All tools listed below fall under the following criteria:

1. they are all useful for SEOs;
2. they are all web-based (no desk-top ones or FireFox extensions so far);
3. they are all free.

Table of Contents:

• Backlink Analyzing Online SEO Tools;
• Keyword Research and Brainstorming Tools:
  • Keyword Brainstorming Tools;
  • Social Media Based Keyword Analyzers;
  • Online Dictionaries and Glossaries that Help with Keyword Research
• Domain Name Online Tools;
• On-Site Analysis Online SEO Tools:
  • On-page Keyword Prominence Research Tools;
  • SEO Browsers;
  • Page Size and Load Time Checkers;
  • Additional Site Diagnostics Tools;
• Search Related Online Tools:
  • Keyword Rank Checking Tools;
  • Tools that Compare Different Search Engine Results;
• Website Traffic and Demographics Report.

1. Backlink Analyzing Online SEO Tools

More backlink checkers:

• Backlink Watch (checks Anchor text);
• Domain Backlinks Checker (sorts the results based on the first- and second-level domains);

2. Keyword Research and Brainstorming Tools

Keyword Brainstorming Tools

Tools that help expand your keyword lists with synonyms, related terms and keyword phrases.

Social Media Based Keyword Analyzers

Use social media sites to explore how people use and tag your core term, its popularity and related words.

Online Dictionaries and Glossaries that Help with Keyword Research

3. Domain Name Online Tools

Dynamic Tools for Domain Name Brainstorming:

Additional domain name checkers and generators:

• DomainsBot (dynamically checks the availability of domain names for 6 TLDs: .com, .org, .net, .info, .biz, .us);
• InstantDomainSearch (dynamically and really fast checks the availability of domain names for 3 TLDs: .com, .org, .net);
• DomainNameSoup (suggests alternative terms for your core term, has a handy typo generator, adds words before and after your term);
• Suggest Name and (DotoMator) – has a fairly large database of available prefixes and suffixes that are sorted out in categories;
• NameBoy (generates the list of domain names based on your primary and secondary (optional) terms).

4. On-Site Analysis Online SEO Tools

On-page Keyword Prominence Research Tools.

Online SEO tools that help analyze keyword on-page usage.

SEO Browsers

One more great tool to see text-only version of the site: LynxView

Page Size and Load Time Checkers

Additional Site Diagnostics Tools:

• Bad Neighborhood Tool (scans external links on a page and detects ‘bad links’).
• Search engine SPAM detector (detects a few types of black-hat tricks: hidden text, doorway pages, keyword stuffing, etc).
• (Recently improved) Trifecta Page/ Site/ Power tool (allows only one search per day for non-pro SEOmoz members) – offers an exhaustive report on your site/ page power and ways to improve it.

5. Search Related Online Tools

Keyword Rank Checking Tools

Online tools that check any term(s) rankings across various search engines.

Most valuable rank checkers:

Note: the tools may be checking different data centers, so the results can be slightly different from tool to tool.

More rank checking tools:

• Search Engine Keyword Tracker & Keyword Ranking Tool;
• Ventio Google Position;
• SEOChat Keyword Position Check;
• Searchenginegenie Rank Checker;
• Mike’s Ranking Reports.
• KeywordEnvy (checks up to 5 terms at a time and represents data in a handy graph.

Tools that Compare Different Search Engine Results

More search related tools:

• Pagerank Search allows to sort Google search results by Google PageRank or by relevance.

6. Website Traffic and Demographics Report

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1. Ranking in YouTube

As you may or may not be aware, YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine behind Google. Those businesses using online video are going to want to maximize their YouTube efforts by employing some easy strategies to gain more visibility.

A few tips mentioned a while back at SMX West include:

- An accurate and descriptive title

- Make sure your description is just that – descriptive. It should be accurate and unique, and use complete sentences.

- Descriptive keyword tags

- Avoid keyword stuffing

It’s best not to overlook the social element of YouTube as well. Active participation on the social level will contribute to your views. And let’s also not overlook the fact that YouTube can actually help you rank in Google itself. Other tips discussed at SMX were:

- Use Keyword Rich Descriptions and Tags

- Include the word “Video” in your titles because people do search for it.

- Use a link for the very first thing in your descriptions.

- Make sure and utilize your thumbnails. YouTube pulls these from the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 marks. Make them count.

 - Encourage participation by enabling everything.

- use meta data

- use captions and subtitles

- use watermarks

- use Google Maps integration

There is plenty more info about ranking on and with YouTube here, and more tips on how businesses can use YouTube in general from Product Manager Tracy Chan here.

2. Ranking in Google Image Search

Dev Basu at Search Engine Journal has a great post up about leveraging rich media for SEO. He talks about video, presentations, and other things, but he also gives some good tips for images. He notes that one in five searches are image searches, and that alt tags and file name optimization are key. He says, “Other tips to double dip in image SEO include”:

- Enable Google Image Labeler in your Google Webmaster Tools account.

