{"category":{"slug":"seo-tools","label":"SEO tools"},"methodology_url":"https://www.orbator.io/ai-index/methodology","license":"Free to use with attribution to orbator.io","date":"2026-08-22","engine":null,"available_dates":["2026-08-23","2026-08-22","2026-08-01","2026-07-31","2026-07-28","2026-07-25","2026-07-24","2026-07-16","2026-07-15","2026-06-25","2026-06-24","2026-06-18","2026-06-17","2026-06-12"],"policy":{"quotable_engines":["anthropic","openai","gemini"],"max_excerpt_chars":400,"full_text_public":false,"customer_runs_public":false,"full_text_retention":"retained at least 24 months, then operator review","notes":["Only Index category runs are archived publicly — customer scans never appear.","The quotable unit is a short excerpt of at most 400 characters, never the full answer.","Engines outside the verbatim allowlist are recorded as having answered, with the excerpt withheld under their terms.","Prompt intent is published; the prompt text itself is not."]},"status":"ok","count":21,"limit":50,"truncated":false,"engines":[{"engine":"gemini","count":7,"withheld":false,"answers":[{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For content marketers looking to enhance their search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, several tools stand out for their ability to streamline content creation, optimize existing material, and inform overall content strategy. These tools often focus on different aspects of SEO, from real-time content optimization to comprehensive keyword research and competitive analysis.\n\nSome of the best SEO t","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For small business website owners, selecting the best SEO software often involves balancing comprehensive features with affordability and ease of use. Several platforms cater specifically to these needs, offering a range of tools for keyword research, site audits, rank tracking, and content optimization.\n\nHere are some of the best SEO software options for small business website owners:\n\n**All-in-O","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":"To effectively find keywords and track your website's rankings, you'll need a combination of tools designed for keyword research and rank tracking. Many comprehensive SEO platforms offer both functionalities.\n\nHere are some of the top tools to consider:\n\n**All-in-One SEO Platforms (for both Keyword Research and Rank Tracking):**\n\nThese platforms are robust and provide a wide array of features, mak","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":"Keyword research is a fundamental aspect of SEO, and thankfully, you don't need an expensive subscription to get started. Several free tools and methods can help you uncover valuable keywords to drive organic traffic to your website.\n\nHere's how to do keyword research without an expensive SEO subscription:\n\n### 1. Leverage Google's Free Tools\n\nGoogle offers a suite of powerful, free tools that pro","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":"Many businesses seek more affordable and accessible alternatives to expensive enterprise-level SEO platforms without compromising on essential features. Several robust SEO tools cater to small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), freelancers, and agencies, offering comprehensive functionalities at a more budget-friendly price point.\n\nHere are some of the top affordable alternatives to big enterprise","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":"When choosing between all-in-one SEO suites and specialized rank tracking tools, businesses and marketers weigh comprehensive functionality against focused precision. Each option offers distinct advantages and disadvantages depending on the user's specific needs, budget, and existing SEO workflow.\n\n**All-in-One SEO Suites**\n\nAll-in-one SEO suites, such as Semrush and Ahrefs, offer a broad spectrum","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":370,"end":376,"name":"Ahrefs"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For deep and comprehensive technical site audits, **Screaming Frog SEO Spider** is widely considered the best tool. It is particularly recommended for SEO professionals and agencies managing large or complex websites due to its extensive capabilities in crawling and data extraction.\n\nScreaming Frog's key strengths for technical SEO audits include:\n*   **Deep Technical Crawl Data** It excels at unc","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":52,"end":66,"name":"Screaming Frog"},{"start":285,"end":299,"name":"Screaming Frog"}]}]},{"engine":"openai","count":7,"withheld":false,"answers":[{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For content marketers, the “best” SEO tool depends on whether you need keyword research, content optimization, competitor analysis, or performance tracking. As of 2026, these are the ones I’d prioritize:\n\n- Semrush — Best all-in-one choice. Strong for keyword research, competitor/content-gap analysis, site audits, and content planning. Its Content Toolkit now covers topic discovery, SEO briefs, co","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For most small-business website owners, I wouldn’t start by paying for the biggest SEO platform. The best choice depends on whether you want something simple enough to use yourself or a professional research suite.\n\nMy shortlist as of August 2026:\n\n- Google Search Console — best essential free tool. It gives you Google’s own information about which searches generate impressions/clicks and helps di","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":251,"end":272,"name":"Google Search Console"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":"For finding keywords and tracking your Google rankings, I’d use a combination rather than relying on one tool.\n\n- Google Search Console — essential and free. It shows the actual queries your site appears for, clicks, impressions, CTR, and average Google position. ([support.google.com](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553?hl=en&utm_source=openai))\n- Ahrefs — my pick if SEO is your m","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":114,"end":135,"name":"Google Search Console"},{"start":367,"end":373,"name":"Ahrefs"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":"You can do strong keyword research with free tools. Paid SEO platforms mostly make the process faster by putting keyword ideas, volumes, difficulty estimates, and competitor data in one interface.\n\nA practical free workflow:\n\n- Start with 5–10 “seed” phrases describing what your audience would search. If you sell bookkeeping software, examples might be “bookkeeping software,” “small business bookk","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":"If by “big enterprise SEO platforms” you mean Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz Pro, Similarweb, etc., there are several substantially cheaper options that cover most day-to-day SEO work.\n\n- SE Ranking — Probably the strongest lower-cost all-in-one replacement. Keyword research, competitor research, rank tracking, backlinks, audits, reporting, and increasingly AI-search visibility. Its 2026 plans were reworked","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":55,"end":61,"name":"Ahrefs"},{"start":63,"end":66,"name":"Moz"},{"start":178,"end":188,"name":"SE Ranking"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":"The core difference is breadth vs. depth.\n\nAll-in-one SEO suites such as Ahrefs and Semrush combine rank tracking with keyword research, competitor research, backlinks, technical audits, content research, and increasingly AI-search visibility. Ahrefs, for example, currently bundles Rank Tracker alongside Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Content Explorer, and AI visibility tools. ([hel","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":73,"end":79,"name":"Ahrefs"},{"start":244,"end":250,"name":"Ahrefs"},{"start":283,"end":295,"name":"Rank Tracker"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For technical site audits specifically, I’d rank the main options like this:\n\n1. Screaming Frog SEO Spider — best overall for deep technical audits. It gives you granular control over crawling and is particularly strong for redirects, canonicals, indexability, internal linking, structured data, JavaScript rendering, custom extraction/search, and diagnosing unusual technical problems. It’s more of","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":81,"end":95,"name":"Screaming Frog"}]}]},{"engine":"perplexity","count":7,"withheld":true,"answers":[{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-22","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]}]}]}