If you’re an SEO or marketer working for an agency, you know things can get cutthroat pretty quickly. The burdensome workload, the (often poor) time management, multiple websites, clients, deadlines, rankings…just writing this gives me burnout syndrome.
Try to keep track of it all without really good systems in place, and you’ll go wild. That’s where SEO tools step in to save your sanity.
In this article, I’ll mention some of the best SEO tools for agencies, how they can save you tons of time and effort, and how they can set your business apart so you can wow and retain more clients than ever.
Let’s get right into it!
SEOptimer
SEOptimer is an affordable SEO toolset that agencies use for different SEO-related tasks. More specifically, agencies use our Embeddable Audit tool to generate leads straight from their own website.
SEOptimer is also know for it's SEO audit and reporting capabilities, which agencies can use to automate client reporting. Agencies also have the ability to white label these reports with their own branding and colors.
What SEOptimer Does
SEOptimer scans any website and generates a detailed website report with recommendations on how you can improve rankings and overall performance.
Additionally, you can track keyword rankings, create SEO roadmaps, and much, much more.
How it Helps Agencies
SEOptimer is used by SEO agencies to speed up the often burdensome process of writing monthly SEO reports.
Features
- Keyword Research
- Competitor Research
- On-Page SEO Audit Tool
- AI Blog Generator
- Keyword Rank Tracking
- AI Writing Tools
Pros and Cons of SEOptimer
- While the AI writing assistant can create pretty solid content, it’s always a good idea to fact-check and proofread before hitting publish.
- Good usability and intuitive interface, which is easy to follow, even for those new to SEO.
- It’s an overall SEO tool that will help you tackle your entire website SEO.
Pricing
- DIY: $29 per month
- White Label: $39 per month
- Embedding: $59 per month
Semrush
For a lot of us, Semrush was the first step towards SEO and everything it entails. And rightfully so: if anyone could squeeze the entire concept of SEO into a single solution, Semrush has already done it.
The platform owes its prowess to a powerful feature set, complete with keyword research, tracking, backlink analysis, traffic data, and anything else related to SEO. And I mean anything. There’s so much inside it that some users even complain that they won’t be able to use every single feature in a lifetime.
That’s exactly why you see it everywhere, and also why veteran marketing pros swear by it.
If your agency has Semrush in your tool stack, you can rest assured that you’ll reach your goals, sooner or later.
What it Does
Semrush is an industry leader helping businesses gain better online visibility. Whether the goal is to find top-priority keywords, spy on the competition’s SEO strategy, or build better links, you can do it all in a single dashboard.
How it Helps Agencies
The greatest thing about Semrush is that it was built with agencies in mind. Inside the tool, you’ll find the “Agency Solutions” tab, where you can get certified as an agency partner, find built-in customer relationship management (CRM), marketing contract opportunities, and more.
Features
- Keyword Research
- Competitive Research
- Link Building
- On-Page SEO
- Technical SEO
- Content Marketing
- Market Research
- Advertising
Pros and Cons
- It’s an all-in-one SEO suite, meaning you could potentially get overwhelmed with the amount of information under the hood.
- You might want to learn a little bit of SEO before diving headfirst into this tool, as it’s not designed to teach the basics.
- It’s incredibly pricey compared to other tools. It does have a free-forever plan, although you’re limited to 10 daily searches.
- If you need more than just SEO, It also offers unique add-ons such as online reputation management and heat maps to view how site visitors interact with each page of your site.
- It allows you to get a 360-degree view of your SEO performance.
- If you don’t want to use any other SEO tools, you won’t have to. But we do have a list of alternatives you could consider!
Pricing
- Pro: $139 per month
- Guru: $249 per month
- Business: $499 per month
Ahrefs
Out of all of Semrush’s top competitors, Ahrefs comes up most often.
Right up there with Semrush and Moz, I’d say Ahrefs is part of the SEO Holy Trinity.
