10 Best AI Tools For SEO (Paid & Free)

Sidra Condron
July 16, 2024
8 min read
Table of Contents

Are you an SEO looking to stay ahead of the curve in 2024? In a short time, we've seen Artificial Intelligence shake up the way SEO managers approach their craft. It offers powerful new ways to optimize content, streamline workflows, and gain a competitive edge. But with so many AI tools and tactics emerging, it can be tough to know where to start.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll break down the best AI tools reshaping SEO and share practical tips to put them to work for you. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just getting started with AI-powered SEO, you'll walk away with a clear roadmap to boost your rankings and drive better results in less time. Let's dive in.

Understanding the AI SEO Tool Landscape

AI is a broad term encompassing various technologies that enable machines to exhibit intelligent behavior. In the context of SEO, the most relevant AI fields are:

  • Natural Language Processing (NLP): Helps computers understand, interpret, and generate human language. Used for tasks like keyword research, content analysis, and generation.
  • Machine Learning (ML): Enables systems to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. Applied to SEO for pattern detection, prediction, and optimization.

These AI technologies are powering a range of SEO use cases and capabilities, including:

  • Keyword research: Identifying the most relevant and profitable keywords to target based on search data, semantic relationships, and competitive insights.
  • Content optimization: Evaluating content quality, relevance, and search engine friendliness to provide data-driven recommendations for improvement.
  • Link building: Finding high-quality link prospects, automating outreach, and analyzing backlink profiles.
  • Technical audits: Crawling websites to detect technical SEO issues, prioritize fixes, and monitor search performance.

Forward-thinking SEOs are leveraging AI to automate repetitive tasks, surface actionable insights, build programmatic SEO strategies, and ultimately create better experiences for search users. As Google and other search engines increasingly use AI to understand and rank content, it's becoming a must-have for staying competitive.

Best AI Tools for SEO

SEO tool options are rapidly evolving, with new AI solutions constantly emerging. As AI SEO tool options evolve at a rapid clip, it's hard to keep up. We dove into some key names that are emerging, especially the ones that make your work more effective and efficient. Here are some of the best tools for SEO use cases:

Keyword Research Tools

AI is supercharging keyword research by analyzing massive datasets to uncover opportunities that traditional tools might miss. The best tools include:

  • MarketMuse: Uses NLP to build semantic keyword models and identify topical strengths and gaps in your content. Pricing starts at $149/month.
  • Frase: Combines search data with NLP to research current search results and generate content outlines for topical relevance. Plans from $15/month (paid annually).
  • RankIQ: Offers AI-powered content guides for bloggers. They streamline keyword research and suggest headlines. Pricing from $49/month.

Content Optimization Tools

Creating content that hits the right notes for both search engines and users is an art and a science. AI tools can help on both fronts:

  • Surfer SEO: Analyzes top-ranking pages to provide NLP-based recommendations on keywords, headings, word count, and more. Plans start at $89/month.
  • Clearscope: Employs IBM Watson NLP to provide real-time content optimization recommendations based on top-ranking pages. Pricing from $199/month.
  • Frase: In addition to keyword research, Frase's AI helps optimize existing content and generate new content ideas. Uses a Pro Add-On with plans from $35/month.

AI Writing Assistants

For resource-strapped teams, AI writing tools can be a game-changer to scale quality content production. Some popular options:

  • Jasper.ai: Trained on high-performing web content, Jasper generates blog posts, ad copy, product descriptions and more. Plans start at $39/month.
  • Copy.ai: Offers a suite of AI-powered writing tools for businesses, including blog post generation, content rewriting, and sales copy. Free and paid plans available starting at $36/month.
  • Writesonic: Uses GPT-3 AI to create landing pages, Facebook ads, product descriptions, and other conversion-focused copy. Pricing starts at $12/month (paid annually).

The key to success with AI writing is effective prompt engineering—providing clear, detailed instructions to guide the AI's output. Much of that is built into the tool, so as a user you will mostly focus on the output. However, adding a human touch might be the most crucial part. It’s important to edit and fact-check AI-generated content to maintain quality and brand standards.

Technical SEO & Automation Tools

AI can take the tedium out of technical SEO tasks like site audits and performance monitoring:

  • Alli AI: Automates site crawls, identifies over 50 technical SEO issues, and provides plain-language fix recommendations. Plans from $299/month.
  • Onely: Offers AI-based anomaly detection and smart alerts to catch and diagnose SEO traffic drops. Custom pricing.
  • Sitebulb: Uses machine learning to analyze crawl data and prioritize technical SEO fixes based on impact. Plans start at $13.50/month.

