Top 4 SEO Analysis Tools

By Mike Enson

Most web owners leave it up to their selected SEO specialists and staff to do the dirty work on their online marketing campaigns, and while there are undeniably some great SEO companies that meet and exceed expectations, if a website owner knows little or nothing about SEO it can make them fall victim to below-par performance or even price-gauging (think your local mechanic!). Indeed, there are many firms that claim to be “the best” despite their limited experience in their field. In some cases, you’d be better off doing the tasks yourself.

Outsourcing SEO has worked for countless companies. In most cases, however, the results should be measurable. It is important to see the progress of your SEO work, whether outsourced or in-house, on a weekly or monthly basis (once trust has been established). In this regard, we have compiled a list of tools that will help you conduct SEO analysis on regular basis.

1. SEO Quake – A highly rated tool in the industry, SEO Quake delivers accurate information on your browser. There are several versions of this but it is recommended for use mostly as a toolbar. That way, you’ll immediately see a rough overview of all the websites you visit. Among the data displayed are Alexa rankings, backlinks, domain age, and Page Rank. The SEO Quake Toolbar is fast, useful, and free.

2. Reaction Engine – This tool is favored by both beginners and professionals because it is easy to use and provides comprehensive information. Ineed, it can make SEO analysis very simple. All you need to do is copy the URL of the website you want to analyze into the search box and data is generated within seconds; the report lets you know the website’s performance in terms of Content, Search Engines, and Troubleshooting, among others.

2. SEO Toolbar – This tool is much the same as SEO Quake. The SEO Toolbar lets you see the competitive landscape of your industry. This tool is valued at $300 although you can get it free when you sign up on the SEOBook website.

4. Alexa – Probably the grandfather of SEO analysis, Alexa rankings is widely used to determine a site’s overall position on the World Wide Web. It is still used as a basis by many SEO professionals and large corporations because of historical preference.

The list of programs outlined above is not designed to help you evaluate the overall effectiveness of your SEO efforts. On the other hand, it will let you know whether to retain or terminate the services of certain optimization firms based on the results generated. Take note that the tools here alone won’t tell you which strategy should be pursued. That can only be done in combination with market study, keyword research, and competitive analysis only.

Author Information

Mike Enson has been a professional search engine marketer for four years. He currently works for Premiere Tree Services of Mobile, AL.

Easy, Breezy Tips For Better Articles

I’ve written thousands of articles down through the years, probably averaging more than 2,000 of them annually. That number includes my magazine articles and other published works averaging 750 to 1,200 words, but the vast majority of my “reads” are in the neighborhood of 400 to 500 words and are published online.

Yes, I make my living through full-time writing. The pay varies as do the projects, but I’ve managed to come up with a good balance of customers, people I can count on to pay me on time. Okay, except for the one soon-to-be former client who still owes me money, but is in the process of making amends in the face of escalating payment requests from me. Ahem!

That’s another story.

What I want to share with you today is a formula for good writing that works well for me. I use it consistently on websites I own or manage and provide a similar style for my clients.

Brief, Catchy Headlines – The character limit for headlines is 80, with the optimal being 60. I prefer to write them in 40 characters or less. This headline is 36 characters and gets straight to the point. My keywords here are “better articles” which I stuck in at the end. In this article’s case I’m not concerned about  optimization (SEO), but generally that is a top concern when I am writing.

Photos, Please – I cannot remember the last time I wrote an article for online consumption that did not include a photograph. Pictures serve as eye candy and I like to include one with each article. More, if the article is about a special product such as a new car. Some photos get captions, other do not such as the one I’m using with this article.

One, Three/Four, One — Every article I write includes an introduction, three to four main paragraphs or more and a concluding paragraph. I’ve seen many people post article without a conclusion, but I’m old school — I like to wrap things up nicely.

Resources and References – Even if I’m not writing for an academic or news source, I will include one or more resources and will always reference whomever I cite. That’s just good practice and is appreciated by my readers who trust me to be thorough and offer attribution. On this site I don’t do that as much because I’m conveying personal (expert) opinion.

There are variations in my personal rules with my styles adjusted to suit the customer or align with my mood. In any case, writing is rarely a struggle for me as long as I’m interested in the subject matter and desiring to convey my thoughts for all the world to see.

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