Best SEO Software In Canada For May 2024

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Updated: May 1, 2024, 10:58am

Aaron Broverman
editor

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The primary goal of search engine optimization (SEO) is to help your website rank higher in search engines, such as Google. This enables you to drive more traffic to your website. To be effective at SEO, however, you’ll need some tools at your disposal. Here is the best SEO software available for May year].

These SEO tools will help you perform keyword research, optimize your website content and improve your website’s visibility on Google. We hope our guide helps you to find the best tools for your needs and budget.

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Best SEO Software In Canada For May 2024


BEST OVERALL ALL-IN-ONE SEO TOOL

Ahrefs

Ahrefs

Price

Starts at $83 USD ($124.19 CAD) per month

(billed annually)

Monthly and annual plans

Yes

Free trial

No

Ahrefs

Price

Starts at $83 USD ($124.19 CAD) per month

(billed annually)

Monthly and annual plans

Yes

Free trial

No

Why We Picked It

If you want your website to rank higher on Google, then consider adding Ahrefs to your tech toolbox. Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO tool that helps you find keywords your customers are searching for and evaluate keyword volume and difficulty. With Ahrefs, you can also track keyword rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs), monitor website backlinks (sites linking back to your website) and audit your website so you can optimize it for search.

Simply put, Ahrefs is one of the most powerful SEO tools on the market. Ahrefs’ extensive suite of features requires a bit of a learning curve to master, but its uncluttered dashboard makes Ahrefs easier to navigate than other advanced SEO tools on the market.

If you want to get a taste ofhow Ahrefs works, you can sign up for a free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) account. AWT offers limited access to search traffic and keywords, backlink data and SEO health, but it pales in comparison to what a full Ahrefs plan offers.

Ahrefs offers four plans that range from $83 USD ($124.19 CAD) to $833 USD ($1,245.79 CAD) per month when paid annually. If you prefer to stick with a month-to-month plan, your monthly payment will range from $99 USD ($148.14 CAD) to $999 USD ($1,493.76 CAD).

The Ahrefs Lite plan is often sufficient for small businesses. To tap into Ahrefs’ full power, you’ll need to go with either a Standard or Advanced plan, which are packed with more features including Site Explorer, Content Explorer, Domain Comparison and the ability to track six months to two years of backlink and ranking data.

Ahrefs provides several online resources to help you master the platform and SEO. The online Help Centre houses dozens of articles and troubleshooting guides while the Ahrefs Academy features a variety of video tutorials.
Customer support is provided via email and online chat, and for the most part, you can expect a timely response to your queries. Phone support is not available.

Who should use it:
Forbes Advisor considers Ahrefs the best overall SEO tool on the market. With four plans to choose from, Ahrefs is right for all types of users, from beginners to advanced technical users.

Pros & Cons
  • Excellent for backlink analysis
  • Tracks ranking progress
  • Great for competitor analysis
  • Free basic webmaster tools available
  • No phone support
  • Expensive
  • No free trial
  • Bit of a learning curve

BEST VALUE

KWFinder

KWFinder

Price

Starts at $29.90 USD ($44.75 CAD) per month

(billed annually)

Monthly and annual plans

Yes

Free trial

10

days

KWFinder

Price

Starts at $29.90 USD ($44.75 CAD) per month

(billed annually)

Monthly and annual plans

Yes

Free trial

10

days

Why We Picked It

KWFinder doesn’t have the massive feature collection you’ll find in a power tool such as Ahrefs or Semrush. Yet, KWFinder’s suite of SEO essentials makes it an ideal keyword tool for those on a budget. Even better, it’s easy to use, even for beginners.

KWFinder offers a handful of free tools, including an SEO browser extension, a SERP volatility checker and a SERP Simulator. You can also use the KWFinder keyword search tool for up to five free keyword lookups per 24 hours.

If you want to experience the full breadth of KWFinder’s tools without committing to a paid plan, you can sign up for a free ten-day trial. KWFinder offers three plans: Mangools Basic, Mangools Premium and Mangools Agency. Save up to 40% with annual plans, which range from $29.90 USD ($44.75 CAD) to $89.90 USD ($134.54 CAD) per month.

