Kasra Dash

What’s the Best SEO Tool? Here’s What 40 SEOs Said

A breakdown of the best SEO tools recommended by experts, based on what they actually use in day-to-day work.

Kasra Dash · Last Updated February 10, 2026

SEO Consultant · Founder, The Masterminders & mySEO.app

If you’re trying to figure out the best SEO tool for your business, this blog should save you time and money.

None of the links in this article are affiliate links.

This is not a sales pitch.

It’s a collection of honest answers from 40 SEO gurus I respect & trust.

I asked them a simple question:

“Give me one SEO tool you actually use, but it can’t be Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Search Console, or a tool you own.”

The answers came from a mix of agency owners, consultants, in-house SEOs, and technical specialists.

Many of them have attended at my conference The Masterminders, or are part of private SEO WhatsApp groups I’m involved in.

The idea was to cut through the obvious answers and get real recommendations that might otherwise get overlooked.

Some tools are well-known, others are underrated gems, but every response came from genuine day-to-day use.

Let’s face it, SEOs love a new tool.

If something promises better audits or smarter keyword insights, we’re all tempted to try it.

But constantly testing new platforms can get expensive fast.

And asking this question might have just hurt my bank account more than I expected.

Important: These tools worked for the people I asked, but that doesn’t mean they’re right for you.

Always do your own research before buying anything.

To make things easier, I’ve added all the replies into question-style accordions below.

You’ll see popular tools, niche gems, and insights into how top SEOs actually use them.

Let’s get started 👇

Best Keyword Research Tools

Finding the right keywords isn’t just about search volume.

The SEOs I spoke to are using tools that help them understand search intent, build topic clusters, and identify SERP features that drive clicks.

Below are some of the top tools that came up when I asked about keyword research.

Top Keyword Research Tools Mentioned

Why Expert Picked them

Charles Floate – Favourite Tool: Keyword Insights

Keyword Insights lets me cluster thousands of keywords quickly and build content plans based on how Google sees the SERPs.

It has helped me systemise topical authority at scale.

Content creation was messy, spread across tools and spreadsheets. Keyword Insights centralises keyword discovery, clustering, and content briefs using SERP similarity and NLP.

Built for SEO agencies, in-house teams, solo marketers, and growth-focused founders.

Suganthan Mohanadasan Founder of Keyword Insights

Steve Toth – Favourite Tool: Keyword Insights

It takes the guesswork out of building silos.

I use it for all my content briefs and internal linking strategies. It’s smart and fast.

Kyle Roof – Favourite Tool: Data For SEO

Data For SEO is an API-driven tool that works perfectly if you’re building your own keyword tracking systems.

The data is clean and scalable.

Gareth Hoyle – Favourite Tool: Data For SEO

We use Data For SEO across our agency dashboards.

It’s not flashy, but it gives us the raw power and flexibility we need to operate at scale.

Maja Jovančević – Favourite Tool: Keywordtool.io

It’s great for finding long-tail keywords straight from Google Autocomplete.

It’s simple and works really well for niche topic research.

Ray Saddique – Favourite Tool: Keywordtool.io

I like that it pulls suggestions from YouTube, Amazon and other platforms, not just Google.

That makes it useful for more than just blog content.

Analytics & Monitoring Tools

Understanding how users interact with your site, where your traffic is coming from, and how your competitors are performing is just as important as ranking well in the first place.

These tools were mentioned by SEOs who value clarity, visibility, and data at scale.

Top SEO Tools For Analytics & Montioring

Trifon – Favourite Tool: Similarweb

I use Similarweb to understand where competitor traffic is coming from.

It gives me a much clearer view of what channels and pages are actually performing for them.

Joe Kizlauskas – Favourite Tool: Matomo

I wanted more control over my analytics.

Matomo lets me host it myself and keep everything privacy-focused without sacrificing detailed user insights.

Koray Tugberk – Favourite Tool: Brand24

Brand24 helps me monitor mentions and brand signals across the web.

I use it alongside SEO data to measure authority in a more holistic way.

Adam Dunning – Favourite Tool: Sistrix

I use Sistrix mostly for visibility tracking and competitor benchmarking.

The visibility index is a great high-level signal for what’s working.

Liam Quirk – Favourite Tool: Authoritas SEO

Authoritas SEO helps me bridge content planning with technical forecasting.

