# The best free SEO tools in 2026, by the job they do You do not need a suite to start. Use the free tools that give you the clearest next change on your own site. Here is what to use, by job, and how to work within the free tiers. Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/guides/best-free-seo-tools ## How we judge “free”, and what free tiers withhold Free means you can use it now with a sign in, no card. A trial that locks when days or credits run out is not the same as free. - Data ownership: can you export your work, or only view it on their site - Coverage: does it show just your site, or the wider web - Sampling: some free reports show samples, not full sets - Freshness: some indexes refresh slower on free access - Scale: caps on URLs crawled, queries shown or locations tested - Support: free tools rarely explain results for you You run a small product. You want the tools that show your own truth first. Then use free web-wide tools when you need a wider view. ## Your own data: Search Console, Bing, GA4 and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools Start here. These show what your real users did, or tried to do, on Google and Bing. Add Ahrefs’ free site tools for a second lens on your own domain. - Google Search Console: free. Queries, pages, impressions, clicks, positions, indexing, sitemaps, Core Web Vitals, enhancements. Pre click. - Bing Webmaster Tools: free. Backlinks, keyword research, IndexNow and site reports. - Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: free for verified sites. Site Audit and Site Explorer on your own site, powered by Ahrefs’ link index and DR. - Google Analytics 4: free. Event based. Sessions, pages, events and conversions. Post click. It will not match Search Console exactly. 1. **Verify your site in Search Console and Bing** Add both www and non www, HTTP and HTTPS if you have them. Submit your XML sitemap. Check the Coverage or Indexing reports weekly. 2. **Read the Performance report** Sort by pages, then queries. On "/pricing", see queries like "yourproduct pricing". If impressions are high and clicks low, fix the title and meta. 3. **Scan indexing issues** Open reports like Crawled, currently not indexed. Click a URL and use URL Inspection to request indexing after a fix. 4. **Run Ahrefs Webmaster Tools on your site** Use Site Audit to catch broken links and slow pages. Use Site Explorer on your domain to see referring domains and top linked pages. 5. **Keep GA4 separate** Build a Landing page report. Track signups from organic. Do not try to reconcile GA4 sessions with Search Console clicks. > Do not paste GA4 numbers into a Search Console slide. They measure different stages and will never line up. A fixed page example: "/guides/getting-started" shows 5,000 impressions, 14 clicks for "getting started with yourproduct". You add clearer H1 and a step list. Next week clicks rise without new content. ## Page speed and Core Web Vitals: the free stack Test in the lab, then confirm with field data. Fix the slowest pages that users see most, not a random score in a tool. - PageSpeed Insights: runs Lighthouse and shows Chrome UX Report field data. - Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools: open locally, change network and CPU, repeat quickly. - WebPageTest: detailed waterfalls and filmstrips, choose locations and devices. - GTmetrix: built on Lighthouse, with waterfalls. Monitoring sits on paid plans. - Chrome DevTools Performance panel: record a real page load and interaction. 1. **Find slow pages with real users** Open PageSpeed Insights with "/pricing". Check field data. If LCP is above 2.5 seconds, scroll to Opportunities for exact files. 2. **Reproduce in Lighthouse** Run Lighthouse in DevTools while throttled. Note the Largest Contentful Paint element. Optimise that image or block first. 3. **Check layout stability** Use the Web Vitals extension. If CLS is above 0.1, set image sizes and reserve space for embeds. 4. **Confirm the fix in field data** Wait one to two weeks. Recheck PageSpeed Insights and the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console. A fixed page looks like this: "/pricing" swaps a hero video for a still image, compresses it, sets width and height, cuts a render blocking script. LCP drops under 2.5 seconds. ## Structured data: check rich result eligibility before you ship You do not need a suite for schema. Test your JSON LD and only use types that match your page. Wrong schema is ignored at best. - Rich Results Test: checks if Google can render and if a page is eligible for rich results. - Schema Markup Validator: validates schema.org syntax without judging eligibility. - Chrome DevTools: view rendered HTML and the Elements panel to confirm the JSON LD is present after hydration. 1. **Pick the right type** On "/pricing" use no FAQ unless there is a visible FAQ. On "/guides/getting-started" add HowTo only if steps are present. 