While AI can surface technical issues more efficiently than manual audits, it's important to understand its limitations. AI may miss edge cases or unique site issues, so it's best used in combination with human expertise.

Putting AI to Work in Your SEO Process

So you've got a shiny new AI tool in your SEO kit. Now what? Unlocking its full potential requires thoughtful integration into your existing workflows. Here's a framework to get started:

Align AI Tool Investments with SEO Goals & Resources

Not every AI tool will be right for every business or budget. Consider your top SEO priorities and whether the tools can help reduce your pain points:

  • If you're struggling to scale content production, AI writing tools could be a smart bet.
  • If technical SEO issues are holding back your site, an AI-powered site audit tool may have the most impact.
  • If you're looking for an all-in-one solution to level up your SEO, a comprehensive platform like RivalFlow AI could be the way to go. (More on this later!)

Be realistic about the time and resources you can allocate to learning and leveraging new AI tools. Start with one or two that align with your top goals and expand from there.

Recommended AI Tool Stacks For SEOs

Depending on your needs and budget, here are some suggested tool combinations:

  • Entry-level / solopreneur: Frase for keyword research + content optimization, Jasper.ai for AI writing
  • Growing business / small team: Clearscope for content optimization, Copy.ai for AI writing, Sitebulb for technical audits
  • Enterprise / agency: MarketMuse for content planning, Frase for optimization, Writesonic for content scaling, Alli AI for technical SEO

AI Tool SEO Integration Playbooks

Here are some specific ways to weave AI into your SEO processes:

Plan your content with automated keyword clusters

Using clusters of similar keywords delivers a two-fold benefit. It helps to expand the ideas that you cover, and it allows for good article organization.

For example, "home office setup" and "setting up your home office" can introduce different ideas. This first might give you inspiration for a layout and accessories to have. The second might be a series of steps with shareable tips. Mapping keyword clusters will ensure that you're addressing both angles.

  • Let NLP-based keyword research tools detect semantic keyword groups
  • Cluster keywords by search intent, difficulty, and business priority
  • Map clusters to content (ideas and assets) in a centralized editorial calendar

Create thorough content briefs

These briefs are invaluable in getting the full team on the same page--especially when you are delegating to writers. It's also a professional way to keep your high-touch clients in the loop on future content. Done right, the tools can address top keywords and the angles that are important to cover in your content.

  • Plug priority keywords into an AI content optimization tool
  • Analyze top-ranking pages for those terms to identify must-cover topics
  • Use AI insights to build comprehensive briefs for writers

Optimize page titles and meta descriptions

These steps are too important to your SEO to be written without optimization. AI tools can help with objective descriptions that get people to click through on the search results page. Of course "help" is the key term here. You should give these crucial elements a once-over to make sure they are compelling for readers.

  • Run key pages through an AI content optimization tool
  • Evaluate current title tags & meta descriptions against competitor pages
  • Implement AI-generated suggestions to improve relevance & click-through rates

AI writing tools for content scaling

Scaling content can ripple through your workload, letting you choose the effect that matters most to you. That might mean speeding up your process so you have more time, tackling new content ideas, or expanding your services.

  • Identify target keywords and map to content briefs
  • Use AI writing tools to generate rough first drafts
  • Edit AI-generated copy to refine quality, add brand voice & subject matter expertise

Measuring AI's Impact

As with any SEO investment, it's crucial to track the performance of your AI initiatives. Some key metrics to watch:

  • Rankings, organic traffic & conversions for AI-optimized pages
  • Content production speed & cost per article with AI writing tools
  • Organic traffic improvements & number of issues resolved with AI site audit tools

AI SEO Tool Best Practices & Pitfalls to Avoid

While AI can be a powerful ally for SEOs, it's not a magic wand. Here are some best practices and watch-outs to keep in mind:

Maintaining Quality with AI Content

Google has been clear that AI-generated content in itself won’t raise any red flags. However, it goes against its guidelines if it's intended to manipulate search rankings. Using AI to assist human writers is fair game, and the key is in the editing process:

  • Fact-check AI outputs and supplement with original research and insights
  • Refine AI content to add your unique brand voice and style
  • Ensure a subject matter expert reviews AI-generated content before publishing
  • When appropriate, add your own point of view to separate your article from others

Avoiding Over-Optimization & Spam

AI SEO tools can provide very specific, data-driven optimization recommendations. But over-optimizing pages to hit arbitrary keyword density or word count targets can veer into spammy territory and turn off readers.

