SEO and Content Tools & Resources


Disclaimer: There may be affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you sign up for a free trial or purchase through the links, but there is no extra cost to you.

I use a number of SEO, Keyword, and Content Optimization tools to grow my affiliate websites. These are the best apps, software, and online platforms that I’ve used, whether currently or in the past.

SEO and Keyword tools will perform a number of functions like research keywords, track keyword rankings, research competitor sites, etc.

Content optimization tools will help to optimize articles for the SERPs. They help with Topics, Entities, and affiliate links.

Link building tools and resources are what I use for internal linking and external back linking. I’m including my go-to resources for building backlinks.

For tools related to Domains, WordPress, Servers, Emails, and Productivity, head over to the Website Management Tools.

SEO Tools

These are the main tools I use when researching keywords, backlinks, and sites.

7-Day Free Trial, Paid Plans – I use it for keyword rank tracking and keyword research. The tools are young, so not as fully featured and will have occasional bugs. But they’re constantly updating. They also have a number of tools in its toddler years for backlink explorer/monitor and SEO/Technical audits.

Free Trial, Paid Packages – This is my go-to for low-competition keyword research. This helps you find keywords that are clear on searcher intent, while helping you find the ones with low competition by analyzing SERPs in real-time. They offer 1,000 keyword credits for Free and low, per-keyword prices on their paid packages.

Free, $7 7-Day Trial, Paid Plans – One of the Top 2 SEO Tools in the industry. I like them for their backlink data, it’s unmatched. I use their Free Webmaster Tools on my sites to keep tabs on Ahrefs data (DR and backlinks). I’ll sign-up for a month if I need to use it. For example, when starting a new site.

7-Day Free Trial, Paid Plans – The other half of the Top 2 SEO Tools in the industry. I like them for their keyword research data. When you have a free account, you get some free searches each day, so it’s good enough for me normally. I’ll sign-up for a month if I need to use it, like when creating a new site.

Free, Paid Plans – I use it occasionally for keyword research and competitor research. I have their Lifetime plan. Their rank tracking and site audit tools are pretty useless as they’re too buggy and unreliable. Customer support is horrible too. But they provide keyword research and rough competitor research tools. You can use it for free with daily limits.

Chrome Extensions Tools

These one-trick pony chrome extensions tools are super useful. And they’re Free.

Free – When researching keywords on Google.com, this gives the search volume and CPC (Cost Per Click) for keywords. There are others out there, but I find this to be the best data for a Free option.

Free – Super simple tool that will put a red-dashed box around links on a page. When writing posts, it helps to ensure the links I want to be nofollow are nofollow. When looking at backlink opportunities or checking backlinks, it’s a visual aid that allows me to quickly and easily check the dofollow/nofollow status.

Free, Paid Plans – Perfect for getting a quick glance at the DA and PA for Google SERPs. It’s also a SEO tool that gives you data like TF (Trust Flow) and CF (Citation Flow), but I don’t use that data regularly. I also get that same data with Brand Overflow.

Content Creation and Optimization Tools

Free Trial, Paid Plans – This is the most important tool that I have, because it’s my Content Planning and Content Optimization tool. My content workflow goes like this: I create the Outline in Frase. I send the Frase link to my Writers. The Writers write in the Frase Editor, while also optimizing for Topics and Keywords. When the Writers are done, I edit and optimize more in Frase Editor. I then copy/paste to WordPress and Publish. Well worth the money, because Content is what ranks. I use it instead of SurferSEO and MarketMuse.

Lifetime Deal (Limited Time) – I use it for spelling/grammar checks, content snippets, and templates. I can also share licenses with my writers to ensure their English is proofread before content comes to me. It has a Chrome Extension that works with WordPress, Google Docs, and Frase’s Editor.

Free, 30-day Free Trial, Paid Plans – For all your image and graphic design needs. They’ve really stepped up their game with the premium stock photos and videos, Magic Resize of designs, Background Remover is a huge plus, and much more. Being able to share designs to social media from inside Canva is useful for the one-offs, but I still mainly download and share via Publer.

Link Building and Tracking Tools

Link Whisper

*Special Discounts

Use Special Coupon Code for $15 OFF: YOYAO
Paid Annually – Super useful for the all-important task of internal linking. Helps with interlinking within silos and ensuring you don’t have any orphan pages.

Niche Website Builders

*Special Discounts

Paid – They offer great content and link building services. I use them for both. The main link building service I use is the Shotgun Skyscraper campaign. They have one-time and monthly plans for content and link building. Use my affiliate links for special discounts:

  • 10% more content on content subscriptions
  • 10% more content on content and website orders
  • 10% discount on link building services (one for subs and one for one-off)

Paid – Matt Diggity is a part-owner of this service and they do provide a professional service. ABC offers one-time backlinks or use their ABC Plus monthly service. This is more of a premium service with the prices to match. You’ll still want to get the domains before ordering and do the research on them.

Paid – This is more of a DIY backlink service where you can search for and order your own backlinks, like ABC. Be sure to research the domains and not to just go for the lowest priced ones. You don’t want to end up with any link farm sites.

Affiliate Links in Content

Paid – I use this with Amazon Affiliates to create Product Boxes, grab images, and other assets that link to Amazon products.

Paid Plans – Amazon Affiliate Link Checker. A must-have if you’re making more than the monthly prices that start at $16.63 per month for 3 websites. Don’t lose out on commissions just because a product is out.

Social Media Management

Free, Paid Plans – I use Publer for social media scheduling posts. They can post to Facebook Pages, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google My Business.