Do I need a paid SEO tool?

Not to start. Search Console, autocomplete, the results page, your rivals' sitemaps and Bing Webmaster Tools give a product site its first year of research for nothing. A suite adds volume estimates, the ranked keywords of any domain and rank history; it is worth it when those are the questions you are asking.

How many links does a new site need to rank?

There is no number. Links decide the competitive searches, and a new site wins the ones with little competition first: long queries, questions, the searches its rivals ignore. Referring domains from real sites, a few dozen over a year, is what a small site earns, and enough to move.

Was my traffic drop a core update?

Check the dates against Google's Search Status Dashboard and whether the drop is site-wide or on a few pages. A core update drops many pages at once on its dates; a page-level fall on other dates is the page or the results page. Google's advice after a core update is to reassess the content, not to fix a technical fault.

Should I disavow bad links?

Almost never. Google says its systems ignore most bad links and that the disavow tool is for a manual action for link spam or a paid-link history you cannot remove. A toxicity score from a tool is the tool's, not Google's.

Rivals, keywords and links: the research a founder can do alone

Before a page is written, somebody decides which search it answers and who holds that search today. These guides are that research: the keywords, the rivals, the links, done with free data first and a paid tool only where it adds something, and what to do when Google moves the ground.

By Théophile Louvart, founder of Porteur · Updated 14 September 2026 · Markdown

The research is a list of pages, not a list of words

Keyword research ends in pages: each with the cluster of searches it answers, the intent the results page assigned, a size, and an order of work. The words come from five free sources that are enough for a product site: Search Console's own queries, Google's autocomplete and the People also ask box, the results page itself, the sitemaps and title tags of your rivals, and Bing Webmaster Tools' volumes. A paid suite adds estimates of volume and difficulty and the ranked keywords of any domain; it does not add truth about your own site.

Volume is an estimate averaged over twelve months for one market, made from Google Ads data and panels, and two tools disagree on it. It ranks pages against each other; it does not forecast clicks, especially where an AI Overview or a featured snippet takes them. Difficulty is a tool's reading of the links of the top results; it says nothing about whether a page of yours fits the intent, which is what decides most rankings on a small site.

For a SaaS the families that matter are six: the category name and its best-of lists, the alternatives and versus searches, the jobs the product does, the integrations, the pricing and comparison pages of the rivals, and the product's own name. The keyword research guides walk them in that order.

What the rivals hold, and how to read it

A rival's sitemap is their whole content plan in one file: the families, the templates, the scale, and from lastmod what they still maintain. Their title tags say which searches they target. A keyword gap, by hand or with a tool, is the list of searches they rank on and you do not, and the guide on it says which of those to take and which to ignore because the page behind them is not one you should write.

The mistake to avoid is copying a rival's page list. Their pages earn for their product; the question is which searches your product answers better, and the gap is only where to look.

Links a small site can earn

Links still decide most of the ranking on competitive searches, and a new site has none. The routes that work at small scale are the ones the guides describe: the sites that link to two of your closest rivals and not to you, which have a reason to link to you too; the links you already earned that point at pages now gone, recovered with a redirect; the listings, launch sites and communities that carry a link with a real audience behind it; and the free tools and original figures that earn links without asking. Referring domains, the count of distinct sites that link, is the number that moves; the total of backlinks is not.

What does not work, and what Google's spam policies name: bought links that pass ranking, link farms, private blog networks, large exchanges. The disavow tool exists for a site with a manual action for links, and Google says most sites never need it; toxic backlinks is a tool vendor's word, not Google's.

When Google moves the ground

A core update is a broad change to the ranking systems, announced on the Search Status Dashboard with a start and an end, several times a year. Google's guidance for a site that dropped is that there is nothing to fix, the systems reassessed the content, and the questions to work through are about quality, originality and usefulness; recovery often waits for a later update. A spam update enforces the policies: cloaking, doorway pages, scaled content, link spam, site reputation abuse, expired domains. A manual action is a human decision, listed in Search Console with its type, lifted after a fix and a reconsideration request.

