Contents
04 All-in-one SEO tools
10 The essential (and free) SEO tool suite
13 SEO article writing tools
17 Keyword research
21 Location-based SEO
24 Popular tools that have gone through AppSumo
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 01
So you want to buy the right SEO tools for
your business
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most powerful strategies in digital
marketing. It’s also one of the hardest to master—especially when you don’t have the
right tools.
Ranking in the top spot for a relevant keyword can mean thousands of passive website
visitors every month.
SEO tools make your journey to that top-ranking spot easier and faster by helping you
with:
Keyword research
Competitor analysis
Technical SEO
Website audits
And much more!
We created The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide to give you a better understanding of
some of the leading tools on the market—so you know exactly which ones you need to
accomplish your goals.
Let’s dive in!
Get clear on your goals
There are hundreds of SEO tools on the market. Tool buying lists like this can feel
overwhelming when you don’t first know what exactly you’re looking for in an SEO tool.
Before you proceed with this guide, answer the following questions to determine which
SEO tools you need.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 02
What are the exact problems you’d like to solve
using an SEO tool?
SEO tools can be used for everything from competitor
research to brand monitoring, from keyword research to
drafting articles. Before you start browsing tools, consider
the challenges you’re facing with SEO. Write down the
biggest pain points. This will keep you focused, so you don’t
overinvest in flashy features you don’t need.
How much are you willing to spend on SEO?
Established companies can easily spend tens of thousands
of dollars per month on SEO. Meanwhile, bootstrapped
founders find opportunities every day to rank using a
completely free tool suite. You can make progress at any
budget, so it’s better to know your limits and preferences
before you begin your tool search.
Where does SEO fit into your overall digital
marketing strategy?
Is SEO one piece of a broad marketing strategy? Maybe you
just need a simple keyword tool. Are you ready to double
down on SEO to outrank all your competitors? Maybe it’s
time to invest in multiple core software to give yourself a
competitive edge. Determine your digital marketing strategy
before shopping SEO tools—so you don’t over- or under-
spend.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 03
Are you more interested in simplicity or
comprehensive features?
People new to SEO may only be able to access a fraction
of the benefits available in the most technical tools.
Meanwhile, simple SEO tools may be too simplistic to
SEOs who need more niche technical knowledge about
their website or keywords. Take an honest look at your
knowledge and experience before you buy.
What’s the size and makeup of your team?
Large in-house teams might have very different needs than
agencies that work with several companies. Small teams
will likely have unique needs as well. Keep the dynamics of
your team in mind as you browse tools.
How much work will be paired with the
SEO tools?
No SEO software will auto-magically help you rank #1 in
search results. Investing in the most robust, expensive tools
won’t get you far without application. Do you have someone
on your team who’s ready to own this side of your business
to justify the tool?
All-in-one
SEO tools
One of the most common tools in an SEO specialist’s toolbelt
is an all-in-one dashboard. Within this category, there are two
primary leaders—SEMrush and Ahrefs—but they’re far from the
only ones.
SEO dashboards share many features in common. They tend to
provide keyword research tools, various website audit functions,
and comprehensive analytics for studying and tracking the SEO
performance of your own website. Let’s discuss some popular
all-in-one dashboards.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 05
SEMrush
Source: SEMrush
Overview
SEMrush is a leading SEO tool. It provides a comprehensive dashboard for analyzing
websites, finding keyword opportunities, and writing optimized pages and articles.
Track the position of your website and perform keyword research to find opportunities
to outrank your competitors. In addition, SEMrush has a content-forward approach to
its services, meaning the tool helps you draft blogs and social media content.
Starting price
$119/month for SEMrush Pro
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 06
Notable features
SEMrush SEO Writing Assistant add-on for Google Docs provides information in real-
time to help you produce optimized articles
Technical SEO audits keep you informed about the search health of your website
Social media scheduling isn’t directly an SEO feature but is helpful to most marketing
teams looking for a well-rounded strategy
Local Listing Management is great for improving the SEO of businesses with multiple
locations
SEO Content Template uses keywords to form an article structure you can follow
based on the top search results for that keyword
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 07
Ahrefs
Source: Ahrefs
Overview
Ahrefs began as a backlink tracking software, and over the years has grown into a full-
fledged SEO dashboard. You can use Ahrefs to audit websites, look for niche keyword
opportunities, and understand the competition around keyword phrases. The backlink
analyzing abilities continue to be some of Ahrefs’ most popular features. From gaining
technical SEO insights to creating high-performing content, Ahrefs is built to cover all
the bases.