In fact, it’s the backlink powerhouse among the three. Backlinks covered, Ahrefs also offers fine-grained insights into search volume, rankings, social shares, site audits, competitor strategies, and more. It’s certainly a popular go-to for nailing search rankings.
What it Does
Similar to Semrush, Ahrefs gives SEOs and agencies a full-spectrum view of their organic traffic, keyword rankings, and overall SEO metrics. But what Ahrefs really excels at is giving users the lowdown on backlink profiles – both their clients’ and their clients’ competition.
How it Helps Agencies
Besides helping agencies uncover their clients’ highest-performing keywords, Ahrefs has a suite of competitive analysis features to identify gaps and direct strategies accordingly. All that to say, this tool can be your best competitive advantage.
Features
- Competitor Research
- Social Media Mentions Monitoring
- Link Building
- Keyword Research
- Website Audits
- Content Research
- Rank Tracking
Pros and Cons
- The navigation and menus can look cluttered for new users who are still learning their way around. Again, the many features come back to bite.
- Metrics won’t always align perfectly with Google Analytics data, and sometimes will present huge gaps.
- Free trial seekers, move along. Unfortunately, you won’t find it here.
- It works with multiple search engines, not just Google.
- There are regular updates, and new features are always bubbling up for those of you who can’t get enough of bells and whistles.
- It offers reliable and accurate data for backlinks, search volume, rankings, etc. Again, for those purposes, it’s safe to use this tool and nothing else.
Pricing
- Lite: $139/month
- Standard: $269/month
- Advanced: $489/month
SiteGuru
SiteGuru is for those of you who don’t want to be bothered with SEO tasks unless absolutely necessary. It’s so low-touch yet so chock-full of user-friendly features like a historical timeline, content audits, keyword tracking, on-page SEO, and more.
I’ll be bold and say you could figure this tool out with less-than-basic SEO knowledge. That’s because it gives you a weekly prioritized SEO to-do list explaining exactly what’s wrong and how to fix it. In the simplest terms possible. (See above.)
SiteGuru also gives top-ranking content opportunities in the form of “low-hanging fruit”, so you know exactly what to capitalize on without stressing out about what to fix first.
What it Does
Basically, SiteGuru will crawl your clients’ sites every week and give you an actionable list. You can tackle it right away or make adjustments at your own pace.
You’ll get automatic updates on any new issues, so you don’t need to check the tool every now and again to make sure everything’s okay.
How it Helps Agencies
SiteGuru allows you to manage all of your clients in a single app, and even give them access to their dashboard for that added sense of trust. Bonus points if you have clients who couldn’t understand technical SEO language if their lives depended on it.
They’ll love SiteGuru’s simplicity!
Features
- Weekly SEO to-do list
- Content optimization
- Keyword Insights
- Technical audits
- Downloadable White Label Reports
- CSV exports and Word / Google Docs Exports
Pros and Cons
- Contrary to Ahrefs and the “top players,” SiteGuru isn’t the ultimate SEO tool. But that could be a good thing if you aren’t necessarily looking for one.
- You’ll need to contact the team if you need more than 2500 pages checked.
- It would be great if it had backlink analysis capabilities – but the team is always fine-tuning the tool, so fingers crossed.
- SiteGuru’s user-friendliness bleeds into its setup: no need to install or code anything. No plugins or server access needed, either.
- In the words of a user, “the data, results, and explanations of issues are comprehensive yet simple enough for a noob to grasp.” Even for entry-level SEOs, there’s no noob-shaming around these parts.
- It’s awesome in terms of helping non-savvy clients understand otherwise complicated SEO data (and the ROI they’re getting from it).
Pricing
- Small: $49/month
- Medium: $99/month
- Large: $199/month
- Free trial available
LowFruits
Speaking of low-hanging fruit! You could make the ultimate smoothie out of what you’ll find with this tool.
