20 SaaS SEO Tools Every Bootstrapper Needs [Tried & Tested]
Updated: Apr 1
The best SaaS SEO tools provide bootstrappers with the data they need to make informed decisions on how to proceed with their SEO strategies.
With my experience developing and implementing conversion-centric SEO strategies for SaaS companies of all sizes, I have the necessary insights to help you determine what could work well in your SEO technology stack.
Are you…
Struggling to boost your SaaS product's visibility in search engine results?
Finding it challenging to manage SEO tasks efficiently while bootstrapping your SaaS venture?
Overwhelmed by the range of SEO tools available and unsure which ones are tailored to SaaS businesses?
For the last five years, I’ve worked directly with SaaS founders and CMOs on SEO strategies for SaaS products.
Through writing optimized content, I recently took Water Cooler Trivia’s domain from zero to 189,000 monthly organic website visitors.
Whether I’m building domains from the ground up or providing SaaS teams with the springboard they need to jump even higher in the SERPs, there are several tools that I simply cannot operate without.
Effective SEO tools for SaaS will enable you to unlock a treasure trove of actionable insights that you can begin to develop optimized content around.
This article is for:
SaaS bootstrappers aiming to optimize their product's online visibility without hefty investments.
SaaS teams seeking cost-effective solutions to scale their SEO efforts and attract more users.
Entrepreneurs in the SaaS space who want to streamline their SEO workflows and drive targeted traffic to their platforms.
20 Best Tools For SaaS SEO To Consider In 2024
Let's explore some tried-and-tested SaaS SEO tools that can support your growth in 2024 and beyond:
1 - SEMRush
What is SEMRush?
SEMRush is one of the most popular, comprehensive SEO suites available. It offers a wealth of features for competitor analysis, keyword research, rank tracking, site audits, backlink analysis, and more.
Pricing
SEMRush has several pricing plans, including:
Pro: $119.95/month
Guru: $229.95/month
Business: $449.95/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
SEMRush is a true powerhouse for SaaS SEO. If I'm creating a new SaaS product, I always check the competitive landscape with SEMRush. It helps me understand competitor strategies, get content inspiration, and discover profitable keyword opportunities. For me, SEMrush's keyword research and competitor analysis tools have proven invaluable!
Review
“It's a classic SEO tool and a must-have for every SEO consultant. It's perfect for quickly analyzing competitor websites as well as your own. It's a very powerful tool if you know how to use it and what to look for. In my opinion, it's only worthwhile in the hands of SEO and marketing experts. I would love it to be a bit cheaper, but it's worth the price.”
Read the full review on Capterra.
2 - Ahrefs
What is Ahrefs?
Competing directly with SEMRush, Ahrefs is another excellent all-in-one SEO tool. Its forte lies in its massive backlink index and powerful tools for backlink analysis and technical SEO audits.
Pricing
Ahrefs offers the following pricing tiers:
Lite: $99/month
Standard: $199/month
Advanced: $399/month
Enterprise: $999/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
Ahrefs is great for in-depth backlink research. In my opinion, it also has one of the best content gap analysis tools on the market. I recommend using it to identify content opportunities that your competitors are ranking for, but you're not.
Review
“Ahrefs is a very-near-complete expert SEO tool suite. For the price you pay and the value you get, you have to be fairly bad at SEO to not get an ROI on your investment. I think one of the great struggles with these tools is an intuitive user experience, and despite how clunky their interface might look, I think they have drawn a very nice balance between functionality and useability.”
Read the full review on Capterra.
3 - Moz Pro
What is Moz Pro?
Moz Pro is a well-established SEO platform, known for its Domain Authority metric and powerful suite of tools. It offers reliable keyword research, rank tracking, site audits, and backlink analysis capabilities.
Pricing
Moz Pro's subscription tiers are:
Standard: $99/month
Medium: $179/month
Large: $299/month
Premium: $599/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
I've always liked Moz Pro for its user-friendly interface and excellent learning resources. The Moz Academy and blog provide tons of valuable information to help you improve your SEO skills. For a bootstrapped SaaS founder, I think Moz offers a great blend of functionality and educational support.
