Once a seemingly abstruse and complex industry, search engine optimization (commonly referred to as SEO) is now something most small business owners can do themselves. Even with no prior knowledge of SEO or Internet marketing, SEO software makes boosting a website’s search engine rankings easier than ever. Not sure how to pick a service that’s right for your SEO needs? Here are seven things to consider when choosing SEO software.
- Who Will Be Using the Software? Certain SEO Software programs have a limited number of licenses, which means if there will be employees other than yourself working on SEO, you will either have to purchase multiple licenses or share a login. Be aware that some software programs may include a few licenses and charge extra for any additional licenses needed.
- Do You Need to Optimize Multiple Websites? Let’s say you have a handful of websites dedicated to your business, perhaps an e-commerce website and a separate blog. Do the SEO software programs you are considering allow you to optimize more than one website under a single account or do you have to purchase an additional account?
- Can the Software Help You Choose Keywords? It can be difficult to figure out which keywords relevant to your website Internet users are searching and how much competition each one has. Look for an SEO software service that can help you choose a handful of relevant keywords – both broad and more narrow terms – that your website can realistically rank on.
- What Kind of Reporting Does the Software Offer? An important step in the overall SEO process is measuring how effective or successful your SEO efforts are and a suite of robust reporting features is indicative of reliable and effective SEO software. For example, the software should track your site’s rankings on the keywords you are currently targeting and each SEO task or assignment the software prompts you to complete.
- Is the Software Easy to Use? SEO software that is not user-friendly or difficult to navigate can quickly become ineffective since you are likely to not use it. So look for a program or service that is easy to use. This means it has easy-to-understand and detailed instructions that use clear, everyday language apt for individuals who are not particularly tech or computer savvy.