In today’s competitive market, small businesses need to have a solid online presence to succeed. However, a recent survey we conducted revealed that 14% of small businesses are not using tools to aid their search marketing efforts.
If you’re part of that group, this blog will introduce you to low-cost, novice-friendly digital marketing tools to boost your SEO, PPC campaigns, and overall online visibility.
Search marketing tools can help businesses optimize their websites, find the right keywords, and get in front of potential customers through paid ads or organic search.
Here 7 of the top search marketing tools that are affordable and easy to use, making them ideal for small businesses just starting their online marketing journey.
Purpose: This marketing research tool helps you discover relevant keywords for your business that potential customers are searching for on Google.
Why It’s Great for Beginners: Google Keyword Planner is free to use if you have a Google Ads account. It’s intuitive, even for those with little experience, and provides actionable data to build your SEO and PPC campaigns around the most relevant search terms.
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How It Helps Small Businesses: This tool enables small businesses to strategically choose keywords that have high potential to drive traffic to their site without wasting money on irrelevant or overly competitive terms. With this data, you can create targeted content for SEO or paid ads for PPC.
Pricing: Free (Requires a Google Ads account, but you don’t have to actively run a campaign to use it)
Example Use Case: Let’s say you run a local plumbing company. By using Google Keyword Planner, you can discover that many people in your area search for “emergency plumber near me” or “water heater repair.” You can then optimize your website and ads around these phrases to attract more customers.
Purpose: A versatile SEO and content marketing tool from Neil Patel designed to help you find the right keywords and track their performance over time.
Why It’s Great for Beginners: Ubersuggest is one of the easiest SEO tools for beginners to navigate. It provides clear and understandable data on keyword rankings, website traffic, and backlink profiles, and it even offers content suggestions to help with your blog strategy.
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How It Helps Small Businesses: Ubersuggest provides a holistic view of your SEO efforts. By auditing your site and offering keyword recommendations, it ensures that you can continuously improve your rankings without needing to hire an expert.
Pricing: Free Plan (Limited access), Individual Plan ($12 per month), Business Plan ($20 per month), Enterprise/Agency Plan ($40 per month)
Example Use Case: Imagine you own a small appliance repair business and want to boost your online presence. Ubersuggest can help you identify long-tail keywords such as “freezer repair near me” or “washing machine leaking help” These keywords can be the focus of your blog posts, product pages, or even Google Ads.
Purpose: A comprehensive digital marketing toolkit that supports SEO, PPC, content marketing, social media, and competitor analysis.
Why It’s Great for Beginners: SEMrush offers a wide range of functionalities that make it ideal for those who want a tool that can do it all. It’s highly detailed yet easy to learn, with plenty of tutorials and resources to guide new users through the various features. While it may not be the cheapest option, it is often regarded as one of the best marketing tools for small businesses.
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How It Helps Small Businesses: SEMrush is a powerful tool for understanding what’s working in your industry and where you can gain a competitive edge. For small businesses, it’s a great way to research keywords and competitors to build data-driven campaigns.
Pricing: Pro Plan ($129.95/month), Guru Plan ($249.95/month), Business Plan ($499.95/month)
Example Use Case: If you’re a local HVAC company, SEMrush can show you which competitors rank highly for keywords like “emergency AC repair” or “HVAC installation,” and give you insights into how to out-rank them with better content or PPC strategies.
Purpose: SEO marketing tools to help you track your rankings, conduct site audits, and optimize your website for search engines.
Why It’s Great for Beginners: Moz is known for its simplicity and ease of use. Even if you’re new to SEO, you’ll find Moz’s interface approachable. Moz also provides a wealth of educational content to help you learn SEO basics.
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How It Helps Small Businesses: Moz helps small businesses understand the technical aspects of SEO—which small businesses report as the most challenging aspect of SEO—without requiring extensive knowledge. By using their rank tracking and site audit features, you can easily see which parts of your website need improvement.
Pricing: Standard Plan ($99/month), Medium Plan ($179/month), Large Plan ($299/month), Premium Plan ($599/month)
Example Use Case: If you're an electrician, Moz can help you discover that optimizing your pages for local SEO terms like “best electrician in [city]” could boost your rankings and attract more local customers.
Purpose: Competitor marketing analytics tool that helps you uncover your competitors' most successful SEO and PPC strategies.
Why It’s Great for Beginners: SpyFu offers an intuitive interface that allows users to dig into competitor data without feeling overwhelmed. With just a few clicks, this PPC analysis tool helps you learn which keywords your competitors are using and which ads are bringing them traffic.
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How It Helps Small Businesses: SpyFu allows small businesses to learn from competitors that are already succeeding. By studying their ad strategies and keyword usage, you can refine your own marketing efforts to achieve better results.
Pricing: Basic Plan ($39/month), Professional Plan ($79/month), Team Plan ($299/month)
Example Use Case: If you run a landscaping business, SpyFu can show you which local competitors are paying for ads targeting terms like “affordable landscaping services” or “lawn care near me,” allowing you to tailor your own PPC campaigns.
Purpose: A design tool for creating professional-looking marketing graphics, including social media ads, banners, and website images.
Why It’s Great for Beginners: Canva’s drag-and-drop interface and library of customizable templates make it incredibly easy for anyone to create high-quality designs without needing any graphic design experience.
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How It Helps Small Businesses: Canva is perfect for small businesses that want to create eye-catching visuals without the cost of hiring a designer. With its pre-built templates, you can design and deploy your ads quickly and efficiently.
Pricing: Free Plan, Pro Plan ($12.99/month), Enterprise Plan ($30 per user/per month)
Example Use Case: A water damage company can use Canva to design images for promotional emails, Facebook ads, and more during their off-season.
Purpose: Provides detailed insights into your website traffic and user behavior, helping you make informed decisions about your marketing efforts.
Why It’s Great for Beginners: Google Analytics is free and provides in-depth data that is invaluable to any small business. While it offers a wealth of information, its interface can be simplified by focusing on the core metrics that matter most to your business.
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How It Helps Small Businesses: Google Analytics helps small businesses understand what’s working and what’s not. It provides data on traffic sources, page performance, and user engagement, allowing businesses to adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.
Pricing: Free
Example Use Case: If you run an e-commerce store, Google Analytics can tell you which product pages are driving the most conversions and which channels (social, organic, paid) are contributing to your sales, helping you focus your efforts on the most effective areas.
In today’s digital landscape, leveraging the right search engine marketing tools is no longer a luxury—it’s necessary for small businesses looking to grow and stay competitive. Whether you’re focused on improving your SEO, launching effective PPC campaigns, or gaining better insights into your audience’s behavior, these tools can be an affordable, user-friendly starting point.
Remember, you don’t need to be a marketing expert to make the most of these tools—they’re designed with small businesses in mind, offering powerful features that are accessible even to beginners.
With the right SEO and PPC marketing tools at your disposal, you can make smarter decisions, optimize your campaigns, and take your business to new heights in 2024 and beyond.