Remember, AI is meant to complement human judgment, not replace it entirely. If a suggestion feels unnatural or forced, it's okay to ignore it in favor of readability and user experience.

Keeping Humans in the Loop

AI tools can automate many tedious SEO tasks, but it still requires human oversight and strategic direction. Using AI to surface data-driven insights is a great practice, but it should never stand alone. Be sure to apply your own subject matter expertise and business savvy to prioritize the findings and drive home your message.

Of course we mentioned fact-checking. Regularly review AI tool outputs and recommendations to catch any wonky or irrelevant suggestions. And don't forget to monitor search engine guidelines and best practices, which can evolve quickly in today's AI-driven landscape.

Expert Tips for AI SEO Tool Success

  • Effective prompt writing: The quality of AI-generated content depends largely on the quality of the prompts you feed it. Be specific, provide examples, and iterate based on outputs.
  • Human editing checklist: When refining AI content, check for factual accuracy, brand voice consistency, readability, and search engine optimization.
  • Balancing AI efficiency and creativity: Use AI to streamline your SEO grunt work, like research and analysis. But continue to invest in original, creative content that showcases your unique thought leadership and expertise.

RivalFlow AI: Unlock Your Content's Full Potential

For SEOs looking for a new solution to harness the power of AI, RivalFlow AI is a compelling option. RivalFlow AI uses NLP and machine learning to analyze your content against top-ranking competitors and provide actionable optimization recommendations through new copy.

How RivalFlow AI Works

RivalFlow AI's AI-powered workflow covers the key stages of modern SEO:

  1. Automated page analysis: RivalFlow AI crawls your site to identify your most valuable pages and their current keyword rankings.
  2. Competitor benchmarking: The tool analyzes the pages outranking you for target keywords to identify content gaps and opportunities.
  3. AI-generated content enhancements: RivalFlow AI provides specific, actionable recommendations to improve your content's relevance, depth, and search performance.

Instead of vague suggestions like "add more keywords" or "increase word count", RivalFlow AI uses NLP to identify the specific subtopics, questions to answer, and content to expand to help your pages beat the competition. It even generates optimized copy and headers you can plug right into your content.

RivalFlow AI's Key Benefits

RivalFlow AI offers several unique advantages over other AI SEO tools:

  • SERP-driven analysis: RivalFlow AI analyzes your page against competitors that are outranking you to provide relevant, topical recommendations.
  • Streamlined use: The tool’s clean output lets you pull the suggested excerpts into any CMS editor or writing system without clunky formatting issues.
  • Fast results: RivalFlow AI's customers report ranking improvements within 2-4 weeks of implementing the tool's recommendations.
  • Exceptional support: RivalFlow AI offers live chat support and one-on-one customer demos to ensure you're getting the most out of the platform.

Getting Started with RivalFlow AI

To experience the power of RivalFlow AI for yourself, sign up for a free 14-day trial - no credit card required. The onboarding process is quick and painless:

  1. Connect your website
  2. Review your AI-generated content recommendations
  3. Implement the suggestions and watch your rankings climb

RivalFlow AI plans start at just $79/month, with flexible options for businesses of all sizes.  Customers have access to one-on-one demos, but the nature of the tool is straightforward enough to have anyone up and running without any training.

Conclusion

AI is no longer a far-off possibility for SEOs - it's a here-and-now necessity. As Google and other search engines lean into machine learning to surface the most relevant, trustworthy content, SEOs must leverage AI tools and tactics to stay ahead of the curve.

The AI SEO tool landscape can seem overwhelming at first, with new tools and techniques emerging all the time. But with a clear understanding of the core use cases and best practices, you can harness AI to drive better rankings, traffic, and revenue.

Remember, AI is not a replacement for human intelligence and creativity. It's a powerful complement that can help you work smarter, not harder. By investing in the right tools and integrating them thoughtfully into your processes, you can free up time and mental energy to focus on the strategic, high-impact work that will take your SEO to the next level.

If you're looking for an all-in-one AI SEO solution to streamline your workflows and get fast results, give RivalFlow AI a try. With cutting-edge NLP technology that builds on a welcome strategy of making content more helpful, it's an AI investment you won't regret.

The future of search is AI-powered. With the right tools and tactics, you can be too.

Try RivalFlow AI risk-free for 14 days and see the difference AI can make for your SEO.