In this guide, I’ll go over the best SEO software tools for agencies to help increase client satisfaction at scale.

As an agency, maximizing efficiency while maintaining effectiveness is key.

Anyone can manage a couple of SEO clients…

But if you hope to reach the next level, you’ll need to step your game up.

And using the right SEO software for your agency is the fastest way to do just that.

With SEO software like SEM reporting tools, agencies can move faster and get results more efficiently.

SEO tools can add to your agency’s professionalism, allowing you to increase your client base and increase the satisfaction of current clients.

Let’s start with the basics.

Must-Have Tools to Impress Your Clients
Keyword Research Tools
Rank Tracking Tools
White-Label SEO Reporting Tools for Agencies
Technical SEO Tools
The Most Important Analytic — Conversion Tracking
Project Management Platforms
Investing in SEO Software for Your Agency

SEO Software for Agencies: Must-Have Tools to Impress Your Clients

Clients come to you for one thing:

Results.

So, to impress a client, all you need is results. Right?

You definitely need results, but you have to prove to the client that you got the results.

That’s where using SEO software will come into play.

Here’s an example:

Always remember that SEO takes time. Between the moment you sign the client and the moment you start getting results, the client will want to know how their money is being spent.

Sending out professional reports of research, changes, and progress (often white-labeled to increase professionalism even further) puts the clients at ease.

That means fewer lost clients, fewer irritated clients, and just less time spent on customer support overall. It’s a win-win.

When you run an agency, time is by far your most valuable asset. It’s why you decided to scale an agency in the first place.

But before we go into the SEO software that your agency needs to invest in, here’s a warning:

Warning: Software Will Make SEO Easier — Not Better

I can’t stress this enough.

Purchasing SEO software, or signing up for SEO tools, won’t magically make you good at SEO.

Software is required when you want to take the next step. One person only has so much time in the day.

So that’s where SEO software for agencies can make a difference.

Think about it:

If you have to check Google rankings for dozens or hundreds of keywords manually — you wouldn’t have time to do anything else. So that’s where SEO software like a rank tracker would come in.

To keep things easy to navigate, we’ve divided our list of SEO software for agencies into two categories.

Some of them serve dual purposes.

Category #1: SEO Tools for Agencies that Help Get Better Client Results

Although SEO software won’t guarantee increased SEO performance, certain tools can give you a big leg up when you’re carrying out the processes that you already know how to do.

These are the SEO software tools that will help elevate your ROI-focused practice and increase client satisfaction:

Keyword Research Tools
Technical SEO Tools
Rank Tracking Tools
Analytics & Conversion Tracking Tools

Category #2: SEO Software for Agencies that Help with Management

By tools that help agencies with management, I mean anything that: impacts any changes to your SEO strategy, is related to fulfillment, or helps with client relationship management.

Once you’re growing your agency, you’ll need to expand your agency in two ways.

Firstly, you’ll need to make sure your current clients are 110% satisfied with your services — this will lead to case studies and referrals. Next, you’ll need to optimize your efficiency and effectiveness, or else your company will become slow and sluggish — instead of nimble and competitive.

The tools that will help most with managing your agency (and keeping clients happy) are:

Analytics & Conversion Tracking Tools
Rank Tracking Tools
Project Management Tools
SEO Reporting Tools

Keyword Research Tools

Possibly the most common tool you’ll hear about SEO agencies using is a keyword research tool.

The reason why is simple:

SEO is all about getting traffic from searchers.

So to get that traffic, your web pages have to be targeting the right search terms.

That’s where keyword research tools come in. They’re great for coming up with relevant topics and building strategies behind them.

They’re very handy for content marketers.

Spoiler alert: This may come as a surprise when I say that they’re not actually necessary for SEO. Sure, they make things a heck of a lot easier. But if you know an industry well enough, then you know exactly what your ideal customers are searching.

But that’s not to say they don’t make SEO a lot easier.

So what are the characteristics of most keyword research tools on the market?

Usually, they show off two main metrics: volume and keyword difficulty (a rating of how hard it is to rank for a keyword). What makes these two metrics so valuable is that you can: 1) estimate how much traffic you’ll get from ranking for a keyword, and 2) have an estimation of how hard it’ll be for your website to rank for a keyword.

However, keep in mind that keyword “volume” and “keyword difficulty” should be taken with a grain of salt because they’re often misleading or inaccurate.

