Keyword Tools:

• Keywords Everywhere Great keyword tool Chrome and Firefox extension. (now paid) This is still my go to tool for keywords, It does not cost much for a subscription.
• WMS Everywhere A Keywords everywhere lookalike but free.  It looks like it works pretty good.
• Answer The Public  Aggregated view of the questions asked to Google & Bing. Sometimes off target keywords but what do you want for free.
• Keyword Keg Another free keyword tool, you can import lists and export 20 results.
• Wordtracker Scout Displays what your articles are about on their keyword cloud.  Good for a first glance.
• LSI Graph Generate a list of semantically related keywords and best performing content.
• Google Trends Compare one keyword to another over time.  I have used this tool to win my case on what keywords to focus SEO efforts on more than a few times.
• Keyword Finder Uses Google’s autocomplete API to find many keywords.
• KeywordTool.io  An alternative to Google keyword planner.
• Merge Words Takes words from 3 lists and merges them together into one.  These days Google can find out what a topic is about, you don’t need to be exact match.
• Cognitive SEO Keywords  Analyze keywords and get suggestions.
• Seed Keywords Grow your own seo keywords from suggestions from your friends.
• Keyword Density Checker Remember to write for people, not SEO, don’t overoptimize.  Just make sure you do include the keyword.
• Text Optimizer Add a webpage and it suggests keywords, free trial.

Keyword Rankings

• SEOlium Rank Tracker Recently launched Google Rank Tracking tool that works great.  A free trial can last for years if your ranking needs are modest.
• Small SEO Tools Rank Checker Check rankings of up to 10 keywords at a time.
• Hoth Rankings Tracker Check 10 keywords ranking daily.
• Can I Rank Explains the opportunities and benefits of ranking for certain keywords.

Backlink Tools

• Ahrefs Backlink Checker  Free version of Ahrefs’ backlink checker tool. I use this all the time to identify backlinks of competitors and then get a link there also.
• Open Link Profiler  Fast backlinks and a lot more info worth investigating further.
• Check My Links  Chrome plugin to check pages for broken links.
• Search Queries for backlink prospecting.
• Guide to getting backlinks Lots of great ideas for obtaining a good link or two.
• Help A Reporter  Be a reference for reporters looking for answers.  You have to work at it to get success but it is valuable if you do.
• The Hoth Backlink Checker Nice tool to see the backlinks of your website or competitors.  Shows dofollow/nofollow attributes too.

Image Optimization

• GeoImgr Image geotagging, add GPS info to photos online.  Good if you have a few images to optimize.
• EXIF Editor  A program for download that allows you to edit EXIF data of images. You can optimize a group of images with this tool.

Website Audit Tools

• Ubersugest All in one site analyzer, backlink checker and keyword tool. Top Rated!  I hate to see the day this goes to a paid version, it is so useful.
• SEO Site Checkup Checks major search engine optimization factors.
• SEOability Website crawler with reporting on errors and SEO scoring.
• Screaming Frog Crawl websites and check many different elements. Program you install, great for exporting all page meta data and finding broken links.
• Website Grader Checks a few important factors like seo, speed, etc.
• Revive Content Ideas A tool that tells you what website content needs to be revised.
• WooRank Another tool to use to find errors on your site and make improvements.
• Brown Seo Allows you to view your website like a search engine does.

SEO Resources

• SEO Checklists Lists to help you not forget steps during SEO campaigns.
• 200 SEO Ranking Factors Explore all of the things Google uses to gauge rankings.
• Periodic Table of SEO Factors  Ranking factors displayed like periodic table of elements.
• Google: Algorithm Updates List of major Google updates.
• Google Algorithm Timeline  A timeline of major Google updates. If you have a site that stopped ranking a while ago check the timeline.

Local Search Tools

• AccurRanker SERP Checker Free Google search results on any keywords anywhere.
• Local Falcon Get a grid showing where your GMB is ranking on Google Maps.  You can get a few searches for free but the paid tool is very powerful.
• Get GPS Coordinates from Google Maps.  Use this info to add to structured data.
• SmartyStreets address validation tool to make sure you use the correct street address everywhere.
• GS Location Changer A Chrome plugin that allows you to change your location and search Google from that spot.  Very useful to see where you rank in certain areas.

Local Search Resources

• Local Search Ecosystem Graphic & info on how local SEO citation sources interconnect. If you can get a link at the sources you will save lots of effort.
• Add To GPS Maps Resource that shows how to add your business to all GPS maps.  Each system is somewhat tedious so do the main gps maps first.

