Running a small business is no easy feat. You have to manage every aspect from accounting to marketing with limited resources. This is where SEO software can be a total game-changer.
The right SEO tools allow you to work smarter, not harder. You can optimize your website, create content, and analyze data in a fraction of the time.
But with so many options out there, how do you choose? Don’t worry, I’ve done the research for you!
In this guide, I’ll share the top 15 SEO software to grow your small business in 2024. These are the best of the best whether you’re bootstrapping or have a full team.
Why You Need SEO Software
Before we dive into the list, let’s look at a few key reasons why SEO software is so valuable for small business owners:
- Save time. Automate tedious SEO tasks like keyword research, backlink analysis, and site audits. Work efficiently without compromising results.
- Increase traffic. Drive more qualified visitors to your site through improved search engine rankings and discovery.
- Gain insights. Uncover website issues, see your competitors’ strategies, and identify new opportunities with detailed reports.
- Boost sales. Higher traffic and lead gen from SEO ultimately means more revenue. Software helps maximize your return on investment.
- Level the playing field. Compete with bigger brands by leveraging the same SEO technology used by agencies and enterprises.
Let’s look at the top options across key categories:
1. SEMrush – Best All-in-One SEO Suite
I’ll start with my favorite all-in-one suite. SEMrush simply checks all the boxes for core SEO tasks.
Key features:
- Keyword research
- Backlink analysis
- Site audits
- Rank tracking
- SEO content toolkit
- Competitive research
SEMrush provides robust data and powerful tools for SEO beginners to experts. Make smarter decisions to drive results across areas like content strategy, link building, and keyword targeting.
The intuitive interface also makes it easy to navigate all the data. Use the integrated suite or export custom reports.
Pricing: $99.95/month
2. Ahrefs – Best for Competitor Research
If you want to benchmark competitors and uncover link-building opportunities, Ahrefs is unmatched.
Dive into the top pages, most linked content, and referral sources for any domain. See where competitors rank for target keywords and which content brings in the most organic traffic.
Plus Ahrefs’ massive index makes it simple to find link prospects within your niche. Sort by authority, trust metrics, and more to start link outreach.
Key features:
- Competitive site explorer
- Content gap analysis
- Link building toolkit
- Organic traffic data
Pricing: $99/month
3. Bright Local – Best for Local SEO
Local is a dedicated platform for local SEO that helps you improve your online visibility and reputation in your target area. It offers a range of tools that cover every aspect of local SEO, from ranking to reviews to citations.
Key features:
- Track and compare your local rankings on Google, Bing, and other platforms
- Audit your website and citations for local SEO issues and opportunities
- Generate and monitor online reviews from multiple sources
- Build and manage your citations across hundreds of directories
Bright Local also has white-label reporting and lead generation features that make it ideal for agencies and freelancers. But what makes it stand out is its focus on local SEO, which makes it a comprehensive and affordable tool for businesses that want to dominate their local market.
Pricing: $29/month
4. SPYFU – Best for Keyword Research
For laser-focused keyword research, SPYFU is a top choice. The AI-powered platform generates the most relevant, high-value keywords and questions for your business.
Just enter a seed keyword or let SPYFU analyze your site. You’ll get tailored keyword suggestions along with monthly search volume, cost per click, and competition data.
Filter, refine, and export keyword lists to inform your targeting strategy. Competitive analysis is also available to see what terms rivals are ranking for.
Key features:
- AI-powered keyword research
- Keyword gap analysis
- Keyword difficulty metrics
- Clickstream keyword data
Pricing: $49/month
5. Surfer SEO – Best for On-Page Optimization
Surfer SEO makes website optimization simple. Run an automated SEO audit to catch technical issues. Then use the on-page optimization checklist and edit in-app to improve key elements.
For example, you can rewrite page titles and meta descriptions, improve content structure, fix broken links, enhance page speed, and more.
Key features:
- On-page optimization toolkit
- Technical SEO audits
- PageSpeed insights
- Customizable workflow
This takes the guesswork out of site optimization. Improve your page experience and on-site factors that impact rankings.
Pricing: $39/month
6. Linkody – Best for Link Building
Sourcing link opportunities and outreach can be time-consuming. Linkody automates the process to help earn high-authority backlinks.
Just connect your SEMrush account. Linkody scans top pages, finds untapped domains, and generates outreach emails.
You can sort prospects by authority, trust metrics, relevance, and more. Then track open & response rates to refine your outreach.
Key features:
- Link opportunity discovery
- Automatic email templates
- Outreach management
- Cold email testing
If you want to level up your link building without the grunt work, give Linkody a try.
Pricing: $67/month
7. RankSense – Best Rank Tracker
RankSense provides one of the most powerful and accurate rank trackers. Connect Google Analytics and Search Console to unlock robust ranking data and insights.
See how you rank for target keywords across mobile, desktop, and local packs. Check rankings in real-time or analyze trends over weeks or months.
Granular location and device filtering allows you to get rankings for any city, state, or country. Identify high-impact keywords to focus on to drive more organic traffic.
Key features:
- Google rankings analysis
- Location-based tracking
- Device filtering
- Ranking change history
- Organic traffic estimates
Pricing: $47/month
8. ContentKing – Best for Content Strategy
Creating high-quality content at scale is tough. ContentKing makes it simple with AI-generated topic ideas, outlines, and writing support.
Enter a focus keyword or let ContentKing analyze your niche. You’ll get tightly clustered content ideas to help fill gaps and attract search traffic.
