10 Free Google SEO Tools Must Know

Some people, even at Google, still think that Google hates SEO. In some cases it really does. At the same time Google loves SEO as actions speak louder than words. Google provides not a few, not several but by now 10 free Google SEO tools everybody should use. I remember the times when we had none of them. Today we have an abundance of data Google allows us to mine.

You know, I’m often quite critical of Google but when there is one thing the search giant does right then it’s the plethora of tools it offers. So here is the list of 10 free Google SEO tools everybody should use. Most of these SEO tools are good for keyword research and on page SEO. Please read to the end, I guess some of you won’t know all of them.

Google Webmaster SEO Tools

Google Webmaster tools is the equivalent of a mechanic looking after you car daily but for websites of course. Identify broken links, malware and other issues and find out what search queries lead to your pages even with clickthrough statistics. It even checks your website speed and tells you why it’s too slow.

Google Analytics

In case you still don’t know GA you have probably slept for years. Some SEOs don’t use it due to paranoia of being controlled by Google though. You have to decide yourself what’s more important, a very useful analytics tools or the fact that Matt Cutts can look under your skirt.

Google Website Optimizer

With Google Website Optimizer you can test different versions of your pages. This way you can determine the best converting ones. It’s called A/B split testing or multivariate testing and is all the rage lately in SEO circles and beyond.

Google Zeitgeist

Google Zeitgeist is not a tool in the strictest sense but you can use it keyword research nonetheless. In fact it shows the most popular queries so it’s a good starting point in your SEO campaign. Take the Zeitgeist popular keywords and then test some keyphrases containing them with the other tools that will follow in this list. Also checkout the current Zeitgeist aka Hot Trends.

Google Trends

Google Trends lets you compare traffic for popular search terms and websites. This way you can determine whether a topic is rising in popularity or not. Works gret combined with Google Zeitgeist and Google Insight for Search

Google Insights for Search

Insights for Search is like Google Trends on steroids. You can look up most keywords here, even those that aren’t popular at all. Compare up to five keywords and their ensuing traffic.

Google Traffic Estimator

This is a classic tool. It says “Adwords” but you can use it to find out the probably number visitors a keyword can bring to your site.

Google Keyword SEO Tool

The Keyword Tool is like the Traffic Estimator but from a differnet angle. Some people prefer this others prefer that. You’ll want to check both to make sure you’re on the right track with your keywords.

Google Search Based Keyword Tool

This very neat tool allowas you to find out related keywords to a site or existing keyword or rather both. It’s connected to Google Insights for Search is a very useful way.

Google Ad Planner

Google Ad Planner is like Alexa and SpyFu in one. Use it to screen popular sites or your competitors for keyword intelligence or both.

While using theses tools remember to take the numbers with a grain of salt, they are never completely accurate but in many cases thy are the best numbers we can get. As you can see Google facilitates both keyword research and on page SEO. We get even some assistance with link building by Webmaster Tools.

So does Google hate SEO? Maybe some engineers are rooted in the past or prefer prejudice over judgment but based on the tools Google works together with webmasters and SEOs the best it can. Don’t ignore the tools Google offers. You lose money right now when you do.