SE Ranking is one of the next best all-in-one SEO software available after SEMrush and can make life easier when streamlining your site’s SEO strategy.
SE Ranking has over 300,000 users and has been regarded as one of the most promising newcomers in the SEO community.
It’s cloud-based, so you won’t need to concern yourself with desktop installations or updates to your software.
It’s made of a suite of tools, with an in-depth keyword research tool that stands out due to having roughly two billion keywords available.
It boasts of having top-level custom reporting, and it’s guaranteed to help you understand relevant SEO data.
Ideally, you should use SERanking if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option for an SEO platform that can help you utilize your keyword strategy.
Pros of Using SE Ranking
Evaluate any Backlinks — There are fifteen variables to consider for your backlinks. These include the Google index status of each link, Moz Domain Authority, the overall social popularity, and the Majestic Trust Flow.
In-Depth Website Audit — Crawl through your site to check its overall site health. These include meta tags, headers, and general issues with the user experience.
Keyword Rank Tracker — You can access this to view any historical data for your most important keywords and filter the data by the device to view your site ranking on mobile devices.
On-Page Checker — You can use this to determine your page’s current SEO state, and you can get recommendations on any improvements you can make.
Use of Segment Keywords — You can plan any PPC keywords and build your site strategy with the help of SE Ranking’s keyword grouper tool.
Cons of Using SERanking
Data Speed — Compared to other platforms, SERanking is among the slower variety.
Doesn’t Include Metrics — Unlike SEMrush, it doesn’t include metrics such as SERP features, competitive density, and trends.
No SEO Writing Tool — When publishing your content, you don’t have an SEO writing tool to gauge how well your writing is optimized.
Ranking Delay — You need to wait a day before you can see your site's rankings.
Support Resources — While SEMrush has detailed blogs and an SEO Academy, SERanking has fewer learning and support resources.
SEO PowerSuite is a desktop-based SEO tool with an all-in-one toolkit comprising four different tools.
These tools include a rank tracker for keyword research and monitoring your rank, a website auditor for SEO and on-page optimization, an SEO spyglass for backlink research and auditing, and a link assistant for link building and management.
Over five million SEO specialists and site managers use SEO PowerSuite due to its highly regarded analytical tools, which are great for assessing your competitors and how they’re succeeding.
It even offers users a free option that includes all four tools, but you can’t copy or export data in that plan.
SEO PowerSuite is best suited for agencies and professionals who want to analyze their competitors’ to improve their SEO strategies.
Pros of Using PowerSuite
Automatic Platform Updates — You can quickly adapt to any key changes in the search engine algorithm due to automatic updates.
Competitor Comparison — You can compare your site to up to forty competitors.
Keyword Ranking — You can track your keyword ranking on over 450 global and local search engines, available on mobile devices and desktops.
Link Assistant Application — Using this, you can search for any link-building prospects through comments, guest posts, and product reviews.
SEO Automation — You can automate key tasks for SEO, such as rank tracking, website audits, and checking backlinks.
Cons of Using PowerSuite
Application Updates — You will frequently require new software for downloads for updates to the application.
Desktop-Based Platform — A massive download and a vast amount of computing power are required due to being a desktop-based platform.
Full-Price License For Each User — It won’t be only one license for all users, but each user will need their own full-price license if they need to use it.
No PPC Software — SEMrush offers PPC advertising, but this is not true for SEO PowerSuite.
Not An Integrated Platform — Due to being a set of tools, it is more complex for some users, so it will have a steeper learning curve compared to SEMrush.
WebCEO is one of the oldest tools in the market as an all-in-one SEO cloud-based software.
Used since 2001, it is available in over twenty languages, almost double the amount available for most other SEO tools.
There are over eighteen tools used by SEO, which are grouped into different categories.
These include keyword research and rank tracking, site and technical audits and sitemap generation, content submission and backlink checkers for link earning, traffic analysis, social media analytics, and competitor metrics.
It even lets users integrate it with Google Analytics for easy reporting.
Due to the age of the tool, it’s no surprise that WebCEO is one of the best for all businesses and can be used by agencies, small businesses, and large corporations.
If you want to upgrade your SEO strategy, consider WebCEO as an option.
Pros of Using WebCEO
Additional User Logins — You won’t have to pay extra to add in any other user logins to the software, nor are there any limits.
Keyword Database — Keyword database is updated frequently with each user query.
Majestic Backlink — Supplies data for Majestic backlink for free for all users.
Rank Tracker — You can use multi-targeting regardless of your SEO plan.
White-Labels on Domain — If you have a domain, you can use the SEO tools without constantly mentioning WebCEO.
