7+ Best SEO Software for Small Businesses in 2023 [Free Trials]

Do you want to drive organic traffic to your small business website?

Then you have to work with SEO tools for small businesses.

You may write a lot of content without working on any of your SEO aspects, but you may not score high rankings.

Whether you’re doing your SEO yourself or with the help of an SEO expert you definitely need to have some SEO software solutions to guide you.

This post will explore the following points:

• 7 best SEO software for small business (paid), their pros and cons, and their free trial details
• Key features of small business SEO tools
• Benefits of using SEO software
• Common features, similarities, and differences of the best SEO software solutions
• Best free SEO tools for small businesses

Key features of small business SEO tools

The first thing to understand about all the best small business search engine optimization tools is that overall they have similar core features and functionalities.

The question is which one is the best one for you.

When choosing your small business SEO software, ensure that they offer the key elements of SEO:

• Keyword Research: Analyze the volume and difficulty level of different keywords
• Domain/ URL Analysis: Get insights about the performance of other websites, which is helpful to research your competition
• Site Audit: Analyze your branded website for on-page SEO, technical issues, internal link metrics, and backlink data
• Link Tracking: Identify your own backlinks and also of your competitors, and explore link-building opportunities
• Content Marketing: Get tools that can help with content creation for small businesses
• Position Tracking: Track the position of your website pages in search engines for different keywords
• Content Gap Analysis: Know the keywords your competition ranks for but you don’t
• Project Monitoring: Set up your website as a project, to understand its performance and track it over time

• Why is a website important for small business
• What makes a good website
• SEO success stories for small businesses

7+ best SEO software for small businesses in 2023 (+ SEO software trial)

There are plenty of SEO tools that small businesses can use for meeting their website objectives regarding SEO, and most of these tools offer free trials, but they are not all equally effective and worth their money.

More importantly, not every tool is suited for every business. Read below for the details of the top seo tools for small business owners.

1. Semrush

Semrush is not only the most powerful SEO tool that offers more than just the regular SEO features, but it is also the best all-in-1 online marketing tool.

2. Moz Pro

Moz Pro is a sophisticated tool that offers all the SEO features needed by small businesses.

3. SE Ranking

SE Ranking is an all-in-1 SEO tool that offers plenty of SEO features at an affordable price.

4. SEO PowerSuite

SEO PowerSuite is the best SEO toolkit you can use for your desktop.  It is a compilation of 4 different SEO tools.

5. Mangools

Mangools is one of the most user-friendly SEO toolkits and is also a compilation of 5 separate SEO tools.

6. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is great for keyword research, though it offers other SEO features as well.

7. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is another fantastic all-in-1 SEO tool that places a huge focus on backlinks. Ahrefs does not have a free trial, but it lets you try the tool for 7 days at a cost of $7.

8. Local SEO software

The 7 tools mentioned above are some of the most popular and all-in-1 SEO software for small businesses.

However, there are also some other SEO tools that you can use specifically for local SEO.

Some of these include:

• Brightlocal: Local SEO tool with multiple toolkits
• Whitespark: Agency that provides local SEO software along with SEO services

Here is a quick summary of all the best SEO tools.

Comparison table of the best small business SEO software and trials

1. Semrush – Most Powerful SEO Tool

I will definitely feature Semrush first because it is my favorite seo software for small businesses.

Semrush is the ultimate SEO and website positioning tool and an essential part of any digital content strategy.

It’s an incredibly powerful and versatile digital marketing tool designed to boost website traffic and search engine positions, monitor competitors, and much more – making it a must-have for any business.

One of the best aspects of Semrush is that it provides very in-depth SEO information, making it quick and easy to do the necessary SEO research and take quick, informed decisions.

Semrush Pros

• Semrush has very high data accuracy and provides in-depth information, especially for basic SEO steps like keyword research
• It gives detailed information on local SEO and advertising as well
• It helps you identify your competition, even if you don’t know who they are yet
• You can save all related and semantic keywords for different posts in different lists in the Keywords Manager, and skip the need for separate Excel sheets
• The free trial gives you access to all the tools, to make it easier for you to decide whether to buy the subscription
• Semrush gives you search intent data on keywords, so you know whether to target a certain keyword for your blog posts or your product pages
• The Semrush Content Marketing toolkit makes it easy to develop a content strategy, create content, and optimize it for SEO.

