Best SEO Tools 2021: Ahrefs vs Semrush vs Moz vs Raven vs Majestic vs SpyFu & More

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If you’re familiar with SEO (Search Engine Optimization), you know how ever-changing and evolving the industry is. While anyone in this field needs to stay up on the latest industry trends, the most important part of the job is tracking and strategizing your SEO plan. Trying to do this without an SEO tool is a fool’s errand.

This comparison looks at the leading SEO software options and distinguishes what sets them apart from one another. You’ll notice that these solutions have free trials, but after that, there is a monthly fee involved. While there are free SEO tools out there, any experienced online marketer knows that to find a quality solution, you’re going to have to pay for it.

Article Overview

• What To Consider
• Best SEO Tools By Category
• Other SEO Tool Reviews
• An Overview Of SEO Tools (Video)
• What About Keyword Research And Trends?

What To Consider

It’s important to keep in mind what you’re looking for in your SEO marketing before choosing a tool. Are you the webmaster for one website? Are you an SEO service provider with dozens of clients? Do you just need a keyword tracker or extensive competitor analysis?

How about an easier way to do keyword research? Or maybe you have a great keyword strategy and just need to focus on backlinks. There are different tools for different goals and some tools that try to combine every possible SEO strategy.

Best SEO Tools

We’ve chosen three SEO tools that set themselves apart from the competition based on what they’re best for.

Best SEO Tool Overall: Semrush Review

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It’s always a concern when it seems like one product is trying to do too many things at once. This was my hesitation when I first learned about SEMRush years ago. But after a few years of daily use, I’m comfortable saying that Semrush does a little bit of everything, and does it all well.

The backbone of Semrush is the Analytics Reports. From this tool, you can research search data with the largest keyword database on the market, traffic and competitors for a domain or a keyword. If you are into paid advertising, you can get a deep look into what keywords your competitors are bidding on and how much traffic they are generating from their efforts.

Piggybacking on all of this research is Semrush’s backlink analysis, including an analysis of toxic backlinks. We are customers of Semrush and use most features of the service in our SEO marketing.

Semrush is constantly adding new features. Some of its latest additions include:

• Traffic Jet — an AI-powered tool that fully automates traffic acquisition and gives you instant access to hundreds of premium traffic sources including Google Search & Display, Microsoft Advertising, Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, Quora, Reddit and hundreds of other advertising platforms
• Social Media Ads Tool — allows you to create, launch, manage and optimize ads on Facebook and Instagram
• Improved level of accuracy in Traffic Analytics
• In-depth Custom Market Analysis reports
• Content Marketing Platform — tools to help you create and optimize your content

Pros

Cons

Site Audit tool shows overall website health and what issues you need to address Position Tracking tool provides historical data and can target different devices and locations for all users, on all subscriptions Keyword Magic Tool gives access to 20 billion keywords and allows you to drill down into specific subtopics to build your campaign Keyword Gap tool looks at your content and compares it to your competitors’ to give you ideas Keyword Overview tool allows you to easily research new keywords from various locations within Semrush and add them all to one convenient location Brand Monitoring tool easily allows you to monitor your brand reputation online Sensor tool gives you a SERP score and graphics to see how your Google rankings have been performing Great for competitor evaluation — track keyword position changes, traffic values, and more Traffic Analytics, including mobile traffic data and mobile vs desktop comparison (added fee for Guru & Pro plans) Speedy — The data loads quickly, unlike some competing services White Label and Branded PDF reports available

Learning curve to master its many features While we appreciate Semrush’s Keyword Difficulty tool, we’ve found it places too much emphasis on total Google results, perhaps making some keywords less difficult than their rating provides

Here is an overview of Semrush’s interface:

Pricing

Semrush offers a 7-day money back guarantee on all plans. The following prices are monthly. You get discounts if you pay annually.

Semrush also provides custom plans if there isn’t a stock product that works perfectly for you. For example, if you just want to add another session (simultaneous login) or user, you can pay for this a la carte.

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Read Our In-Depth Semrush Review

Best Keyword Tracker: AuthorityLabs Review

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AuthorityLabs is your go-to tool for daily search engine ranking tracking. The local tracking feature (you can filter by country, city or zip code), is a great tool for those targeting local areas. Other features include competitor tracking and mobile rankings.

Another unique feature is the “Now Provided” report. By linking your account with Google Analytics, you’ll be able to easily see what terms you are ranking for and can implement those terms into AuthorityLabs with one click. If you have multiple domains covering the same topic, you can save time with domain groups — a unique feature in our findings. We have used AuthorityLabs in the past to track keywords by monetary value.

New additions to AuthorityLabs include:

• Data API is newly redesigned for user-friendliness
• Ability to collect custom data points about specific SERP features
• Can track product rankings on Amazon, Walmart, Targets and more

Pros	Cons
Free tools available See your daily rankings on Google, Yahoo and Bing Now Provided Report gives you access to keywords you rank for that you may not be aware of Track mobile rankings Shows all URLs you are ranking for if you rank for multiple URLs with the same term Get alerts for the latest Google updates Unlimited users	Sorts keywords by default alphabetically and no way to change this setting Some complaints that the data loads slowly

Here’s a look at the AuthorityLabs Interface:

Pricing

AuthorityLabs offers a 30-day free trial.