The guides on each say how to tell which one happened (the dates against the dashboard, site-wide against page-level), what to do, and what not to do: mass rewrites, disavows on a tool's say-so, and deleting pages that were never the problem.

The order to read the guides

First: keyword research without a paid tool, keyword intent, keyword search volume, keyword difficulty. They set what the numbers mean.
Then the rivals: analyse a competitor's keywords, competitor keyword analysis by hand, keyword gap analysis, read a rival's sitemap, keyword research for a SaaS, autocomplete.
Then the links: how to get backlinks for a small site, the backlink gap, broken backlinks, referring domains.
Then the updates and the policies: the core update, the spam update, the disavow tool, toxic backlinks.

Where the free check fits

The free check does the first pass of this research for you: the rivals that take the most of your searches, the queries you already rank on, and the sites that link to your two closest rivals and not to you. The report does the whole of it: every query the site ranks on and every rival on those queries with positions and demand, the searches within reach, the families the rivals hold, the link gap with the page each site links from, and the pages to write first, as briefs. The free tools on the results page, volumes and ideas run one search at a time for a signed-in account.

The guides, in the order to read them

42 guides on the theme, each on one question, each ending in your own figures.

Keyword research without a paid tool: five free sources that are enoughGuide
Do keyword research for free with Search Console, Google’s own pages, rivals’ sites and Bing volumes. A simple method, a worked example, clear steps.
Keyword intent: read it from the results page, then match the pageGuide
Learn the four intent types, read intent from the results page, map each query to the right page, avoid mismatch, and see six worked mappings.
Keyword search volume: where the number comes from and how far to trust itGuide
What search volume really is, how tools make the number, where it misleads, and how to use it to rank pages against each other, not as a forecast.
Keyword difficulty: what the number means and when to ignore itGuide
Treat keyword difficulty as a links proxy, not a gatekeeper. Learn when the score helps, when it misleads, and how to read the results page yourself.
How to analyse a competitor’s keywords, with and without a toolGuide
A fast way to find competitor keywords you can win: read their sitemap and titles, then confirm gaps with a tool and pick only queries you can match.
Competitor keyword analysis by hand, with free dataGuide
Choose the right rivals, read their sitemaps, pull free keyword clues, find the gaps, and turn them into pages you can ship this week.
Keyword gap analysis: the searches your rivals hold and you do notGuide
See how to find rivals’ search traffic you could win, filter it to your product, group it into pages, and turn gaps into briefs you can ship.
Read a rival’s sitemap: their whole content plan in one fileGuide
Open a rival’s sitemap, spot their page families, see what they update, and turn it into a list of pages you can build and win.
Keyword research for a SaaS: the six families that matterGuide
The six keyword families that drive SaaS signups, how to find and size each, what to build first on a new product, with a worked example.
Keyword research with Google autocomplete: the method and its limitsGuide
Use Google autocomplete to find real queries, sort by intent, and turn them into pages. Learn the letter-by-letter method, switches, and the limits.
How to get backlinks for a small product siteGuide
What to build, who to ask and how to measure. A founder’s plan to earn backlinks without spam or spend, with examples and a checklist.
Backlink gap: the sites that link to your rivals and not to youGuide
Find the sites that link to rivals and not to you. Read the page, make the ask, and track new links. A practical backlink gap workflow.
Broken backlinks: the links you are losing to pages that are goneGuide
Links point to deleted pages, wasting authority. Learn how to find broken backlinks, map redirects, when to restore pages, and what not to redirect.
Referring domains: what the count means and what moves itGuide
Learn what referring domains are, how they differ from backlinks, why breadth beats volume, how tools count them, and what actually moves the number.
A Google core update hit your site: what it means and what to doGuide
Dropped after a Google core update? Check the dates, rule out spam or manual actions, and work a focused content plan. Here is how recovery happens.
Google spam updates: the policies they enforce and how to stay clearGuide
See what a Google spam update enforces, the policies that trip small product sites, how to check your risk, and how to recover if you’re hit.
The disavow tool: what it is for, and why you almost never need itGuide
You almost never need the Google disavow tool. Use it only for a link manual action or unremovable paid links. Here is how to decide and proceed.
Toxic backlinks: a tool’s word, and what Google actually saysGuide