Review
“Moz offers multiple tools to make the lives of SEO professionals easier. It calculates metrics (DA and PA) to see the ranking strength of a website. In addition to that, it offers a SERP Rank Tracker to tool to check website rankings for specific keywords against competitors', a Keyword Tracker for getting keyword ideas, a Backlinks Analyzer to analyze backlink profiles and identify toxic links, an SEO Auditor to audit a website to figure out gapes and flaws in technical SEO, and a Link Builder to build good quality links in a few clicks.”
Read the full review on Capterra.
4 - Serpstat
What is Serpstat?
Serpstat is a more affordable alternative to the bigger SEO platforms. It offers robust keyword research, competitor analysis, backlink monitoring, and site auditing tools.
Pricing
Serpstat has flexible pricing plans:
Lite: $69/month
Standard: $149/month
Advanced: $299/month
Enterprise: $499/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
When I'm on a tight budget, Serpstat is a great option. It has a lot of features and its prices are competitive. For bootstrappers watching their spending, this tool can provide great value.
Review
“I am super impressed with the entire team there. They have amazing software and they are dedicated to helping their congrats improve and get what they need. I am super fond of their social experience with Twitter as well. They are super relevant in the market. Great job!”
Read the full review on Capterra.
5 - Surfer SEO
What is Surfer SEO?
Surfer SEO is a content optimization tool heavily focused on on-page SEO. It can help analyze search engine result pages (SERPs) and provide detailed content guidelines for your target keywords.
Pricing
Surfer SEO memberships include the following:
Basic: $59/month
Pro: $119/month
Business: $239/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
I've found Surfer's SERP analysis and content editor to be extremely useful in creating content that's optimized for specific keywords. If you're focusing heavily on content marketing, this tool can help you consistently create content that ranks on Google.
Review
“Being someone who is deeply immersed in the world of digital marketing and content creation, I've had quite a few experiences with SEO tools. But let me tell you, Surfer SEO is a total game-changer! It stands out, especially when it comes to keyword research and AI-assisted content creation.”
Read the full review on Capterra.
Video Tutorial
Here's a useful video tutorial on how SaaS teams can utilize Surfer SEO:
6 - Also Asked
What is Also Asked?
Also Asked is a specialized tool that mines the "People Also Ask" boxes on Google for insights. It helps uncover long-tail questions related to your target keywords.
Pricing
Also Asked includes different plans:
Free: Limited searches
Lite: $15/month
Pro: $49/month
Agency: $99/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
I like to use Also Asked to understand the questions people have about my product or service. Its question-focused approach can be great for content idea generation, especially if you're targeting informational keywords and want to address common pain points of your audience.
7 - Keywords Everywhere
What is Keywords Everywhere?
Keywords Everywhere is a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox. It directly integrates keyword volume, competitive data, and related keyword suggestions into Google Search, YouTube, and other popular sites.
Pricing
Keywords Everywhere operates on a credit-based system, where credits are used for each keyword search. Credit packs can be purchased as needed.
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
Keywords Everywhere gives you quick access to valuable data as you're doing your research. It's great for getting an immediate sense of search volume and uncovering related keywords. Whenever I'm brainstorming new content ideas, I find its right-at-your-fingertips convenience super helpful.
8 - Keyworddit
What is Keyworddit?
Keyworddit is a free tool that finds keywords from discussions within subreddits (communities on Reddit).
Pricing
Keyworddit is a completely free tool.
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
I think you should use Keyworddit to discover the natural language around your target market. Seeing how people discuss their problems or topics related to your SaaS can spark tons of blog post ideas or give insights into how to phrase your content to connect with the audience.
9 - Google Search Console
What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console is a free tool provided by Google, offering crucial data and insights about a website's performance in search results. It includes reports on impressions, clicks, keyword rankings, and technical issues.
Pricing
Google Search Console is completely free.
