6 Best SEO Tools for Small Business [Free & Premium]

Did you know that 95% of search traffic goes to the first page? As a small business owner, reaching the zero position is a dream. That’s where the best SEO tools for small businesses come in.

However, with so many choices, it becomes challenging to pick a single one. We’ve carefully tested and compared over 32 tools and picked the top 6 best SEO tools to help your small business grow.

Article Shortcuts: 

• Top 6 SEO Tools for Small Businesses to Grow Your Business
  
  1. Agency Handy
  2. Ahrefs
  3. Google Search Console
  4. Moz Pro
  5. SEMrush
  6. Yoast SEO
• Key Features to Look for in SEO Tools in Small Business
• Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ]

Quick List of Top SEO Tools for Small Business

1. Agency Handy: Best for managing small to large SEO businesses, from client onboarding to receiving payments. 
2. Ahrefs: Ideal for businesses to increase search rankings with deep keyword and backlink data.
3. Google Search Console: Great for SEOs wanting clear insights to fix issues and grow visibility.
4. Moz Pro: Best for businesses looking to track rankings and refine their SEO strategy.
5. SEMrush: Perfect for those needing an all-in-one keyword research and competitor analysis platform.
6. Yoast SEO: Ideal for SEOs who want to optimize WordPress pages for better search rankings easily.

Best SEO Tools for Small Business: Quick Comparison Table

Let’s quickly compare the best SEO tools to manage your business and improve your website’s ranking. 

Top 6 SEO Tools for Small Businesses to Grow Your Business

Though you have a quick idea of each tool, it’s time to get into details. But we’ve shortlisted these tools based on how you can manage your small SEO agency, audit SEO services, and rank your business. Let’s get into it.

1. Agency Handy

Agency Handy is designed to be the best SEO client management tool for businesses. It is an all-in-one platform that allows you to onboard SEO projects, manage clients, and get paid.

For starters, if you don’t have clients yet and are still managing leads, you can manage the whole pipeline with Agency Handy. 

With the platform, you can create and categorize SEO services with up to 3 packages. Set a trial period, group multiple services into one service, hide specific services or pricing for clients—customization flexibility at its core. Once you’re done listing, share it on social media or embed it on your website.

For client and order info, you can customize intake forms for each service and get all the details in one go. Plus, you get the chance to upsell more services, either one-time or subscription. 

Besides, invoicing is as easy as you can imagine. For each direct order, you’ll get an automated invoice. Other than that, you can do white label invoices against each order. 

• Key SEO Features of Agency Handy

With Agency Handy, you can manage your SEO tasks better, work faster, and see better results. Here are the features that make the most sense to grow your business:

White-Label Customization

Nothing is more enjoyable than white labeling your business, and Agency Handy gives you that opportunity. You can customize the logo, sign-in portal, custom domains, and workspace appearance. 

Leads and Client Management

Keeping track of client relationships is effortless now. With everything stored in one place, you’ll always know where things stand. Whether it’s leads or clients, you can manage all of them within the platform.

Multi Package Service Catalog

In Agency Handy, you can list unlimited services with up to three packages. Each package lets you set deliverables, price ranges, and descriptions that fit your services.

You can even offer trial periods or hide certain services and pricing from specific clients. Once your catalog is ready, share it on social media or embed it on your website for easy access.

Customizable Forms

To onboard clients with the right details, you get both intake and order forms.

The intake form helps you gather client details at the outset. While the order form has similar functionality, you can upsell or share add-ons related to the services to increase sales. 

Order and Task Management

Once you have an order, you can either set default tasks from the services or create them manually for each order. You can also break the order into smaller tasks to manage the whole journey on the Kanban board. This will help you easily identify where the dependency is. 

Client and Team Collaboration

SEO projects rely on complete, transparent communication and collaboration.

When everyone works together, whether on a team or with clients, Agency Handy lets you collaborate with both individuals in each task for quick communication. 

File Feedback and Version Control

With Agency Handy, managing feedback is simple and effective. Clients can directly share feedback on files, including PDFs, videos, images, and websites.

You can follow up on the annotations for accurate revisions and upload new versions of the revised files. 

Invoicing & Subscription 

Manage one-time or recurring billings easily in one place with Agency Handy.

Each purchase generates an automatic invoice, and the status updates automatically. You can set default or custom payment reminders and accept PayPal, Stripe, Wise, or manual banking.

• Pros of Agency Handy

• • Manage SEO tasks, projects, and client chats in one place, saving time.
  • Custom branding keeps your business looking the same across all SEO work.
  • Collect client feedback and approvals easily, speeding up the process.
  • Organize SEO tasks and make sure everything is done on time.
  • Flexible pricing plans make SEO tools affordable for small businesses.

• Cons of Agency Handy

• • The lack of a reseller program.