Semrush Cons

• It takes some time to get the best out of Semrush as it has so much to offer
• Because it is a very advanced tool with high data accuracy, the price point is a bit high for beginners
• It provides SEO data only from Google, not Bing or Yahoo

Semrush Pricing

Semrush has 3 different price points depending on your profile and needs.

The prices range from $99.95 – $374.95 per month if you sign up for the annual plans.

Semrush Pro Plan: $99.95 per month for annual signups and $119.95 per month for monthly subscriptions

Semrush Guru Plan: $191.62 per month for annual signups and $229.95 per month for monthly subscriptions

Semrush Business Plan: $374.95 per month for annual signups and $449.95 per month for monthly subscriptions

Semrush Free Trial

A regular Semrush free trial is valid for 7 days.

But only with this link, you can get a 30-day trial, exclusively for my readers!

Credit card required for signup?

You have to enter your credit card details for the signup period. But don’t worry, if you decide not to sign up for the tool, you will not be charged.

Get a 30-day free trial of Semrush Pro or of Semrush Guru.

Get more details in my full posts about Semrush promo and the Semrush 30-day Guru trial.

Also, note that there is a difference between a Semrush free trial and a Semrush free account.

All-in-1 Online Marketing Tool

Semrush is the best SEO software for small businesses or freelancers who are serious about their SEO, want the most in-depth data to take content decisions, need a comprehensive digital marketing tool, and want to give a big boost to their SEO.

Semrush is undoubtedly the most powerful SEO tool.

FREE Trial Period: 30 Days [Exclusive Deal]*

Start the 30-Day Free Trial

* The regular trial period is 7 days. You can only get a 30-day free trial with the above link. Enter your credit card to sign up for the trial. Cancel your registration within the trial period and you will not be charged.

2. Moz Pro – Top All-in-1 SEO tool

Moz is another powerful SEO software for small businesses that offers almost all the same features as Semrush.

You can do keyword research, site audits, rank tracking, and also find link-building opportunities.

You can also create keyword lists to add all semantic keywords, like in Semrush.

Moz Pros

• Moz has a metric called Keyword Priority, which suggests to you the keywords that are worth targeting for your site
• The link intersect tool lets you compare backlinks for 5 domains at one go
• The entry-level price point is slightly lesser than Semrush

Moz Cons

• While Moz gives a lot of in-depth data, its dashboard and user experience are not very intuitive
• Moz does not provide an idea about the traffic of other domains, so you can’t compare their traffic to yours
• The entry-level plan is almost as expensive as Semrush but has lesser features

Moz Pro Pricing

Moz offers 4 different plans and price points as per needs, ranging between $99 and $599.

If you sign up for an annual plan, you get a 20% discount.

Moz Standard Plan: $79 per month for annual signups and $99 per month for monthly subscriptions

Moz Medium Plan: $143 per month for annual signups and $179 per month for monthly subscriptions

Moz Large Plan: $239 per month for annual signups and $299 per month for monthly subscriptions

Moz Premium Plan: $479 per month for annual signups and $599 per month for monthly subscriptions

The Large and Premium plans are best for big businesses, agencies, and SEO specialists.

Note:

In terms of keyword features, the Semrush Pro plan ($99.95 per month) is closer to the Moz Pro Medium plan ($143 per month).

Moz Pro Free Trial

A Moz free trial is for 30 days, but not for its Standard plan, only the Pro one, which is priced at $179 monthly.

Credit card required for signup?

Yes, you have to sign up with a credit card for the trial.

If you don’t want to sign up for a subscription, you can cancel within the 30-day period and you will not get charged.

SEO Solutions for Every Need​​

Moz is one of the best SEO software for small businesses or freelancers who want to take SEO seriously, but don’t need a full digital marketing suite like Semrush.
Be careful to choose a suitable plan as the entry-level plan may not offer all the features you need.

