In the competitive world of online business, good visibility on search engines is crucial to attracting potential customers to your website. However, many SEO tools can be costly, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited budgets. Fortunately, there are affordable and effective solutions for optimising your online presence without breaking the bank. Let's take a look at the SME SEO tools you need to know about to maximise your results without spending too much.
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Free and open source tools

Let's start with the good news: there are many free and open source SEO tools that can help you improve your SEO. Some of the most popular are :
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool offered by Google that allows webmasters to monitor and optimise the presence of their websites in Google search results. Key features include :
- Performance monitoring Track the keywords for which your site ranks, impressions, clicks and click-through rate (CTR).
- Solving indexing problems Identify and correct the problems preventing Google from indexing your pages properly.
- Submitting sitemaps Help Google understand the structure of your site by submitting a sitemap.
- Critical problem alerts Receive notifications of security problems and other technical errors.
Ubersuggest
Developed by Neil Patel, Ubersuggest is a free tool that offers keyword research and competitive analysis functions:
- Keyword search Find relevant keywords with data on search volume, difficulty and cost per click (CPC).
- Competitive analysis Get information on the keywords used by your competitors and discover new opportunities.
- Performance monitoring Monitoring the evolution of your keywords over time to adjust your SEO strategy.
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that offers free features to improve the SEO of your site:
- Content analysis Real-time recommendations to optimise the readability and use of keywords in your articles.
- Creating XML sitemaps : Helps search engines crawl and index your site more efficiently.
- Metadata management Simplifies the creation of SEO titles and descriptions.
Rank Math
Rank Math is another SEO plugin for WordPress that offers a free version with advanced features:
- Configuration wizard : An easy guide to setting up your site's SEO in just a few simple steps.
- Advanced SEO analysis A detailed analysis of your pages with suggestions for improvement.
- Keyword optimisation : Allows you to optimise your content for several keywords.
- Creating XML sitemaps Automatically generates sitemaps to help search engines crawl your site.
- Integration with Google Search Console : Display Google Search Console data directly in your WordPress dashboard.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a website analysis tool which, in its free version, allows you to explore up to 500 URLs:
- Site exploration Simulates an indexing robot to identify technical SEO problems such as 404 errors, redirects and broken links.
- Tag analysis Title tags: Examines title tags, descriptions, H1 and H2 tags to ensure that they are optimised.
- Duplicate detection Identifies duplicate content that could harm your ranking.
Freemium tools and free trial versions
Freemium tools offer a limited free version as well as a more comprehensive paid version. Although the free versions are limited, they can give you an overview of the features and help you decide whether investing in the paid version is worthwhile.
Semrush

