surveys to understand your intended visitor better. By surveying, you can remove the guesswork in the design process and benefit the overall user experience.

You can additionally use UsabilityHub to carry out helpful preference tests. This entails showing your audience designs and asking them directly which they prefer. Another useful test for crafting an elevated user experience is the five-second test. Deploy this via Usability Hub to gather data-driven first impressions.

UsabilityHub: Cost, Trial, and Features

How much does it cost?

$89 – $199/mo.

Does it have a free trial?

There is a free version of this tool available.

What makes it unique?

Usability hub offers an excellent blend of tools that let you survey, carry out preference tests and implement short five-second tests to improve your UX.

Website

https://usabilityhub.com

Mike Hawkes — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 08:47:10 +0000

With almost 60,000 free plugins to choose from, narrowing down your selection to the best WordPress plugins for businesses is no small task.

Even if you’ve already reviewed our local SEO resources and picked a few of our local SEO tools, there’s a whole host of handy plugins for WordPress to help enhance your website. From lead generation to analytics, contact forms to image galleries, keyword research to social sharing, there are a lot of plugins out there.

Unfortunately, the WordPress plugin library isn’t all that user-friendly and isn’t designed to help local businesses find the plugins they need. You can’t browse available plugins by category for example. So, if you only know that you want a plugin to block time-wasting spam form submissions, but don’t know what the best tool for the job is, it can feel like an impossible task.

Luckily, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve built a helpful list of the best WordPress plugins for local businesses, sorted by category.

What is a WordPress Plugin and why are they useful?

A WordPress plugin is an additional tool that adds further capability or functionality to your WordPress website. Plugins go beyond your basic theme and (as the name suggests) plug a gap.

Similar to how you might download an app to your mobile device to edit photos, record video, or manage your business expenses, a WordPress plugin enables your basic website to do more, without you needing to code in that functionality.

For example, if you wanted to add a contact form to your local business’ website but didn’t want to employ a web developer, you could download a WordPress plugin to do the job for you.

WordPress Plugins for SEO

Yoast

If you’re keen to grow your local search visibility, Yoast can help. Consistently rated one of the best SEO plugins around, it contains a whole range of tools to boost your rankings. These include content suggestions; keyword help and assistance in creating a good internal link structure.

Yoast will also automatically add structured data to your text, so you can target position zero in local search. The plugin can also help you to write optimized titles and meta descriptions by grading your text and keyword use and provides previews of your page results in search.

Yoast: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

Yes. $99/year.

What makes it useful?

Yoast has lots of time-saving features and it’s easy to get to grips with. Its color-coded grading system and content suggestions mean you don’t need to have an advanced understanding of local search to begin optimizing your local business website.

Link: https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/

All In One SEO

As the name suggests, All In One SEO comes fully loaded with all the features you need to take full control of your SEO. One of the best WordPress plugins for SEO, it helps you to ace your on-page optimization with dedicated improvement suggestions for each page.

There’s also an SEO audit that identifies critical issues which could be hampering your local visibility and a link manager for both internal and external links.

On the technical side, All In One SEO also comes with Schema and Knowledge Graph markup, a page redirection manager, and Google Map integration.

All In One SEO: Additional Information

Is it free?

No.

Does it have a premium option?

Yes. $49.60 – $299.60/year.

What makes it useful?

The SEO audit feature is a real time saver as it will automatically detect errors across the site and make suggestions for improvement.

Link: https://aioseo.com

We’re including MonsterInsights as one of our best WordPress plugins for SEO, but this tool could just as easily have been featured in the lead generation category. Why? Simple. MonsterInsights powers data-led decision-making, which is essential when it comes to refining your SEO strategy and making more sales.

With just a click or two, you can enable Google Analytics 4 on your site with no coding required. Information appears in real-time on your WordPress dashboard, along with actionable insights to help you make sense of what may be a large amount of data. The page-level analytics are especially useful, as they help you understand which pages and posts are performing well, and where a rethink may be required.

MonsterInsights: Additional Information

Is it free?

No.

Does it have a premium option?

Yes. $99.50 – $399.50/year.

What makes it useful?

Google Analytics can feel like a bit of a minefield but this plugin brings in Analytics data easily, with no coding needed. It also adds context and insight to the data, along with user-friendly dashboards.

Link: https://www.monsterinsights.com

WordPress Plugins for Customer Service

Smash Balloon

If you’ve been using any of our top social media tools to elevate your socials, you’ll undoubtedly want to show off your feeds on your website. Smash Balloon (formerly called Instagram Feed) simplifies that process. It makes light work of pulling your social media feeds into your WordPress website, so you can display your latest posts to website visitors.

You can choose to embed content from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Shoppable feeds can also be displayed. Quick and easy to set up, Smash Balloon helps to keep your site looking fresh with an influx of new imagery, helps you to grow your social following, and can act as social proof.

Smash Balloon: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

Yes. $49 – $299/year.

What makes it useful?

Smash Balloon uses the fonts and styles set by your WordPress theme, so the feed integrates seamlessly onto the page.

Link: https://smashballoon.com

Nextend Social Login

Nextend social login could have just as easily appeared on our list of top CRO tools. It allows users to register and log in to your local business website with one click, using their preferred social media account.

This means someone wanting to register or buy doesn’t have to waste valuable time filling in a new registration form before they can subscribe or check out. It also means they don’t have to remember yet another username and password. One-click registration is available using any existing Facebook, Twitter, or Google account as well as services such as Apple, Amazon, and PayPal.

Nextend Social Login: Additional Information

Is it free?

Yes.

Does it have a premium option?

Yes. $70 – $140 CAD.

What makes it useful?

Nextend Social Login is easy to integrate with existing forms and can be configured to match your site design.

Link: https://nextendweb.com/social-login