The following clip has a lot more useful information about Google Image Search:

3. Ranking in Google News

Covering a recent Search Engine Strategies session, Virginia Nussey with Bruce Clay notes, “News page views are up to trillions monthly.” More and more people are getting their news online. That’s why the newspaper industry is struggling. I don’t have the hard numbers, but I’m willing to bet a significant amount of people are getting news from Google News. She pulled away these things to keep in mind for Google News:

- Only indexes it once

Google itself posted about some facts and myths pertaining to ranking in Google News searches about a year ago. In the interest of not making this article excruciatingly long (or at least even more so), I will just link to it. But you should definitely read it if you are serious about incorporating Google News into your strategy.

4. Ranking in Google Maps/Local Search

While this one may seem fairly obvious, you need to think about terms a local searcher would use to find your business. They’ll most likely use the city and state in their search, so you’ll want your site to be optimized for those as well as business-specific keywords. 

For example, if you run a record store in Nicholasville, Kentucky, you’ll want to optimize for phrases like “Record Store, Nicholasville, Kentucky”, “CD Store, Nicholasville, KY”,  “Music, Nicholasville KY”,  and so forth. If your business is located in a small town, you may also want to optimize for the nearest larger city. Ryan Caldwell at Search Engine Journal discusses some other tips like:

- Local Groupings

There is some good advice in a thread at the Small Business Brief forum, including a post by A.N.Onym who suggests the following tips for ranking in local search:

- your phone number

- have links pointing to you from local websites and directories

Bill Slawski of SEO By the Sea has a great article about Authority Documents for Google’s Local Search that is a must-read in this category.

5. Ranking in Google Blog Search

Back in ’07, Slawski started a thread in the Cre8asite Forum looking at positive and negative things that can have an affect on your Google Blog Search Rankings. Among the positives he included were:

- Number of RSS subscriptions

- Pagerank

Some negatives he mentioned:

- if posts come in short bursts or predictable intervals

- If posts mostly link to one site

ProBlogger’s Darren Rowse also looked at Google’s Blog Search patent application and pulled some takeaways from that.

Wrap Up

It’s important to note that results from other Google search engines often turn up in regular Google results, in case you need any extra incentive to pay attention to them. This is part of Google’s Universal Search. There are lots of opportunities to get your site found in Google other than just regular web search. And this is just organic stuff. There are certainly paid search opportunities to think about too.

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Despite the constantly evolving nature of search engines and ranking methods, inbound links continue be a significant influence on website rankings. The higher quality the link, the more authority that link passes on.

Sites that have been live and active on the web for many years attract a substantial number of links when well promoted. But, what about those sites that are brand new? How should they go about getting quality links right off the bat?

Here is a list of 5 link building tactics for new websites to get them off on the right foot:

1. Links from Local Organizations - If your company is registered with the Better Business Bureau or the Chamber of Commerce, the links from these sites can be very relevant for geographically specific terms and topics. Also, locate other local businesses and organizations that maintain lists of businesses to request a link from.
2. Optimized Press Releases – Your business just launched or you have compelling news to announce – why not tell the world about it? There are many great press release distribution services available that will not only increase your brand visibility, but also earn you inbound links. Press releases that get picked up will often mention and link to the company being mentioned. Press releases that are copied whole, as content to blogs and information web sites will frequently retain any embedded links within the press release. However, the links in press releases hosted with wire services are commonly short term or devalued. See this past post for tips on press release optimization and distribution.
3. Reputable Directory Submissions – While some online directories have gotten a bad rap or have become irrelevant, certain directories can still pack a punch when done right. A few of these directories include Yahoo! Directory and Best of the Web. Also, if your business services a specific geographic area, find some good local directories to submit to, such as Google Local or use a service like GetListed. Optimizing and including your site in local data sources, search engines and directories can help boost your local search visibility.
4. Charity and Non-Profit Links – Does your company’s business model include philanthropy? When you make charitable contributions to organizations and non-profits, find out if it has a “Donors” list on its website and suggest a link.
5. Blog Based Link Building – If you’re thinking of starting a blog for your company, be sure to network online with complimentary blogs. Share industry news, original ideas and useful tips and you’ll attract links, often times, without asking. Link to other blogs in your industry, and reference fellow industry bloggers. They’ll notice and may link back. Links that come as a result of sharing useful blog content with others can attract traffic in the short term and boost search engine rankings overall.

When starting a link building campaign for new website, keep in mind relevancy and authority, because nothing beats a first impression. Whether the first external sites that link to your site make a difference in how search engines undstand and rank your web site may be up for debate, but the value of association on consumers that click, visit and share is unmistakable. Focus on attracting links that add value to web site visitors and best represent your most important keywords at the same time.

What link building tips for new websites do you have?

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