Looking for a good Google Search Console alternative for your company?
There are plenty of Google Search Console alternatives on review sites, but they don’t make the choice any easier.
The crux of the issue is – to make the right choice, you need to account for your priorities: your different jobs to be done, your budget, and the size of the company. But don’t worry – we’re coming to help!
In this post, we’ll discuss exactly that – which Google Search Console competitor is best depending on the different criteria that different SEO agencies, content agencies or in-house link building specialists may have.
Let’s dive in!
TLDR:
- Google Search Console is a free service by Google that helps monitor and maintain your site’s presence in search results.
- It can be used for link building by identifying valuable link opportunities and tracking backlink performance.
- It is also useful for link monitoring to identify potential issues and capitalize on growth opportunities.
- Conducting link audits with Google Search Console helps evaluate and optimize your backlink profile.
- Alternatives to Google Search Console include Ahrefs, SEMrush, MOZ, and BacklinkManager, each with their unique features and pricing plans.
There is a better tool for your company than Google Search Console!
What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console is a free service offered by Google that helps you monitor and maintain your site’s presence in Google Search results. It provides you with detailed reports and data about your site’s performance in search results. With Google Search Console, you can see which queries are bringing visitors to your site, how often your pages are displayed in search results, and how often searchers click on your results. You can also use it to submit and check a sitemap, review your robots.txt file, and generate and check a robots meta tag.
Google Search Console for link building
In this section, we’ll discuss how Google Search Console can be utilized for link building, a critical aspect of SEO. By leveraging the data provided by Search Console, you can identify valuable link opportunities and enhance your website’s search engine ranking. Here’s an actionable guide for beginner SEOs:
- Step 1: Log in to your Google Search Console account and verify your website, if you haven’t done so already.
- Step 2: Navigate to the “Links” section in the left-hand menu to view data about your website’s backlinks and internal links.
- Step 3: Analyze the “Top linking sites” report to identify high-authority websites that are already linking to your site. Consider reaching out to these websites for further link-building opportunities, such as guest posting or content collaborations.
- Step 4: Review the “Top linked pages” report to determine which pages on your site are earning the most backlinks. Use this information to create more high-quality, link-worthy content and optimize your existing content for better link acquisition.
- Step 5: Explore the “Top linking text” report to understand the anchor text used by other websites when linking to your content. This can help you identify potential keyword opportunities and tailor your content strategy accordingly.
- Step 6: Create a spreadsheet to track your link-building efforts, including columns for the website name, URL, contact information, outreach status, and any relevant notes or communications.
- Step 7: Regularly monitor your backlink profile in Google Search Console to measure the success of your link-building efforts and identify new opportunities for growth.
By following these actionable steps, you can effectively use Google Search Console to inform and enhance your link-building strategy, ultimately boosting your website’s search engine ranking.
Google Search Console for link monitoring
Continuing our discussion, let’s examine how Google Search Console can be employed for link monitoring, an essential aspect of maintaining and improving your website’s search engine ranking. Regularly monitoring your backlinks can help you identify potential issues and capitalize on opportunities for growth. Here’s an actionable guide for beginner SEOs:
- Step 1: Log in to your Google Search Console account and verify your website, if you haven’t done so already.
- Step 2: Navigate to the “Links” section in the left-hand menu to view data about your website’s backlinks and internal links.
- Step 3: Regularly review the “Top linking sites” report to monitor your website’s backlink profile. Keep an eye out for any sudden changes in the number of backlinks, which could indicate an issue or an opportunity for further link-building efforts.
- Step 4: Analyze the “Top linked pages” report to track the performance of individual pages on your website. This information can help you identify pages that may require optimization or additional promotion to acquire more backlinks.
- Step 5: Use the “Top linking text” report to monitor the anchor text used by other websites when linking to your content. Ensure that the anchor text aligns with your target keywords and accurately represents your content.
- Step 6: Set a schedule for regularly checking your backlink profile in Google Search Console. Consistent monitoring will allow you to detect issues and capitalize on opportunities in a timely manner.
- Step 7: If you identify any problematic backlinks or patterns, take action to address them. This may involve contacting the linking website to request changes or using Google’s Disavow Tool to disavow harmful backlinks.
By following these actionable steps, you can effectively use Google Search Console to monitor your website’s backlink profile, maintain a healthy link profile, and improve your search engine ranking over time.