Cons of Using WebCEO
No Freemium Option — If you’re looking for a free SEO tool, you won’t find an option here.
No Audience Targeting — Unlike SEMrush, WebCEO doesn’t have an audience targeting feature in their plan.
No Webinar Training — If you’re using it for a large business, webinar training sessions aren’t available to make it easier to switch to.
Steep Learning Curve — WebCEO does have a steep learning curve and isn’t intuitive for beginners. It’s widely assumed that you already understand how you use the provided information.
User Interface Could Be Improved — Many features may confuse new users.
A budget-friendly option, Serpstat emphasizes their easy-to-use in-depth keyword research tool that you can use for your site and any competing domains.
You can get info from over 180 million domains, which, although smaller than the 816 million domains available from SEMrush.
However, you can not dispute the size of Serpstat’s domain database, which is significant.
Available with multi-user plans, Serpstat is a great option for a larger SEO team.
It has clean visuals to allow for ease of use, as they’re color-coded and coded by numbers.
These clean visuals will make it easier for every team member to view the available data.
If you’re looking for a reasonably priced platform to focus on strengthening your keyword strategy, you should consider Serpstat.
Pros of Using Serpstat
Batch Analysis — This allows the user to compare up to two hundred domains simultaneously.
Keyword Relevance — You can see which of your sites’ pages are relevant to specific keywords.
Keyword Variations — You can test keyword variations to optimize your pages without worrying about receiving a penalty for keyword stuffing.
Missing Keywords — Showcases any competing pages that rank in the top ten for any keywords that you’re missing on your page.
Seven Day Free Trial — If you’re uncertain, you can use the free trial to use all features with only a small number of limitations.
Cons of Using Serpstat
Keyword Difficulty — Inaccuracies have been noticed when using the Keyword Difficulty tool.
Limited Keyword Database — Many of Serpstat’s competitors have a more comprehensive range of keywords available in their database.
No Backlink Monitoring — You won’t be able to analyze your backlink data and check which are to your benefit or not.
No SEO Writing Tool — You can’t analyze how your content works with SEO, a feature included in SEMrush.
Social Media Tracking — Social media tracking isn’t included in Serpstat’s plan, but it is in SEMrush.
One of the most popular SEO tools for both bloggers and marketers, GrowthBar, like in its name, was built for growth.
Their goal is to make it ten times easier for you to get brand new customers.
As a web app, it even features an extension for Chrome that will surface any SEO data as you browse.
Praised for its ease of use in keyword research, competitive analysis, and content generation, it’s one of the most popular and modern tools on the market today.
With the help of its content generator tool, you can enter any keyword, and GrowthBar’s AI will create an outline to help you rank quickly.
For modern bloggers and marketers, GrowthBar is a brilliant budget-friendly SEO tool to help perform content generation, competitive analysis, rank tracking, and keyword research.
Pros of Using GrowthBar
AI-Driven Content Generator — If you want to get SEO-optimized content outlines, you can easily do so using GrowthBar’s content generation tool.
Chrome Extension — This makes it easier to check critical pieces of SEO data quickly.
Competitor Ranking — You can check what your competitors are doing by analyzing the keywords and marketing channels used.
Easy To Use — The dashboards are simple, which makes them accessible to all users to learn.
Rank Tracker — The dashboard used to check rankings also allows you to monitor the SEO performance of particular keywords over time.
Cons of Using GrowthBar
Customer Support Delay — Customer support can take up to a day to get back to you with any issues.
Less Data Options — While great for bloggers, it has fewer data analysis options.
No Metrics Analysis — Users won’t be able to check metrics such as SERP features and trends.
No On-Page SEO — You can’t check the SEO features on the page you selected.
Rank Updates — These aren’t immediate and may take up to a few minutes.
Ahrefs is one of the top SEO tools today and is the closest competitor to SEMrush.
There are numerous comparable features, with a few bonuses in their tools.
Ahrefs has a brilliant internet-wide and site-specific crawling capability and robust keyword management and competitive analysis tools.
Despite its interface, it works as an excellent option for professional marketers.
Its interface does appear confusing to new users.
Ultimately, Ahrefs is popular among agencies that look to track the keyword movements of multiple clients and projects.
Pros of Using Ahrefs
Backlinks Analysis — You can see how many backlinks your site will need for a specific keyword.
Chrome and Firefox Extensions — SEO add-ons are available for these two browsers, and you can view the metrics of backlinks, PPC, and search volume across all search engine results.
Competitor Analysis — You can discover the keywords your competitors rank for and recognize which are their top-ranking pages.
Essential SEO Data — You can view keywords, traffic, and value transparently on the user-friendly dashboard.
