SEO tools
Free SEO tools that are actually worth using
You can do serious SEO without paying for software. This is the free stack we recommend to clients, by job, with notes on where the limits are.
No minimum contract · Itemised monthly deliverables · UK team, Fareham HQ · Reporting from your own GA4 & Search Console
Quick answer
9
free tools cover a small site completely
500
URLs crawled free in Screaming Frog
£0
spent before you need competitor data
Scroll for the full list.
The shortlist
The free stack
Everything here is free or has a genuinely useful free tier.
Ahrefs
Best for: Backlink and keyword research depth
All-in-one SEO suite: backlinks, keywords, site audit, rank tracking. The deepest link and keyword index we use.
Mangools
Best for: Affordable keyword research and tracking
Simple five-tool suite: KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner, SiteProfiler.
Similarweb
Best for: Competitor traffic estimates
Traffic, audience and competitor market intelligence rather than day-to-day SEO.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Best for: Technical audits of any size
The industry-standard desktop crawler: broken links, redirects, duplicate titles, canonicals, thin pages, JavaScript rendering.
Seobility
Best for: Quick online health checks
Online SEO checker with audit, rank tracking and backlink checker.
Google PageSpeed Insights
Best for: Speed and Core Web Vitals diagnostics
Google’s Core Web Vitals and Lighthouse performance report for any page.
Google Search Console
Best for: Non-negotiable for every site
Google’s own data on indexing, queries, page experience, manual actions and structured data.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Best for: Bing visibility and a second free audit
Bing’s equivalent of Search Console, with a built-in site scanner and keyword tool.
Google Keyword Planner
Best for: Volume ranges straight from Google
Google’s keyword volume and forecast tool inside Google Ads.
Google Trends
Best for: Seasonality and rising topics
Relative search interest over time and by region.
AlsoAsked
Best for: Question research for guides and FAQs
Maps People Also Ask questions into clusters for content planning.
AnswerThePublic
Best for: Brainstorming content angles
Visualises autocomplete questions and phrases around a seed keyword.
Keywords Everywhere
Best for: Keyword data while you browse
Browser extension that shows volume, CPC and related keywords inside Google and other sites.
KWFinder (Mangools)
Best for: Long-tail research on a budget
Long-tail keyword research with difficulty scores, part of Mangools.
Local Falcon
Best for: Map-pack rankings by location
Geo-grid rank tracking showing where you rank in Google Maps across an area.
Majestic
Best for: Historical link data and topical trust
Long-standing UK backlink index with Trust Flow and Citation Flow and strong historical data.
Semrush Backlink Analytics
Best for: Link audits and disavow prep
Backlink database with toxicity scoring for audits.
Moz Link Explorer
Best for: Quick DA checks
Backlink analysis with Domain Authority and spam score.
LinkMiner (Mangools)
Best for: Quick checks on a budget
Simple backlink checker with link previews.
Looker Studio
Best for: Free client dashboards
Google’s free dashboard builder with native Search Console and GA4 connectors.
Surfer SEO
Best for: Freelancers and small content teams
Content editor scoring drafts against top-ranking pages; includes AI writing.
MarketMuse
Best for: Topic-cluster planning
AI content planning focused on topical authority across a site.
ChatGPT
Best for: General SEO assistance
OpenAI’s assistant for research, clustering, briefs, drafts, regex and analysis.
Claude
Best for: Long-form analysis and technical tasks
Anthropic’s assistant; strong at long documents, analysis and code.
Gemini
Best for: Teams on Google Workspace
Google’s assistant with Workspace integration.
Google Business Profile
Best for: Every local business
Your Google Maps listing and its performance insights — the most important local asset.
Whitespark
Best for: Citations and local tracking
Citation finder, local rank tracker and reputation builder.
Rank Math
Best for: Most features free
WordPress SEO plugin with schema, redirects, 404 monitor and analytics; generous free tier. What this site runs.
Yoast SEO
Best for: Beginners wanting the most documentation
The longest-established WordPress SEO plugin with readability analysis and a huge ecosystem.
All in One SEO
Best for: Simple setup
WordPress SEO plugin with a simple setup wizard.
SEOPress
Best for: Agencies wanting white-label
White-label WordPress SEO plugin with no ads or upsells.
WP Rocket
Best for: Speed without configuration pain
Caching and performance plugin — the biggest Core Web Vitals lever on most WordPress sites.
Imagify
Best for: Image weight reduction
Image compression with WebP/AVIF conversion.
Perfmatters
Best for: Removing plugin and theme bloat
Lightweight performance plugin: script manager, bloat removal, delayed JavaScript.
Redirection
Best for: Redirects if your SEO plugin lacks them
Free redirect and 404 manager.
Detailed SEO Extension
Best for: Daily on-page checks
One click to see title, description, canonical, robots, headings, links and schema on any page.
SEO Minion
Best for: Broken links and hreflang
On-page analysis, broken-link check, hreflang checker, SERP preview, PAA scraping.
SEO META in 1 CLICK
Best for: Quick metadata summary
Shows meta tags, headings, images and links for the current page.
MozBar
Best for: DA at a glance
SERP and page overlay with Domain Authority and page metrics.
Ahrefs SEO Toolbar
Best for: Ahrefs subscribers
On-page report, redirect tracer and SERP metrics overlay.
Keyword Surfer
Best for: Free volume estimates in the SERP
Keyword volume and CPC shown directly in Google results.
Redirect Path
Best for: Spotting redirect chains
Flags redirect chains and HTTP status codes as you browse.
Link Redirect Trace
Best for: Deep redirect analysis
Traces redirects, canonicals and robots directives.
View Rendered Source
Best for: JavaScript SEO checks
Compares raw HTML with the JavaScript-rendered DOM.
Wappalyzer
Best for: Technology profiling
Identifies the CMS, frameworks and tools a site runs on.
Free tools by job
- Site data: Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, GA4
- Speed: PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse
- Crawling: Screaming Frog (500 URLs)
- Keywords: Keyword Planner, Google Trends, autocomplete, AlsoAsked (limited), Keyword Surfer
- Backlinks: Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, Search Console
- Local: Google Business Profile, Whitespark free tools
- Reporting: Looker Studio
- WordPress: Rank Math free, Yoast free, Redirection
- Browser: Detailed, SEO META in 1 CLICK, Redirect Path, View Rendered Source
Where free runs out
Competitor keyword and backlink data, rank tracking at scale, scheduled crawls of large sites and white-label reporting all need paid tools. Until then, the free stack plus the method in our SEO strategy guide is enough for most small businesses.
FAQ
Questions we get asked
Is there a completely free SEO tool?
Several: Search Console, GA4, Keyword Planner, Trends, PageSpeed Insights, Bing Webmaster Tools and Screaming Frog’s free tier.
Is Google Search Console enough?
It is the most important single tool but only shows your own site. Add a crawler and a keyword tool.
Are free SEO audit tools accurate?
Google’s own tools are accurate for what they measure; third-party free checkers are rough.
What is the best free SEO tool for small businesses?
Google Business Profile and Search Console — set both up before anything else.
Rather have someone run the tools for you?
Our free growth plan uses all of these on your site. You get the findings; we only get paid if you hire us.
Reply within one working day · No obligation · We will tell you if SEO is not the right spend