- Requires technical knowledge to set up and use
- Can be difficult to interpret the data
- Can be time consuming to set up and maintain
- Can be difficult to integrate with other tools
Google Search Console for link audit
In this section, we’ll explore how Google Search Console can be utilized for link audits, a crucial process for evaluating and optimizing your website’s backlink profile. Conducting regular link audits can help you maintain a healthy link profile and enhance your website’s search engine ranking. Here’s an actionable guide for beginner SEOs:
- Step 1: Log in to your Google Search Console account and verify your website, if you haven’t done so already.
- Step 2: Navigate to the “Links” section in the left-hand menu to view data about your website’s backlinks and internal links.
- Step 3: Analyze the “Top linking sites” report to evaluate the quality and relevance of websites linking to your content. Look for any suspicious or low-quality sites that could negatively impact your search engine ranking.
- Step 4: Review the “Top linked pages” report to assess the distribution of backlinks across your website’s content. Identify any pages that may be over-optimized or under-optimized in terms of backlinks, and adjust your link-building strategy accordingly.
- Step 5: Examine the “Top linking text” report to evaluate the anchor text used by other websites when linking to your content. Ensure that the anchor text aligns with your target keywords and accurately represents your content.
- Step 6: Create a spreadsheet to document your link audit findings, including columns for the website name, URL, link quality, anchor text, and any necessary actions or notes.
- Step 7: Address any issues identified during the link audit, such as contacting website owners to request changes, updating your content strategy, or using Google’s Disavow Tool to disavow harmful backlinks.
- Step 8: Schedule regular link audits as part of your ongoing SEO strategy. Consistent audits will help you maintain a healthy backlink profile and ensure your website’s search engine ranking continues to improve.
By following these actionable steps, you can effectively use Google Search Console to conduct thorough link audits, optimize your website’s backlink profile, and enhance your search engine ranking over time.
Google Search Console pricing
Search Console is a free tool 🙂
Pros of Google Search Console
- Gain insights into how your website is performing in Google search results
- Monitor your website’s search performance with tools like the Performance report and URL Inspection tool
- Receive alerts when Google detects issues on your site
- Submit your sitemap and individual URLs for crawling
- See which queries are driving traffic to your site
- Identify and fix indexing issues
- Track your website’s overall search performance
Cons of Google Search Console
- Requires technical knowledge to set up and use
- Can be difficult to interpret the data
- Can be time consuming to set up and maintain
- Can be difficult to integrate with other tools
Google Search Console alternatives and competitors
There are many tools that might be a good alternative to Google Search Console:
- Ahrefs
- SEMrush
- MOZ
- BacklinkManager
In the next few paragraphs, we’ll look at how these tools can replace Google Search Console better for specific use cases.
Google Search Console vs Ahrefs
There are many ways how Ahrefs is different from Google Search Console. Let’s explore the features of Ahrefs, how it’s better than Google Search Console and how it may fall short too.
Pros of Ahrefs
- Extensive Backlink Analysis: Detailed data on backlinks, referring domains, and link growth for effective strategies.
- Competitor Research: Analyze competitor backlink profiles for link opportunities and successful tactics.
- Content Gap Analysis: Identify topics and keywords to create content attracting backlinks.
- Broken Link Building: Find broken links on other websites for outreach and replacements.
- Link Intersect: Discover new link prospects by analyzing competitor link sources.
- Link Monitoring: Continuous monitoring with alerts for lost or new links.
- Outreach Management: Organize link building outreach efforts efficiently.
- Customizable Reports: Create reports to track link building progress.
- Integrations: Seamlessly integrate with other SEO and marketing tools.
- Training Resources: Access educational materials for link building strategies.
Ahrefs pricing
Ahrefs offers a range of plans and pricing options to provide access to their powerful SEO tools and data. These plans cater to various needs, from small businesses to large enterprises:
- Lite: Starts at £79/month – Essential data for small businesses and hobby projects. Subscribe.
- Standard: Starts at £159/month – Perfect for freelance SEOs and marketing consultants. Subscribe.
- Advanced: Starts at £319/month – More tools and data for lean in-house marketing teams. Subscribe.
- Enterprise: Starts at £799/month – Ideal for agencies and enterprises. Talk to us.
Each plan comes with a variety of features and data allowances, such as SEO Dashboard, Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker, and more. You can choose to pay monthly or pay annually and get 2 months free. To learn more about each plan and get started, visit Ahrefs’ pricing page.
There is a better tool for your company than Google Search Console!
Semrush as a Google Search Console alternative
There are many ways how SEMrush is different from Google Search Console. Let’s explore the features of SEMrush, how it’s better than Google Search Console and how it may fall short too.