Google Keyword Planner

Let’s start with the mother of all keyword research tools — the one created by Google themselves.

The Google Keyword Planner isn’t the fastest or most robust tool out there, but it does allow you to source data that is verified directly by Google.

In particular, as an SEO agency, you’re most likely focused on the volume estimates.

Google Keyword Planner volume estimates are helpful in two ways:

To show clients verified data, instead of trying to explain estimates given by more robust tools like Ahrefs (explained below).
To compare volume estimates from other tools so that you don’t accidentally promise clients better results than you can feasibly deliver.

Both budding and established agencies can benefit from the Google Keyword Planner. There are even people who religiously stick to using Google Keyword Planner as their go-to keyword research tool.

The downside to Google Keyword Planner?

Users miss out on the easier-to-user and more robust user-experiences that other tools offer. One of the most popular ones being:

Ahrefs

Ahrefs has become an agency favorite over the years.

Ahrefs does a lot of things, but its best feature, in our opinion, is the keyword research interface.

Unlike the Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs has its own way of estimating search volume. It’s not perfect, but we’ve found that the estimates are about as accurate as third-party keyword tools get.

And since Ahrefs isn’t solely relying on the Google Keyword Tool, you don’t get jammed up with Google’s current or future limitations on volume of queries. Ahrefs is second to none when it comes to finding new keywords, especially long-tails. These long-tail keywords often get left out of the Google Keyword Planner due to their lack of search volume. However, Ahrefs catches them.

You can sift through keywords exceptionally quickly with Ahrefs’ intuitive sidebar and filtering options.

AccuRunker

Accuranker is a keyword rank tracker and SERP tracker. It provides a quick and easy way to track your website’s search engine rankings. Accuranker also offers a number of other features, including competitor analysis, link building, and web analytics.

While Accuranker is primarily a keyword rank tracker, it can also be used to track other aspects of your website’s performance, such as traffic levels and organic search. In addition, Accuranker offers a number of features that make it an invaluable tool for any online marketer like the data studio.

Accuranker Google Data Studio is a powerful data visualization tool that accuranker helps SEO agencies use to their full potential. It allows agencies to connect to multiple data sources, including Google Analytics, AdWords, and Search Console, and then visualize that data in custom reports.

And Accuranker Data Studio’s integration makes it easy to get started with by providing pre-built templates and connectors for popular data sources.

Accuranker also offers agency plans that include support for team collaboration and white label SEO reports, making it easy for agencies to offer reports as a value-added service to their clients.

So if you’re an SEO agency looking for a way to take your reporting to the next level, accuranker is worth checking out.

Google Trends

In SEO and life, the early bird truly does get the worm.

Being at the top of the SERPs for a new keyword is the dream.

The competition is usually weak and the traffic is bountiful. All you have to do is be the first one out of the gate.

Google Trends can give you that in-advance info that you need to establish yourself in a trending space.

With Google Trends, you can search for trends in keywords, compare keywords, and come up with the freshest content on the web for trending topics before they get big.

Get into the habit of checking for trending search terms related to your clients’ industries a couple of times per month. When an opportunity presents itself, take decisive action to get the ball rolling with content.

Once the trend reaches its peak, you’ll be lying in wait to scoop up all of the easy traffic.

ProRankTracker Keyword Discovery Tool

The Keyword Discovery Tool by ProRankTracker is a different kind of keyword research tool with a very special purpose.

Why?

The Keyword Discovery Tool will find keywords that you’re ranking for that you had no idea about.

What makes this useful is you can revamp old content and reoptimize it around other keywords that have more potential.

All you have to do is plug in a domain and let the software do the work for you.

Rank Tracking: ProRankTracker Tool

Rank tracking is one of the most underrated SEO software for an agency.

Not only does it allow you to track progress and keep your clients happy, but it also allows you to optimize your strategies.

Here’s an example:

If you’re confident that a particular strategy will result in a huge SERP movement, but nothing happens, then — maybe it’s time to put your opinion aside and trust the data.

Rank tracking is an extremely invaluable SEO software for agencies for two major reasons:

Agencies work with a handful of clients and websites, so having a tool that automatically tracks all of their clients’ most important rankings will save huge amounts of time.
Clients love to see results. And one of the most important metrics to track is the rank of clients’ most crucial keywords.

But that’s not all ProRankTracker can do, so let’s talk more about our rank tracker.

Basic Rank Tracking

“Basic” rank tracking really isn’t so basic at all.