From there, use the interactive outline builder to organize sections and subtopics. The AI will even write full rough drafts for you to refine and finalize.
Key features:
- AI topic research
- Interactive outline builder
- SEO content writing
- Readability scoring
- Content idea management
Give your content engine a boost with intelligent support from ContentKing.
Pricing: $47/month
9. Screaming Frog – Best Site Crawler
When you need deep technical SEO audits, Screaming Frog is up to the task. This powerhouse tool crawls your entire site to identify issues impacting performance.
Review crawl maps to check for indexation errors, broken links, duplicate content, page speed problems, and more. Use advanced filters to dig into granular data.
Although the interface is a bit dated, Screaming Frog remains a top choice for comprehensive site audits. The detailed crawl data helps improve technical SEO for better crawling and indexing.
Key features:
- Full site crawler
- Advanced site explorer
- HTML & JavaScript parsing
- Downloadable audit reports
Pricing: $149/year
10. Clearscope – Best for Local SEO Audits
For local businesses, Clearscope makes it fast and easy to perform SEO audits optimized for Google Maps and local search.
Connect your Google My Business listing. Clearscope will analyze key elements like name, address, categories, photos, opening hours, attributes, and more.
You’ll get actionable recommendations to improve your local visibility in the 3-pack and map rankings. The reports also include competitor comparisons so you can close any gaps.
Key features:
- Google My Business audits
- Location data diagnostics
- Local page speed insights
- Voice search optimization
- Local competitor analysis
Pricing: $47/month
11. Longtail Pro – Best Keyword Planner
Longtail Pro offers a streamlined solution for long-tail keyword research. The cloud-based software makes it easy to find hidden queries that drive traffic.
Start with a seed keyword or niche. Longtail Pro generates hundreds of highly relevant long tail variations with search volume data.
Use the filters to sort and refine keyword lists for different categories, locations, rankings, and more. Take the guesswork out of discovering untapped long-tail keywords.
Key features:
- Long tail keyword research
- Keyword list filters
- Search volume metrics
- Keyword difficulty scores
- Saved projects
Pricing: $97 for 3 months access
12. MetricSpot – Best All-in-One Analytics
MetricSpot provides a powerful yet user-friendly analytics solution to track website and marketing data.
Connect your Google Analytics, Search Console, and other accounts. All the metrics are displayed in one customizable dashboard for easy reporting.
Monitor sessions, clicks, conversions, rankings, traffic sources, location data, and more in real time. Set up alerts and get automatically generated insights.
Key features:
- Consolidated analytics dashboard
- Real-time tracking
- Customizable reporting
- Data visualization
- Alerts and monitoring
Having all your vital analytics in one place saves a ton of time while enabling better data-driven decisions.
Pricing: $79/month
13. OptinMonster – Best Lead Generation Tool
Driving site traffic means nothing without lead generation. OptinMonster helps convert visitors into subscribers and customers.
Create popups, floating bars, slide-ins, and embedded forms to capture emails, phone numbers, and other info from site visitors. Use granular targeting and personalization to convert abandoning visitors into subscribers.
Then integrate with all major email and CRM systems to build your pipeline. More leads mean more revenue for your business.
Key features:
- Email and lead gen popup builder
- Exit intent and scroll-triggered campaigns
- Built-in personalization
- A/B testing
- Email and CRM integrations
Pricing: $49/month
14. BuzzSumo – Best for Viral Content Research
BuzzSumo makes it a breeze to uncover high-performing content from influencers and competitors. Search any topic or competitor domain to see the top shared links by social engagement.
This allows you to model what performs well and identify link and outreach opportunities. Monitor your own content performance and get alerts when your links start gaining traction.
The platform also helps inform content promotion strategies and find influencer prospects. BuzzSumo is a must-have for data-driven content marketing.
Key features:
- Viral content discovery
- Competitor link research
- Influencer identification
- Content alerts
- Shareable content insights
Pricing: $99/month
15. Cognitive SEO – Best for Technical SEO Audits
Last but not least, Cognitive SEO offers one of the most comprehensive technical SEO crawlers and site auditors. If your site has complex development, use this for a deep analysis.
The auditor checks page speed, indexation issues, structured data, accessibility, security, and more. You get actionable suggestions to fix problems impacting organic performance.
There’s also rank tracking, manual penalty detection, and an SEO toolkit for on-page optimization. Technical SEO is the foundation of success, so leverage Cognitive SEO to maximize yours.
Key features:
- Advanced technical site audits
- PageSpeed optimization
- SEMrush integration
- Site indexing insights
- SEO toolkit
Pricing: $99/month
And there you have it – the top SEO software for small business owners in 2024!
Key Takeaways
- Leverage automation to work smarter, not harder. SEO software saves time with tools to optimize your site, create content, analyze data, and more.
- All-in-one suites like SEMrush allow you to handle all core SEO tasks from one dashboard.
- Complement your main SEO platform with specialized tools like Surfer SEO for on-page optimization, Cognitive SEO for technical audits, etc.
- Don’t ignore local SEO and link building – platforms like Moz Pro and Linkody give you a competitive advantage in these areas.
- Keyword research is the foundation of SEO. Use SPYFU and Longtail Pro to find untapped, high-value keywords.
- Analytics bring it all together – make data-driven decisions using consolidated data from MetricSpot or similar tools.
SEO can feel overwhelming but the right software helps streamline the process. Now you can choose solutions tailored to your small business needs and budget.
Focus on leveraging these platforms to execute effective SEO strategies, then watch your site traffic, leads, and revenue hit new heights!