2. **Validate** Paste the URL into the Rich Results Test. Fix missing or malformed fields. Then run the Schema Markup Validator for syntax only. 3. **Ship and monitor** Deploy. Watch the Enhancements and Search appearance reports in Search Console for coverage and clicks. A fixed page: "/guides/getting-started" adds a visible FAQ and valid FAQPage JSON LD. People also ask clicks rise and the snippet is cleaner. ## Keyword research without a paid suite Use your own queries first. Then expand with free sources to find terms you can win. Keep a short list you can actually publish against this month. - Search Console’s queries for the last 28 days. - Google Trends for relative interest over time. - Autocomplete and People also ask on the results page. - Bing Webmaster Tools Keyword Research with volumes. - Keywords Everywhere to add volumes on the results page. - AnswerThePublic for autocomplete wheels of questions and comparisons. - AlsoAsked for People also ask trees by country and language. 1. **Mine your near wins** In Search Console, filter average position between 8 and 20. These striking distance terms are your quick wins with on page fixes and links. 2. **Expand with questions** Put your seed term into AlsoAsked and AnswerThePublic. Group similar questions. Pick three that match your product. 3. **Check seasonality and language** Open Google Trends. If interest spikes, plan the post earlier. If you serve multiple regions, repeat by country in AlsoAsked. 4. **Decide the page type** Look at the top results. If they are how to guides, write a guide. If they are category pages, do not target with a thin post. A fixed plan: yourproduct.com adds "/compare/yourproduct-vs-competitor" after seeing "yourproduct alternative" rise in Search Console and in Trends. It picks features users ask in People also ask and answers them clearly. ## Crawling your site for free You need a crawl to catch broken links, missing titles and redirect chains. A desktop crawler gets you far on a small site. - Screaming Frog SEO Spider: desktop on Windows, macOS and Linux. The free version crawls up to 500 URLs. It produces tables you interpret. - Sitebulb: desktop and cloud. Known for explained audit hints and visual crawl maps. - Lumar and Oncrawl: cloud crawlers suited to large sites and teams. 1. **Run a focused crawl** Point Screaming Frog at your root. Set a crawl limit near your site size. Export 3 reports: Response Codes, Page Titles, Redirect Chains. 2. **Fix what blocks users** Start with 404s linked from live pages. Then fix duplicate or missing titles. Cut chains longer than one hop. 3. **Re crawl and document** Re run the crawl. Note remaining issues. Store the exports for a before and after record. A fixed result: "/blog/old-post" returns 404 and is linked from "/blog". You redirect it to "/blog/new-post" and update the internal link. The next crawl is clean and clicks consolidate. ## Backlinks with free tooling Links still matter. Use free sources to see who links to you and where you have gaps against obvious rivals. Do outreach with a small, focused list. - Search Console Links report: a sample of your own links, free. - Bing Webmaster Tools Backlinks: free, includes a rival comparison view. - Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: Site Explorer on your verified domain, with Domain Rating as a link based score. - Moz Link Explorer and Majestic: established backlink tools. Majestic has Trust Flow, Citation Flow and Topical Trust Flow. These focus on links only. 1. **Pull your link lists** Export top linking domains from Search Console and AWT. In Bing, add a rival domain to compare referring domains. 2. **Spot easy wins** Find brand mentions without links. Find broken links to old URLs. Reach out with the correct target URL ready. 3. **Plan two assets to earn links** For a SaaS, ship "/research/state-of-x" or a useful calculator. For a store, a size guide or a study. Link to these from your navigation. A fixed gap: a blog lists yourproduct without a link. You email the editor with the exact page. They add it. Your referring domains rise by one with real relevance. ## Finding questions people ask Build pages that answer real questions in your buyers’ words. Free tools expose these fast. Then you write short, direct answers high on the page. - AlsoAsked: maps People also ask questions as trees. Good for structure. - AnswerThePublic: autocomplete wheels by questions, prepositions and comparisons. Good for breadth. - People also ask on the results page: manual, fast, fresh. - Search Console: what users asked to find your existing pages. 1. **Pick one seed topic** For example, "yourproduct pricing" or "how to migrate to yourproduct". Use your own brand and your core job to be done. 2. **Map intent and structure** Use AlsoAsked to form H2s. Keep each page to one intent. Move side questions to separate pages to avoid cannibalisation. 