What tools mean by toxic backlinks, what Google says, when you have a real problem, and what to do instead of a rushed disavow.
Anchor text: what you control, what you do not, and what to do about itGuide
Internal anchors are yours to write and most sites waste them. External anchors are not yours at all. What to do about each, and the pattern to avoid.
The best backlink checkers: your links, a rival’s, and the gapGuide
Pick a backlink checker you can trust, see what the scores really mean, and turn a rival’s links into a shortlist you can win next.
The best free SEO tools in 2026, by the job they doGuide
The free SEO stack that works in 2026: what “free” really means, the right tool for each job, and what you still miss without a paid suite.
The best keyword research tools, free and paid, by what you needGuide
Choose a keyword research tool by what you need: free ways first, beginner picks, full suites, question tools, and a no‑tool method that still works.
The best rank trackers, and when Search Console is enoughGuide
See when Search Console covers you, what rank trackers add, how to choose one, and how to read daily movements without chasing noise.
The best SEO audit tools, and which one a founder needsGuide
Audit tools crawl and flag issues. An audit is judgement. See the tool types, when to use each, and a fast path for a founder on a small site.
The best SEO tools for a small business: the free set plus oneGuide
The free stack that covers most needs, the one paid tool to add, what to skip, and a one hour a month routine for a small site.
The best SEO tools for a SaaS, by the jobGuide
Pick the right SEO tool for each SaaS job: research, crawl, backlinks, speed, reporting and AI visibility. Suites or a report, with clear criteria.
The best SEO tools for a startup: a stack for one founderGuide
The startup SEO tool stack by stage: free set before traffic, add a crawler and rank view when clicks start, then one suite when you are growing.
Broken link building: find a dead page, write the replacement, tell the sitesGuide
Find a dead page other sites still link to, write the page that replaces it, and tell them. The five steps, the tools for each, and the email.
Cheap SEO tools: what a small site can do for free, and when paying makes senseGuide
Cheap SEO tools sorted by the job: what a small site can do for free, what free cannot tell you, and three ways to pay less for the rest.
Competitor backlink analysis: turn a rival’s links into your listGuide
How to read a rival's referring domains, the four kinds you find, which you can realistically earn, and how to turn the export into ten emails.
Digital PR for a small product: the study, not the pitchGuide
Journalists link to figures, not to products. What a small product can measure, how to publish it so it can be cited, and how to reach the right writers.
Free tools as link magnets: why a calculator outranks a blog postGuide
Pages that explain a thing link to the tool that does it. How to pick a tool worth building, publish it properly, and keep it alive once it earns links.
Guest posting in 2026: when it is worth it and when it is link spamGuide
What Google's policy says about article campaigns, how to tell a real publication from a placement, how to choose a site, and the rel attributes to use.
How to get your first ten backlinksGuide
Ten places a brand new product can earn a link in its first week, in order of effort, with what each one is actually worth and where to go deeper.
Link exchanges: what Google says, and what people actually doGuide
Reciprocal links are not banned. Excessive exchanges are. Where the line sits, the patterns that get neutralised, and the safer version of the same idea.
Link velocity: the metric people worry about and Google does not publishGuide
Why a natural link profile is bursty, what Google has said about judging links rather than their pace, and the one kind of spike worth investigating.
Original research: the one thing a small product can publish that earns links for yearsGuide
The data your product already holds, how to aggregate it safely, the shape of a study page that gets cited, and the yearly update that keeps the links.
Podcasts, interviews and communities: the mentions that compoundGuide
A founder's voice earns mentions a company page cannot. How to find shows worth the hour, what to say so people can find you after, and what it leaves.
Resource page link building, done without being a nuisanceGuide
Resource pages exist to list useful things. Here is how to find the ones in your category, what to send, who to send it to, and how to be worth adding.
Competitor research for a founder: one afternoon, no subscriptionGuide
Find who actually beats you in search, read their sitemaps, titles and links with free tools, and finish with a one-page plan you will act on.
The outreach email that gets a replyGuide
One paragraph, sent to the person who wrote the page, about their page. The template, the openings that get deleted, and the single follow-up.
Unlinked mentions: the easiest link you will ever earnGuide
Someone wrote your product name without linking it. Here is how to find every mention, decide which are worth an email, and write the three-sentence ask.