I use it to identify gaps, project traffic lifts, and guide content production with real data.

Joe Davies – Favourite Tool: LLMRefs

LLMRefs helps me uncover the hidden relationships between entities, topics, and terms.

It’s brilliant for mapping out content clusters and improving relevance with less guesswork.

LLMrefs is a brand visibility tracker for AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini & more.

With LLMrefs you track keywords, not prompts, helping brands, agencies & SEO’s with the transition from traditional search to GEO.
James Berry Founder at LLMRefs

Gemma Sutherland – Favourite Tool: AccuRanker

AccuRanker gives me fast, accurate keyword tracking with the flexibility to segment by intent, landing page, or tag.

It’s perfect for agencies who need to stay on top of daily SERP shifts.

Best SEO Content Optimisation Tools

Creating great content isn’t just about writing well.

The SEOs I spoke to rely on optimisation tools that help align their pages with what Google wants to rank.

This includes NLP terms, SERP intent, competitor structure, and internal linking.

Here are the tools they use to fine-tune their content for better performance.

Top Content Optimisation Tools Mentioned

Why Experts Picked Them

Craig Campbell – Favourite Tool: Surfer SEO

I’ve tested most of the major on-page tools.

Surfer SEO consistently helps me match my content to what’s already ranking.

The outline builder and NLP suggestions save me loads of time.

We built Surfer to scale up SEO agency 8 years ago.

Now it is an all-in-one content optimization platform designed to help businesses, marketers, and creators increase their online visibility in Google, AI-powered assistants like ChatGPT, and other emerging search channels.
Michał Suski – Founder At Surfer SEO

Mark Slorance – Favourite Tool: NeuronWriter

NeuronWriter gives you a good mix of SERP analysis, NLP scoring, and content briefs without the high price.

It has become a regular part of my content process.

NEURONwriter began in 2018, when we started developing CONTADU – its parent platform. Our goal was to make content creation more data-driven, precise, and efficient in terms of content marketing budgets.

One of CONTADU’s modules – the content writer – was later released as a standalone tool, and that’s how NEURONwriter was born, now helping users around the world.

Damian Kiełbasa – Founder of NEURONwriter

Stefan Stanković – Favourite Tool: NeuronWriter

It’s clean, fast, and surprisingly accurate at understanding search intent.

It helps me tighten up content for both users and rankings.

Andrew Jester – Favourite Tool: Writesonic

I use Writesonic to generate content ideas and drafts at scale.

Paired with a strong brief, it speeds up the entire process without sacrificing quality.

Ryan Darani – Favourite Tool: On-Page.ai

On-Page.ai helps me tighten up content with AI-driven suggestions and competitive analysis.

It’s great for aligning with search intent and finding quick wins on existing pages.

Nick Ventouris – Favourite Tool: N8N

I use n8n primarily to automate content workflows and connect my SEO tools.

From clustering keywords to scheduling posts, it saves hours every week and keeps everything running smoothly.

Link Building & Outreach Tools

Backlinks are still one of the most powerful ranking signals in SEO.

But the process of finding quality prospects and managing outreach can quickly become overwhelming.

These are the tools SEOs said they actually use to help streamline and scale their link building efforts.

Top Tools For Link Building & Outreach Mentioned

Why Expert Picked Them

Julian Goldie – Favourite Tool: Pitchbox

Pitchbox saves me hours every week.

It handles prospecting, follow-ups, and reporting all in one place. It’s a proper outreach machine.

Pitchbox is the all-in-one link building software and outreach platform for SEO agencies and in-house teams. It combines easy-to-use and powerful features into a single piece of link building software.

This platform encompasses everything from prospecting and outreach to AI-powered personalization, Link Partner CRM, inbox management, detailed reporting, and email deliverability capabilities.

Michael Geneles Founder at Pitchbox

Jasper Morris – Favourite Tool: Pitchbox

I’ve used a lot of outreach tools, but Pitchbox has the best balance of automation and control.

Great for larger campaigns where you need to stay organised.

Mads Singers – Favourite Tool: SEONEO

SEONEO gives us access to a massive network of publishers with real SEO value.

It simplifies the entire link building process from prospect to placement.

We created SEO Neo to save users countless hours by automating complex SEO tasks, packing all my years of hands-on expertise into one powerful platform.

With SEO Neo, anyone can access advanced strategies and workflows that give them a real edge. It’s essentially putting my brain to work for their business.

