SEO Starter Toolbox

Gerald Buckley's picture
Advisor
Gerald Buckley
Advisor
Gerald Buckley wrote:
I'm frequently asked, "How did you do that?" Where "THAT" is SEO, SEM, Analytics and general web stuff.
 
So, let's share some of my bag of tricks and see what the community will pony up with to add to the treasure trove.
 
Google Analytics - FREE - http://www.google.com/analytics
Google AdWords - http://adwords.google.com/ If for only the FREE key word planner
Google Webmaster Tools - See a trend forming here?
Google Alerts! - To let me know the latest news on what's important at the time
Optimizely - A nice resource (among many) for testing web concepts
Occam's Razor - THE analytics blog.
Moz.com - SUPERB! SEO/SEM content regularly updated.
Open Site Explorer - FREE - http://moz.com/researchtools/ose
Screaming Frog SEO Spider - I couldn't do what I do without this one.
GTmetrix - http://gtmetrix.com/analyze.html - You WILL find issues you didn't know were hurting you.
WebMeUp, QuickSprout, aHREF, Fruition, Majestic, Raven Tools are among a suite of tools that round out my tools.
eBooks - I have a reliable digital library with me at all times in my tablet. Just wish it was searchable all at once.
 
I can't understate how important it is to approach everything with a high degree of curiosity (and a healthy dose of patience, too). So much of webmastering involves immediate satisfaction such as when you change an htaccess file and something just magically begins working. So, when that pagerank or site authority doesn't hup-to and improve instantaneously it can be a bit of a "hello" moment.
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3 Responses

Bren Murphy's picture
Newbie
Bren Murphy
Newbie
Bren Murphy wrote:

Excellent i have heard only good things about screaming frog - I am going to add that to my quiver today.

James Kesterson,'s picture
Advisor
James Kesterson,
Advisor
James Kesterson, wrote:

Nice list of tools. Here is a tool I've used for years to help me gauge which keywords I need to work on most. The tool is called "Keyword Rank Checker". This tool allows you to see exactly where a keyword or keyword phrase is located on Google, Bing, and Yahoo with one click. Here is the url: http://rankchecker.com/keyword-rank-checker

 

Markelle Harden's picture
Newbie
Markelle Harden
Newbie
Markelle Harden wrote:

Great list! While many seasoned marketers scoff at the use of Webmaster Tools, it can be very helpful to a campaign.

Two additions: Google Alerts has become unreliable. There's an alternate optoin with Talkwalker, and it's free. 

Ubersuggest. Google Autosuggest on steroids. Free.