Starting price
$99/month for Ahrefs Lite
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 08
Notable features
Domain rating and audits to look for easy SEO wins
Keyword opportunities help you find gaps in what your main competitors are
versus aren’t ranking for
Ahrefs’ SEO Toolbar is a Chrome extension for SEO research without opening
Ahrefs.com
Mentions notifications to see where your brand is being talked about online
Competitor SEO analysis lets you reverse-engineer the SEO strategies of others
in your industry
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 09
KW Finder by Mangools
Source: KW Finder
Overview
KW Finder is a user-friendly, streamlined tool that offers many of the benefits of more
complex tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. As an all-in-one dashboard, you can use KW
Finder to find keywords, look at your website backlink profile, and track your ranking in
SERPs, among other functions. The simple dashboard is also easier to understand at
first glance than its more technical alternatives.
Starting price
$29/month (when paid annually) for Mangools Basic
Notable features
Keyword difficulty lets you build an SEO strategy based on the level of
competition for your target keywords
Backlink analysis lets you see the backlink profile of any website
Siteprofiler gives you an overview of your website, including your best
performing keywords, strongest backlinks, and more
Additional alternatives include Moz Pro and Ubersuggest.
The essential (and free)
SEO tool suite
Google is the #1 search engine, owning a whopping 87% of the
total search market. By extension, Google has more data about
search than any company in the world.
While many Google tools (like the ones below) are free, we
would be remiss to leave it out of any article about SEO. We’ll
cover two core Google SEO tools.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 11
Search Console
Source: Search Console
Overview
Search Console is Google’s performance tracking tool. Configure your website with
Search Console to track impressions, clicks, and your average search ranking. Plus,
Google shows you the terms people searched to find your website.
Core features
URL inspection lets you check if a landing page or article appears in SERPs
Core Web Vitals put your website through mobile and desktop speed tests
to find opportunities for improvement
Performance tracking allows you to see how your website (or individual
pages) has performed over time
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 12
Keyword Planner
Source: Keyword Planner
Overview
Part of the Google advertising tool suite, Keyword Planner provides keyword search
ranges. This allows you to find search opportunities based on real Google data (as
opposed to the estimates other tools use).
Core features
Search volume ranges tell you approximately how many people search that
phrase every month
Keyword suggestions populate automatically when your keyword search is
similar to phrases in a similar category
Keywords can be saved easily when you find good opportunities
Additional recommendations within the Google tool suite include Google Analytics,
Google Trends, and Google Data Studio.
SEO article writing tools
Content is still king.
Writing articles to answer real customer questions and problems
is one of the foundational practices in SEO. But writing any old
article won’t necessarily cut it with Google. Quality counts.
Fortunately, there are several great tools on the market to help
you write clear articles that customers (and Google!) love. Here
are some of those tools.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 14
Clearscope
Source: Clearscope
Overview
Clearscope helps you write heavy-hitting SEO blog posts using a simple formula.
Put your target keyword into Clearscope and the tool provides dozens of necessary
additional keywords to include in your article. It literally gives you live, step-by-step
instructions for writing an article that competes with the best results for that search
term.
Starting price
$170/month for Clearscope Essentials
Core features
The A-F grading system helps you understand the current state of your
article, based on how it compares to other top-ranking articles
Live article grading updates help you write articles within Clearscope,
WordPress (via a plugin), or Google Docs (via an add-on)
Keyword suggestions not only tell you which words to include, but how
many times each word should be included
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 15
Yoast
Source: Yoast
Overview
Yoast is a popular SEO WordPress plugin to help blog writers produce easy-to-read,
search-optimized articles. Using a frown-to-smiley face spectrum, Yoast offers real-
time feedback about your article. Just plug in your target keyword and Yoast will make
suggestions about how to optimize your article.
Starting price
There’s a free version, but the most advanced features like internal link suggestions,
more keyword tools, etc. are available in the Pro version for $89/year
Core features
Simple rating system to determine the SEO health and overall
readability of your blog post
Straightforward recommendations for how to improve and
optimize the article
Previews let you easily edit how your blog will appear in search
results
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 16
Rank Math
Source: Rank Math
Overview
Another WordPress plugin, Rank Math helps you manage your listing and optimize
articles for search. You can analyze your existing website for actionable SEO
improvements, change the way your article appears in SERPs, and detect and fix broken
links.