Elias Leivadaras – Founder of SEONEO & Stealthcode

Jason Morris – Favourite Tool: Serpworx

Serpworx is ideal for quick SEO insights.

I use it when qualifying link prospects to check key metrics, on-page SEO, and backlink data without switching tools.

Andrew Clarke – Favourite Tool: Amplemarket

Amplemarket helps me find and enrich contact data quickly.

While it’s designed for outbound sales, I use it to build link outreach lists that are clean and accurate.

Gundeep Grover – Favourite Tool: Search Atlas

Search Atlas covers content, link building, and reporting in one platform.

I mostly use it to manage guest post placements and keep everything centralised.

OTTO automates technical SEO audits, prioritizes fixes, and provides clear optimization steps. Its real-time analysis ensures pages meet core SEO standards without manual guesswork.

Founder Manick Bhan Of Search Atlas

Kalin Karakehayov – Favourite Tool: Host.io

Host.io helps me explore related domains and link networks.

It’s useful when I’m doing competitor link analysis or searching for expired domains with authority.

Charlotte Twelves – Favourite Tool: SPP.co

I use SPP.co as a client portal to manage retainers and service delivery.

It streamlines our link building workflow and keeps everything centralised.

Having a client portal is pretty much the norm these days. But clients aren’t gonna use it if it adds extra steps.

A client portal like SPP.co plugs into payments, onboarding, and SEO reporting, so there’s no need to create new accounts or jump between platforms.

Use email (that clients can reply to) and mobile push notifications to keep them up to date and upsell more services.

Chris Willow – Founder Of SPP.co

Fery Kaszoni – Favourite Tool: OliviaBrown.ai

OliviaBrown.ai helps automate the PR pitching process. It’s smart, fast, and actually lands backlinks from top-tier publications. A proper digital PR assistant.

Kherk Roldan – Favourite Tool: GSA Search Engine Ranker

GSA lets me build automated links at scale.

It’s not for beginners, but when used right, it still works for certain projects.

Best Technical SEO Tools

Whether you’re auditing a single page or crawling thousands of URLs, having the right technical SEO tools makes a massive difference.

The SEOs I spoke with shared a mix of established favourites and lesser-known gems that help them dig deeper into site performance, internal linking, crawl issues, and rendering.

Here are the tools they rely on most for technical work.

Top Technical SEO Tools Mentioned

Why Expert Picked Them

Kristján Már – Favourite Tool: Screaming Frog

Still one of the fastest and most reliable ways to audit a site.

I use it for almost every client project.

Kushal Arora – Favourite Tool: Screaming Frog

It’s the one tool I keep going back to.

It covers so much ground and helps uncover issues quickly.

Scott Keever – Favourite Tool: Screaming Frog

Screaming Frog gives me the full picture fast.

I can spot broken links, orphan pages, and crawl errors in minutes.

James Dooley – Favourite Tool: JetOctopus

JetOctopus gives me the speed and scale I need for crawling large sites.

The visual reports and internal linking analysis are next level.

Karl Hudson – Favourite Tool: Sitebulb

I love how visual and actionable Sitebulb is.

It’s perfect for showing clients exactly what needs fixing without confusing reports.

Since Sitebulb was created, our motivation has always been “how do we make a better solution?”

So we made our crawler intuitive to use, we made the data easy to understand, and we built it using the most up-to-date crawling and rendering technology.

Then we made it even more helpful for larger websites and SEO teams by launching Sitebulb Cloud – so whether you’re a solo freelancer or enterprise business, there’s a Sitebulb plan to suit.

Jo Furnival – Marketing Manager At Sitebulb

Peter Rota – Favourite Tool: View Rendered Source

Great for understanding how JavaScript affects rendering.

I use it when debugging tricky technical SEO issues on modern frameworks.

Charlie Clark – Favourite Tool: SEOGets

It’s a niche tool but powerful.

I use SEOGets to spot indexing and canonicalisation problems others miss.

SEO Gets is a free GSC tool for pros who love search console data but hate its limitations.
Get 50x more data, manage all your properties from one fast dashboard, and access tools that make analysis and reporting easy.
Matthew Mellinger Founder Of SEOGets

Chris Davidson – Favourite Tool: SerpStat

While most people use it for keywords, I find its site audit features really strong for mid-sized technical SEO projects.