Read Our In-Depth AuthorityLabs Review

Best Backlink Tracker: Ahrefs Review

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Ahrefs offers among the best backlink analysis available among all SEO tools. Not only is its backlink database massive compared to other tools, but Ahrefs’ competitor analysis is also among the best.

Another top feature is its Content Explorer, which searches the web for the most popular content for any keyword or topic. Other key features include SERP overview and position history, related keyword ideas and the difficulty level. Ahrefs takes some time to learn, but its results are worth the learning curve.

New additions to Ahrefs include:

• Easy tracking for ‘rel=UGC’ and ‘rel=sponsored’ links
• Total monthly organic traffic in API
• Improved user-friendly dashboard
• Combined projects manager for their Dashboard, Rank Tracker and Site Audit tools
• See the paid search history for any keyword
• 3 new ways to group search results in Content Explorer: by authors, websites and languages
• Access the Organic keywords report for massive sites like YouTube or Amazon

Pros	Cons
Extensive web crawler (among the best available) Huge backlink database Easy, one-click SEO checker for competitors Comprehensive social share information Tracks your rankings Set alerts for new & lost backlinks, web mentions and keywords rankings See traffic estimates for all top-10 ranked pages SEO toolbar Chrome extension	Only the two highest plans give you everyday updates No local keywords included in search volumes Keyword suggestions don’t come with a relevancy score Web traffic stats not as robust as other tools

Here is a look at Ahref’s interface:

Pricing

Ahrefs offers a 7-day trial for $7 for its Lite and Standard plans. You can save 20% off the following prices if you pay annually.

Other SEO Tool Reviews

While these services didn’t crack our “best of” awards, they are all worthy of a look if you are serious about search engine optimization.

Long Tail Pro | Majestic | Mangools | Moz | Raven | SpyFu | Ubersuggest

Still not finding the company you’re looking for? Check out our overflow review page, where we’ve got even more services covered.

Long Tail Pro Review

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Long Tail Pro’s core areas are keyword research, competitor analysis and rank checking, but its main strength is as a keyword ranking tool. Long Tail Pro pulls keywords from Google’s Keyword Planner and uses a unique Keyword Competitiveness algorithm to calculate each keyword’s ranking potential (on a 1-100 scale).

This tool can save you a ton of time by quickly analyzing the top 10 results in Google for each of your keywords. It also checks SERP data points in your meta tags, domain and page authority and much more. Its new Rank Value tool gives you an estimated monetary value, including income from AdWords and Amazon Affiliates, of ranking in the #1 spot for any given keyword.

Pros	Cons
Among the most accurate keyword ranking tools to help calculate keyword profitability  Detailed competitor metrics Get custom keyword difficulty recommendations Fast, cloud-based platform	Some users report that the tool is inconsistent in bringing back data, i.e., the keyword analysis feature shows the load box but with no data

Here is a screenshot of Long Tail Pro:

Pricing

Long Tail Pro offers a 7-day free trial , a 10-day money back guarantee and 30% off if you pay annually.

Majestic Review

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Majestic (formally MajesticSEO) is laser-focused as a leading backlink history checker. As you probably expect, with this tool you can track referring domains and backlinks to any URL. Where does Majestic start to differentiate itself? The detailed reporting of new and lost backlinks and anchor text reports. We are customers of Majestic and use it as our primary backlink tracker.

The feature we are most impressed by is Majestic’s custom Trust Flow and Citation Flow scores. Trust flow is a method of looking at a site’s link profile and comparing that profile to other websites with a similar profile. If those sites are quality, the Trust Flow is higher. If those sites are not quality, the Trust Flow is lower. Citation flow looks at the number of links and the quality of them and assigns a score.

In 2019, Majestic launched Link Context, a new tool that gives you insights into what content surrounds every backlink you check, including text, other internal and external links, images, whether the main link is an editorial or directory link and much more.

Pros	Cons
All-in-one backlink checker Unique Trust Flow and Citation Flow metrics Google compliant rank tracking and keyword search data SEO toolbar Chrome extension	Exporting reports can be tedious — lots of columns presented all at once User interface is dated

Here’s a look at Majestic’s interface:

Pricing

All plans include a 7-day money-back guarantee.

Mangools Review

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Mangools is one of the most affordable, high-quality suites of SEO tools you can find, making it ideal for bloggers and small businesses. You also get all of its features with every plan, unlike some other premium tools. Its 5-tool suite includes KWFinder, LinkMiner, SiteProfiler, SERPChecker and SERPWatcher.

Its strongest tool is the KWFinder, which helps you find your ideal long tail keywords with low SEO difficulty and high search volume. For every keyword, you get details about trends, SERP results, search volume, difficulty and cost per click. You can also enter any competitor’s domain or URL to see the best keywords they rank for. Their database is 1.6 billion strong and growing by 20 million every month.

