In this digital age where competition is ever-growing, mastering search engines has become crucial for any business that wants visibility. Sure, SEO agencies have experts you can call upon. But the mounting trend of DIY SEO software creates an opportunity to take the reins of your business’s performance online.
The Best DIY SEO software can provide an inexpensive, feature-rich platform designed specifically to enhance your online presence. These tools have capabilities such as keyword research, real-time competitor analysis, and comprehensive SEO audits. Other crucial features comprise backlink analysis, on-page SEO analysis, and precise rank tracking. Among these, Semrush excels, making it the best DIY SEO software overall.
Ready to dip your toes into the SEO waters? From small business owners to marketing managers, this post will steer you through the current maze of DIY SEO tools. The goal is to help you locate the best do-it-yourself SEO software for your needs and advance your online presence.
Table of Contents
Overview of the Best DIY SEO Tools – Our Top 5 Picks
- Semrush – The complete package for all your SEO needs
- Surfer SEO – Your content optimizer
- Ahrefs – The keyword research and monitoring wizard
- Jasper.ai – Your AI writer for perfect web content
- SE Ranking – The consummate backlink and rank tracker
Disclaimer: We are entirely reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. This does not affect our opinion of the products linked, which is 100% impartial and unbiased.
Why Are DIY Search Engine Optimization Tools Necessary?
The digital world is a battleground when it comes to online visibility, where search algorithms pull the strings. But even if you’re not a tech guru, you can harness the power of SEO with the best DIY SEO tools at your disposal.
From audience analysis to website performance tracking, these tools offer insights into keywords, backlinks, and competitors. In fact, there’s not much these do-it-yourself SEO tools can’t do to drive your business forward.
However, wading through an ocean of do-it-yourself SEO software may seem unappealing to many. For this reason, we’ve streamlined things for you with a list of our favorite tried and tested best DIY SEO software options.
7 Best DIY SEO Software to Level-Up Your SEO Game
1. Semrush
Best all-encompassing DIY SEO toolkit.
Why We Recommend Semrush
In the ever-fluctuating online world, Semrush is your secret weapon. Its formidable features transform it from a mere tool into a strategic collaborator helping you outsmart the competition. Minor hitches aside, Semrush is a potent tool that can level up your online game.
What is Semrush?
Semrush, the Swiss army knife of SEO tools, caters to everyone – from businesses and affiliate marketers to SEO enthusiasts. Its versatility covers all marketing domains, including SEO, PPC, social media, and ad research. And it delivers insights that empower your marketing strategy.
Everyone from local business owners to marketing managers, can reap the benefits of Semrush’s keyword planning, link building, and more. Trusted by big brands, the likes of Booking.com and eBay, its widespread implementation is a testament to Semrush’s credibility.
Key Semrush Features
- Keyword Research: Semrush lets you carry out both organic and paid keyword research. This way, you can pinpoint prime words and phrases to use in your content.
- Competitive Analysis: This wonderful tool analyzes competitor strategies for keywords, backlinks, and PPC to help beat the competition.
- On-Page SEO: Semrush supports on-page SEO offering recommendations to strengthen website optimization.
- Site Audit: Detect and improve areas of your website for better SEO performance.
- Local SEO: Semrush provides local SEO data and rank tracking for more accurate, location-focused marketing.
- Link Building: Find prospective backlink opportunities to improve your site’s ranking.
- Social Media Management: Evaluate and manage your social media campaigns for the best reach and engagement.
- Rank Tracking: Observe your website’s ranking in the search engine results.
- PPC Keyword Research: Build successful paid search campaigns with thorough keyword data.
Semrush Pricing
Semrush’s three-tier pricing model adapts to different needs as follows:
- The “Pro” plan: Ideal for individuals and small teams, this plan is $119.95 per month, tracking up to 500 keywords.
- The “Guru” plan: Perfect for mid-sized firms, it costs $229.95 monthly and lets you track 1,500 keywords.
- The “Business” plan: It comes at $449.95 per month, tracks 5,000 keywords, and is designed for enterprises.
It’s important to note that you can test the waters with a 7-day free trial before diving into a fixed plan.