Semrush is a comprehensive digital marketing and SEO tool that offers extensive functionality in its paid version, but also offers a free 7-day trial version that can be very useful for :
- Search for keywords The free version allows a limited number of keyword searches per day, providing information on search volume, keyword difficulty and trends.
- Analyse your site You can carry out limited site audits to identify technical problems, on-page SEO errors and optimisation opportunities.
- Tracking your positions Track your site's ranking for certain keywords and analyse the performance of your pages in search results.
- Analysing the competition Get an overview of your competitors' SEO strategies, including their main keywords and backlinks.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is another powerful SEO tool that offers a freemium version offering limited but valuable functionality for first-time users or those wishing to test the service before committing themselves :
- Exploring backlinks The free version allows you to see a limited number of backlinks to your site, helping you to understand your site's link profile.
- Keyword search Limited to a few searches per day, but provides you with essential information on keywords, including search volume and difficulty.
- Content analysis Discover the best-performing pages on specific subjects and get ideas for creating competitive content.
- SEO performance monitoring Access limited reports on your site's performance in terms of traffic and ranking.
Moz
Moz also offers a freemium model with free basic functions and advanced options in its paid version:
- Keyword explorer The free version allows a limited number of keyword searches, providing data on search volume, difficulty and keyword opportunities.
- Site analysis : Carry out site audits to identify technical problems and obtain recommendations for improvement.
- Ranking follow-up Track your site's positions for a number of keywords and analyse changes over time.
- Backlink analysis Access limited backlink reports, including inbound and outbound links, to assess the strength of your site's link profile.
Open Site Explorer
Developed by Moz, Open Site Explorer enables you to analyse your site's backlinks and those of your competitors:
- Analysis of backlinks Find out who is linking to your site and assess the quality of these backlinks.
- Domain authority Get authority scores to assess the SEO strength of your site compared with your competitors.
- Search for lost links Identify broken or lost links so you can take steps to recover them.
Usefulness of Freemium Versions
Freemium tools such as Semrush, Ahrefs and Moz are valuable for several reasons:
- Discover the features The free versions allow users to familiarise themselves with the tools and understand how they can benefit from advanced features.
- Investment valuation By using the free version, users can determine whether the additional features of the paid versions are worth the investment for their specific needs.
- Basic SEO support Even with limitations, the free versions offer essential features that can help improve basic SEO, such as keyword research, backlink analysis and site auditing.
In summary, although the freemium versions are limited, they offer enough functionality to give a flavour of the tools' capabilities and help users decide whether an upgrade to the paid version is warranted. These tools are ideal for small businesses, freelancers, or those who are just getting to grips with SEO and want to explore the possibilities before making a financial commitment.
Seo pme tool: the group-buy solution for maximising profitability and efficiency
Group buys are an attractive way of accessing expensive SEO tools at a lower cost. They allow small businesses and freelancers to benefit from the same resources as the big agencies.
The principle is simple: several people get together to buy a popular and expensive SEO tool, such as Ahrefs, Semrush or Majestic.
However, it is important to weigh up the benefits against the ethical and safety risks, and to take part in group buys organised by trusted communities to minimise potential problems.
Advantages of Group-Buy
- Cost reduction : The main advantage of group-buy is the significant reduction in costs. High-end SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Majestic can be very expensive, but by sharing the cost with other users, everyone can access these tools for a fraction of the price.
- Access to premium tools : Group purchasing gives smaller companies, freelancers and small agencies access to tools that they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford.
- Community and networking Participating in group-buys via SEO communities can also offer opportunities for networking and collaboration with other professionals in the field.
The most interesting group-buy in 2024 is Rankerfox. You can find in this article all the important information you need to know before signing up.

Browser extensions
Browser extensions are practical and often free tools that can make the work of SEO professionals much easier. Here are some of the most popular and useful extensions:
SEOquake
SEOquake is a multifunctional extension available for Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Edge. It provides a variety of SEO information in a single click:
- Full SEO audit Analyses the essential SEO metrics for a web page, including title tags, meta-descriptions, headers and keyword densities.
- SERP analysis SEO: Displays SEO data directly on the search engine results pages (SERPs), allowing you to compare several results at the same time.
- Detailed reports Generate detailed reports on backlinks, social networks and much more.
- Exporting data Export: Allows you to export the results of the analysis as a CSV file for further analysis.

Ahrefs SEO Toolbar
Ahrefs SEO Toolbar is an extension for Chrome and Firefox that offers advanced SEO and analysis features:
- Site metrics Domain Rating: Displays key metrics such as domain authority (Domain Rating), number of backlinks and estimated organic traffic.
- Page audit : Allows you to check on-page tags, redirects and nofollow attributes.
- Backlinks overview Shows the main backlinks for the page you are visiting, making it easier to analyse link profiles.
- SERP analysis SEO: Provides SEO data directly in the search results for a quick comparison of the performance of competing sites.
MozBar
MozBar is a free SEO extension for Chrome that offers useful features for SEO analysis:
- Instantaneous metrics Page Authority: Displays key Moz metrics such as Page Authority and Domain Authority directly in your browser.
- Comparison on SERP Compares the SEO metrics of pages in Google's search results.
- Page analysis Examines on-page elements, including title tags, descriptions, headings and alternative text for images.
- Keyword search : Allows you to quickly see the keywords for which a page is ranked and their estimated search volume.
Optimising your online presence doesn't necessarily require a large budget. By exploring various resources such as free tools, freemium versions, group buys and browser extensions, you can maximise your SEO results while keeping your expenses under control. These tools offer robust functionality that can meet the needs of many SEO professionals, whether you're a freelancer, a small business or a growing agency.