Mangools SERPChecker is also a powerhouse tool. You can select from metrics by Mangools, Moz or Majestic to determine the website authority of your competitors and discover ways to outrank them. SERPWatcher lets you track your rankings daily in any location and on any device.

Pros	Cons
Intuitive user interface with data presented in easy-to-understand graphs, charts and lists Extensive national, regional and local keyword research In-depth SERP analysis down to a local level to help you outrank your competitors Dominance Index tells you your site’s organic traffic performance based on the current keywords you are ranking for Chrome extension	Backlink database and analysis not as extensive as Ahrefs or Majestic Agency plan doesn’t offer a dashboard for clients like other premium tools do

Here’s a look at Mangools’ interface:

Price

Mangools has a 10-day free trial and a 48-hour money-back guarantee on all plans. They also offer a 40% discount on the following pricing if you pay annually.

Moz Review

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Moz is a known leader in the SEO world. Its blog is consistently one of the best resources for online marketers. There are a handful of Moz products available, but we’re focusing on its most popular product, Moz Pro.

The core competency of Moz Pro is tracking keyword rankings, but you also get access to Moz’s Link Explorer — a powerful link profile analysis. Another fantastic feature is a site crawl that identifies possible SEO issues, similar to Semrush’s Site Audit.

Pros	Cons
Search Visibility Score shows overall rankings performance Moz Page and Domain Authority provide unique metrics SEO toolbar Chrome extension	Tracks keywords weekly instead of daily UI navigation is a bit confusing

Here is a look at Moz Pro’s keyword tracking interface:

Pricing

Moz Pro offers a 30-day free trial. You can also save 20% off the following monthly prices if you pay annually.

Raven Tools Review

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Raven Tools’ main focus is on custom reporting, so if you are an agency that represents a lot of clients, this could be a good fit. Raven started as an agency more than 10 years ago and couldn’t find an online marketing solution that had everything it needed, so it created its own.

Its drag-and-drop reporting allows you to provide an all-encompassing report for whatever your client desires. Raven Tools has a site auditor, keyword ranking reporting and a link checker. You can create white-label reports with performance metrics from Google Analytics, Search Console, AdWords, Facebook, Bing Ads and more.

Pros	Cons
Users report that Raven is willing to add features based on customer feedback Custom, drag-and-drop reporting of any combination of Raven features Built-in backlink analysis tool Rank searching through Google Search Console	Complicated user interface that takes a while to learn Could use more customizable visuals for data presentations

Here’s a look at Raven’s site auditor:

Pricing

Raven Tools offer a 14-day free trial. You can save up to 30% if you pay annually. All plans offer unlimited branded reports.

SpyFu Review

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SpyFu’s focus is competitive research for SEO and PPC. You can find out what your competitors are doing by seeing which keywords they buy, which ads they run and which organic keywords they rank for. What stands out? Not only do you see this competitive information now, but there’s a 12-year history provided. SpyFu also offers keyword tracking on Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Pros	Cons
Researching your competitors’ historic ads gives you an excellent opportunity to tweak your site’s ad copy In-depth PPC and SEO SERP analysis Member discounts on other services (including AuthorityLabs)	No local data Steep learning curve for beginners

Here is a look at SpyFu’s research tool:

Pricing

All SpyFu plans come with a 30-day money back guarantee.

Ubersuggest Review

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Ubersuggest is a free keyword suggestion tool led by internet guru Neil Patel. It’s an easy-to-use way to find keywords you won’t get from Google’s Keyword Planner.

This site also gives you access to a free SEO analyzer report and a free A/B testing significance calculator. You can also schedule a consultation with Neil Patel. Sure, what you get from this site is basic compared to our other services reviewed here, but, hey, it’s entirely free.

Pros	Cons
Free keyword suggestion tool Easy for beginners Filter for web, YouTube, images and more Select target market Competitive overview lists all of your competitors and shows you their ad copy	Lacks many features, including keyword rankings, in-depth competitor analysis, etc.

Here’s a look at Ubersuggest in action:

Pricing

• Free

Not seeing the company you’re looking for in our review? Check out our overflow reviews to see if it’s covered there.

SEO Tools Overview Video

View this video for a quick visual recap of SEO tools and how they can help your business.

What About Keyword Research And Trends?

Now that you have SEO software to track your results, you first need to get your top terms up there. Learn about keyword research and trend analysis, to find out which of your terms may experience growth, which are merely seasonal, and which are expected to decline. Then take a look at our keyword tracker reviews so you can keep track of them all and set alerts.

After all, why optimize on a term that won’t be searched for in a few years? Conversely, optimize now on a low-competition term that’s barely searched for, with the insight that it’s going to blow up in the near future to get a nice leg up on your competition.

If you want to dive deeper, read our guides on the best tools for backlink checking and SEO audits.

What’s your go-to SEO tool?