What Are The SEO Automation Tools?
Automating certain SEO tasks is one way to make the best use of your time. Of course, you want to avoid those automation strategies that put you on a search engine’s black list, but there are plenty of places you can use automation. And there are many different kinds of automation tools.
One thing you won’t find is an all-in-one solution. There are some great SEO tools out there that will help with many aspects of SEO, but will leave one or two areas untouched. For example, Web Optimization Easy 4.2 (http://www.websitepromotionsoft.com/search-engine- optimization.html) will help with 45 ranking factors, but it doesn’t cover them all. And though it will also help you to understand why the top 10 web sites in your area rank well, it won’t help you manage keyword bids.
When you can find a program that does most of the automation you need, and you’re comfortable with the tool’s interface, then by all means try it and use other tools to supplement the areas the single tool doesn’t help with.
It would be nice if there were standards in place that made it easy to monitor all your SEO efforts from a single dashboard. There are not. But you can piece together the tool solution that reduces the amount of time you put into repetitive SEO work, so you can focus your energies better on those activities that will truly improve your search rankings.
You have to be careful about choosing solutions, though. Some of the automation tools that you find available on the Web are not worth the time it takes to install them. These tools are buggy, they don’t perform as they should, and they can cause your system to crash-or worse, can create problems with your web site.
When you’re looking for automation tools for your SEO efforts, begin by looking at the areas that you need to automate. Are you spending hours and hours on keyword research when what you should be doing is generating unique copy for your web site? If so, then a keyword research automation tool, like Word Tracker (http://www.wordtracker.com/), will help free up the time you need to work on your content.
Are you obsessed with your rank and how your competition measures up? You shouldn’t be. Let an automated monitoring tool, like SERP Tracker (http://sitening.com/seo-tools/serp- tracker/), be obsessive while you spend that time doing something about your current rank.
What tools you’ll need are determined on an individual organizational basis. Evaluate your needs and then look for tools that meet those needs. Also look for tools that might grow as you grow. Your automation needs will change over time as your site matures, as your SEO efforts mature, and as SEO as a strategy changes. Try to find something that’s scalable and will grow as your SEO strategies grow and change.
what tools are better than others. Some free tools on the Web are excellent. Those that aren’t free can cost anywhere from under $100 to well over $1,000, but can also be as excellent or as lousy as some of the free tools. To make sure that you’re getting a tool that will provide what you need within your budget, try finding tools that have a free trial period. These tools usually allow you to try their software for 30 days for free. The full function- ality of the tool may not be available to you, but you should be able to tell from the trial if the inter- face is comfortable and if the tool provides the metrics and solutions that you need.
One more way to find a good tool is to ask around. Chances are, you know other people who are in SEO or who own a web site and have done their own SEO. These people may have already been through the trial process with various tools, and they may be able to reduce the amount of time it takes you to find just the right tool.
Automation works when you’re automating the right aspects of your SEO campaign. Keep your automation related to administrative functions and use tools that suit your needs, and you’ll find that this frees up time you can devote to far more important activities, like providing your cus- tomers exactly what they’re looking for on their terms.
