Let’s cut to the chase. Here are the top five SEO software tools for B2B tech firms:
- Ahrefs
- SEMRush
- Moz
- SERanking
- AccuRanker
If you’re running a B2B tech SEO campaign, it’s absolutely worth it to invest in one of these tools. As Jacob wrote recently, getting your marketing technology (martech) stack right can have a huge impact on your ability to meet marketing objectives. Without an SEO software, you’ll have trouble tracking results at all. And, while all of these tools offer the same basic functionality – they audit your website’s performance, benchmark it against competitors, provide backlink profile information, and enable keyword rank tracking – they do differ slightly. Different software tools emphasize different data points, which might lead you toward different action items in your SEO efforts.
With all of that said, let’s look into each of these platforms in a bit more detail, so you can make the right selection for your B2B tech marketing efforts.
1. Ahrefs
Focus: Backlink Analysis
Price: $$ (It’s 179 USD for the Standard plan)
The Background: Ahrefs is kind of a cult-favorite for SEM marketers. Launched in 2010 as a single tool – Site Explorer – it was initially focused solely on backlink analysis. It’s since scaled up to feature a comprehensive suite of SEO tools that rivals anything else on the market. Here’s how that’s explained on their website:
Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO toolset, with free learning materials and a passionate community & support.
The platform is very intuitive. And the community using it really is passionate, which means there are a lot of support resources available if you need help crafting your B2B tech SEO strategy.
Interesting Note: They don’t offer a free trial. You can start a 7-day trial for $7, but that’s as low as they’ll go.
Bottom Line: Ahrefs is very user-friendly, has a robust suite of backlink tools, and is relatively cost-efficient. It’s a top choice for B2B tech SEO campaigns (as proven by the fact that it’s used by brands like Adobe and LinkedIn).
2. SEMRush
Focus: SEM marketing and pay-per-click campaigns
Price: $$$ (It’s 199.95 USD for the Guru plan)
The Background: SEMRush is a little less trendy than Ahrefs (they use duller brand colors and fewer emojis), but the platform is perhaps a bit more robust – especially for marketers who are doing more than SEO. That’s reflected in the tool’s tagline:
All-in-one Marketing Toolkit
This is more than an all-in-one SEO solution.
In fact, Brian Dean of Backlinko recommends SEMRush over Ahrefs if you’re doing any kind of pay-per-click marketing; the platform has tools that will track your paid keywords and your competitors’ ad copy, tools for paid keyword research, and even tools for website monetization, all of which can be hugely helpful.
These add-ons slightly drive up the price, though, which is why I tend to recommend Ahrefs if you’re focused solely on B2B tech SEO marketing.
Interesting Note: SEMRush also offers social media management and content marketing tools. If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop for tactical marketing management, they come close.
The Bottom Line: If you’re doing paid search marketing, SEMRush is a great choice. If you’re doing strictly SEO, you may find there are more features than you need.
3. Moz
Focus: All things SEO
Price: $$$ (It’s 249 USD for the Large plan)
The Background: Moz is an old SEO industry standby. They were founded by Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig in 2004 – six years after Google and almost certainly one of the first years in which it was even possible to found an SEO startup.
Given that they’ve had that long to work on their software, it’s no surprise that Moz is very robust in terms of their SEO offering. They boast that they have the largest link index in the world, and they offer a variety of alternative products like Moz Local (a tool to create SEO-integrated business listings) that go beyond the normal suite of SEO capabilities.
For this list, though, we’ll limit our review to their Moz Pro product, which offers what you’d expect: keyword research tools, rank tracking capability, site crawling, on-page optimization audits, link research ability, and custom reporting.
Here’s how they describe the product:
Moz Pro is our all-in-one suite of SEO tools.
Interesting Note: Thanks to their huge link index, Moz’s Page Authority and Domain Authority metrics are some of the most trusted in the SEO industry.
The Bottom Line: Moz is a viable and robust SEO software option for B2B tech marketing, but they’re slightly overpriced, especially if you’re interested in keyword tracking.
4. SERanking
Focus: Rank tracking
Price: $ (It’s 71 USD for the Plus plan.)
The Background: SERanking is a lesser-known SEO tool that’s a bit more streamlined than the options I’ve listed above. In fact, initially, the tool was purposed only for keyword rank tracking. Today (like most of the other tools on this list), they’ve branched into the standard suite of capabilities. Here’s how they describe their platform:
All-in-one SEO software made simple.
That’s the core of the product, in my opinion. While SERanking doesn’t have the industry recognition of Moz or the robust offering of SEMRush, they offer what you need to get started with B2B tech SEO – and not much else. That’s great if you’re looking for cost-efficiency in a dedicated use case. It may not be as great if you’re looking to craft a comprehensive marketing strategy.
Interesting Note: We used SERanking for years as our standard keyword tracking tool. While we’ve since moved on, it’s still the most cost-efficient option for this specific use case.
The Bottom Line: If you want to track keywords cost efficiently, use SERanking.
5. AccuRanker
Focus: Rank tracking
Price: $ (It’s 159 USD for 1,500 keywords.)
The Background: This is another tool that’s specifically geared for rank tracking (as opposed to backlink analysis, competitor analysis, and so on). Full disclosure: While I’ve tried their 14-day free trial, AccuRanker is the only tool that I haven’t used in live B2B tech marketing campaigns, so I may have a familiarity bias against it.
That said, I appreciate the platform’s single-minded purpose. Here’s how a customer describes it:
AccuRanker is a faster, better and more accurate keyword rank tracker than all-in-one enterprise tools.
There’s something to be said for just focusing on rank tracking and doing it well. However, as with SERanking, the limited capability of the tool may impact more comprehensive campaigns.
Interesting Note: HubSpot reportedly uses this tool, which is funny because HubSpot used to have their own keyword tracking tool. They ditched it a few years ago, though, and then apparently switched to this.
The Bottom Line: If you want no-nonsense, fast keyword tracking, this is a viable option.
Want help getting your B2B tech SEO campaign up and running?
Hopefully, the analysis of the tools above is helpful as you work on your B2B tech marketing campaigns. If you want more guidance – either in technology selection, strategy, or tactical implementation – get in touch with us. At New North, we’ve been helping B2B tech firms rank for high-value keywords for over a decade.
Let’s talk about how we can get you to Page 1 for the searches that mater.