Keyword Research For Additional Search Engines — While it performs keyword research for Google, you can also use it for YouTube and Amazon.
Cons of Using Ahrefs
Basic Plan Restrictions — The basic plan is limited to one user per platform and only five projects unless you want to pay extra.
No Disavow Tool — If you have too many bad backlinks on your site, you will need to manually remove them on Google Search Console’s Disavow tool instead.
No Google Analytics Integration — If you want to use Google Analytics for SEO reporting, you may struggle due to having no integration.
No Keyword Metrics — Users won’t be able to analyze any keyword metrics and SERP features, so you won’t be able to analyze trends or competitive density, unlike SEMrush.
Web Traffic Inaccuracy — Ahrefs web traffic statistics aren’t as accurate as other platforms and are typically four or five times lower than those found in Google Analytics and the Google Search Console.
You may recognize Moz Pro through their leading digital marketing blog, and it’s through this that Moz has become a massive name in the SEO business.
It combines the best elements of keyword research, content marketing, and competitive analysis as a solid all-rounder.
Moz Pro is an easy-to-navigate platform and is both practical and user-friendly.
If you want to learn about SEO, Moz Pro is an excellent source of experience as they have many helpful resources at your disposal.
They’re also great for small businesses that want to improve their SEO strategy by utilizing free tools that don’t need in-depth data from other platforms.
Pros of Using Moz Pro
Essential SEO Tools Are Free — Tools such as keyword explorer and backlink research are free.
Google Chrome Extension — You can access MozBar, which allows you to examine your site’s page and domain authority.
Open Site Explorer — You can use this to track your link profiles and discover new chances for link building.
User-Friendly Interface — Moz Pro’s interface is better presented when compared to both Ahrefs and SEMrush.
Weekly Crawl Updates — You’ll receive weekly updates on duplicate content, missing metadata, and any 404s.
Cons of Using Moz Pro
Competitor Analysis — Compared to other platforms, the competitor analysis used in Moz Pro is weaker.
Less Technical Tools — You won’t be able to look into the specifics of the tech, such as the site speed.
Limited Backlinks — Compared to the other SEO tools, the backlinks database of Moz Pro is limited.
Paid Plans — When compared to SEMrush, any additional features included in Moz Pro’s professional plans are nowhere near as powerful.
Slower Reports — If you need reports on data, you’ll find that it’s slower than Ahrefs and SEMrush.
SpyFu has a comprehensive and diverse set of competitor analytics, making them great for spying on your competitors' sites.
Even though SEMrush offers similar metrics, SpyFu has a cleanly presented and simple user interface, making it easier to discover your competitors’ SEO and PPC strategies, which will help you improve your own.
If you’re a part of an agency wanting to understand your competitors’ overall SEO strategy, you can use SpyFu to give yourself an advantage over your competitors.
Thus, making it a great tool for competitor analysis.
Pros of Using SpyFu
Easy-To-Use — The platform is intuitive and straightforward, so you won’t struggle to learn how to use it.
In-Depth Breakdown of Competitor’s Traffic — You can deep dive into your competitor’s top ranking keywords, Google Ads spending, and any backlinks on their site.
Resources Available — If you are struggling to understand, many helpful resources can help you utilize SpyFu at its best.
Twenty Years of Competitor Data — This has the edge over SEMrush’s database, which only goes as far back as 2012.
Unlimited Search Results — On higher price plans, you’ll find that the search results available are unlimited, while SEMrush and other SEO plans are limited.
Cons of Using SpyFu
Ad Spending — Ad spending isn’t wholly accurate and is only an estimate.
Geo-Locations — When analyzing rankings, it’s hard to differentiate which geo-locations the rankings are coming from.
Keyword Research Tool — It doesn’t utilize advanced filtering nor has as many suggestions.
Less Focus On Own Domain — SpyFu focuses on your competitors, so there are fewer options to help analyze and improve your domain.
Traffic Analysis — Unlike SEMrush, you’ll find SpyFu doesn’t have a traffic analysis tool available to use.
Monitor Backlinks is, as its name suggests, used to monitor and track every backlink directed to your site.
You can analyze the advanced information you need to research your backlinks and how you can improve them.
As a whole, Monitor Backlinks will help you track your backlinks and provide extensive info on each one so you understand who is linking to you and why.
Monitor Backlinks is an excellent option for agencies looking to do an in-depth analysis of their pages’ backlinks and how you can improve them based on realistic data.
Pros of Using Monitor Backlinks
Competitor Backlink Notifications — You can check when your competitors receive new backlinks to help you discover new opportunities for link building.
Disavow Tool — To help protect yourself from harmful backlinks, you can use a unique disavow tool to defend your SERP rankings.
