I have been doing SEO for several years now. I have worked with many clients, had a lot of successes and used many different programs and sites. I’m always happy to try something new if I believe it can help me and my clients and my list of “essential software” is ever-changing.
If you’re getting involved with SEO as well as wondering what software programs the experts use, here is a short list. I’m not suggesting that I know everything there is to know and I am definitely not saying I’m the best, but I have tested a lot of software/sites and I have had a lot of success with the ones I chose, so I must be doing something right.
Upwork
First, let’s get one of the most essential sites out of the way. Upwork is a great site whether you’re a freelancer looking for work or a client who needs work done. I have been on both ends of the spectrum and there is a lot of value here.
As a client looking for SEO, you can use Upwork to buy quality content, sponsored posts, audits, and more. You can also use it to get unique code written, to get some social media marketing, to pay a virtual assistant or to pay a developer.
If there is something you don’t know how to do, then you can pay someone on Upwork to do it for you. Even the best SEO experts take advantage of services like this, whether they’re hiring virtual assistants, skilled developers or experienced writers.
Majestic
Majestic uses a different algorithm for Domain Authority, which seemed to be the norm for many years. DA relied too much on quantity and non-relevance where links were concerned, whereas the Trust Flow and Citation Flow used by Majestic focuses on relevant, quality links to tell you whether a site is good or not. In the past, it did place too much of an emphasis on domain redirects, but that is no longer the case.
For a $50 a month subscription, you can use this software to correctly determine whether a site is worth getting a backlink on or not. You want relevant sites, as well as ones that score above 20 in Trust Flow and have a TF to CF ratio of less than 1.5. This is all easy to judge with a Majestic subscription and it ensures you get great links every time.
Majestic is also a great tool for studying your competitors and this is true whether your client is a hugely popular viral content site looking to dominate its niche, or a motorcycle accident attorney looking for respect in its sector.
Just punch in the URL of a competing site and study its links. Where is it getting them from, are they organic, and if not, will those sites accept your links as well?
SEMRush
This is an expensive piece of software, even more so if you live in the UK like I do, as the $99 a month subscription becomes $120. But it’s an essential tool nonetheless.
SEMRush isn’t the best for backlinks, but you have Majestic for that. SEMRush excels when it comes to keyword analysis. Not only can you find the best keywords to target, but you can also learn which keywords are working the best for you in specific countries, which keywords your competitors are targeting, and much more.
It’s more than worth the subscription price because this software can literally make or break your projects. I have found huge keywords using this software, keywords that have actually built some of my biggest websites.
StoryBase
As good as SEMRush is for keywords, you need more if you’re going to beat other SEO experts and clients and that’s where StoryBase comes in. You can use it to find long tail keywords in the form of phrases and questions.
Just punch in a basic keyword and it will give you a list of keyword questions and phrases along with the search volume from each country. So, once you get the best keywords you can from SEMRush, you punch them into StoryBase in order to pick up some long tail keywords that you can then incorporate as FAQs, content or headers.
Quora
There are a lot of SEO experts on Quora and because the site rewards those who are helpful, they are usually more than happy to lend their support. If there is something you’re not sure about, just tap this site up for some info. Look through the bank of questions that have already been asked or ask your own.
The nature of the site means that you’ll get many answers to your question, which is great, because a lot of SEO is based on opinion and experience so the more responses and techniques, the better.