Paid plans include keyword research and suggestions, competitor keywords, SERP lookups and tracked keywords. The Basic plan is relatively limited on how much research you can do; for example, you’re limited to 25 competitor keywords and 100 keyword lookups every 24 hours. This is likely acceptable for light users, but the Premium or Agency plan will better serve those with more intensive SEO needs.

KWFinder hosts some helpful user guides on its site but, overall, its online support resources are limited. Customer support is available via email or live chat; phone support is not offered.

Who should use it:
KWFinder is a reliable SEO tool for anyone on a budget, especially beginners and those whose SEO needs are relatively basic.

Pros & Cons
  • User-friendly
  • Excellent for keyword research
  • Free KW tool available
  • Helpful for SERP analysis
  • No plans offer unlimited daily keyword lookups
  • Not the best for competitor research
  • Limited customer support options

BEST FOR USER-FRIENDLINESS

WooRank

WooRank

Price

Starts at $53.25 USD ($79.69 CAD) per month

(billed annually)

Monthly and annual plans

Yes

Free trial

14

days

WooRank

Price

Starts at $53.25 USD ($79.69 CAD) per month

(billed annually)

Monthly and annual plans

Yes

Free trial

14

days

Why We Picked It

WooRank joins Forbes Advisor’s list of best SEO tools for a number of reasons, including simplicity, reliability and the actionable insights it delivers. WooRank’s interface was designed with ease of use in mind; the consensus in user reviews is that the platform is easy to navigate.

WooRank comes with essential SEO tools for keyword analysis, competitor analysis, backlink management, tracking SERP rankings, grading website page quality and conducting full website audits. Local, mobile, social and global SEO tools are also available.

You can try WooRank for free for 14 days. Paid plans range from $53.25 USD ($79.69 CAD) to $133.25 USD ($199.56 CAD) per month when paid annually—you get four months free with annual billing. Month-to-month pricing ranges from $89.99 USD ($134.67 CAD) to $199.99 USD ($299.30 CAD) per month. Custom-priced Enterprise plans are also available.

The Pro plan is WooRank’s entry-level option, and it lets you optimize one website, track 50 keywords, compare your site against three competitors and crawl 2,500 pages with WooRank’s Site Crawl tool. The Premium plan lets you optimize up to five websites, track 250 keywords, crawl up to 10,000 pages and compare each of your sites against three competitors.

WooRank’s extensive online Help Centre comes with helpful articles to get you up and running quickly. Customer support is available via email, and WooRank advises that it may take a day or two to respond, which is certainly not optimal. Live phone support is not offered.

Who should use it:
WooRank is a user-friendly SEO tool that delivers actionable insights, making it the perfect tool for anyone looking for a simple solution that still produces excellent SEO results.

Pros & Cons
  • User-friendly
  • Free trial
  • Site recommendations feature
  • Page grader for your entire website
  • Inadequate customer support options
  • Limited competitor comparisons
  • Website analyses are sometimes slow

BEST FOR POWER USERS

Semrush

Semrush

Price

Starts at $99.95 USD ($149.53 CAD) per month

(billed annually)

Monthly and annual plans

Yes

Free trial

7

days

Semrush
Learn More

On Semrush's Website

Price

Starts at $99.95 USD ($149.53 CAD) per month

(billed annually)

Monthly and annual plans

Yes

Free trial

7

days

Why We Picked It

Users and SEO experts agree that Semrush is one of the most powerful and feature-rich SEO tools available today. Use Semrush for keyword research as well as for conducting in-depth audits of your website, creating and tracking PPC campaigns and improving your overall rankings in search engines.

You can get started with Semrush with a seven-day free trial. Monthly and annual plans are available; you’ll save up to 17% when you pay annually. Semrush offers three plans that range from $119.95 USD ($179.45 CAD) to $449.95 USD ($673.16 CAD) per month when you paymonth to month or $99.95 USD ($149.53 CAD) to $374.95 USD ($560.95 CAD) per month when you pay annually. You will receive a full refund if you decide to cancel your subscription within seven days of subscribing.

Semrush offers a number of add-ons, though they come with rather steep price tags, so they’re not right for all users. For $200 USD ($299.26 CAD) per month per user, you can access Semrush. Trends, which helps you analyze competitor website traffic and unveil their marketing tactics and strategies. ImpactHero is another popular add-on. This AI tool examines your content by buyer journey stages and detects the copy that works the best; ImpactHero is available for $200 USD ($299.26 CAD) per month.

