Many content writing tools for SEO make the process more complicated or oversimplify it to the point of absurdity.
Based on our experience, we've compiled 5 content writing tools for SEO that are relatively easy to use. They make a good compromise between forcing you to write for robots and helping you create beautiful pieces of literature no search engines will understand.
Why use content writing tools for SEO at all?
Writing, like any other creative task, is difficult. When you throw in SEO requirements for digital marketing that aren’t always obvious or clear, it becomes a nightmare. The goal is to make your ranking in organic search as good as it can be.
Good SEO tools for content writing will do some of the keyword research for you, and then take most of the manual labour and guesswork out of the creation process and website content strategy.
Content editors for SEO let you know how to best optimize your content for search engines while you are writing (or after you publish your text).
How do they know this?
You let the writing tools know what your target keyword (or keywords) are, and they will analyze SERPs on the topic to provide you with some really helpful metrics.
Popular functionalities include:
• Making sure your post includes one title and the right number of subheadings,
verifying keyword density;
• Checking the length and reading time;
• Looking for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes; and
• Making sure the number of images is good and that alt text is present.
The following 5 content writing software tools for SEO are the ones we use at KJB Digital.
1. Semrush SEO Writing Assistant
Our top choice is the Semrush SEO Writing Assistant that comes with the Guru package. It's a plugin in the works with Google Docs and WordPress.
There's also a “quick-checker” that gives you tips on the Semrush dashboard. It’s limited, but a great choice if you want a bird’s eye view of your content. You can paste in your text if you don’t want to install the plugin.
Both the plugin and quick-checker work in real-time to suggest improvements on a given post’s search engine optimization, readability, tone of voice, and originality.
The tool works best in English, but there are 14 more languages with limited functionality.
The Writing Assistant gathers data and provides recommendations based on the top 10 ranking pages for your chosen keywords in a given location.
Pricing
If you have a free or Pro Semrush account, you get to set up one template with recommendations for a lifetime. Once it's connected to a post, anyone with access to it will be able to see the Writing Assistant.
If you want to optimize more than one post, you have to purchase the Guru subscription plan, which costs $229.95 per month. You'll receive a 16% discount if you choose to pay annually. A bit pricey, but it delivers awesome results.
2. Yoast SEO WordPress plugin
The Yoast SEO plugin does a lot more than provide tips on content creation, but that’s what we'll focus on here.
This great tool is a WordPress plugin that works in the regular editor, Elementor, and block editor. There is also a real-time content analysis tool, which is free and can be used in your browser.
Yoast SEO gathers keyword data from the Semrush database.
Pricing
You can use the free version as long as you have a WordPress plan that allows downloading and installing plugins. The premium version with extended features costs $99 per year.
3. Surfer SEO’s Content Editor
Surfer SEO is more affordable than content editors from Semrush and Yoast, and still offers a ton of useful recommendations and tips on content creation.
Once you fire it up and start typing, your score will change as you write. There's no need to check anything off manually. The overall metric that's presented gives you the number of words, headings, paragraphs, and images you should use (and a score on how well you adapted).
The layout's good because there's hardly a learning curve. All recommendations are provided on a silver platter with minimal requirements for clicking around. You'll be able to optimize your text the first time you use the tool.
Pricing
The Content Editor is included in all subscription plans, which consist of Basic ($49/mo), Pro ($99/mo), and Business ($199/mo) Tiers.
You get 25 Content Editors on the Basic plan, 100 on the Pro subscription, and 300 if you decide to go with Business. Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a feature only available in the two more expensive options.
4. Frase Content
A couple of our team members really like Frase Content. This tool has a very simple UI and won’t break your budget, especially if your writing needs aren't substantial.
Start writing or paste some text and the recommendations and stats will update automatically.
As with most other content writing tools for SEO, recommendations are sorted into categories. In Frase Content there are four: Top results, Topic score, Questions, and Related.
Pricing
You get 5 templates for free to start with, and then you have to purchase a plan to keep using the content editor.
It's a bit more affordable than other SEO tools on the market. There are 30 templates included in the Basic Plan ($44.99/mo) and an unlimited number in Team ($114.99/mo).
5. SEOReviewTools’ SEO Content Editor 2.2
This tool is a bit more limited than the ones described above, but it's free. We recommend it to any content marketers who need to keep a close eye on their expenses.
The interface is very easy to use and the recommendations make sense. It's a great tool and our team's favorite among available free content writing tools for SEO.
This tool provides three categories of suggestions: Page title score, Meta description score, and Content score. Their respective scores are calculated out of 100, provided in brackets after each subtitle.
When you're ready to roll, simply start writing or copy your text into the editor.
Pricing
You can use the content editor for free. You'll need an account if you want to save documents. There is a running meter that seems to go up to 10 documents, but after you reach this number… nothing happens. You can keep on creating new ones.