What We Like About Semrush
- All-In-One Suite: Semrush presents a complete solution for all your digital marketing requirements.
- Competitor Analysis: Gain insights into your competitor’s tactics to get the upper hand.
- Local SEO Data: Local, detailed data for targeted marketing.
- Site Auditing: Spot and improve areas for SEO performance.
What We Don’t Like About Semrush
- Pricing: It might be a tad pricey for small businesses or individuals.
- Feature Overload: Beginners might find the extensive features a bit daunting.
- Limited Free Version: The free version is somewhat restrictive, urging users to upgrade for full functionality.
2. Surfer SEO
Best for optimizing content for search engines.
Why We Recommend Surfer SEO
Surfer SEO has garnered its fair share of praise as a go-to toolkit for website SEO and content optimization. And it doesn’t surprise us. It’s not just a tool – it’s a mentor guiding you toward higher SEO rankings. Sure, it’s a bit techy at first, but you’ll be reaping the benefits in no time.
What is Surfer SEO?
Think of Surfer SEO as your personal SEO assistant, offering an array of tools for businesses and marketers to climb up the SEO ladder. It gives you control over your content optimization, pointing out the areas to work on and leaving the action to you.
With its state-of-the-art algorithms, Surfer SEO identifies what’s working for the big players in your industry. And it takes things a step further by demonstrating how to make those strategies work for you.
Key Surfer SEO Features
- SERP Analyzer: This do-it-yourself SEO software assists users with optimizing their content for search engine result pages. It does so by providing intuitive analysis of any chosen keyword.
- Rank Tracking: Surfer SEO offers a rank-tracking feature to keep an eye on your keyword rankings. This gives you a deeper grasp of your SEO performance.
- Keyword Research: Identify high-performing keyword opportunities to adjust your content and improve its SEO ranking.
- Content Editor: This feature suggests common phrases and headings used by top-ranking pages for a given topic. And it aids in crafting perfect search-engine-optimized content.
- Content Planner: Plan your content marketing strategy with Surfer SEO’s Content Planner to steer more traffic to your website.
- SEO Audit: Study a page for a particular keyword and receive actionable insights to improve the page’s SEO performance.
- Plagiarism Detector: The built-in plagiarism detector ensures your content is original, mitigating any penalties from Google.
Surfer SEO Pricing
Surfer SEO’s four pricing tiers are:
- The “Lite” plan: This plan is suitable for individuals starting out or those just testing the waters. At $29 per month, users will have 3 content editor credits to work with.
- The “Essential” plan: At $89 per month, this plan provides 7 content editor credits and is ideal for individuals or small teams.
- The “Advanced” plan: It costs $179 per month, offers 25 content editor credits and 5 organization seats, and is perfect for slightly larger teams.
- The “Max” plan: This one is ideal for larger firms and agencies and comes in at $299 per month with 50 content editor credits and 10 organization seats.
What We Like About Surfer SEO
- Feature-rich: Surfer SEO boasts an incredible number of features, from content editing to SEO auditing.
- Hands-on SEO Audit: This DIY SEO software serves up actionable insights for enhancing page performance.
What We Don’t Like About Surfer SEO
- Learning Curve: New users may find the extensive array of features overwhelming.
- Restrictive Free Plan: The free version blocks access to several features, forcing users to commit to a paid plan.
3. Ahrefs
Best for keyword research and website SEO monitoring.
Why We Recommend Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a whole lot more than just one of the best DIY SEO tools. It’s a one-stop solution constructed to cater to your SEO needs. While it has a few weaknesses, it offers a buffet of resources to improve your site’s search engine performance. And it’s a worthy consort for anyone serious about SEO.
What is Ahrefs?
Ahrefs is your SEO powerhouse, offering an assortment of tools to help you optimize your site’s search engine rankings. Think of it as the authority in keyword research and ranking, built for SEO professionals. It’s user-friendly and rich in data, making your SEO strategy development process smoother.
Key Ahrefs Features
Ahrefs gives us an array of beneficial features designed to optimize your SEO strategy, including:
- Performance Dashboard: Grants you an overview of your website’s SEO performance, offering insights into various metrics.