FREE Trial Period: 30 Days​*

Start the Trial

* Enter your credit card to sign up for the trial. Cancel within 30 days if you wish, and your credit card won’t get charged.

3. SE Ranking – Best budget SEO tool

SE Ranking describes itself as an ‘all-in-one software’ made simple.

It is one of the best SEO software for small businesses that offer a lot of features of Semrush and Moz, at a much lower price point.

I would say from experience that if you want a powerful SEO tool that is more affordable than the market leaders, SE Ranking is the best choice.

It does have an easy user experience per se, but like all tools, it also needs some getting used to.

One of the best advantages of SE Ranking is that you can choose custom pricing within a plan, depending on the number of metrics you need, and at which frequency.

SE Ranking Pros

• It’s simple to set up and get started
• It provides most of the features of more sophisticated SEO tools but is more affordable
• You can choose a price point based on your exact keyword needs (quantity and frequency)

SE Ranking Cons

• The SE Ranking data is not as comprehensive as Semrush & Ahrefs, so in-depth information is limited
• Customer support is not around the clock, so if you have an urgent question you have to wait

SE Ranking Pricing

SE Ranking also has 3 plans, with the most basic one starting at $23.52 per month if you sign up for an annual plan and need weekly ranking reports.

See below how your pricing changes when you change your requirements.

If you add more keywords and a higher frequency, you pay more.

SE Ranking Free Trial

SE Ranking offers a free trial for 14 days, and you can get access to all features in that period.

Credit card required for signup?

You don’t need to sign up with a credit card for the free trial of the SEO tool SE Ranking.

Just set up an account and you’re good to go.

All-in-one SEO Software Made Simple​​

SE Ranking is the best SEO software for small businesses or freelancers who want high-quality SEO features at an affordable price.

FREE Trial Period: 14 Days​*

Start the Trial

*You don’t need a credit card to sign up for a free trial. You only need it to buy a plan.

4. SEO Powersuite – Desktop SEO Tool

Seo Powersuite is also an all-in-1 SEO software for small businesses that offers many of the same features as the above 3 tools of research (keyword, competition), site audit, and link management, but it works very differently.

Unlike the other SEO tools with free trials that are online, it is a desktop app that you can download and start using for free.

Also, instead of just jumping to perform the function you want, you have to start with a project (a website that you want to monitor). SEO Powersuite is a combination of 4 different tools:

• Rank Tracker: See the SERP ranking details of any webpage and an entire website
• SpyGlass: Build a link outreach strategy
• Link Assistant: Implement your link-building campaign
• Website Auditor: Do a full site audit

These 4 tools were created by different people for different purposes, and they joined hands much later.

They are now very well integrated within the dashboard and work together seamlessly.

SEO PowerSuite Pros

• You can use the SEO Powersuite toolkit offline
• It is much cheaper than the high-end SEO tools but still provides a lot of data
• It is relatively easy for beginners

SEO PowerSuite Cons

• The user interface and features are not as advanced as the upper-end SEO tools
• If you are used to other online SEO software, it takes some time to get used to the SEO Powersuite
• Since the SEO Powersuite tool is a desktop one, you cannot access it from another device unless you install it there as well. You cannot access the tool just with an internet connection anywhere.

SEO Powersuite Pricing

SEO Powersuite is only available for annual signups and is much cheaper than Semrush & Moz.

You start off by downloading the tool on your desktop, creating an account, and start using it.

You get unlimited keywords and website information included in the free plan.

So the question is, why buy a license?

Why pay for it at all?

The drawback of the free version is that you cannot save any of your SEO data.

So if you get all the data of your website once, you cannot copy it, and the next time you open the toolkit, you have to start from scratch. This means that you also cannot track progress.

SEO Powersuite Professional Plan: $2996 a year, no monthly plan available.

SEO Powersuite Enterprise Plan: $499 a year, no monthly plan available

SEO Powersuite Free Trial

As mentioned above, you just download the software and start using it for free.

Credit card required for signup?

You don’t need a credit card to download the Powersuite toolkit. You only need it when you buy a license.

