As Search Engine Optimization or “SEO” experts, we often rely on the best in class tools to help paint the picture of a website and it’s ranking potential. Now, many of the top tools we use for clients are paid subscriptions, but there are a few free, online tools that we have found work great when diagnosing a SEO program.
- WebPageTest.org Website Speed Test. Results will provide rich diagnostic information including resource loading waterfall charts, Page Speed optimization checks and suggestions for improvements.
- Google Page Speed Online Page Speed Online analyzes the content of a web page, then generates suggestions to make that page faster. Reducing page load times can reduce bounce rates and increase conversion rates.
- HTTP Header Check Checks server header and HTTP Status codes (200|301|302|304|307|404|410) to ensure the proper status codes are being returned to the search engine crawlers.
- Free Online XML Sitemap Generator Create an XML sitemap that can be submitted to Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines to help them crawl your website better.
- Google’s Browser Size Check - Google Browser Size is a visualization of browser window sizes for people who visit Google. For example, the “90%” contour means that 90% of people visiting Google have their browser window open to at least this size or larger.
- Readability Scores A tool to give an indication of how easy text is to read, using the Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning-Fog, Coleman-Liau, SMOG and Automated Readability scoring systems.
- Paid Directory Search Tool Searches for a particular website across a number of the top Paid Directories and returns a Yes / No Status for each Paid Directory.
- Bad Neighborhood Check This tool will scan the links on your website, and on the pages that your website is linking to, and flag possible problem areas.
These are just a few of the free, online SEO tools that we regularly use for clients. Let us know if you have any questions about these, or if you have a tool you’d like us to “vet” out for you.