- Web Page SEO Audit: Evaluates your web pages for SEO health and emphasizes areas for improvement.
- Keyword Tracking Tools: Helps isolate and track keywords that can steer organic traffic to your website.
- Rank Tracking: Keeps track of your website’s ranking for particular keywords over time.
- Content Explorer: Aids in generating content ideas based on trending topics and keywords.
- Broken Link Identification: Identifies broken links on your website that may hamper your SEO efforts.
- Keyword Difficulty Scores: Offers a deeper understanding of the ranking difficult for specific keywords.
- Domain Authority Checks: Delivers insight into your website’s authority based on its backlink profile.
- Backlink Analysis Tools: Helps analyze website backlinks for both you and your competitors.
- Duplicate Content Checking: Identifies and highlights duplicate content that might harm your SEO ranking.
Ahrefs Pricing
This DIY SEO software’s pricing is tier-based, with four plans. These include:
- The “Lite” plan: Starting at $89 monthly, it lets you track 750 keywords and save up to 5 keyword lists.
- The “Standard” plan: This plan comes in at $179 per month and allows you to keep 50 keyword lists and track 2,000 keywords
- The “Advanced” plan: With the option to track up to 5,000 keywords and manage 100 keyword lists, this plan will cost you $369 per month.
- The “Enterprise” plan: Track up to 10,000 keywords and host 250 different keyword lists at $899 per month with this plan.
What We Like About Ahrefs
- Comprehensive Do-It-Yourself SEO: Ahrefs offers a wide array of tools in one place.
- User-friendly Interface: No technical expertise is required.
- Data-rich Insights: Ample data to fine-tune your SEO strategy.
What We Don’t Like About Ahrefs
- Limited crawl credits: The free version has a 5,000 monthly crawl limit, limiting larger sites.
- Relatively Pricey: It might be too expensive for small businesses or startups.
- Data Overload: The wealth of data might be too much for beginners.
4. Jasper.ai
Best for AI-powered, SEO-focused content creation.
Why We Recommend Jasper.ai
Jasper.ai leverages cutting-edge AI to blend content generation with SEO. Like any other AI tool, it’s not without its quirks. But Jasper.ai’s capability to quickly churn out engaging, SEO-friendly content across formats makes it a savvy choice for the digital marketer.
What is Jasper.ai?
Jasper.ai is an AI-boosted content maestro, defying time constraints and writer’s block to generate content that resonates. But it’s not just a wordsmith. With the Surfer SEO integration, Jasper ensures your content shines in the SEO universe.
Plus, its multilingual capabilities and add-ons, like its AI image generator and AI chatbot, boost your global SEO game.
Key Jasper AI Features
- Over 50 Starter Templates: Get rid of writer’s block with a vast selection of starter templates tailored for diverse content types.
- Boss Mode: Enhances productivity by enabling users to create long-form content up to 10 times faster than usual.
- Jasper Art: An AI-generated art tool for designing unique ads, illustrations, and more.
- Surfer SEO Integration: Supercharge your content creation with SEO-optimized copy, seamlessly integrating keywords and NLP entities.
- Multilingual Support: Supports content creation in over 25 languages, making it ideal for global outreach.
- Grammar Checker: The integrated Grammarly tool ensures the content is grammatically accurate.
- Jasper Chat: A human-like AI conversation tool that can help enhance user engagement and SEO.
Jasper AI Pricing
Jasper AI’s pricing works as follows:
- The “Creator” plan: At $49 per month, this plan gives you unlimited AI content generation for 1 brand voice and 1 campaign.
- The “Teams” plan: This plan is ideal for small teams offering unlimited content generation for 3 brand voices and up to 10 campaigns.
- The “Business” plan: Larger companies can opt for this customizable plan offering unlimited brand voices, campaigns, and more at an agreed price.
What We Like About Jasper AI
- Efficient SEO Content Writer: Helps beat the clock and writer’s block.
- Quality Output: Engaging, high-quality AI-generated content.
- SEO Integration: Simplifies SEO optimization.