Semrush offers so many tools and resources that even those experienced in SEO should expect a learning curve; that curve is much steeper for beginners. To its credit, Semrush understands its platform requires some user training. Semrush offers a vast online Help Centre, complete webinars, e-books, podcasts and how-to articles. The Semrush Academy features dozens of free courses and certification exams.

Email support is available to customers and requests are typically answered within one business day. You can also access support via online chat or phone. U.S. support hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (ET).

Who should use it:
If you’re well versed in SEO tactics and SEO is critical to the success of your business, then take a close look at Semrush. This all-in-one tool offers everything you need to optimize the sites you manage for search.

Pros & Cons
  • Intuitive dashboard design
  • All plans include SEO alerts
  • Excellent advanced features
  • Customizable reports
  • Expensive for low-volume users
  • Historical data not available on lowest-priced plan
  • Steep learning curve for beginners

BEST FOR LOCAL SEO

BrightLocal

BrightLocal

Price

Starts at $29.17 USD ($43.64 CAD) per month

(billed annually)

Monthly and annual plans

Yes

Free trial

14

days

BrightLocal
Learn More

On BrightLocal's Website

Price

Starts at $29.17 USD ($43.64 CAD) per month

(billed annually)

Monthly and annual plans

Yes

Free trial

14

days

Why We Picked It

Forbes Advisor’s pick for the best local SEO tool is BrightLocal. You can use BrightLocal to find and track keywords, perform local SEO audits, track competitors and monitor and protect your online business reputation—which is essential to succeeding as a business that serves a local community. The platform integrates with Google Analytics, Facebook, Google Business Profile Insights and Twitter.

Choose from three All-In-One plans: Single Business, Multi Business and SEO Pro. Save 20% when you purchase annual plans, which range from $29.17 USD ($43.64 CAD) to $75 USD ($112.22 CAD) per month. The primary differences among the plans involve the degree of SEO tool access and the number of reports you require to manage multiple locations effectively. With the Single Business plan, you can manage up to three locations.

BrightLocal also offers a Just Reviews plan for $8 USD ($11.97 CAD) per month per location. With Just Reviews, you can help protect your business’s online reputation by monitoring and stimulating review generation and by showcasing reviews that rave about your offerings. Citation Builder is a pay-as-you-go service from BrightLocal that helps you expand your visibility by getting your company information into dozens of online business directories. Citation services start from $2 USD ($2.99 CAD) per site.

BrightLocal’s dashboard is relatively intuitive, though users new to SEO may have a modest learning curve. To get familiar with the platform, you can book a BrightLocal platform demo or sign up for a 14-day free trial. The free BrightLocal Academy offers extensive training on how to conduct local SEO using the platform.

Support is offered via live chat and an online messaging form. Live support hours are Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. (ET). Phone support is not available.

Who should use it:
BrightLocal is ideal for local businesses that want to optimize their online visibility in their area while projecting a positive image to prospective customers.

Pros & Cons
  • Budget-friendly plans
  • Reputation monitor
  • Local SEO audit reports
  • Google Business Profile audits
  • Modest learning curve
  • Competitor tracking only available on SEO Pro plan
  • Backlink monitoring not available

How To Choose The Best SEO Software

When deciding on which is the best SEO software for you, you will want to consider a few factors. To start, consider your goals and how you plan to achieve them. For example, if you are looking to improve your ranking in search by tweaking site elements such as meta descriptions, copy and title tags you will need to make sure that the SEO tool is compatible with your website’s content management system, such as WordPress or Wix.

Another thing to consider is whether you need ongoing SEO assistance as many of the best SEO tools offer tools to help you improve your site in the long term with ongoing optimizations, site audits and reports. However, not all are created for this purpose. Some are geared towards helping you better select keywords and craft SEO-friendly content around said keywords.


Methodology

In our analysis of dozens of top SEO software and tools, Forbes Advisor took every effort possible to make sure that we recommend solutions that are priced fairly in light of the value offered, provide the features you need to be successful at SEO and offer the support you require. Knowing that SEO tool users include everyone from beginners to technically advanced professionals, we also considered user-friendliness in our evaluation.