Starting price
There’s a very limited free version, with a Pro plan starting at $59 per year
Core features
Easy redirect tool helps you fix broken links to avoid 404 pages
Content overviews give you a bird’s-eye view of each article to find new
ranking opportunities
Content audits let you compare your site and individual articles against
your target keywords
Additional alternatives, which have both been featured on AppSumo, include Frase
and MarketMuse.
Keyword research
Real customer language is the foundation of many marketing
best practices. And SEO is no different.
Keyword research is all about finding out what your target
customers or readers are already typing into Google. By knowing
what your readership is searching for, you can create content
that directly answers their queries—and puts you among the top
answers on Google.
Here are a handful of tools to help you find the best keyword
opportunities.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 18
AnswerThePublic
Source: AnswerThePublic
Overview
AnswerThePublic uses keywords to generate questions and phrases that you can use
as points in your article. It’s great for sourcing talking points and headings when you
aren’t sure where to begin.
Starting price
Free for the base features. For more tools and searches, $99 per month.
Core features
Common questions and phrases to spark article and section ideas for
certain keywords
Categories make it easy to browse your keyword to find new article or
heading ideas
Robust keyword information lets you sort keywords by Data or
Visualization to consider the keywords in different contexts
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 19
Keywords Everywhere
Source: Keywords Everywhere
Overview
This tool is a freemium Chrome and Firefox extension that offers keyword suggestions
as you browse the web. The dashboard lets you search specific keywords to find new
opportunities and get insights into the level of competition for a certain search term.
Starting price
Credits-based payment system starting at $10 to search 10,000 keywords
Core features
Chrome and Firefox extensions to provide new keyword ideas in real-time
as you search the web
Keyword upload to view monthly search volume on your target keyword
Domain analysis to see the target keywords for your website
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 20
Exploding Topics
Source: Exploding Topics
Overview
Exploding Topics is a trend-tracking tool that regularly lets you know about growing
trends. The tool, co-founded by SEO expert Brian Dean of Backlinko, uses search trend
data and online mentions to let you know about topics that are growing in demand.
Starting price
There’s a free weekly email containing upcoming trends, with the Pro version
starting at $47 per month
Core features
Emerging company information tells you about booming companies before
they’re popular (“I knew them before they were cool”)
Trend alerts ping you about, well, exploding topics
Trend breakdowns help you understand which topics are growing and why
Location-based SEO
Is your business location-dependent? There are SEO tools and
services to help you rank locally for “near me” searches. Let’s
explore some of our favorites.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 22
Yext
Source: Yext
Overview
Yext is a tool for multi-location businesses that need to optimize for local search.
While its features aren’t limited to SEO, the Yext digital marketing tool suite helps multi-
location companies rank for local “Near me” searches. It’s ideal for restaurants, retail
stores, and other brick-and-mortar businesses.
Starting price
$4/week (paid annually)
Core features
Location-based landing pages let you target specific geographies for “near
me” search
Key business information listed in all the major local directories
Yext analytics to see how different stores are performing in local search
Multi-language features enable you to rank locally for search terms across
languages
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 23
Moz Local
Source: Moz
Overview
Moz actually offers two core products: Moz Local and Moz Pro. (Moz Pro is another
keyword tracking and website ranking dashboard like Ahrefs and SEMrush.)
Moz Local helps businesses appear in local search results by managing local listing
information.
Starting price
$129/year for Moz Local Lite
Core features
Listing management and distribution ensures that you appear in
relevant listings
Review monitoring allows you to respond quickly when poor reviews
show up online
Duplicate listing deletion to avoid confusing customers—or Google
Additional alternatives include Uberall and BrightLocal.