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
In my opinion, Google Search Console is essential. I've always relied on it to track my website's organic search performance and get insights directly from Google about how they see my site. It can also alert you to potential technical issues that can be impacting your SEO.
Review
“Google Search Console is a powerful SEO tool that offers detailed insights on website's search engine performance, identifying and fixing technical issues, monitoring visibility on Google search, and analyzing backlinks. However, it requires basic SEO knowledge and only offers insights on Google, not other search engines. It's important to evaluate how it aligns with your specific SEO needs.”
Read the full review on Capterra.
Video Tutorial
Here's a useful video on how to set up Google Search Console for beginners:
10 - Screaming Frog SEO Spider
What is Screaming Frog SEO Spider?
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a powerful website crawler that allows you to analyze your website from a technical SEO perspective. It can find broken links, missing metadata, duplicate content, and more.
Pricing
Screaming Frog has a free version with limited functionality and a paid version (£149.00/year) that unlocks all the features.
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
A website's technical health is crucial for good SEO performance. Screaming Frog helps you pinpoint technical issues that might be holding you back. From my perspective, it's a must-have tool for identifying and fixing on-site problems.
Review
“This tool lets you enter a URL for any website and click start to get some useful results. Within a minute or less, Screaming Frog spits out a list of every page on the site with information you can analyze to make sure it is optimized for SEO such as page titles, header tags and status codes. You can also use it to dig into competitor websites to see how you might beat them.”
Read the full review on Capterra.
11 - Google Trends
What is Google Trends?
Google Trends is a free tool allowing you to explore the relative search popularity of keywords and topics over time. You can compare trends, get regional insights, and discover seasonal patterns.
Pricing
Google Trends is free to use.
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
I recommend using Google Trends to validate demand for topics, spot growing trends, and plan content that aligns with seasonal search interest. It can also be helpful for keeping an eye on your competitors' brand names to assess changes in interest over time.
12 - Answer The Public
What is Answer The Public?
Answer The Public is a visual keyword research tool that generates question-based phrases related to your target keywords.
Pricing
Answer the Public has a free version with limited searches and a paid Pro version ($99/month) for unlimited searches and other features.
13 - HockeyStack
What is HockeyStack?
HockeyStack is an analytics and revenue attribution platform designed specifically for SaaS businesses. It unifies your SaaS analytics stack, giving insights across various tools and helping track the entire sales funnel.
Pricing
HockeyStack offers custom pricing based on the needs of your business. You'll need to contact them for a quote.
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
If I'm serious about understanding the true ROI of my SEO efforts, HockeyStack is a tool I'd consider. It can help connect the dots between your content, organic visitors, and eventually track how those visitors become paying customers. This type of insight can guide SEO strategy by showing which types of content have the highest conversion potential.
14 - GTMetrix
What is GTMetrix?
GTMetrix is a website performance analysis tool that measures key metrics like page speed and load times. It offers actionable insights to optimize your website for faster loading.
Pricing
GTMetrix has a free option with limited features. Paid plans offer additional features and analyses:
Basic: $10/month
Starter: $20/month
Developer: $40/month
Pro: $100/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
I've found that page speed is an important SEO ranking factor. GTMetrix can help you pinpoint specific improvements to make your SaaS website faster. A well-optimized site that loads quickly can improve user experience and give you an edge in search rankings.
15 - HotJar
What is HotJar?
HotJar is a behavior analytics tool with heatmaps, session recordings, and surveys. It allows you to understand how users interact with your website.
Pricing
Hotjar has a free plan with limited features and paid plans for businesses:
Plus: $39/month
Business: Starting from $99/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
I often use Hotjar to identify friction points for users on my websites. Are they getting stuck on my pricing page? Are they failing to find a core feature? This type of user behavior data can pinpoint areas where improvement might lead to better SEO rankings and better conversions.
16 - Google Analytics
What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is the most widely used web analytics platform. It provides detailed traffic insights, user behavior reports, and more.
Pricing
Google Analytics has a free version and a paid enterprise version (Google Analytics 360).