Serpstat is an all-in-one AI marketing platform that automates keyword research, site audits, backlink analysis, and rank tracking.

Built for SEO pros, agencies, and in-house teams who want streamlined workflows and real results. Trusted by Shopify, Uber, Deloitte, and thousands more.

Kateryna Hordiienko AI Marketer At Serpstat

Andrew Halliday – Favourite Tool: Indexceptional

Indexceptional helps me monitor what’s actually getting indexed and flags anything that slips through the cracks.

It’s become a key part of my technical SEO toolkit.

Joshua George – Favourite Tool: SEOMETA1CLICK

SEOMETA1CLICK is the fastest way to check meta data, headings, and canonicals.

I use it every day when doing on-page checks or quick audits.

Honourable Mentions

These tools were each mentioned once, but they still play an important role in many SEO workflows.

If you’re exploring alternatives or building out your stack, these are worth a look.

  • Oncrawl – A strong option for large-scale technical audits and crawl visualisation
  • Lumar (formerly Deepcrawl) – Designed for enterprise-level site auditing and monitoring
  • HighLevel – Commonly used in local SEO for lead tracking and client communication
  • Swydo – Helps with automating SEO reports and performance dashboards
  • ASK BOSCO – Useful for forecasting and measuring SEO and PPC campaign efficiency
  • SEO Monitor – Includes rank tracking, forecasting, and campaign-level reporting
  • Uberall – A local SEO tool for managing multi-location business listings
  • SE Ranking – A budget-friendly all-in-one SEO platform used by smaller agencies
  • Kinsta – A managed hosting provider praised for speed, stability, and built-in analytics
  • Trello – Used by some SEOs for team organisation and task management
  • InLinks – Internal linking and entity-based SEO platform
  • Majestic – Used for Trust Flow and in-depth backlink data
  • RollerAds – Used by some SEOs for driving pop traffic at scale
  • AB Tasty – CRO platform for split testing and user experience optimisation
  • Dragon Metrics – All-in-one platform popular in Asia and multilingual SEO projects
  • AgencyAnalytics – Used by agencies for client dashboards and all-in-one SEO reporting

Each tool solves a specific problem and may be the perfect fit depending on your goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best SEO tool in 2025?

There’s no single “best” SEO tool for everyone.

It depends on what you need.

For keyword research, many SEOs like Keyword Insights or Data For SEO.

For technical audits, tools like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, and JetOctopus stood out in this list.

The best tool is the one that fits your workflow and goals.

Can I do SEO with free tools only?

Yes, but with limitations.

Tools like Google Search Console and Ubersuggest offer free features, but most SEOs eventually invest in paid tools for deeper insights, automation, and time-saving.

If budget is tight, start free and upgrade as you grow.

What tools are best for content optimisation?

Tools like Surfer SEO, NeuronWriter, and Writesonic were popular picks.

They help align your content with what ranks by analysing top-performing pages, NLP terms, and SERP intent.

These tools are useful for both agencies and solo creators.

Are all-in-one SEO platforms better than specialised tools?

All-in-one tools like SE Ranking or Semrush are convenient, but many SEOs prefer using a mix of specialised tools to go deeper in key areas like outreach, technical audits, or on-page SEO.

It often comes down to your experience level and budget.

What should I consider before choosing an SEO tool?

Focus on your actual needs.

Are you doing technical audits?

Outreach? Content writing?

Also consider support, pricing, and whether the tool integrates with your stack.

Asking other SEOs (like in this roundup) is a great place to start.

Final Thoughts

This post isn’t here to tell you what to buy.

It’s a collection of honest answers from SEOs who actually use these tools in their day-to-day work.

When I spoke with Koray Tugberk Gubur, he said something that really stuck with me:

Screenshot of Koray Tugberk saying his main SEO tool is his brain, in conversation with Kasra Dash

“My main SEO tool is my brain.”

And I agree.

Every tool in this list is useful. But none of them matter if you don’t think for yourself.
– Kasra Dash

Tools are helpful.

They can save time, improve workflows, and uncover insights you might miss.

But they’re not a replacement for experience or good thinking.

They support your decisions.

They don’t make them for you.

If there’s one thing to take from all this, it’s to find tools that fit the way you think and work.

Not the other way around.

There might be more to come soon.

For now, I hope this helped you discover something useful.