This could be a challenge…
I asked Dan Sharp to list the 10 digital tools that help him work smarter as the Co-Founder of Screaming Frog! I thought this might be slightly challenging for him as he has access to one of the most well-loved tools we’ve seen in this blog series, what other tools could he possibly need to use?…
How wrong was I?! Not only did Dan list some brilliant tools for SEO, he broke my usually strict rules by naming not 10 but 19 digital tools he couldn’t live without!
**We’re currently hiring an SEO Manager for Screaming Frog, this isn’t a job opportunity to miss!**
Without further ado, over to you, Dan…
I wear many hats these days, so I have focused this list on SEO tools, that the agency and I use for client projects.
1) Screaming Frog SEO Spider – Are we meant to exclude our own tools? Well tough, massive shock, we do use them. It is after all, why we built them originally. The SEO Spider helps our team every single day to crawl, monitor, and audit websites. It was the first commercial crawler in the world to provide features like JavaScript crawling, and there’s lots more coming that will excite users.
2) Screaming Frog Log File Analyser – Raw access logs are such a powerful way to gain insights about search bot behaviour. Yet, log file analysis is incredibly underutilised – because they can be challenging to get from the client, and the raw format of the data can put many off. The Log File Analyser helps us quickly analyse log files, remove any guesswork, and get a better understanding of what search engines have experienced.
3) Google Search Console – Direct from Google and completely free. We use Google Search Console in technical audits, and for monitoring of website performance. In particular, the index coverage and search query reports are essential for insight today.
4) Chrome DevTools – There are lots of fundamental tasks that I perform in Chrome DevTools, from inspecting rendered HTML to analysing HTTP headers, JS errors, speed, security, and lots more.
5) Data Studio – We switched to using Google Data Studio for our client reporting some time ago. It’s excellent for connecting with other data sources, and automatically presenting it in an easily digestible, client-friendly format.
6) Sistrix – We use Sistrix extensively for monitoring and comparing organic visibility of clients and competitors. It’s also really useful for general trend and market analysis. There’s lots of other stuff you can do with their data, such as reviewing historical keyword ranking data, SERPs, identifying cannibalisation and more.
As well as Sistrix, we also use SEMRush and Searchmetrics. Sistrix, SEMRush and Searchmetrics have quite a bit of crossover, but each has strengths in different areas and are better at performing different tasks. We use all three, as you can never have too much data!
7) Majestic, Ahrefs, Moz Link Explorer – I couldn’t really pick one, we use all three link indexes for projects. Majestic has a huge, robust dataset, while Ahrefs have excellent data and by some distance the best UI and experience. Moz has had the best metrics, and have made massive strides more recently, their link data is now often comparable and at times exceeds the others.
8) AWR Cloud – We still monitor rankings (crazy, I know) and I have used Advanced Web Ranking for well over a decade. They are super reliable, and their support team are excellent.
9) Adwords Keyword Planner & Moz Keyword Explorer – We use a combination of the Adwords Keyword Planner and Moz Keyword Explorer for keyword research for client projects. Keywords still matter.
10) Gorkana – Our digital PR and SEO team use Gorkana, to build media lists and help with promoting clients. We also use Response Source for media requests and coverage opportunities.
As I included a couple of our own SEO tools on the list, I’ll share a couple of additional tools.
11) Little Warden – If you haven’t heard of it, it monitors critical items such as the expiration of SSL certificates, domain names, and can check for change detection of robots.txt or HTML elements. The relatively small cost is a no-brainer when considering the risk.
12) Google Analytics – Finally, boring, but we’d all find life a lot harder without GA.
Oh, I forgot Google Sheets, Excel, Trello, Slack…
Dan is looking for a creative SEO Manager to join his growing team at Screaming Frog and once again, he’s asked us to help! Find out more about the opportunity HERE. We’re looking for the ‘right’ person to be trained and developed in this exciting Henley based team. If you’d like to discuss the details of this job, please send your CV direct to Natasha via natasha@clockworkTalent.com or use the application form below!
