3 Free Tools for Tracking Your Website’s SEO Performance

In the ever growing competitive landscape of the internet, understanding and optimizing your website’s performance is absolutely vital for your business’ success. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a crucial role in driving organic traffic to your site, but measuring it can feel like an intimidating and daunting task. This is especially the case for those that are just getting their business off the ground as many SEO tools aren’t free. Lucky for you though there are plenty of tools where that isn’t the case! There’s tools that are free and available to everyone to use TODAY. Let’s take a look at 3 of our favorite SEO tools that are free to use and will help you track and measure your website’s performance in the world of SEO.

1. Google Analytics:

Our first free SEO tool for measuring and tracking your website’s SEO performance is none other than Google Analytics. Google Analytics is something you’ve likely heard of, or even looked into as it’s one of the most popular and powerful tools in measuring your website’s performance. That power comes with a steep learning curve though as it takes a bit of time to get an understanding of exactly what you’re looking at. Setting up Google Analytics is pretty straightforward, but varies from site host to site host. Follow this step by step guide to ensure you set up your analytics correctly. Once set up, click through the different pages found under the “Reports” tab to see information pertaining to your site’s performance.

There’s a LOT here, but the key features we measure are:

• User Acquisition: Understand where your visitors are coming from, whether it’s organic search, social media, referrals, or something else. 
• User Behavior: Track user interactions on your site, including engagement rate, average time spent on pages, and conversion rates, each separated by their acquisition stream. This lets us know which streams are performing well and which need work.
• Conversion Tracking: Set up goals and track conversions to measure the success of specific actions on your site such as purchases or users filling out your contact page.

2. Google Search Console:

Complementing Google Analytics, Google Search Console focuses specifically on your website’s performance in Google Search. Google Search Console offers a similar level of power as Google Analytics in terms of tracking your website’s SEO performance, and it’s also free! This tool is automatically set up for your site when you initially set up Google Analytics as well. Similar to Google Analytics, Google Search Console can feel pretty overwhelming at first, but to a slightly lesser degree. 

The key features we use include:

• Search Performance: Monitor your website’s performance in Google Search, including clicks, impressions, and average position. You can also track how specific pages and key phrases are performing and how users are interacting with said pages and phrases.
• Page Indexing: Identify and resolve issues that may affect your site’s presence in Google’s index. This is HUGE in making sure that your pages are able to be found organically. If they’re not indexed, then users can’t see them without directly going to the link!
• Site Load Speed: Ensure your site is loading at an acceptable speed for users. Mobile and Desktop load speed is incredibly important in ensuring users enjoy your site.

3. SEO Edge (iOS App):

For those looking for a free mobile tool to help track their website’s SEO performance, SEO Edge is a powerful app available on the Apple App Store. While not directly affiliated with Google, it provides valuable insights to help you improve your site’s rankings. 

Some key features we use SEO Edge for include:

• Keyword Tracking: Monitor your website’s ranking for specific keywords. This lets you identify opportunities for improvement, as well as see where you are performing well.
• Backlink Analysis: Keep track of your backlinks and assess their impact on your site’s authority.
• Competitor Analysis: Gain insights into your competitors’ strategies and identify areas where you can improve to better compete with them.

In the world of SEO, having the right tools at your disposal is essential for success. Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and SEO Edge are invaluable tools that you can use today for free to help monitor your websites performance. Whether you’re focused on overall analytics, search engine visibility, or user behaviors, these tools empower you to make informed decisions and be at the top of your game as you enter the wild world of online SEO! For more tips and tools to help you discover the power of SEO be sure to check out some of our other blog posts, and if you’re