Search Engine Optimization or SEO is an important ecommerce strategy that helps online Shopify businesses increase traffic to their online store by increasing their rank and visibility on search engine sites like Google.
In the world of the internet, getting your website on the front page of the search engine results page (SERP) is a big deal, because it means that you are benefiting from high visibility that results in free and recurring traffic, allowing you to continuously bring in new customers to your online store.
While working on SEO can take some time, it's more than well worth the effort to start optimizing your Shopify store for search engines today, whether you are trying to launch a new Shopify store or trying to enhance the performance of your current online business even further.
While there are numerous paid SEO tools available on the market, we understand that budget constraints may be a consideration. That's why we've curated a list of 15 free SEO tools to help you boost your website optimization without breaking the bank.
In this article by Ecommerce Pro, we cover some of the best free SEO tools for new and established ecommerce businesses to try out.
Let’s get started.
Need help building your Shopify website? You can view our Shopify Experts profile here to see our work or reach out to us by filling this form.
1. Ahrefs
While quite well-known for its premium offerings, Ahrefs provides a suite of free SEO tools, including Keyword Generator, Backlink Checker, and Keyword Rank Checker – ideal for budget-conscious SEO. Ahrefs likes to think of their services as being all you need to rank higher and get more traffic, and they are certainly a great place to start and develop your SEO game further.
2. SEMRush
SEMRush is another popular choice for upping your SEO game with its comprehensive SEO tool. They offer some free services like Position Tracking, Site Audit, and Listing Management. Great for understanding your website's performance from the get-go. SEMRush offers award-winning tools to its users and is trusted by some of the world’s leading companies today.
3. Google Analytics 4
Always a solid option for all websites, Google Analytics 4 is the latest rendition of Google’s web analytics service. Powerful and reliable, Google Analytics provides real-time insights into your website's performance, including keyword analysis and bounce rates. To use the service, just install the HTML code to start leveraging its free features.
4. MozBar SEO Toolbar
Compatible with the Chrome web browser, MozBar is your free all-in-one SEO toolbar for research on the go. This convenient Chrome extension offers essential insights into Page Authority, Domain Authority, and Spam Score. You can also access and compare link metrics across pages while viewing any SERP. Perfect for competitor keyword analysis and identifying backlink opportunities.
Read about the Top 10 Google Chrome Extensions for Shopify Store Owners in 2023.
5. Bing Webmaster Tools
Microsoft’s Bing rarely gets enough love but Bing Webmaster Tools offers SEO features that help your website rank better on the Bing Search Engine. The tools included are backlink tracking, keyword research, and site audits – particularly helpful for getting your site's performance data and analyzing insights to improve your page rankings on Bing search results.
6. Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog offers a free SEO spider tool which is ideal for website crawling and technical SEO audits. The free tool helps you identify issues like broken links and provides recommendations for user experience improvement. You can download the free version and crawl up to 500 URLs for free.
7. WordStream Free Keyword Tool
A free keyword tool, Wordstream’s solution is user-friendly and provides relevant keyword recommendations and difficulty rankings. It's easy to use, just enter a keyword or URL for a list of suggestions straight from their website with no downloads necessary.
8. Yoast SEO WordPress Plugin
A top SEO WordPress plugin, Yoast SEO is a free plugin for both WordPress and Shopify. Great for content optimization and on-page SEO, Yoast helps you know when youre using your keywords in the right places across headings, meta descriptions, and so on. While the free version covers basics, the premium version offers advanced features.
9. Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is Neil Patel’s keyword suggestion solution, and it's pretty good. The service is free to use and offers keyword suggestions based on the URL or targeted keywords you input. With three daily searches in the free version, we’d say it's handy for content ideas and organic traffic optimization.
10. Synup Listing Scan
More ideal for things like local SEO, Synup helps businesses grow their local brand awareness. The Synup Listing Scan tool conducts a complete audit of your local listing profiles. It scans your digital presence and checks your Google listing and other listings, helping you monitor your reputation via reviews. This tool is valuable for businesses with a physical presence to go with their online presence.
11. BrightLocal
Another tool to help build on your local SEO is BrightLocal, which can help you rank higher, grow your reputation, and build citations. BrightLocal's free local SEO tools, including Google Review Link & Place ID Generator, offer insights into local positioning. While not for businesses that operate exclusively online, it's perfect for small businesses with brick-and-mortar stores looking to enhance local SEO efforts.
12. Keyword Tool
Another great tool for finding the best keywords, Keyword Tool is a versatile research tool providing long-tail and short-tail keyword suggestions. What’s great about Keyword Tool is that it suggests keywords for all popular search engines, including the likes of Google, Bing, YouTube, X, and Pinterest. The free version is great for finding relevant keywords, despite some limitations.
13. AnswerThePublic
Recently acquired by Neil Patel, AnswerThePublic is a tool that helps you see what questions people are asking online, making it potentially invaluable to your SEO strategy—seeing as you’ll know what questions your target customers are asking. The tool is a great way to add insight and creativity to your content and SEO strategy.
14. SEO Review Tools
SEO Review Tools is more of a resource on free SEO tools you can use, making it one of the best places on the internet to find the tools you need from just one single source. It includes technical SEO tools, content SEO tools, and SEO authority tools, among its more than 67 distinct tools, each with a unique set of features. Basically, you can choose which to utilize based on your requirements, such as evaluating your basic web vitals or building content clusters.
15. Seed Keywords by Red Evolution
Seed Keyword can be used in conjunction with your other SEO keyword tools.
Compared to other keyword research tools, Seed Keywords operates uniquely. Seed Keywords uses crowdsourcing in place of given keywords and their search traffic and volume characteristics. You ask them to imagine themselves in a hypothetical situation and then ask them what they would look for. It assists you in figuring out what your target audience would look like so that you can use the appropriate keywords in your SEO efforts.
Conclusion
We’ve talked about the best free SEO tools to boost your Shopify website’s rank, coming up with 15 tools that are completely free or have at least some kind of free version for you to explore.
While you don’t have to use every single tool available for SEO, incorporating at least a few of them into your strategy can help give you direction when it comes to enhancing your website’s visibility to drive up organic traffic to your site—all without shelling out a heft budget. As you explore these tools, remember to tailor your approach based on your specific business goals.
To learn more about how to improve your Shopify online business, explore the Ecommerce Pro Blog for the latest Shopify news and advice.
Get in Touch
At Ecommerce Pro - Shopify Web Developers Agency, we help entrepreneurs and business owners build better and more successful Shopify businesses. Have a question or a project in mind? Get in touch with us today!
Share:
October 2023: What’s New On Shopify
How to Write Product Descriptions for Your Online Business