  • Features and Functionality: Since the primary goal of SEO is to help your website rank higher on Google, we considered which features were important to help you do that, such as keyword research tools, SERP rank tracking, content evaluation tools, competitor analysis, backlink monitoring and website audit functionality.
  • Ease of Use: The best SEO tools are often so feature-rich that they require a bit of a learning curve. Yet, some tools are more user-friendly than others, and we took that into account when creating this list.
  • Pricing: While there are some free SEO tools, the most powerful tools come at a price. Forbes considered whether the fees charged for the tools were in line with the value offered.
  • Customer Support: The types and quality of support offered via online learning resources and direct support modalities, such as email, chat and phone, matters to customers, and thus, Forbes factored in support features as we created this list of best SEO tools.

Best Free SEO Tools

Businesses on a tight budget might not yet be in a place where they can afford a premium all-in-one SEO software. Thankfully, there are a number of excellent free SEO tools available that can provide invaluable insights to help you build or improve your search optimization efforts.

Here are a handful of the best free SEO tools available today:

  • SEO Analyzer: Simply type your web address into the SEO Analyzer review bar, and the tool reveals SEO mistakes and ideas for better optimizing your site content. Be patient; it can take several minutes for the Analyzer to process your results.
  • Google Search Console (GSC): Use GSC to discover the keywords your site is already ranking for, which pages are ranking for which keywords and to troubleshoot problem areas on your website that may be impacting your Google Search results.
  • Google Keyword Planner (GKP): Access GKP within your free Google Ads account to research keywords that you can use to optimize your content for search.
  • AnswerThePublic (ATP): This visual SEO tool offers keyword insights on questions people ask on Google. The free version of ATP gives you up to three searches a day.
  • PageSpeed Insights (PSI): If you want to rank higher on Google, it’s essential that your website loads quickly. Google’s PSI tool evaluates your site’s performance on both mobile and desktop devices and then delivers specific suggestions on how to improve site load times.
  • SEOquake: Install this free Chrome extension, which gives you an SEO toolbar that provides insights on where the site ranks on Google, backlinks to the site, SERP rankings and more.

Canadian specific editing and research (including pricing) conducted by Anna Rey.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which is the best SEO tool?

Forbes Advisor Canada named Ahrefs the best overall SEO tool. The best tool for you will depend on your exact needs. For example, BrightLocal is perfect for local SEO, while KWFinder is an excellent, budget-friendly SEO tool.

Are SEO tools worth it?

Absolutely. If your business success depends heavily on how much high-quality traffic you drive to your website, you need to master SEO. It’s virtually impossible to improve your Google rankings without using SEO tools for keyword research, backlink monitoring, competitive analysis and website optimization audits.

Is SEO better than Google Ads?

SEO is better for achieving greater visibility on Google in the long run without paying Google Ads’ high advertising fees. Google Ads allows you to increase visibility for your website content immediately, though you’ll pay for that visibility through advertising fees.

What is an SEO service provider?

SEO service providers help you increase your visibility in search engines and thereby assist you in generating more traffic for your website. An SEO service provider may conduct a variety of tasks, including auditing your existing website for SEO effectiveness, conducting keyword search, developing an SEO plan to outrank competition and writing SEO copy for your site.

Is SEO software secure?

As with most types of software, the best SEO software programs offer many levels of security. When choosing this type of software, you want to look for security features like documentation that shows frequent security updates and patches, intrusion detection, two-factor authentication (2FA) or multifactor authentication (MFA), data encryption, privacy protection and the monitoring of user activities.

Is SEO good for small businesses?

SEO is good for small businesses, especially if your business depends on potential customers finding you online. Optimizing your website for search engines is one of the most cost-effective ways of increasing your visibility to prospective customers who are already searching online for the services or products your small business offers.

How can I improve my website's search ranking?

The best way to improve your website’s search ranking is to make it more authoritative. This occurs by providing authoritative content that web searchers are looking for and find useful and that other sites also find useful―to the point that they are willing to backlink, or link from their site to your site to the information that you provide. The better the site that backlinks to your content is, the more authoritative your site will appear to the search engines, which will improve your search rankings.


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