3. **Write answer first** Open with a two line answer. Add steps, a screenshot and a signpost to a deeper guide. Keep titles under about 60 characters. A fixed snippet: "/guides/migrate" starts with a two sentence answer to "Can I import from X" and a three step list. It earns a featured snippet for "migrate from X to yourproduct". ## AI visibility, as of 2026 Track if assistants cite you. This is new work, but you can start for free. Do not expect steady traffic yet. Treat it as brand presence. - Manual checks: ask buyer questions on a schedule and note if your brand appears or is cited. - Tools built for this space: Profound, Peec AI, Otterly, Scrunch, Semrush’s AI toolkit, Ahrefs Brand Radar. What to do with a finding: if your guide is quoted, add a summary box, a clean title and a short URL. If a rival is cited, study their page structure and headings and fill the gaps on yours. ## What you still lack after the free set Free gets you live data on your site, a crawl of a small site, and basic keyword and link views. It misses scale, history and deep rivals’ data. - Competitive and keyword depth: Ahrefs, Semrush and Moz have broad keyword tools and large link indexes. Pick one when you need consistent depth. - Rank tracking at scale: rank trackers like SE Ranking, Semrush Position Tracking, Ahrefs Rank Tracker, AccuRanker, Nightwatch and Mangools SERPWatcher track daily. - Large and explained crawls: Sitebulb explains issues with priorities. Lumar and Oncrawl handle large sites in the cloud. - Backlink specialists: Majestic runs its own index and offers Trust Flow by topic. Use when links are your main job. - Traffic estimation: Similarweb estimates competitor traffic and sources. Treat its figures as approximations, rough for small sites. - Beginner friendly all in ones: Mangools and Ubersuggest focus on simple workflows for small teams. SpyFu focuses on keyword history for search and paid. Pick a paid tool only when a free tool blocks a clear next step. For example, you cannot size a keyword set for a new category with only Search Console. Or your store is larger than the free crawl limit in Screaming Frog. ## Questions ### Can I do SEO on my own for free? Yes. Set up Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Fix speed with PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse. Crawl with Screaming Frog’s free version. Use Search Console, People also ask, Trends and Bing’s keyword tool to plan content. This is enough for your first dozen wins. ### Are free SEO tools worth it? For a small site, yes. They show your real data and the obvious fixes. You will hit limits on scale, history and competitor depth. Move to a paid tool when a job needs it, not before. ### Is Google SEO free to use? You do not pay to rank. You do the work. Google Search Console is free and shows impressions, clicks and positions. Google Analytics 4 is free and shows post click behaviour. They will not match one to one. ### Can ChatGPT do SEO? It can help draft outlines and checks, but it does not replace your tools. Use it to rewrite a title under about 60 characters or to list questions to check in AlsoAsked. Always verify with your own data and the results page. ### Which free tool should I use for backlinks? Start with Search Console’s Links report for your own site. Add Bing Webmaster Tools for a free rival comparison. Use Ahrefs Webmaster Tools on your verified domain for another lens and to see Domain Rating trends. ### How do I pick among so many tools? Pick by job. Use Search Console and Bing for your truth. PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse for speed. Rich Results Test for schema. Screaming Frog for a small crawl. AlsoAsked and AnswerThePublic for questions. Add a paid suite only when you need depth. ## Read next - [How to use Google Search Console in ten minutes a week](https://porteur.ai/guides/how-to-use-google-search-console): A quick weekly routine: set four filters, compare 28 days, check pages then queries, and fix three findings, without getting lost in noise. - [Bing Webmaster Tools for a small site: what it gives that Google does not](https://porteur.ai/guides/bing-webmaster-tools): Set up Bing Webmaster Tools in minutes. Import from Search Console, reach Copilot and Yahoo, use Backlinks, Keyword Research, Site Scan and IndexNow. - [Google Search Console vs Bing Webmaster Tools](https://porteur.ai/compare/google-search-console-vs-bing-webmaster-tools): Use both. Bing adds backlink and keyword research, a crawler and IndexNow. Google shows the traffic that pays your bills. Here is the setup and workflow. - [Core Web Vitals for a product site: the three numbers](https://porteur.ai/guides/core-web-vitals): The product founder’s guide to LCP, CLS and INP: what Google measures, why phones decide the pass, common causes, and how to test and fix. - [Lighthouse vs PageSpeed Insights: lab and field](https://porteur.ai/compare/lighthouse-vs-pagespeed-insights): Use Lighthouse for repeatable lab checks, PageSpeed Insights for real-user field data. See why scores differ and which to trust for fixes and reporting. - [People also ask: turning Google’s questions into sections](https://porteur.ai/guides/people-also-ask): See what People also ask is, where questions come from, how to collect them, write two-sentence answers, add FAQ markup, and track results. - [The best SEO tools for a SaaS, by the job](https://porteur.ai/guides/best-seo-tools-for-saas): 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 small business: the free set plus one](https://porteur.ai/guides/best-seo-tools-for-small-business): 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. If you want a fast read of your site and rivals without a login, try the free check from Porteur: paste a URL and get three findings in about thirty seconds. Free check: https://porteur.ai/