Which SEO tools are the best?

As Google uses hundreds of ranking factors, it is impossible to assess everything using human judgement alone without reliable data. SEO tools are very important, but which ones are any good? The answer is that no single tool provides all the answers. A combination of tools offers greater insight, but because all these SEO tools use different definitions, it’s still like comparing apples and oranges. 

Free online SEO tools

Not everything that’s free is necessarily any good. Many SEO tools have a free version, but this usually allows you to add just one URL with limited functionality. They deliberately provide just short of enough data. The most obvious questions are answered, but it is precisely in the details that the answers lie for staying ahead of the competition and keeping track of them. 

Google Search Console is certainly a valuable SEO tool. All Google collects from you is data. Google offers a limited number of paid services, but it collects and analyses data through all its free services. All the internet giants, such as Facebook and Amazon, do the same, so Google is no exception in this respect. 

Many others free SEO tools provide advice that has not been used as a ranking factor for many years. We always receive a fair number of enquiries about this. Our clients often turn to these free tools when they feel things aren’t moving fast enough. Unfortunately, SEO is an online marketing tool that takes time to show results.

Paid SEO tools

Ahrefs, WebCEO and SemRush are SEO tools that we have used extensively over the past 15 years. All these tools have their pros and cons. They all analyse a URL and provide feedback on how to improve the website, both technically and in terms of content. Keyword analysis, backlinks, landing page optimisation and tracking rankings are all extremely valuable, but if you want to achieve success, it’s ultimately the results that count.

Understanding search behaviour

What SEO Ninja always wants to guard against is an over-reliance on focus keywords. If a client wants to be found for a specific search term such as ‘sales training’ and notices that their rankings are lagging behind, they often fail to realise that their customers are searching more for ‘negotiation skills training’. General search terms face fierce online competition and are at the very start of the customer journey. People often do their research online first, before finally making a decision to purchase days, weeks or even months later. From a conversion perspective, it is better to identify which keywords prospective customers use once they know which training course they want to purchase.

What has changed since this article was published

This article was written in 2021, and its core message still holds true: no single tool provides all the answers, and good data costs money. What has emerged since then is a third category alongside free and paid options. It is not a new tool, but a new way of utilising your existing tools.

We use SE Ranking as our standard source for rankings, search volumes, backlinks and site audits, supplemented by Search Console and Google Analytics 4. That combination hasn’t changed in the meantime. The way we extract that data, however, has.

SEO data straight into your AI assistant

In August 2026, SE Ranking was added to Claude’s list of connectors. You can link your account in just a few clicks and then simply ask your question in the chat window: which keywords have dropped this month, which of a competitor’s pages is ranking above mine, and which backlinks have been added. Other providers are moving in the same direction, using the same open standard for connections.

The difference isn’t in the data, because you already had that. It’s in the step in between. Whereas you used to export data to a spreadsheet, filter it and create pivot tables to answer a single question, you now ask that question directly. For the sort of work that used to take you five minutes – and which you therefore preferred to skip – that’s a real benefit.

What it’s good at

• Quick questions about your own data: what has changed since last month, and on which pages?
• Combining multiple sources in a single query, for example, rankings alongside traffic alongside conversions.
• A preliminary exploration before you dive in yourself, so that you know where to look.

What it isn’t good at

• Deciding. An assistant tells you what has happened, not whether it is serious or worth dealing with.
• Figures you rely on. Always check any figure that appears in a report or invoice within the tool itself.
• Context not contained in the data: a season, a campaign that came to an end, a competitor that carried out a takeover.

In short, it’s a quicker way to access the same data; it’s not a substitute for the judgement you apply to it. That judgement is precisely what our article is about the benefits of SEO is all about.

The minimum tools you’ll need in 2026

If you were to start again today, this is the bare minimum. Anything beyond that is just refinement.

1. Google Search Console. It’s free, and it’s the only source that tells you exactly how Google sees your site and which search queries it appears for.
2. Google Analytics 4, set up properly. Without reliable measurement, you won’t know which traffic is delivering results. You can find out how to set this up in our A comprehensive guide to Google Analytics 4.
3. One paid suite for rankings, search volumes and backlinks. It doesn’t really matter which one you choose, as long as you pick one and build up a history.
4. A measure of your visibility in AI-generated responses. Introduced last year, it’s now just as important as your ranking on Google. Find out why in our article on generative engine optimisation.

If you notice your traffic falling whilst your rankings remain the same, then that fourth point is probably your blind spot. We’ve gone into more detail on this in declining organic traffic.

SEO tools are invaluable, but bear in mind that good data is valuable. Free tools can be useful, but paid tools provide you with more data, enabling you to monitor and analyse not only your own website but also those of your online competitors over a longer period. Only with the right insights can we continue to achieve results. Want to find out where your website could be improved? Let SEO Ninja carry out a a good SEO audit carry out.