Notifications of New Backlinks — Along with new backlinks to your competitors, you’ll receive almost-immediate notifications of any new backlinks directed at your site.
Sources New Opportunities — You will receive constant updates on new backlink opportunities, which offer many link-building opportunities.
Tracks Vital Keywords — Along with tracking your vital keywords, it will compare them to your rankings and those of your competitors.
Cons of Using Monitor Backlinks
Website Limits — You’re limited to only four other websites to monitor, even with an advanced plan.
Keyword Comparison — There are fewer keyword comparison options, and no research tools exist.
Interface and UX — The overall user experience and the interface are weaker than other platforms.
Less Competitor Analysis — The focus is on your personal backlinks instead of competitors.
Filtering Data — There are few time limit options for how you can filter data.
One of the original SEO platforms, it specializes in comprehensive link analysis and will provide up-to-date info.
It has a vast link database at the disposal of its users and has been known to focus on the finer details.
Majestic can explore the domain and URL in-depth with its site explorer tool.
Marketers can benefit from using Majestic to compare their web page to their competitors’ backlinks to get a competitive edge.
Pros of Using Majestic
Backlinks Profile — You can view a complete profile or a backlink that helps improve your site’s link-building opportunities.
Backlinks Database — Majestic has an extensive backlinks database larger than SEMrush.
Clique Hunter — This feature allows you to view sites that link to your competitors but not your site.
Custom Reports — You can use Majestic to build custom reports.
Metrics Trust and Citation Flow — Majestic has its trust, and citations flow to examine sites with a similar link profile and can also score the number and quality of links.
Cons of Using Majestic
Graphs — Data is given in graphs which can be challenging to interpret.
Keyword Research Tools — Weaker than SEMrush, which has more insight into richer keywords.
Missing Links — Backlink history doesn’t always catch all the links.
A free SEO report card analysis tells you how your site compares to competitors.
As a free tool, UpCity’s SEO Report Card provides in-depth data about your website ranking on several search engines.
It even includes trust metrics and accessibility intel for your website, which helps you assess key data.
If you work for a small business that wants metrics that are easy to understand, then this may help you assess the success of your current SEO strategy with ease.
Pros of Using UpCity’s SEO Report Card
Accessibility for Users — Analyze the accessibility based on load time and how well crawlers can get through.
Index Site Pages — Analyze how much of your site has been indexed by users.
Keyword Success — Look at how much success you’ve had by implementing your main keyword.
Site Ranking Analysis — Check where you rank on Google, Bing, and Yahoo!.
Trust Metrics — Analyze the level of trust and authority of your site.
Cons of Using UpCity’s SEO Report Card
Advertising — There’s more focus on bringing users to clients of inbound marketing services.
Competitive Analysis — Fewer features to check on your competitors.
Keyword Focus — There’s too much focus on how a keyword is used and ranked.
Limited Additional Analysis — When checking SEO results, you may find there are limited additions added to them.
Tool Depth — Not as deep when compared to other platforms.
With a specific focus on site crawling, CognitiveSEO will analyze your whole site and discover any weaknesses where you could improve your SEO strategy.
CognitiveSEO uses auditing algorithms that pick out the finer points across your site and includes a check on any backlinks.
It even provides keyword strategy tools to help ensure your strategy is fully coherent.
CognitiveSEO is best suited for agencies that want a detailed SEO audit of their website before utilizing any new strategies.
Pros of Using CognitiveSEO
Backlink Analysis Tool — Discover where your backlinks are coming from.
Keyword Analysis — You can gain access to a target keyword analysis.
Scheduled Reports — You can customize your reports to be sent out at different periods.
SEO Challenges — Can identify issues for your site, including duplicates, sitemap issues, and slower response times.
SERP Ranking — Discover which keywords and phrases will help you rank highly in SERPs.
Cons of Using CognitiveSEO
Content Gap Analysis — You won't be able to analyze content gaps, so you won’t know what needs to be filled.
Online Support — There’s a delayed response time when wanting online support.
Rank Tracking Tool — You can’t use this to compare multiple sites at a time.
Short Competitor Analysis — Not as detailed as the free plan.
User Interface — Difficult to navigate and appears dated.
Final Thoughts
Before deciding on what SEO tools you should use, you should also check out any free trials before you buy.
SEO tools can be expensive, so always consider your budget when looking for an alternative to SEMrush.
Hi, my name is Justin Shaw, I started my career with a Masters in Computer Science but found writing to be my forte'.
I'm now the Principal Tech writer for GshiftLabs.com as well as a few other well known publications. I help make the complex world of Tech-Jargon easy to understand.