What We Don’t Like About Jasper AI
- Lacks a Human Touch: You may miss out on the subtleties of human writing.
- Requires Editing: Content may need fine-tuning to match your brand voice.
- Can Be Costly: It could be expensive for small businesses and individuals needing a high content volume.
5. SE Ranking
Best for backlink and rank tracking.
Why We Recommend SE Ranking
SE Ranking’s potent blend of comprehensive SEO features and customizable pricing makes it a trusty companion on your SEO journey. Whether you’re just stepping into the SEO world or scaling up, SE Ranking is worth the shot.
What is SE Ranking?
SE Ranking is an SEO all-rounder, providing a comprehensive view of your website’s SEO standing. This DIY SEO software offers a rich set of features like backlink monitoring, keyword clustering, and competitor analysis. And SE Ranking helps you stay atop the SEO game, regardless of the size of your business.
Key SE Ranking Features
- Backlink Monitoring: Assesses the quality of your website’s backlinks, aiding in developing a solid link profile.
- On-Page SEO Checks: Ensures your website adheres to SEO best practices, resulting in optimized website performance.
- Keyword Ranking Tracking: Monitors your website’s position in search engine results, providing valuable insights for keyword strategy.
- Lead Generation: Captures and nurtures potential customers, fueling your sales funnel.
- Keyword Clustering: Organizes and optimizes your keyword strategy, enhancing your website’s relevancy and rankings.
- Competitor Analysis: Provides critical insights into your competitors’ SEO strategies, enabling strategic decision-making.
SE Ranking Pricing
SE Ranking offers the following plans for their DIY search engine optimization tool:
- The “Essential” plan: Perfect for freelancers and individuals, this plan is priced at $39 per month. And it comes with a minimum of 250 daily keyword checks in up to 5 locations.
- The “Pro” plan: This plan starts at $89 per month and offers 1,000 keyword checks per day across unlimited projects. It’s ideal for agencies and small teams.
- The “Business” plan: This plan allows for 2,500 keyword checks per day at $189 per month for slightly bigger businesses.
While the above pricing is a great starting point, knowing that each plan is customizable is helpful.
Requirements for rank tracking, website audits, on-page checking, SERP analysis, content marketing, and more can be customized at a cost. As such, SE Ranking lets you tailor the solution to align with your unique needs.
What We Like About SE Ranking
- All-in-One Solution: Offers a rich suite of SEO tools in one place.
- Competitor Analysis: Gives you a strategic edge.
- Customizable Plans: Tailor the tool’s features to your needs.
What We Don’t Like About SE Ranking
- Steep Learning Curve: Mastering all the available features might take some time.
- Limited Free Trial: Its 14-day trial may not be enough to explore all the features.
6. Mangools
Best user-friendly, cost-effective keyword finder.
Why We Recommend Mangools
Mangools brings an arsenal of SEO weapons to your fingertips. It promises competitive analysis and actionable insights wrapped up in a user-friendly interface. Ideal for local businesses and SEO pros, this tool simplifies SEO, making it more impactful.
What is Mangools?
Mangools excels in keyword research but is more than a one-trick pony. It streamlines SEO tasks like backlink tracking and keyword viability assessment. And its analytical capabilities guide you in optimizing your site. The Mangools Academy adds educational resources to the mix, amplifying your SEO prowess.
Key Mangools Features
- Keyword Finder: This tool empowers users to perform efficient keyword research. It delivers vital data on search volumes and competition levels, which is essential for selecting high-impact keywords.
- SERP Checker: This feature lets you analyze the Search Engine Result Pages (SERP) of your targeted keywords. As such, it provides insights into competition levels and search intent.
- SERP Watcher: An effective rank tracker, this tool helps monitor your website’s performance in search engine rankings. And it allows you to gauge the efficacy of your SEO efforts.
- Link Miner: This backlink checker allows you to manage and evaluate the quality of your website’s backlinks. A crucial metric for maintaining domain authority.
- SiteProfiler: This feature offers comprehensive data about your website, including its authority, backlink profile, and competitive standing.