Popular tools that have
gone through AppSumo
AppSumo is the marketplace for software. Our customers are
generous about leaving feedback and reviews when they love
a product. Here are several of the most popular SEO tools,
according to Sumo-ling reviews.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 25
SE Ranking
Source: SE Ranking
Overview
SE Ranking is an SEO dashboard that includes many of the popular features in Ahrefs
or SEMrush. You can get real-time search trend data, look for keyword opportunities,
and track the search performance of your website. It scored dozens of 5-taco reviews
on AppSumo.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 26
Starting price
$31/month for SE Ranking Optimum
Core features
Keyword suggestions help you discover new long- and short-tale
keyword opportunities
Google Analytics integration for real organic search data about how
your website is appearing in Google results
Website comparison to uncover keyword opportunities based on
what your competitors rank for
Simplified UI makes SE Ranking easier to learn than some of the
larger competitors
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 27
Serpstat
Source: Serpstat
Overview
Serpstat is an SEO software suite that evolved from a simple keyword research tool to
a powerful all-in-one SEO and “growth hacking” tool. It reveals competitors and their
tactics, offering suggestions on how to beat them at their own game.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 28
Starting price
$69/month for Serpstat Lite
Core features
Position tracking lets you see how your website ranks over time
Competitor research helps you uncover keyword opportunities that
others have ignored
Keyword research builds your SEO strategy with endless keyword
ideas
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 29
SerpWatch
Source: SerpWatch
Overview
SerpWatch tracks SEO rankings with keyword monitoring and data cross-referencing
that includes revenue, featured snippets, and Google Analytics. SerpWatch connects
seamlessly with Slack so that your team can receive updates without leaving its go-to
messaging tool.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 30
Starting price
$1/month to track 5 keywords per month
Core features
Integrated keyword monitoring with email and Slack notifications,
plus Zapier integration
White-labeled reports with ongoing updates about your SEO
performance
Cross-referenced rankings with featured snippets, Google Analytics,
and revenue reports
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 31
AccuRanker
Source: AccuRanker
Overview
AccuRanker is an SEM and SEO tool that helps users track website rankings through
keyword data. You can use it to manage multiple domains, automate reports (with
custom templates), and integrate with other important tools.
Starting price
$109/month for 1,000 keywords
Core features
Fast, up-to-date keyword rank tracking gives you the latest
information about your website and target keywords
Comprehensive keyword analysis to find ranking opportunities
SERP history shows past performance and helps you find new trends
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 32
Alli AI
Source: Alli AI
Overview
Alli AI helps you optimize your site, build backlinks, scale your outreach, and get more
traffic fast. Get step-by-step instructions on how to optimize your site’s code and
content. The best part is, Alli AI uses artificial intelligence to grow with your business by
continuously optimizing your best keywords.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 33
Starting price
$99/month for Alli AI Hobby, which includes 100 keywords for one domain
Core features
Artificial intelligence continually finds new keyword opportunities for
your website
Code suggestions to optimize technical SEO
One-click approval optimizations for developer-free website updates
based on Alli AI suggestions
Long-tail keyword suggestions for your website
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 34
Copywritely
Source: Copywritely
Overview
Copywritely is an alternative to tools like Yoast or Clearscope, which assist you in
writing articles in real-time based on SEO best practices and keyword data. In other
words, it’s an SEO content tool that helps perfect your copy for both search engines
and readers. The big difference is that Copywritely runs through several checks instead
of just one or two. It helps you optimize for search, grammar, and clarity, as well as to
catch plagiarism.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 35
Starting price
$18/month for Copywritely Personal
Core features
Automatic content proofreading for issues (plagiarism, readability, keyword
stuffing, grammar) before you publish
Competitor data analysis to help you create successful SERP-topping copy
Foundational checks and reports to make sure your content is readable
and search-engine friendly
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 36
Keyword Hero
Source: Keyword Hero
Overview
One of the common challenges of using Google Analytics is that it sometimes limits
the amount of search data you can view. Rather than telling you the exact keyword
someone typed to find your website, for example, Google Analytics will sometimes say
“(not provided).” That’s where Keyword Hero comes in. Keyword Hero lets you see all
of your organic keywords and their specific performance metrics inside your Google
Analytics account.
AppSumo | Top the SERPs: The AppSumo SEO Tool Buyer’s Guide 37
Starting price
Free up to 2,000 sessions, then $9/month for the next tier Big Hero account
Core features
“(not provided)” section in Google Analytics turned into real search results,
so you know what people are searching on Google to find your website
Specific performance metrics to know how often people use certain
keywords to find your website
Buy the best SEO tools
for your business
There are hundreds of SEO tools on the market. In this guide, we
covered some of the heavy hitters—as well as several that have
been popular among Sumo-lings.
At the end of the day, choosing the right SEO tool comes down
to your goals. If you’re a full-time SEO, then getting a leading
all-in-one dashboard like Ahrefs or SEMrush might be your best
investment.
Small business owners looking for low-cost tools to help them
find keywords might want something more accessible like SE
Ranking, Yoast, and the Google Suite.
Haven’t found the tool you’re looking for? AppSumo regularly
features new SEO tools in the store. Browse the latest AppSumo
deals and listings today.