If you conduct manual searches from your computer or phone to check keyword rankings, those rankings won’t show the full picture.

Why?

Google optimizes search results for the user depending on a number of factors, including but not limited to cookie history and location. Even if you use an incognito browser, there’s still a chance you’re not seeing the full picture.

ProRankTracker has a system in place to remove personalization of search results and provide accurate and true rankings of any website and any keyword.

When you conduct a manual Google search, you may see a different position, but that is only because of the personalized search results that Google is showing you.

PRT shows you where you’re ranking for keywords across various devices and locations around the world on demand — which takes us to the next section:

Local & Mobile Tracking

ProRankTracker allows you to track both mobile and location-specific SERPs.

Tracking mobile SERPs is completely required for any respectable agency.

Why such a strong opinion?

Search gravitates more and more towards mobile every year, and certain industries are completely dominated by mobile searches.

Seriously. 83% of the United States population are mobile internet users.

If you notice your mobile rankings are lagging behind your desktop rankings, you may need to help your client improve their website’s mobile experience.

If mobile users are always bouncing from a particular page, Google knows that page isn’t ideal for showing to searchers on mobile devices. So if your agency can’t get results in the mobile realm, your client won’t be happy.

Additionally, tracking location-specific SERPs is also an extremely helpful ability to have, especially for larger agencies (or those who wish to grow into a larger agency). By being able to track location-specific search engines, you have the potential to expand your company worldwide and take on clients from any country.

One of the most crucial local SEO software for agencies that you’ll need to track results is a local tracker.

The PRT rank tracker allows agencies to track rankings for their local business clients. This includes Snack Packs, map listings, and specific location searches.

Full SERPs Tracking (1-100)

In SEO, not only do you have to make sure your SEO and content marketing is squared away, but you have to make sure you’re out-doing your competitors too.

If one of your clients is involved in a certain industry, it makes sense to keep track of that entire industry as a whole, rather than just your clients’ place in it.

By tracking all website movement in the top 100 results for any particular keyword with ProRankTracker, you may do exactly that, which will help you identify your competitors’ weaknesses and strengths.

Think like this:

Did a competitor just come out of nowhere and hit the first page? What did he do to accomplish that feat? Can you replicate his content strategy or backlink sources yourself?

Or, maybe a competitor just went into freefall. What happened? Can you capitalize on the situation in any way?

Understanding the full macrocosm of a niche, rather than just your client’s place in it, affords you numerous competitive advantages.

After all, SEO is just a competition for first-page rankings.

White-Label SEO Reporting Tools for Agencies: ProRankTracker

If you’re an SEO agency, chances are you’re always looking for ways to increase your efficiency and save time. One way to do this is to invest in white label SEO reports. White label SEO reports are basically ready-made report templates that you can use to quickly generate client reports. This can be a huge time-saver, as you don’t have to start from scratch each time you need to create a report.

There are a number of different white label SEO report providers out there, so it’s important to do your research and choose one that’s right for you. Some things to look for include customizable templates, support for multiple languages, and the ability to include your own logo and branding. Once you’ve found a white label SEO report provider that meets your needs, generating reports for your clients will be a breeze!

Sending out white-label reports is a good idea for a few reasons:

It keeps your client in the loop to prevent unnecessary time spent on support.
It flexes your professionalism with what appears to be in-house software.

ProRankTracker allows you to customize the three unique types of reports that you’ll potentially need to send your clients.

Progress Reports

ProRankTracker allows you to update your clients on SERP movements without lifting a finger.

Progress reports let you show off your rankings gains over a period of days, weeks, or months.

Everything can be done from inside the PRT dashboard. Upload your company information and graphics, connect your custom email address, set report frequency, and you’re done.

Comparison Reports

Show your clients how they stack up against their competitors. Because chances are, your clients are already concerned about competitors taking their rankings.

Comparison reports can be used to show how quickly your client is gaining on their competitors and how they compare against competitors for key rankings.

Benchmark Reports

A benchmark report is a comparison of rankings between two different time periods.

You can use these reports to show your client just how far they’ve come in the SERPs after making the wise decision to hire your agency.

Bonus Use for Rank Tracking Reports: Case Studies

Making your clients happy is the name of the game.

But you can actually use these reports to grow your own agency, too.

Every sales process requires trust to close — and it’s no different when it comes to SEO agencies.