Desktop SEO Tool for All SEO Needs​​

SEO PowerSuite is the best SEO software for small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs who want to use a desktop SEO tool to improve SEO and don’t need the most sophisticated and vast range of features.

FREE Trial Period: Forever, for the free version*​

Start the Trial

*The free version has limited features and you can use it forever. You only need to pay when you buy a license. 

5. Mangools – Easy-to-Use SEO Toolkit

Mangools is a toolkit consisting of 5 different tools:

• KWFinder: A typical keyword research tool
• SERPChecker: A tool to analyze the top-ranking pages for strong and weak points
• SERPWatcher: A rank-tracking tool that lets you know your site’s position in Google for a certain keyword
• LinkMiner: A backlink analyzer tool. It also shows you a snapshot of the page that linked to you, and where
• SiteProfiler: Gives you a quick overview of a site

Mangools Pros

• The dashboard is very clean, user-friendly, and beginner-friendly
• Mangools has a feature called the SERP Features Impact which shows you how crowded the SERP is for your target term
• The SERP Checker lets you compare your target URL with the current top-ranking pages, so you can spot content opportunities

Mangools Cons

• Unlike SEO Powersuite which also combines different toolkits, the 5 apps within Mangools are not very well integrated
• The features are not as advanced as Semrush or Moz

Mangools Pricing

The Mangools pricing starts at $49 for a monthly subscription (Mangools Basic), but it has limited features.

Mangools Basic Plan: $29 per month for annual signups and $49 per month for monthly subscriptions.

Mangools Premium Plan: $39.90 per month for annual signups and $69 per month for monthly subscriptions.

Mangools Agency Plan: $79.90 per month for annual signups and $129 per month for monthly subscriptions.

Mangools Free Trial

The Mangools free trial gives you access to all features in their 10-day trial period, but in a limited way. For example, you can only do 5 keyword searches per day.

Credit card required for signup?

You don’t a credit card to sign up for the free trial.

Easy-to-Use SEO Toolkit

Mangools is the best SEO software for small businesses or freelancers who are starting off on their SEO journey or need to give it a small boost.

It is one of the most user-friendly toolkits.

FREE Trial Period: 10 Days​*

Start the Trial

* You don’t need a credit card to download the tool and start trying it. You only need a credit card if you sign up for a plan. 

6. Ubersuggest – Affordable Keyword Research Tool​

Ubersuggest is an SEO tool created by digital marketing expert Neil Patel.

It offers the standard features of an average SEO tool including keyword research, site audit, and backlink analysis. The interface is not too complicated for beginners.

Though it has all the SEO features like the other best SEO tools, its depth of insights is not as detailed as Semrush or even SE Ranking.

Ubersuggest was launched as a free tool but now is a paid one.

Ubersuggest Pros

• Ubersuggest started as a keyword research tool, which is still the strongest core feature
• It has very affordable pricing and discounted offers

Uberuggest Cons

• The marketing features are more limited than Tier A tools like Semrush or Moz
• The free trial offers access to very limited features and is not enough to give you a good feel of the software.

Ubersuggest Pricing

The Ubersuggest pricing starts from $29 a month and goes up to $99 per month.

Currently, it has an offer of a lifetime subscription for $290 for the Individual plan, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Ubersuggest Individual Plan: $29 per month or $290 for a lifetime subscription

Ubersuggest Business Plan: $49 per month or $490 for a lifetime subscription

Ubersuggest Enterprise/ AgencyPlan: $99 per month or $990 for a lifetime subscription

Ubersuggest Free Trial

You can get an Ubersuggest free trial for 7 days, with limited access to the features.

Credit card required for signup?

Yes, you need to enter your credit card details, but you will only be charged once the trial period is over.

If you do not want to upgrade to the paid version, remember to cancel your subscription within the trial period.

Affordable SEO & Keyword Research Tool​

Ubersuggest is the best SEO software for small businesses or freelancers who mostly want to focus on keyword research.

FREE Trial Period: 7 Days*​

Start the Trial

* You don’t need a credit card to start the free trial. Just pay if/ when you buy a plan. 

