Not all, but yes SEO can be automated in certain areas. SEO is one of the most critical objectives of digital marketers. It is not only time-consuming but also has many elements to be taken care of. An organization trying to handle search engine optimization may find this a daunting task and may have to hire full-time experts. Automating SEO can solve this issue and boost the productivity of a business.

In this article, we will talk about what exactly SEO automation is, the elements of SEO that can be automated, and the tools that can help in the automation process.

 

What is SEO automation?

By SEO automation we mean automating the process of search engine optimization. This can be achieved by utilizing some software, online tools, or any other program that will diminish the necessity of manual SEO. However, not all elements of SEO can be automated, some require human intervention to date.

SEO automation tools come into play while automating certain SEO elements. The primary objective prior to the application of SEO automation is to detect the elements which could be automated and which could not be.

Let us learn about the elements that can be automated.

 

The Elements of SEO that can be Automated

Some of the most common SEO elements that can be automated are:

Backlink analysis

Backlinks are one way to understand the authority of a site. Search engine evaluates a site based on the number of backlinks that points to the concerned site. The more links pointing to a site, the higher it ranks on SERPs.

Backlink analysis will show you the sources linking to your site. Ideally, reputable sources use such backlinks to expand their network. In case, there is any shady website connected to your site, then it may cause you penalties. Through the analysis, you can also find the reason why the sites are pointing at your site. Backlinks are also useful in analyzing a competitor’s website.

Rank tracking

For a large website with several pages, keeping track of SEO ranks for multiple keyword applications could be a tiresome job. Rank tracking tools make the process of detecting each page rank, and their improvement or decline over time. It can also help you understand whether the SEO is actually working or not.

Site monitoring

Search engines provide the best results for any user search. It ignores sites with unsafe security protocols, broken links, or messy page designs. Running manual tests on every page of a site is difficult. Site monitoring helps in paying attention to all the pages without having to through each of them. Automating tool used in site monitoring will notify you as soon as it detects something unusual.

Competitor monitoring

The automation tools used for your website’s SEO can be used on competitor’s websites as well to evaluate it. This will help in learning the factors responsible for the good performance of your competitor’s website and you can apply the same on your site too.

Are you struggling to overcome SEO debt? Read our detailed SEO Debt article here.

5 Best Automation Tools to Boost SEO Efficiency

Typically, an SEO automation tool focuses on a particular task or element of SEO. An automation tool will not take over entirely and produce results without your input, but it will help in performing certain tasks.

1. SEMrush

There is a lot to expect from SEMrush as it offers multiple marketing elements, some of which are:

Keyword research: Often it is difficult to understand which keywords are appropriate for your site to rank higher. SEMrush breaks this research into the local and national levels so that your local business can rank higher and also, at the same time, if it is an online business you can rank from anywhere.

Backlink analysis: Compare the performance of your website with that of your competitor. Backlinks help you to establish authority useful for search engines.

Technical SEO audits: While building a new page or updating the present ones, this tool could help you to update all your site tags, from meta descriptions to alt text.

SERP tracking: Rank tracking can help you gain insights into your SEO tactics. SEMrush can detect the page ranking against each keyword.

2. Google Search Console

Google provides some excellent automation and analytics tools. Since it is one of the primary search engines any tool it offers is valuable. To get started you have to submit your sitemap for indexing. Google Search Console will show you the ranking for each page corresponding to various keywords. It illustrates the keywords that bring in the most traffic. This insight helps you to determine which keyword is exactly good for your site. Similarly, the URL inspection tool targets a specific page and provides an in-depth report based on the results provided by the last web crawl. This data helps in much more efficient page optimization.

3. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a comprehensive tool that provides the following 5 automation tools:

Site audit: This will help in detecting errors on all pages of a website. It will point out the standard errors, which may involve broken links, missing tags, and much more.

Site explorer: This will help you understand the strategy your competitor websites have applied, including what is working for them and what is not. Thus, based on this insight, you can build a more efficient SEO strategy

Keywords explorer: Based on changing user preferences and ever-upgrading search engine algorithms, consistent keyword research is an inevitable phenomenon. The keywords explorer is a constant help in showing the most relevant and appropriate keywords for your site.

Content explorer: The Content Explorer tool will bring out the most relevant and high-ranking content that will help you design high-quality content for your website.

Rank tracker: This tracker tool helps in keeping track of the page ranking for each keyword.

4. SE Ranking

This tool is another comprehensive SEO tool that will give an all-round analysis of your site:

Rank tracking: It is the main function of SE Ranking which provides a detailed study of the searches.

Competitive research: With the help of this tool you can learn the keywords your competitors are using to rank high.

Website audit: This will help to analyze the website to discover the potential issues that can cause the site rankings to go down.

Backlink monitoring: You can monitor the links on your site or on your competitor’s websites.

On-page checker: This will allow you to check page optimization with respect to specific keywords.

Marketing plan: You can now build a cohesive plan by using organizing your strategies through the marketing plan tool.

Keyword research: Billions of keywords are searched in SE Ranking to bring out the best-suited ones for you.

5. AnswerThePublic

It is a free tool that helps to a great extent to observe relevant searches and keywords. This will let you know about the most important ones for your website. The best part of this tool is that it requires only one or two words to respond and provides you with a huge amount of information. This process will help you to start your subject and later on bring out the niche topics by doing in-depth research.

AnswerThePublic tool answers user questions by breaking them down into five sections:

Questions: Questions related to your industry or product.

Prepositions: Detecting the way users are narrowing down searches for refined products and searches.

Comparisons: Compares keywords to detect the connection between them.

Alphabetical: Queries are broken down into alphabets to detect the most relevant searches.

Related: Detecting the bundled words with the keywords to understand the mindset of the users.

 

Conclusion

Though not all elements can be automated, the above-mentioned SEO tools are among those which can help you get better results in less time and effort. SEO automation tools are hugely useful where there is a question of tedious and repetitive tasks. Easing up the process allows you to focus more on other strategic aspects.

The five tools mentioned in this article are just some of the few each having its own unique features and advantages. Thus, choosing the right tool for your site might be the trick to better site performance.