19 replies to this topic

[Jill]

Absolutely! Keyword research tools such as Keyword Discovery and Wordtracker are indespensible.

It's those "full out SEO type tools" that I think most of us have found to be not very useful.

[Williamsburg]

Hello...

Google's Webmaster Console is worth setting up...

Also, just started an engagement w/ SEMLogic...not exactly a tool, they offer some interesting analysis.

[purefusion]

I just want to chime in real quickly. I use WebPosition 4 for checking search ranks and it's really superb. It's constantly being updated to keep pace with the slew of changes the search engines make, and the updates are quick and painless. For me, it was a worthy investment. Rank checking is sooo tedious. This program (for Windows only) has eased the pain for me, especially since I have clients who arguably insist on seeing this type of report. I don't mind it now! I personally know that ranks aren't the most important aspect of SEO, Jill will tell you the same thing. But they do come in handy when you know what to optimize for. However, even if the client wants you to track irrelevant key phrases, why argue when the they're paying?

Reports are generated in HTML format, and you can view results by engine, by keyword, and much more! I usually upload the files to a section of my site for clients only, and they can even view archives (I usually run reports once per month). In any case, I went with the professional version with supresses any mention of the software and lets me brand the results pages with my company name and logo.

Now, you may not be doing SEO on a client-consultant basis, but even if you have a boss who insists on having rankings reports, and hey... he/she pays your paycheck right? ...this too would help you. Alternately he/she could buy it and run the reports themselves, without your intervention, allowing you to focus on the more important aspects of SEO. It's really quite easy with this software.

But I couldn't agree more in regards to doing the actual SEO. Computers just cannot process information like our brains can. Although I've seen my share of "SEO experts" who suck at SEO. But hey, we can't all be geniuses, right? I just prefer doing it myself, that way I can guarantee a job well-done.

Hope this helps at least one other person

Warm Regards,
Scott

Edited by purefusion, 04 May 2007 - 01:49 PM.

[torka]

Rank checking is sooo tedious.

And in this world of personalized search, sooo much a waste of time.

Which is why I don't do rank checking and won't work with any clients that are hung up on rankings.

--Torka

[Jill]

purefusion, we actually have a whole thread about rank checking software pinned in this seo resources and advice section too. Definitely don't want this thread to start getting into those as well...