A search engine optimization firm will use many SEO tools to lighten their workload. Search Engine Spider Simulator, Link Detox, Open Site Explorer, Majestic SEO etc. are some among them. Google has its own popular Google Keyword Tool, besides other tools like Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools etc.
SEO is a gargantuan job, without a defined beginning or end. A search engine optimization firm has to plow through the whole range of component jobs that makes up SEO to get the end result which is a good search engine rank for the site. Some of the component jobs appear amorphous at times because they keep on getting redefined according to the needs of a site. A variety of tools have been devised by private companies and search engines to help a search engine optimization consultant in his work. Some of these tools are explained below:
Search Engine Spider Simulator is a tool that helps web designers to see a site the way search engines see it. A designer may use applications like Flash, JavaScript etc. for animation or good user interface. Though these may look good to human eyes, search engines are blind to them. Nor can search engines perceive images or image-embedded text, which means that they will ignore all these things while indexing a site. By helping a designer see a site through the eyes of a search engine, Spider Simulator will help him to see which components will be ignored and which not. Images and animations used purely for decorative purposes need not be indexed by search engines. But other images and flash applications have to be modified by the addition of alternative text in order to make them search engine-legible. Testing with Search Engine Spider Simulator will help the designer to ensure it.
Link Detox is a tool for identifying ineffectual and weak connecting links. Sometimes a link could be originating from a site generated solely for the purpose of link farming, or one that is not indexed by search engines, or one that has outlived its utility. Link Detox identifies these links so that the user can remove it. The tool helps to keep the site healthy by removing unhealthy links. It relieves the user of the task of examining each and every link separately.
Open Site Explorer is also a link analysis tool. It helps the user to analyze the website’s strength on the basis of its links and compares it to other similar sites. It compares the sites’ domain authority and page authority based on the quality of its links. Another big advantage of Open Site Explorer is that it analyzes a site’s strength in relation to its social media impact. It weighs a site based on the number of likes and shares it has received on Facebook and its Google+ position.
There are many other tools like Majestic SEO, Search Engine Pingler, PageRank Checker, Link Tracker, and Plagiarism Checker which are perennial favorites of many a search engine optimization consultant.
Google has its own array of powerful tools. Google Keyword Tool, which is useful for selecting Adwords as well as keywords, is very popular among users. It has cells for placing your web address and keyword suggestion. When you key in those details and click the relevant boxes and press the ‘search’ button, the tool will return hundreds of keyword suggestions. The same keyword can be tested with different URL combinations to generate endless number of keywords. The final selection will have to be made by progressively narrowing down these selections. Google Trend, Google Analytics, and Google Webmaster Tools are some of the other handy Google SEO tools.