The free tools

Each checks one thing on one page or one site, without an account, and says what it found in words.

SERP checkerFree tool
Type a search and see the results page as Google draws it now in six markets: the top ten sites, the People also ask questions, and who the AI Overview cites.
Keyword volume checkerFree tool
Paste up to twenty search terms and get the monthly searches for each in one of six markets, sorted, totalled, and ready to copy as CSV. No account, no card.
Keyword ideas finderFree tool
Type one term and get up to fifty longer searches that contain it, with monthly demand, difficulty and intent, and a reading of the pattern.
Backlink checkerFree tool
Type a domain and see how many sites link to it, how many only with nofollow, the spam score, and the twelve strongest linking domains. Free, no account.
Broken link checkerFree tool
Every link on one page, up to 150, fetched eight at a time: the ones that 404 with the words they carry, the ones that redirect and where to, as a list.

The words

What each term means for a small site, and what to do about it.

Keyword researchGlossary
Keyword research is finding real searches, reading intent, and turning them into a plan of pages with an order of work for a small site.
Search volumeGlossary
Search volume is a provider’s monthly estimate of how often a query is searched, and you use it to compare keywords, not to forecast traffic.
Keyword difficultyGlossary
Keyword difficulty is a tool’s estimate of how hard page-one is. Here is how to read it, when to ignore it and what to do on a small site.
Long-tail keywordGlossary
Long-tail keywords are longer, specific searches. Here is why they matter, how to find yours in Search Console, and what to do on your pages.
Keyword clusteringGlossary
Keyword clustering groups queries that one page should answer. Use results-page overlap to form clusters, then build one strong page for each.
Content gapGlossary
A content gap is a searched topic your rivals cover and you do not. See how to find gaps, choose the pages to ship, and track results.
Link gapGlossary
Link gap means sites that link to your rivals but not to you. Here is why it matters, how to find it, and how to turn it into links.
BacklinkGlossary
A backlink is a link from another site to yours. See what counts, how to check links, dofollow vs nofollow, and what a small site can expect.
Referring domainGlossary
A referring domain is a unique site that links to yours. Here is why the count matters more than backlink totals, how to check it, and what to do.
Domain ratingGlossary
Domain rating is a tool’s score of your link profile. See how DR, DA and Authority Score differ, how to check yours, and what to do next.
Domain AuthorityGlossary
Domain Authority is Moz’s 1 to 100 score from links. Here is how it works, what Google says about it, how to read it, and how to use it well.
PageRankGlossary
PageRank is Google’s 1998 link-based importance signal. The toolbar score is gone. Here is how to read its effects now and route link value on your site.
Nofollow linkGlossary
What a nofollow link is, what changed in 2019, how to check rel values, when to use nofollow, sponsored or ugc, and the traps to avoid.
Anchor textGlossary
Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link. Use clear, specific anchors to help users and search engines understand your pages.
Link farmGlossary
A link farm is a network of sites that sell or swap links to pass ranking. Here is why it harms small sites, how to spot it, and what to do.
Private blog networkGlossary
What a private blog network is, why Google treats it as link spam, how to spot PBN links, what to do if you bought them, and the traps to avoid.
Google sandboxGlossary
The Google sandbox is the belief new sites are held back in search. What Google says, how to judge your case, and what to ship while you wait.

Questions

Check my site, free

Paste your URL and the check names the rivals that take your searches, the queries you already rank on, and the sites that link to your rivals and not to you, in about thirty seconds.

Free check, no card
Read-only, your own accounts
Readable by your agent