- Mangools Browser Extension: A handy tool allowing immediate SEO metrics examination while browsing.
- Mangools API: Offers developers a way to integrate Mangools’ features into other applications.
- 10 Days Free Trial: A generous offer allowing potential users to test the platform’s functionality before committing to a plan.
Mangools Pricing
Mangools offers three core plan options for various needs, as follows:
- The “Mangools Basic” plan: For $49 per month, you’ll get 100 daily keyword lookups, 25 competitor keywords per search, and 200 daily tracked keywords.
- The “Mangools Premium” plan: 500 keyword lookups and 700 tracked keywords per day, and an unlimited number of competitor keywords per search, will cost $69 per month.
- The “Mangools Agency” plan: At $129 per month, you can track 1,500 and look up 1,200 keywords daily with unlimited competitor keywords per search.
What We Like About Mangools
- All-in-One DIY SEO software: Versatile tools for comprehensive SEO
- Easy to Use: Intuitive UI makes it beginner-friendly
- Optimize for Local: Strong local SEO capabilities
- Upskill Opportunities: Informative resources via Mangools Academy
- Better Free Trial Period: 10-day free trial available
What We Don’t Like About Mangools
- Limited Keyword Lookups: Basic plan limits keyword lookups to 100 per day
- Restricted Functionality with Free Trial: Certain features are limited during the free trial
7. LowFruits
Best for discovering low-competition keywords.
Why We Recommend LowFruits
LowFruits serves up a platter of speed, simplicity, and in-depth SERP analysis. If you’re seeking an SEO tool that delivers actionable insights without the fluff, LowFruits is your pick.
What is LowFruits?
Fast and accurate, LowFruits dissects SERPs to uncover critical SEO factors for any URL you input. Along with a comprehensive analysis, its comparative tool helps you measure your page against competitors, equipping you for SEO success.
Key LowFruits Features
- Keyword Idea Generation: This feature aids in brainstorming potential keywords for your content, a vital step in enhancing SEO.
- Rapid SERP Analysis: It quickly analyzes vital SEO ranking factors for a specific page, providing invaluable insights.
- Keyword Clustering: This tool groups related keywords together, facilitating the creation of highly focused and relevant content.
- Competitor Analysis: It allows users to gain an understanding of their competition’s SEO strategy, offering valuable insights for improvement.
- Wildcard Searches: This feature enables users to search for keywords with certain variables, offering broader results and potentially untapped opportunities.
LowFruits Pricing
LowFruits operates on a credit-based transaction model and offers pay-as-you-go options in the following tiers:
- 2000 Credits: $25
- 5000 Credits: $60
- 10,000 Credits: $100
- 50,000 Credits: $250
But this do-it-yourself SEO software also offers users two subscription plans, which are:
- The “Standard” plan: To get 3000 credits per month with additional subscription-only features, you’ll pay $29.90 per month.
- The “Premium” plan: For $79.90 monthly, you receive 10,000 monthly credits, including all the subscription-only bells and whistles.
What We Like About LowFruits
- Great UX: User-friendly, clean design
- Comprehensive Research: Fast, in-depth SERP analysis and more
- Flexible Pricing: Helpful pay-as-you-go option available
- Comparative Analysis: A critical feature for performance insights
What We Don’t Like About LowFruits
- Not Ideal for Large Organizations: Credit limitations may restrict larger projects and campaigns
- No Free Trial: Lack of a free trial to test the platform
DIY SEO Tools: What Are They?
DIY SEO software tools, or do-it-yourself SEO tools, are your digital partners in crime. And they are instrumental in giving your online visibility a boost. In fact, they’ve grown to be paramount to improving SEO for just about everyone, from individuals to large enterprises.
These tools are engineered to serve up a spectrum of features that work as one to optimize your website content at a superior level. Some of these core features include:
- Keyword Research
- Competitor Analysis
- Technical SEO Audits
- Rank Tracking
- Backlink Analysis
- On-Page SEO Analysis
- User-friendly Dashboard
- Reporting and Analytics
- Content Optimization
- Mobile SEO
- Page Speed Analysis
- Internal Link Analysis
- Local SEO
- Image SEO
The dawn of DIY SEO software brought about a game-changing age in SEO. These tools offer a host of benefits whether you’re an SEO maestro seeking in-depth insights or a newbie looking to boost your blog’s SERP ranking. They offer an expansive set of features providing a clear route to successful SEO strategies and reinforcing business growth.