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
Google Analytics is fundamental for understanding your website traffic and tracking conversions. I try to connect my overall SEO performance goals with data in Google Analytics, so I can measure the true impact and adjust my strategy accordingly.
17 - SE Ranking
What is SE Ranking?
SE Ranking is an all-around SEO tool with keyword rank tracking, competitor analysis, website audits, and backlink monitoring features.
Pricing
SE Ranking's pricing is based on rank tracking frequency and the number of keywords:
Essential: Starting from $31/month
Pro: Starting from $71/month
Business: Starting from $151/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
For me, SE Ranking is a strong alternative to the more expensive options like SEMrush or Ahrefs. It's great if you want a comprehensive SEO platform without breaking the bank.
Review
“With SE Ranking it's easy to set up a website project for reliable ranking tracking, get a quick but not shallow SEO audit, check for inappropriate page changes, and much more.”
Read the full review on Capterra.
18 - Hunter.io
What is Hunter.io?
Hunter.io is an email finding and verification tool. It can help you find and verify email addresses associated with a specific company or domain.
Pricing
Hunter.io has a free plan with limited searches and paid plans:
Starter: $49/month
Growth: $99/month
Pro: $199/month
Enterprise: $399/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
I use Hunter.io primarily for link building outreach. It's handy for finding the right people to connect with for potential guest posts, backlinks, or mentions.
19 - Ubersuggest
What is Ubersuggest?
Ubersuggest is a keyword research and SEO tool by Neil Patel. It includes keyword research, website audits, and competitor analysis features.
Pricing
Ubersuggest offers individual and business plans:
Individual: $12 - $40/month
Business: $20 - $80/month
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
Ubersuggest is a solid starting point for bootstrappers who want an easy-to-use and affordable SEO tool.
Review
“Ubersuggest is a must have tool for optimizing SEO efforts and helping on generating impactful content ideas. It can take time to master but the benefits make it well worth the investment.”
Read the full review on Capterra.
20 - Clearscope
What is Clearscope?
Clearscope is an AI-powered content optimization tool that helps create content that is likely to rank high in Google.
Pricing
Clearscope offers three plans:
Essentials: $170/month
Professional: $350/month
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Why Is It Useful For SaaS SEO?
Clearscope goes beyond simple keyword analysis and helps you write comprehensive, topically-relevant content. If you're focusing heavily on content marketing, Clearscope can add an extra layer of in-depth topical optimization to your process.
Review
“We've seen significant search traffic improvement to old posts after editing them in Clearscope. Also, it's a great tool for outlining and drafting new articles to make sure the content is well-aligned with search intent. The cost is somewhat high, but I haven't found anything else like it, so I think it's well worth the price. At first I thought I might sign up for a month, use up all the reports, then cancel and stop paying for it. But I'm getting so much ongoing value from it that I've been happily paying for months now.”
Read the full review on Capterra.
Choosing The Right SEO Tool For Your SaaS
As a SaaS bootstrapper, every penny counts! Choosing the right SEO tools is a balancing act between getting the functionality you need and keeping costs in check. Here's how I recommend approaching it:
Start with the essentials
Begin with free tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Google Trends to get baseline data and SEO understanding. These free tools will uncover loads of valuable insights.
Prioritize by your goals
What's your biggest hurdle right now? If it's generating content ideas and doing keyword research, consider a combination of free tools like Answer The Public, Keywords Everywhere, and a more affordable suite like Ubersuggest. If your focus is on backlinks, then look for outreach tools like Hunter.io.
Target specific functions
Rather than investing in a costly all-in-one platform, pick a couple of specialized tools that address your immediate pain points. This allows you to get the best bang for your buck rather than paying for features you might not use.
Leverage free trials and flexible pricing
Many SaaS SEO tools offer free trials or free plans with limited features. Utilize these trials to test drive the tools before committing. Additionally, look for tools with monthly billing options so you can adjust your subscriptions as your needs and budget evolve.
Don't get overwhelmed It's easy to get caught up in the vast array of SEO tools. Focus on a small selection that will make the biggest impact on your growth right now and expand your toolkit as your budget and expertise grow.