7. Ahrefs – Advanced SEO Tool for 10 search engines

Before I started using Semrush, I was using Ahrefs, which is another complete, advanced SEO tool.

Ahrefs has all the features needed to monitor and increase rankings for your domain on search engine result pages.

However, what sets Ahrefs apart is its intuitiveness for finding broken links, link intersect gaps, and the number of search engines it provides data for.

It is one of the most powerful ones, but the reason it’s last on this list is that Ahrefs does not have a ‘free’ trial period.

But more on that below.

Ahrefs Pros

• Ahrefs is a very advanced SEO tool offering loads of features and data on domains, keywords, links, and content
• It is especially powerful to track top-performing content, backlinks, and also the top pages of your own and competitors’ websites
• Ahrefs provides data on 10 search engines including Youtube and Amazon, whereas Semrush provides data only for Google

Ahrefs Cons

• Like most sophisticated SEO tools, Ahrefs is priced slightly high, compared to medium tools like Mangools and Ubersuggest
• Ahrefs also has similar price levels as Semrush, but offers comparatively lesser reports

Ahrefs Pricing

Ahrefs offers 4 different plans with pricing ranging from $99 – $999 for monthly plans.

Ahrefs Free Trial

Ahrefs does not have a free trial, but it offers a subsidized price of $7 for 7 days.

After the 7 days are up, you have to pay the full amount to use the features.

Credit card required for signup?

You have to pay your initial $7 with a credit card, and the same card can be used to pay for your subscription once the 7 days are over.

All-in-1 SEO Tool with a Focus on Backlinks

Ahrefs is the best SEO software for small businesses or freelancers who want to work on their SEO, prioritize links, and have a budget to afford the Standard Plan.

Trial Period: 7 Days*​

Start the Trial

* It is not free, but discounted. Pay $7 for 7 days. 

And there you go! Those were the details of some of the best SEO software for small businesses.

You may have some starting questions about it, so here are some fundamentals.

What is small business SEO software?

SEO software for small businesses are online tools that help you boost your website’s performance.

They let you analyze your website’s technical and content status, and provides you with data on keywords, competitor performance, and backlinks.

Benefits of using SEO software for small business

One of the biggest benefits of organic traffic is that it can boost your brand visibility online.

So if you’re wondering how to get your website seen by your audience and get more traffic, you need to optimize your website for search engines using pro SEO software solutions.

A small business should use SEO software to get help with the following:

• Research keywords based on your keyword checklist that you could use for your site to boost rankings
• Find SEO content ideas and blog topics for your website
• Analyze your competitor’s keywords and links and get insights on how to beat them
• Create and implement a customized SEO strategy
• Find high-intent keywords to optimize your content and boost website conversions
• Track the progress of your site in terms of authority and rankings in search engines
• Write SEO-friendly content
• Improve your small business website optimization
• Scan your site for technical issues and other opportunities for improvement
• Work on your ongoing SEO maintenance
• Get data to guide your link-building campaigns

Similarities among the best small business SEO software

The most common elements of the best pro SEO software are:

• Paid or freemium software, with the freemium tools offering some basic features in the free versions
• Different pricing levels based on the extent of different needs
• Discounts on annual subscriptions
• While the lowest pricing plan gives access to 1 user, the higher plans give access to more users, making them perfect for big SEO teams and agencies
• For most SEO tools, you have to enter your credit card details before you sign up for free trials
• The free versions don’t let you really perform SEO work, they just help you get used to the tool

Differences between the best SEO software for small businesses

The best professional SEO tools for small businesses provide similar features and benefits, but they can differ in a lot of aspects :

• The number of features or data sets they offer per pricing plan
• Some features may be different or extra in some SEO tools
• The algorithms to calculate the SEO data are different
• The size of the database the tools have, to calculate the key data
• The interface and user experiences are different for all SEO tools

Of course, they might also have a few features which might be different from each other.

That is why they also offer free trials so you can check out the user experience and if the tool is meeting your needs before you use their paid versions.

My recommendation for the best SEO software for small business

My recommendation for the best SEO tool that you should choose for your business depends on your needs and budget.

How to choose the best SEO software for small business?

