This guideline explores six free Google SEO devices and explains really you tin usage them to summation visibility successful Google Search.
Let’s start.
1. Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) is simply a free Google SEO instrumentality that shows really your website performs connected Google Search.
It besides highlights imaginable issues and ways to improve.
By solving these issues, you tin summation your site’s visibility successful hunt results and scope much customers.
Key Features of Google Search Console
- Performance report: Shows really galore group spot and click connected your tract successful Google Search, which pages they visit, and which keywords bring them to your site
- Page indexing report: Checks if Google tin scale your webpages and highlights immoderate indexing issues
- Sitemaps report: Lets you taxable a database of pages connected your tract to Google. So it tin easy find each of your pages.
- Core Web Vitals report: Measures capacity factors for illustration loading speed, interactivity, and ocular stability. And suggests ways to improve.
- URL Inspection tool: Gives specifications connected really Google views a circumstantial page connected your site
- Rich Results Test tool: Checks if your tract tin show rich | results (extra accusation for illustration reviews aliases merchandise details) successful search
- Manual actions and Security issues reports: Alert you to Google penalties aliases information threats (like hacking aliases malware)
- Links report: Shows which outer websites nexus to your tract and really your soul pages nexus to each other
How to Use Google Search Console
Use GSC reports and devices to show and optimize your site's capacity successful Google Search.
To group up GSC, sign successful to Search Console pinch your Google account.
Then, adhd a spot (website) erstwhile prompted.

Select the domain action to position information from each URLs nether the domain name. Or take the URL prefix action to get information for only a circumstantial conception (for example, your blog aliases knowledge base).
Check retired our elaborate guide to GSC to study much astir each action and complete the setup.
You tin past do the following:
Monitor Site Performance
Check really your tract is performing connected Google by going to “Performance” > “Search Results” successful GSC.

You’ll spot 4 cardinal hunt metrics:
- Clicks: The number of clicks connected your website links successful hunt results
- Impressions: The number of times your tract was shown to users successful hunt results
- Average position: Your site's mean ranking position for various keywords
- Click-through complaint (CTR): The percent of impressions that turned into clicks
Also, way your capacity crossed these metrics complete time. This helps you understand trends and the effect of SEO efforts for a fixed period.
Scroll down to position the array showing hunt queries that thrust postulation to your site.

You tin besides place gaps successful your content quality and strategy pinch this report.
For example, if you’re not ranking for important keywords, audit those pages. And cheque the value and usefulness of the content.
Find and Fix Indexing Issues
It’s captious to place the pages pinch indexing issues and resoluteness them because Google won’t beryllium capable to show them successful hunt results.
Check which pages Google tin scale and the ones pinch indexing errors by clicking “Indexing” > “Pages” successful the Search Console sidebar.

Scroll down to study astir the issues that origin indexing errors connected your site.

To find a wider array of method issues that whitethorn beryllium hurting your performance, usage Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality to get elaborate reports connected issues and really to hole them.

Submit and Manage Sitemaps
Sitemaps thief Google observe and crawl your pages much efficiently, truthful make judge to taxable yours via Search Console.
Go to “Indexing” > “Sitemaps.”

Submit yours if you haven’t yet.
Afterward, the “Status” file should publication “Success.” That intends your sitemap is successfully submitted to Google.
Further reading: XML Sitemap: What It Is & How to Generate One
2. Google Analytics
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is simply a free analytics level that helps you understand really users interact pinch your website aliases app.
Use these insights to understand what visitors find astir engaging. And uncover ways to refine your targeting and messaging to amended pull your target audience.
Key Features of GA4
- Realtime reports: See what's happening connected your tract successful existent time. For example, the number of progressive users, views, and cardinal events (conversions).
- Acquisition reports: Monitor wherever your site’s visitors travel from (e.g., integrated search, societal media, referrals, etc.)
- Engagement reports: Analyze really users interact pinch your pages. And measurement engagement metrics for illustration mean engagement clip per convention and convention cardinal arena rate.
- Monetization reports: Track revenue, purchases, and different monetization metrics
- Retention report: Understand really good you clasp users complete time
- User attributes: Study visitant demographics, locations, and behaviors to understand whether the correct group are coming to your site
How to Use Google Analytics
Follow the steps shown successful our guide to group up GA4, to commencement utilizing your Google Analytics account.
Once you’re ready, present are immoderate circumstantial actions you tin return pinch GA4:
View and Compare Traffic Sources
The “Traffic acquisition” study successful Google Analytics lets you analyse the postulation sources for your site.
Log successful to your GA4 account. Click “Reports” > “Acquisition” > “Traffic acquisition” connected the sidebar.
You’ll spot postulation information for different channels. Such arsenic nonstop visits, integrated search, email, social, and truthful on.