• Agency Handy Pricing

2. Ahrefs

Founded in 2011, Ahrefs has grown into a comprehensive SEO tool that offers keyword research, site audits, backlink analysis, competitor insights, and more—all on one platform.

Over 50K companies worldwide use Ahrefs as their go-to SEO-SEM tool. However, one feature we found worth the money was the Site Audit tool, which scans websites for technical issues that can hinder SEO performance.

• Key SEO Features of Ahrefs

Ahrefs offers easy-to-use SEO tools that can help small businesses improve their online presence and grow. Here's how these tools can help you:

• • Site Explorer Dashboard 2.0: Get a clear view of your site's traffic, backlinks, and top pages. This tool shows what works well and highlights areas that need attention. 
  • Data Comparison Mode: Compare your SEO performance with competitors' to identify gaps and improve. This model shows how your traffic, backlinks, and  keywords compare.  
  • Website Structure Analysis Report: Identify and fix broken links or missing pages to boost visibility. This tool helps you see your site the way search engines do.
  • Advanced Backlink Filtering: For better SEO, focus on quality backlinks and remove harmful ones. The filter lets you analyze links by relevance and authority. 
  • Instant Keyword Grouping: Organize keywords into categories to target content effectively. Grouping saves time and helps you create relevant, audience-focused content. 
  • Comprehensive Technical SEO Audit Tool: Detect and fix issues like slow speeds or crawl errors to rank higher. It identifies problems affecting your site’s performance.

• Pros of Ahrefs

• • Extensive backlink index for comprehensive SEO analysis.
  • Powerful keyword research tools with detailed insights.
  • Effective competitor analysis to guide SEO strategies.
  • User-friendly and intuitive interface.
  • Regular updates ensure fresh and relevant data.

• Cons of Ahrefs

• • No free trial for new users to test features.
  • Limited reporting capabilities on lower-tier plans.

• Ahrefs Pricing

3. Google Search Console

GSC shows how your website has performed in Google search over the past 16 months. It tracks clicks, impressions, click-through rates (CTR), and ranking positions.

A key feature of Google Search Console is the Index Coverage report. This report shows which pages Google has indexed and highlights any issues. Fixing these issues ensures that pages appear correctly in search results.

While GSC is excellent for monitoring search performance and fixing issues, it doesn’t provide detailed keyword research or backlink analysis like tools such as SEMrush or Ahrefs. However, you can’t manage your project without GSC.

• Key SEO Features of Google Search Console

From tracking performance to fixing indexing issues, GSC is a must-have tool for anyone in SEO. 

• • Search Analytics: Track clicks, impressions, and rankings to understand how your site performs in search results. 
  • HTML Improvements: Spot issues like missing titles or duplicate content and get suggestions to fix them. 
  • Sitemaps: Submit your sitemap to help Google index all your important pages. It will also highlight errors so you can fix them and improve your visibility.
  • Backlink Insights: View who links to your site and identify pages with the most links. Focus on building quality backlinks to boost your authority and rankings.
  • Crawlability Check: Detect issues like broken links or blocked resources that prevent Google from crawling your site. 
  • Indexing Fixes: If your pages aren’t being indexed, this feature tells why. It helps you fix problems like “noindex” tags or blocked URLs.

• Pros of Google Search Console

• • Tracks clicks, impressions, CTR, and average positions
  • Identifies and alerts you to crawl issues
  • Easily submit XML sitemaps for better crawling and indexing
  • Highlights mobile usability issues
  • Works with Google Analytics and Ads for comprehensive insights

• Cons of Google Search Console

• • Provides only a filtered set of search data
  • Delays in reporting and no live data updates

• Google Search Console Pricing

Free to use.

4. Moz Pro

Moz Pro is designed for small- to mid-sized businesses and simplifies SEO management. Its intuitive interface helps you handle tasks like keyword research, rank tracking, and site audits without feeling overwhelmed.

You can monitor your search performance across different locations, and the Backlink Analysis tool gives you insights to strengthen your domain authority. 

That said, Moz Pro’s simplicity and clear reports set it apart. Unlike other SEO agency software, it delivers easy-to-understand insights, making it ideal for small businesses or those new to SEO.

• Key SEO Features of Moz Pro

Let’s take a look at the key SEO features of Moz Pro that can help your business grow:

• • Keyword Explorer: Find the best keywords with data on search volume, competition, and difficulty.
  • MozBar is a browser extension that displays key SEO data for any website. With a click, you can check your site’s SEO strength, view competitor stats, and identify areas for improvement.
  • Competitive Research: Competitive Research helps you analyze your competitors' activities. You can track their rankings, backlinks, and keywords.
  • Search Visibility Score: A higher score means your site is more visible in search results, helping you track your SEO progress.
  • Rank Tracker shows how your positions change on different search engines, helping you determine whether your SEO efforts are working and what needs improvement.
  • Site Crawl: Scan for issues like broken links and slow pages with fixes to optimize your site.

• Pros of Moz Pro