You have to choose which is the best SEO tool for your business depending on your specific situation.

These are 4 key criteria to keep in mind:

1. Determine your goals

Set your business and SEO goals before you decide on the best SEO software for small businesses.

Do you expect your sales and brand awareness to come more from SEO, or from social media/ ads/ word of mouth/ retail channels?

What do you want to achieve with your SEO exactly?

Set SMART goals whenever possible, so you can track them later.

2. Identify your requirements

Depending on what your goals are, what would be the strategy to get there?

Remember, even the best SEO software for small businesses is just that: a software/ tool.

You have to use it in the best way to get the results you want.

Which brings us to the next point.

3. Set your budget

To choose the best software for your businesses, you need to decide your SEO budget first.

You have to do a good balance of how much of an SEO win you need, vs how much you can actually spare from your limited resources.

Semrush is definitely one of the best software for small businesses, but it could be too expensive for you, especially if SEO is not a big goal.

If you have a blogging business, for example, you need organic traffic, and an SEO tool should be a high priority for you.

So a tier-A SEO tool like Semrush would make more sense.

4. Identify the user proficiency level

Determine who will use the SEO software for your business, and what their comfort level is with SEO tools.

Choose an SEO software that has a relatively easier learning curve for the user who will actually be doing the SEO monitoring and research.

If you as an entrepreneur will be using the SEO tool, evaluate how comfortable you are using a DIY SEO tool and which do it yourself seo software is the easiest to start off with.

The top DIY software can be any of the above 7, but the most important criteria is how comfortable you are using it. That’s why you should always get a free trial before you settle on one.

Best free SEO tools for small businesses

Besides paid software, you can also use free SEO tools that will help improve your small business SEO.

Here are some of the best free SEO tools for small businesses you should use:

1. Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a free tool that provides an overview of your website’s performance in organic search results.

With Search Console, you can see which queries are bringing people to your site and which pages on your site are being clicked on most.

You can also use Search Console to submit your website to Google for indexing and find any errors that may be affecting your rankings.

2. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free tool that allows you to track various statistics about your website, such as how many people are visiting your site, where they are coming from, what pages they are viewing, and how long they are staying on each page.

3. Google My Business

Google My Business is the best tool for improving local SEO.

You can create a profile and add details about your business such as location, hours of operation, contact information, and photos or videos. This will make it easier for potential customers to find you on Google Maps or other local search results.

4. Screaming Frog

The Screaming Frog SEO Spider Tool is a free desktop application that allows you to crawl websites and analyze various aspects of their on-page SEO.

The tool generates detailed reports about website structure, page titles & descriptions, metadata & images, etc., which you can use to improve your SEO.

5. SEO Plugins

There are plenty of WordPress plugins that help you optimize your website for search engines.

Yoast analyzes pages based on various factors like readability, keyword density, meta tags, etc., and gives you suggestions to optimize your content.

Most SEO plugins also include an XML sitemap feature, which helps search engines find and index all of the pages on your website.

Some of the most popular free SEO plugins are:

• Yoast SEO
• Rank Math
• All in one SEO

6. Free keyword research tools

Free keyword research tools are a great way to save time and money when aiming to make the most of your website’s digital presence.

They provide helpful insight into what words potential customers might be searching for, allowing you to optimize your content around those terms.

All SEO software for small businesses includes keyword research features, but if you only want to do keyword research occasionally and don’t need a full SEO tool, free keyword tools can help.

Some of the most popular free keyword research tools are:

• Google Keyword Planner
• Keywords Everywhere
• Google Trends
• Ahrefs Keyword Generator

Best SEO software for small business – Conclusion

Here is a recap of the best SEO tools for small businesses.

The best part about the best small business SEO software is that they offer free trials.

So overall, whether you are just starting off on your SEO journey or planning to be more focused on it, you should get a free trial of an SEO tool before you decide to pay for it.

Over to you! Which is the best SEO tool for small businesses, in your opinion? Did you upgrade to the paid version?

Which SEO tool finally worked best for you? Share in the comments!

To end this list of the best SEO software for small businesses, here are answers to some additional questions you may still be wondering about.