The hardest part about selling SEO is that you can’t make guarantees since your rankings are at the mercy of search engines.

So that’s exactly why you need to be showing off case studies to build trust with leads and prospects.

And rankings reports are one awesome way to show off the results you’re capable of through case studies.

Tools for Technical SEO

Having your technical SEO squared away — alone — probably isn’t enough to skip past the competition for the #1 ranking.

But your clients’ sites certainly couldn’t survive without it.

Technical SEO is already hard enough as it is, so equipping your agency with the right technical SEO tools will be critical.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console provides plenty of interesting basic data, like impressions, clicks, and CTR for your website’s different pages.

But the real value is found under the hood. Head to the “Enhancements” tab in your dashboard for a client site. You’ll see a variety of errors and potential improvements, such as issues with AMP or slow page load times, which will help you improve the on-page SEO of your clients’ websites and rankings overall.

One of the best parts?

It’s a free tool from Google.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

If your clients are putting out new content on a consistent basis (as they should be), their websites will eventually grow to become unmanageable if handled manually.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider can crawl every page of a client’s website and present every on-page SEO problem present, such as duplicate content, broken links, and more.

The Most Important Analytic — Conversion Tracking

SEO agencies love traffic and first-page rankings.

But at the end of the day, if an agency isn’t increasing their client’s bottom line — the partnership isn’t going to last.

So if you want to really prove the ROI of your service, retain your clients, and wow prospects, then you need to be tracking conversions.

Conversion tracking can be easily set up regardless if your client is a local business, e-commerce store, SaaS company, or another agency.

Worried conversion tracking is too complicated?

Well, setting up basic conversion tracking on a client’s website is super simple. No crazy coding knowledge needed.

Google Analytics

Unlike most free products, Google Analytics is not a limited one. It’s incredibly robust and can be used by even the largest of SEO agencies.

Some SEO agencies would even argue that it’s the most important tool to monitor.

With Analytics, you can showcase just how many organic visitors are turning into conversion points, which at minimum justifies your existence, and at best, blows your client’s socks off, leading to countless referrals later.

To track any type of conversion on a site, you can add a specific “Thank You” page where a user lands after taking action on a CTA. Then all you have to do is add a “Goal” through settings on that page. So whenever a user lands on that page after taking action, it’ll fire a trackable signal.

You can customize your Google Analytics a lot — you can even add a specific dollar amount for a CTA to track exact revenue.

Google Data Studio

Once you have your Google Analytics set up for a client, integrate Google Analytics data reports into Google Data Studio to make them pop.

Google Data Studio allows you to automate your data tracking and keep it all in one place.

It can be a bit tricky for beginners, but it’s very worth it after you impress your clients with it.

Showcasing conversion success from SEO in an attractive way can make a big difference. Everyone enjoys pretty visuals — especially clients!

Project Management Tools for SEO Agencies

We now have all of the software directly related to SEO out of the way.

Now, it’s time to discuss using project management tools for SEO agencies to keep your fulfillment and communications running like a well-oiled machine.

Google Workspace

Formerly G Suite, Google Workspace makes teams more efficient with some basic collaborative tools.

Custom @domain email addresses with an intuitive UI very similar to Gmail
Collaborative features between Google Docs and Google Sheets
At least one terabyte of storage per user
Secure file storage (rather than hosting it on your own server)

Every agency can get good use out of Google Workspace.

You might even be thinking this one is a no-brainer.

But there are just so many high-value features you can use with Google; it’d be a loss not to take full advantage.

Learning how to use spreadsheets, for example, is one way to get rid of a bunch of confusing software. Keep it simple.

Trello

There are dozens of project management software to choose from, and many of them work perfectly.

It’s really up to preference.

But one of the tools, which is easy to start with for free, is Trello.

Trello uses a combination of boards, lists, and cards to make SEO project management easy.

I recommend Trello if you have an established agency or are just starting out.

Software can get really complicated, but Trello is simple to get started with — even for a tech novice.

The Bottom Line for Choosing SEO Software for Agencies

No single piece of software will make your agency a success.

But with the right combination of skills and SEO software for agencies, you’ll be able to optimize processes, grow faster, and remove a bunch of the headache that’s frequently associated with managing SEO campaigns.

Getting started now on implementing the software that your agency needs most is easy.

Start a 7-day free trial today to see how ProRankTracker can take your agency to the next level. Feel free to schedule a demo to see ProRankTracker’s expansive list of features in action.