Pros of SEMrush
- Comprehensive keyword research tool
- Identify organic search opportunities
- Analyze competitors’ organic search strategies
- Track keyword rankings
- Monitor backlinks
- Identify technical SEO issues
- Generate detailed SEO reports
SEMrush pricing
Semrush offers three pricing plans tailored to meet the needs of different users, from newbies to large enterprises:
- Pro: At $119.95 per month, this plan is suitable for newbies and small teams. It includes 5 projects, 500 keywords to track, 10,000 results per report, and a range of SEO, social, and PPC tools, such as competitor analysis, keyword research, website audit, advertising, and social media tools.
- Guru: Priced at $229.95 per month, the Guru plan is designed for agencies and mid-size businesses. It offers 15 projects, 1,500 keywords to track, 30,000 results per report, and all the features included in the Pro plan. Additionally, it includes the Content Marketing Toolkit, historical data, multi-location and device tracking, Looker Studio integration, and more.
- Business: For $449.95 per month, the Business plan is tailored for large agencies and enterprises. It provides 40 projects, 5,000 keywords to track, 50,000 results per report, and all the features available in the Guru plan. Furthermore, it includes Share of Voice, extended limits, API access, PLA analytics, and free migration from third-party tools.
Additional users can be added to each plan at an extra cost, allowing for secure and efficient teamwork within the platform.
MOZ as Google Search Console alternative
There are many ways how MOZ is different from Google Search Console.Let’s explore the features of MOZ, where it may be more suitable than Google Search Console and how it may fall short too.
MOZ pros
- Easy to use
- Comprehensive SEO tools
- Detailed keyword research
- Robust link building capabilities
- Competitive analysis
- Content optimization
- Real-time website monitoring
MOZ pricing
If you’re considering Moz Pro as your SEO tool of choice, it’s essential to understand the different pricing plans available to you. All Moz Pro plans include 24-hour online support, and you can choose between monthly or yearly payment options, with a 20% discount for annual subscriptions:
- Standard: $99/month ($79/month when billed yearly) – Perfect for beginners or those requiring basic SEO features.
- Medium: $179/month ($143/month when billed yearly) – Most popular plan, with ample limits and full access to keyword research tools.
- Large: $299/month ($239/month when billed yearly) – Ideal for businesses and agencies serious about search, offering more extensive limits and tools.
- Premium: $599/month ($479/month when billed yearly) – Designed for large SEO-focused agencies and in-house marketing teams, providing the most comprehensive features.
Each plan offers different levels of access to features such as campaigns, keyword rankings, mobile rankings, pages crawled per week, performance metrics, keyword queries, backlink queries, link tracking lists, and more. By selecting the plan that best fits your needs and budget, you can optimize your SEO efforts and make the most of Moz Pro’s powerful tools. Click here to explore each plan’s features and find the one that’s best for you.
Google Search Console vs BacklinkManager – is BacklinkManager a better to Google Search Console?
There are many ways how BacklinkManager is different (and in a lot of ways better!) from Google Search Console.Let’s explore the features of BacklinkManager, how it’s better than Google Search Console and how it may fall short too.
Pros of BacklinkManager
- Automates the process of building backlinks
- Helps improve website’s search engine rankings
- Provides detailed reports on backlink performance
- Offers a variety of backlink sources to choose from
- Allows for customization of backlink building strategies
- Saves time and effort compared to manual backlink building
- Can be used for multiple websites or clients
- Provides ongoing support and updates
BacklinkManager pricing
BacklinkManager offers three pricing plans to help you streamline your backlink building operations. You can start for free without a credit card, and each plan comes with different features and limits:
- Free: Monitor and manage up to 250 backlinks, 50 targets, and invite 3 team members. Start for free.
- Pro: $49/month billed annually – Monitor and manage up to 2,500 backlinks, 100 targets, invite 15 team members, and receive priority support. Start for free.
- Enterprise: $500/month billed annually – Monitor and manage up to 50,000 backlinks, 10,000 targets, invite 30 team members, whitelabel reporting, and priority support. Start for free.
Choose the plan that best fits your needs to effectively monitor and manage your backlink building operations. To learn more about each plan and get started, visit BacklinkManager’s pricing page.
Conclusion – which of the Google Search Console alternatives is the best?
As you can see, there are many different competitors and alternatives to Google Search Console. We’ve discussed a few above – but which one is the best?
The answer is “it depends” – but we strongly believe that if you’re a mid-market SEO agency looking for a great user onboarding and product analytics tool, Ahrefs is the best option for you. Hopefully you found this post helpful. Let us know if you know any other good Google Search Console alternatives – and if you need any help with how is different, book a demo with us – we are always happy to talk! Or start for FREE – you can use the tool for free up to 250 backlinks