How to Choose the Best DIY SEO Software
The DIY SEO software stratosphere might seem overwhelming with its smorgasbord of choices. But with an organized approach, you can navigate this tapestry of tools and find the one that fits your needs like a glove.
Therefore, when selecting the best DIY SEO tools, you should reflect on the following approach:
1. Understand Your SEO Needs
Your search for the supreme SEO tool should start with an introspection of your SEO needs. Perhaps you’re a blogger eager to funnel organic traffic to your site. Or maybe you’re an e-commerce entrepreneur trying to leapfrog the competition. Clearly defining your SEO goals paves the way for a focused and fruitful search.
2. Set a Budget
In the dominion of SEO tools, price tags vary considerably, and it’s tempting to think the costliest ones are the best. But that’s a myth. The best tool for you is the one that delivers the most value and ROI. And that’s not necessarily the most expensive one. Set a budget that aligns with the value you intend to receive from the tool.
3. Assess the Tool’s Ease of Use
The fundamental principle of DIY is that you should be able to do it yourself. Therefore, the usability of your chosen SEO tool is vital. Is the user interface friendly? Can you access and comprehend the data quickly? Tools offering trial versions or demos offer a peek into the feel of the UX before you commit.
4. Does it Offer Customer Support and Learning Resources?
Irrespective of how user-friendly an SEO tool is, you’ll likely still need help at some point. Pay specific attention to the level of customer support. And check to see whether there are learning resources like tutorials, webinars, or knowledge databases available. These resources become your lifelines when you need support or want to increase your SEO knowledge.
5. Check Customer Reviews and Testimonials
Dig into what other users are saying about your chosen SEO tool. Seek out reviews from customers who are on a similar SEO journey. And take note of recurring praises or complaints to gain an understanding of the tool’s strengths and potential drawbacks.
The Key Features of Good Do-It-Yourself SEO Software
Navigating the sea of DIY SEO software can be less daunting when you know what to look for. Here are some indispensable features that a top-notch DIY SEO tool should boast:
Keyword Research
Your tool should offer potent keyword research capabilities. It should help you discover high-traffic keywords that resonate with your niche. And it should provide long-tail keyword suggestions.
Competitor Analysis
The tool should empower you to scrutinize your competitors’ strategies, including keyword usage, backlink profile, and content strategy. Understanding their game can help you level up your own SEO moves.
Technical SEO Audit
Your tool should be adept at conducting a comprehensive website audit to spot SEO weaknesses. These could include broken links and slow loading times to incorrect meta tag use and sitemap issues.
Rank Tracking
The tool should allow you to monitor your website’s position in search engine rankings for different keywords. As such, providing you with insights into the effectiveness of your SEO strategies over time is a must.
Backlink Analysis
Considering the importance of backlinks for search engines, your SEO tool should assist with inspecting the quality of your backlinks. And it should help you recognize other high-quality backlink possibilities.
On-Page SEO Analysis
The ideal SEO tool ought to offer a deep dive into your on-page SEO elements. And, in doing so, present actionable suggestions for enhancement.
User-friendly Dashboard
The SEO tool’s dashboard should be clean and intuitive. Its layout should allow for smooth navigation through its features and easy access to crucial data.
Reporting and Analytics
The tool should yield detailed, clear reports that shine a spotlight on your SEO performance. And it must facilitate the identification of areas that need to be improved.
Conclusion
While do-it-yourself SEO tools offer an assortment of remarkable features, bear in mind that SEO is a long game, not a quick win. It encompasses consistently optimizing, measuring, learning, and tweaking your approach to stay ahead in your industry.
Employing the help of an excellent SEO tool is vital to the process. But it simply can’t replace the human touch, your expertise, and your passion. As such, keeping your audience top-of-mind by ensuring your content is engaging and valuable to them.