Local SEO Citation Sources

• Moz Local Citations by Category List of SEO citation sources sorted by business types.  Good resource to bookmark.
• Yext Directories  List of important business directories to list your site for local SEO.

Local Citations Checkers

• Moz Local Citation Checker  Check your online presence in common citation directories.
• Yext listing scan Check business listing citations source accuracy.

Browser Extensions

• Nofollow identifier  Nofollow links on websites you view are outlined in red. I use this one every day.
• SEO Quake Multi-tool for viewing many important seo factors of a website.
• Image downloader Download all images from a webpage.
• SEO Toolkit  Another extension showing seo results from pages viewed.
• Link Miner Check pages for broken links and social data.
• Full Page Screen Capture A Chrome plugin that allows you to take a screenshot of a whole web page.  Great for reporting.
• Google My Business Category Helper A nice collection of tools to help when improving Google My Business listings.

 Website Analytics

• Statcounter Nice and easy to understand website analytics program.
• Clicky Website analytics with many features included.
• Google Analytics Annotation Take notes in Google Analytics timelines.
• Keyword Hero Display what Google keywords were used to get to a page.
• Databox Beautiful customizable reports, free for up to 3 dashboards.

Mobile SEO Tools

• Mobile First  Identify problems with the mobile version of your site.
• Google mobile design checker Is your website mobile friendly?
• Mobi Ready Test websites on different mobile devices.
• Responsive design checker Test your site of different mobile devices.

Blog Post Ideas

• Blog Topics Generator Discover blog post headlines based on keywords.
• A year’s worth of post ideas Blog ideas with examples.
• Blog ideas  A tool to get blog posts based on topics.
• 186 Blog Post ideas Good topics to get started writing about.

Competitor Analysis

• SpyFu Check competitor organic or Google ads keywords.
• Keyword Spy  Learn your competitors’ most profitable Ad copies & keywords.
• Spy On Web quick search for websites that belong to the same owner.
• iSpionage View competitors best-ranking keywords, landing pages and more.

WordPress SEO Plugins

• Yoast SEO Plugin Most popular WordPress SEO plugin, add metadata.
• Redirection Manage all your 301 redirects and monitor 404 errors.
• Structured Data Add customized structured data to website, pages, posts.
• Ultimate Nofollow  Add rel “nofollow” to external links to not pass page rank.
• Post to Google My Business  Publish your latest WordPress post to GMB.
• Media File Renamer Rename images in WordPress media galleries.
• Broken Link Checker  Find and fix broken links on your WP website.

Website Speed Tests

• GTmetrix Test website speed and identify actionable items that are slowing it down.
• Page Speed Insights Tool from Google to measure page speed in desktop or mobile.

Text Tools

• Keyword Editing Tool Edit keywords, split and combine lists, change case.
• Sort My List A free online tool to help with keyword lists and more.
• Word Counter Count characters in text for meta tags and more.
• Copyscape Check your text on websites for plagiarism.
• Keyword density checker Check density of KW phrases on a page.
• Plagiarism checker. Make sure your content is not a duplicate on the web.

SEO  Consulting

• Hire an SEO Consultant if you don’t have time to do search engine optimization yourself and you want to work with a trusted expert.

SEO Blogs To Follow

• Moz Blog Blog from Moz
• SEMrush Blog Blog from Semrush
• Ahrefs Blog Blog from Ahrefs.
• Search Engine Journal Blog from SEO Journal.
• Neil Patel   Great SEO insight and creator of Ubersuggest.
• Search Engine Land
• Search Engine Roundtable A blog all about SEO.
• Yoast Blog  Blog by Joost de Valk and his team at Yoast.
• Search Engine Watch  Good SEO blog to follow.
• This blog

Misc Tools

• LastPass Manage all of your passwords in a safe and secure spot. It saves so much time.
• Cloudflare CDN A fast website ranks better so use a content delivery network.  Got a slow site? Add it here.
• BuiltWith Identify what software websites are created with.
• Video Downloader Download videos from websites and social media.
• A2 Web Hosting Fast reliable website hosting.  Their managed WordPress hosting is what I use.
• SEO ROI calculator Check viability and profit from SEO campaigns.
• Archive.org View what websites looked like in the past.
• Hubspot CRM Forms for your website that capture leads to Hubspot.
• Ntask Manager  Free project management tool like Basecamp.
• Bit.ly link shortening and tracking tool.  Create an account and you can see how many people clicked the links too.

I would like to keep growing this list with good quality free tools to use for search engine optimizations.  Leave suggestions in the comments below.