LowFruits is a keyword research tool with a twist: it’s all about helping you find low-competition keywords that few competitors, if any, are targeting. It zeroes in on areas where a lot of other tools (Semrush included) leave a lot to be desired: Keyword Difficulty (KD) scores and weak spots.
Instead of coming up with a modeled KD score, LowFruits reviews the SERPs for you and gives you the skinny on the number and type of weak spots for each keyword – including low Domain Authority (DA) websites ranking in top spots.
What it Does
LowFruits analyzes the SERPs in bulk, so you can ditch the manual search when finding keywords that are easy to rank for.
It’s okay if KD scores aren’t your thing, because this tool will tell you exactly why a keyword is worth pursuing, and which maneuvers (like authoritative content creation and search intent matching) are more likely to help you grab them.
How it Helps Agencies
Low-competition keywords are huge assets. When used in your content the right way, you’ll be able to help more of your clients rank higher through targeted, relevant content with potential for reaching topical authority.
Features
- Keyword Combination Capabilities (Wildcard Searches)
- Bulk SERP Analysis
- Keyword Clusters
- Long-Tail Keyword Ideas Generation
- Intent Filtering
Pros and Cons
- Unlike other SEO tools, Lowfruits doesn’t offer comprehensive keyword analytics data.
- It’s fairly easy to use up your credits if you aren’t careful. For example, reports could cost you a couple hundred credits.
- Their credit (pay-as-you-go) system is very convenient and affordable since it’s based on your team’s needs.
- The wildcard search option is the best thing about this tool, as you’ll find untapped keyword combinations.
- LowFruits suggestions are based on Google’s auto-complete feature, so you know users are searching for those terms and they can actually bring you traffic.
Pricing
- Standard plan which includes 3,000 credits: $29 per month
- Premium plan which includes 10,000 credits: $79 per month
ProRankTracker
ProRankTracker (PRT for short) lives up to its title. It offers the most up-to-date rank tracking data available, which you can confidently boast about to your clients.
With this tool, having to track multiple websites and tens of thousands of keywords will no longer be synonymous with a pounding headache. Instead, it’ll be a reminder of your top-notch rank-tracking and customized reporting capabilities.
PRT helps you balance several clients while giving each of them the individualized attention they deserve.
What it Does
PRT gives your team 100% accurate SERP rank tracking, anywhere, on any device. This way, you can analyze and report on SEO progress on the fly, making data-driven decisions at every stage.
The best part is that you can generate and send customized, white-label reports in the blink of an eye.
How it Helps Agencies
Well-informed clients are happy clients. And happy clients stick with you.
If you can prove to clients that your data is reliable and report your findings in a client-friendly way, you’re a keeper. Lucky for you, PRT does the above exceptionally well.
Features
- 100% Accurate Rank Tracking
- Local and Mobile Tracking
- Unlimited Branded Reports
- Automation Capabilities
- 20+ Email Report Types
- Link-Generated Shared Reports
Pros and Cons
- The interface tends to change frequently due to updates, so it might take a while to get used to it again once things shift.
- The amount of tracking metrics available can get overwhelming.
- The mobile version can be a little bit clunky.
- Their pricing changes based on how many terms you want to track, so you can easily upgrade or downgrade based on your agency’s specific requirements.
- Great tool for managing a lot of client properties and still want to generate personalized traffic reports.
- The reporting can be as detailed or succinct as you’d like, depending on clients’ specific preferences.
Pricing
- Starter: $49 per month
- Pro: $109 per month
- Agency: $180 per month
If you’d like to give ProRankTracker a test drive, you can track 30 terms for 14 days, for free, with all premium features enabled.
Build Your New Favorite SEO Stack
If you’re in an SEO agency, I strongly assume you use (or have used) at least one of the above tools. Still, with so many options to sort through, it’s easy to settle for one that offers less or more than what you truly need. It’s up to your team to strike a balance.
Use the reviews above as a jumping-off point to decide whether your current toolkit could use something better – whatever “better” means in your case.