Sessions from integrated hunt (organic traffic) is simply a cardinal parameter of the occurrence of your SEO efforts.
Compare integrated hunt visits to visits from different postulation sources to understand the effect of your SEO efforts.
Track Conversions
Monitoring conversions (desired actions for illustration filling retired a shape aliases purchasing a product) is simply a bully measurement to measurement the tangible business effect your SEO strategy has.
In GA4, conversions are called cardinal events.
To accurately way conversions:
- Set up GA4 events for important actions connected your website (e.g., fastener clicks aliases downloads)
- Mark these events arsenic cardinal events
Learn really to set up GA4 conversion tracking.
Once group up, navigate to "Reports" > "Acquisition" > “User acquisition.”
You tin past spot pages that are driving the astir conversions. And ones that request to beryllium optimized.

Monitor Engagement
Understanding really visitors interact pinch your tract provides insights for improving your user acquisition (UX) and SEO results.
GA4 provides respective metrics to way engagement, including:
- Engaged sessions: Sessions wherever users enactment connected your tract for much than 10 seconds, complete a conversion action, aliases position astatine slightest 2 pages
- Engagement rate: The percent of engaged sessions
- Average engagement clip per progressive user: The mean clip users engaged pinch your site
Click “Reports” > “Engagement” > “Overview” to find these metrics.

Find pages pinch debased engagement, past activity to amended the personification acquisition and contented quality.
3. PageSpeed Insights
Google’s PageSpeed Insights (PSI) instrumentality tests the velocity and usability of your webpages and provides a capacity people and recommendations to amended it.
This helps you optimize your site’s UX and boost hunt rankings. Which tin yet construe to much visitors, leads, and sales.
Key Features of PSI
- Performance score: A people betwixt 0 and 100, representing your selected page’s velocity and UX
- Core Web Vitals assessment: Measures cardinal metrics for illustration loading speed, interactivity, and ocular stableness to complaint the page’s personification experience
- Diagnostics: Offers circumstantial suggestions to amended your website’s performance, specified arsenic reducing image sizes and minifying JavaScript
How to Use PageSpeed Insights
Use PageSpeed Insights to place and resoluteness capacity issues connected high-priority pages.
Here’s how:
Open the PSI tool and participate the URL of the page you want to analyze. Click “Analyze.”

Within a fewer seconds, you’ll spot the Core Web Vitals appraisal report—for some the mobile and desktop versions of the webpage.
At the apical of the report, you tin find retired if you passed the assessment.

Scroll down to the “Diagnose capacity issues” conception to cheque your wide capacity score. And different scores for illustration “Accessibility,” “Best Practices,” and “SEO.”

Below that, you’ll spot the “Diagnostics” study showing the database of capacity issues and recommendations.

Click connected the individual items to study much astir the issues. And really to hole them.
Some communal suggestions see compressing images, reducing unused JavaScript, and utilizing browser caching.
Implement immoderate of the recommendations and tally the trial again to spot really it impacts the capacity score.
Further reading:
- Google PageSpeed Insights: What It Is & How to Boost Your Score
- Core Web Vitals: What They Are & How to Improve Them
4. Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile (GBP) is simply a instrumentality that allows you to negociate really your section business appears connected Google Search and Maps.
It helps customers find your business, study astir your products aliases services, and link pinch you.
Here’s what a GBP tin look like:

Key Features of GBP
- Business information: Keep your important business specifications (name, address, telephone number, etc.) updated
- Photos and videos: Showcase your products, services, aliases business events
- Google posts: Share updates, offers, and events connected your business profile
- Customer reviews: Collect, manage, and respond to customer reviews
- Messaging: Communicate straight pinch customers done Google
- Analytics: Track really customers find and interact pinch your Business Profile
How to Use Google Business Profile
Use our comprehensive guide to easy create your Business Profile connected Google.
Then, you tin commencement performing immoderate cardinal tasks.
Improve Local Search Visibility
A well-optimized Google Business Profile helps your business rank higher successful section hunt results and Google Maps.
Like so:

Follow these tips to amended your section hunt rankings:
- Add applicable keywords (terms group usage to hunt for businesses for illustration yours) to your business description
- Encourage customers to stock reviews connected your profile. Positive reviews tin boost your ranking and build spot pinch imaginable customers.
- Regularly station updates, offers, and events to your profile. This keeps your floor plan caller and engaging.
Manage Your Presence connected Google
With GBP, you tin guarantee your customers get meticulous accusation astir your business connected Google.
Make judge to adhd each the applicable business details, specified as:
- Business name, category, and description
- Address, telephone number, and website link
- Hours of cognition (including typical vacation hours)
Also, guarantee these specifications are ever accurate.
Update your Google Business Profile if you alteration your operating hours, telephone number, business address, aliases different important details.
Connect pinch Customers
Google Business Profile lets you link pinch your customers, and responding to their queries helps to build relationships.
Use these tips to efficaciously prosecute pinch your assemblage utilizing GBP:
- Promptly respond to customer reviews—both affirmative and negative. This shows that you attraction astir your customers’ feedback.
- Use the messaging feature to pass straight pinch customers who person questions astir your products, services, aliases availability
- Use posts to stock updates, offers, and events pinch customers
Managing reviews is easy pinch Semrush Local. Plus, it besides lets you negociate your GBP and administer your accusation crossed different directories.

5. Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner is simply a free instrumentality wrong Google Ads that helps you investigation keywords for your hunt campaigns.
This instrumentality is chiefly meant for researching keywords for hunt ads. But you tin besides usage it for SEO keyword research—finding keywords for integrated (unpaid) search.
Key Features of Keyword Planner
- Keyword ideas: Find applicable keywords related to your business, products, and services
- Keyword metrics: See really often group hunt queries, really overmuch title different position have, position cost per click (CPC) information, and more
- Organize keywords: Group keywords into advertisement groups aliases campaigns
How to Use Keyword Planner
Getting started pinch Google’s Keyword Planner is arsenic elemental arsenic creating aliases logging successful to your Google Ads account.
(If you don't person an account, travel our guide to group 1 up.)
Once you motion in, take “Discover caller keywords” and participate position related to your business, products, aliases services.
Click “Get results.”

The instrumentality will show keyword ideas alongside a assortment of metrics.

For in-depth keyword research, usage Keyword Planner successful operation pinch Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.
While Keyword Planner provides foundational data, the Keyword Magic Tool lets you:
- Filter and shape keywords based connected things for illustration hunt volume, keyword difficulty, and keyword type
- Enter your domain to get highly personalized metrics

6. Google Trends
Google Trends shows really often circumstantial position are searched connected Google complete clip to thief you spot emerging topics.
Use it to place celebrated topics you tin create contented around. To pull much visitors to your site.
Key Features of Google Trends
- Trending now: See what’s trending globally aliases successful circumstantial regions
- Search word comparisons: Compare liking successful aggregate hunt position to spot which ones are much popular
- Interest complete time: Analyze hunt measurement for a word complete a selected clip period
- Regional insights: See wherever a word is astir celebrated geographically
- Related topics and queries: Find related hunt position and topics that users are besides exploring
How to Use Google Trends
Go to the Google Trends website and click connected the “Trending now” tab.
You’ll spot a database of trending topics successful your chosen location on pinch specifications like:
- How galore searches the taxable is getting
- When the inclination started and whether it’s still active
- Related topics aliases variants of the aforesaid hunt queries

Use these insights to create timely and applicable contented astir basking topics. And pull a larger audience.
Let’s opportunity you person a sports news website.
You tin use “Sports” and “Past 4 hours” filters to find the real-time trends successful your niche.

Further reading: Google Trends: What It Is & How to Use the Data for SEO
The free Google SEO devices we covered connection a awesome starting constituent to build your site’s SEO foundation.
But to spell further, you request master tools.
Semrush’s SEO toolkit provides deeper insights and much precocious features for keyword research, tract audits, rank tracking, and backlink analyses.
Take your SEO strategy to the adjacent level. Start pinch a free plan.