You’ve got your optimization checklist to complete, either for your own local business or on behalf of your client, and you’re now wondering;
“What are the best free Local SEO tools and browser extensions that will help do the manual work for me?”
We all love a freebie, but when it comes to the complex and multi-location world of Local SEO, the tool still has to be top-notch, so that you can sit back and trust that it’s doing the job you want it to.
In this reactive industry, you also want free local SEO tools that can give you a quick and accurate answer as soon as you’ve thought of the question. That’s why we’ve compiled some of the top free local SEO tools and Chrome browser extensions in the industry so that you know where to turn.
Top Free Listings Management Tools for Local SEOs
Postamatic
Postamatic, from the immensely talented Noah Learner over at Denver, Colorado-based agency Two Octobers, allows you to easily create and publish Google My Business (GMB) Posts, and Q&As through the GMB API. This is perfect if you’re managing multiple locations (and languages!) and struggling to keep all their GMBs update. No technical know-how needed: just fire up Google Sheets and you’re ready to go!
Local Listings Health Scannera
One of BrightLocal’s free local SEO tools that would be crazy to leave off this list is the Local Listings Health Scanner, which scans the most important business listings sites for your business and gives it a health score based on any incorrect or inconsistent data and any major omissions. It’s a great place to start if you’re looking to build a case for local citations work for a current or prospective local business client.
PlePer Local SEO Tools Chrome Extension
PlePer’s Chrome extension features a wide array of features that allow you to dive deep into your competitors’ Google My Business listings, including shortcuts from the listing to Knowledge Panel (and back again), quick links to speed and mobile-friendly tests, and more. You can even see the GMB categories of any listing in Google Maps and analyze further based on the results. A true no-brainer for any local SEO looking to save time with their GMB competitor research.
Negative Review Removal
Negative Review Removal by AI and software company Objection Co was created to enable users to check the legitimacy of online reviews. Simply copy and paste the review in question into the free tool and you’ll receive a score generated by Objection Co’s algorithm, telling you how likely it is that the review will qualify for removal. According to Founder Curtis Boyd, the tool uses NLP data and AI/ML frameworks such as NLTK and BERT to identify illegitimate content.
Google ID and Link Generator
BrightLocal’s Google ID & Link Generator allows you to easily find Google IDs and links for any local business that has a physical address. Get all the Google search, Google Maps, and Google My Business review links you need, instantly.
GMBspy Chrome Extension
GMBspy for Google Chrome focuses on unearthing and providing data about competitors’ Google My Business categories. The easy-to-use extension provides this data clearly, no matter where you are in Google Maps or Google Search. Want to investigate further? Use the ‘copy to clipboard’ function and contrast and compare categories across multiple competitors.
Top Free Rank Tracking Tools for Local SEOs
SERPTrends for Chrome
SEO Extension SERPTrends for Google Chrome is a lightweight SEO tool that shows dynamics for the search results within the search page: whether the website moved up, down in the SERP, just appeared (is “new”) or hasn’t changed its position. It also shows how many positions the website lost or raised compared to search you performed the previous day.
Local RankFlux
BrightLocal’s own Local RankFlux is the only ranking fluctuation monitoring tool for local search. We track daily ranking movements across 14,000+ keywords to measure volatility and identify suspected algorithm updates. Get daily, weekly or urgent-only alerts so that you’re not left in the lurch the next time a Google algorithm update impacts local rankings.
GS Location Changer Firefox Add-On and Chrome Extension
The GS Location Changer, available for Firefox and Chrome, does one thing and does it well: it changes your location in Google Search so you can emulate the experience from that location, allowing you to see local search results, localised advertising, and more.
MobileMoxie SERPerator: Google Mobile Rank Checker
Available for free use three times a month, MobileMoxie’s SERPerator lets you understand the messy world of mobile rankings, even allowing you to select the handset you want to emulate! You can check mobile rankings from a specific address, too, rather than the broader city, state or zipcode, allowing you to get really granular with your results. It’s also “the only SEO tool that lets you go back in time to see what real SERPs looked like, so you can answer questions about historical mobile search rankings”. If you love using it, we’d thoroughly recommend upgrading to the paid version, too.
