In this report, we translate over a decade of experience using SEO tools to identify the top options for B2B companies in 2024. We’ve distilled hundreds of compliments and complaints along with the real-world experience of B2B firms into two simplified comparison tables.
Our first analysis pits the 7 most popular B2B SEO tools against each other based on the following features: (1) Keyword Research, (2) SERP Tracking, (3) Competitor Analysis, (4) Backlink Tracking, (5) User Behavior Analysis, and (6) Reporting Automation.
In the next section, we score each tool from 1-5 on:
- Price
- Feature-set
- Ease Of Use
- Reporting Automation
- Customer Service
- Frequency of Updates And Maintenance
In the final section, we give you a more detailed summary of each B2B SEO tool, including its best features and notable drawbacks.
The Top B2B SEO Tools by Feature
This section focuses solely on the features of the SEO tools, with a simple “Yes” and “No” denoting each feature’s presence or absence. We also include a “Best For” column that describes the user that matches best with that tool.
Top B2B SEO Tools of 2024: Feature Comparison
| Tool | Keyword Research | SERP Tracking |
Competitor Analysis | Backlink Tracking | User Behavior Analysis | Reporting Automation | Best for |
| Google Analytics & Search Console | No | No | No | No | No | No | All users, especially when paired with other tools that provide better funnel analysis and SERP tracking – two of Google’s weak points. |
| Ahrefs | No | No | No | No | No | No | Experienced B2B SEO teams and data junkies that will make use of its advanced features like “Content Gap” and “Link Intersections.” |
| Moz Pro | No | No | No | No | No | No | Less experienced SEO teams and marketing departments seeking easy entry to a moderately powerful tool. |
| SEMRush | No | No | No | No | No | No | SEO teams interested in comparing their SERPs with competitors’ in great detail. |
| Mangools | No | No | No | No | No | No | B2B SEO teams in constant need of new keywords to create content around. |
| BuzzSumo | No | No | No | No | No | No | Deeper dives into content analysis and media monitoring. |
| SpyFu | No | No | No | No | No | No | Teams with heavy paid search investment seeking keyword and CTR monitoring with a side of SEO functionality. |
The Top B2B SEO Tools, Ranked
The table below ranks each SEO tool on core requirements (from 1 to 5), with 5 being the best and 1 being missing or unsubstantial. We based the tool’s overall value on its total score in each category relative to the monthly cost.
Top B2B SEO Tools of 2024, Ranked
| Tool | Price* | Feature-set | Ease of Use | Reporting | Customer Support | Updates & Maintenance | Overall Value |
| Google Analytics & Search Console | Free | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4.6 |
| Ahrefs | $99/month | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4.3 |
| Moz Pro | $99/month | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4.2 |
| SEMRush | $99/month | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4.2 |
| Mangools | $49/month | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4.1 |
| BuzzSumo | $99/month | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3.5 |
| SpyFu | $39/month | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3.5 |
*Entry tier, per user
The Top B2B SEO Tools, Summarized
Below, we summarize each B2B SEO tool, providing highlights, lowlights, and overall value.
Google Analytics & Search Console
Although Google Analytics and Google Search Console are two different products, we’ve consolidated them into a single category, given how well they function together. They have two distinct benefits over competing tools:
- The standard features are free
- Information is up-to-date and ensures an accurate clickthrough rate
B2B marketers frequently use Google Analytics to solve complex growth difficulties. It is the industry standard for measuring an activity and answering queries with the correct data. It can assist in developing genuine performance reports to verify the benefit of a B2B SEO program and studying organic traffic trends.
Google Search Console aids B2B marketers in monitoring and maintaining a website’s organic visibility and optimizing keyword rankings, technical decisions, and decisions about where the site appears (or should appear) in search results.
The functionality of these two products differs, with Search Console focusing nearly solely on SERPs and related data. In contrast, Google Analytics is focused on visitor behavior after they’ve clicked through to your site. They work together to give you a complete picture of your website’s performance and to help you learn more about your visitors.
However, the lack of a keyword research tool and their user interfaces, which are less straightforward for novice users than other platforms, is where both Search Console and Google Analytics fall short. Google Search Console’s backlink analysis features are significantly less robust than competitors.
- Price: Free
- Top Feature: Tracking CTRs
- Best for: Everyone, when used in conjunction with another tool for detailed analysis.
Moz Pro
Keyword research, site audits, and backlink analysis are part of Moz Pro‘s SEO toolkit. It combines Moz’s previous tools (such as Moz Analytics) with additional features such as website auditing to provide immediately actionable insights. Its user interface is simple, and we give it a good rating for Ease of Use.
Moz Pro is a must-have tool for B2B search engine marketers looking to develop high-quality inbound connections to their site. SEOs can use this tool to investigate a site’s backlink profile and dig into competitive backlink data. This data can help marketers find new link-building possibilities and potentially detrimental links.
Moz is historically less accurate than ahrefs and doesn’t have as many features as SEMRush, but it’s excellent for SEO newbies and small organizations looking for a wide range of features.
- Price: $99/month per user for Standard
- Top Feature: Domain Authority
- Best for: Junior marketers and small businesses who need an full featured, easy-to-learn tool
Mangools
The Mangools set of SEO tools has the same fundamental functionality as ahrefs, Moz, and SEMRush, except for automatic reporting. KWFinder, in particular, shines, providing the most helpful keyword ideas of any tool on this list. Companies can generate a rich list of fresh keyword suggestions to assist them in increasing website ranks using the Rank Tracker tool, which also facilitates company rating and progress measurement.
Also, and just as valuable to B2B companies, KWFinder can generate a list of past keyword statistics, assisting the user in identifying trending and seasonal keywords. Marketers can also monitor where their websites and competitors’ websites rank in search results with “SERP Overview.”
- Price: $49/month per user
- Top Feature: KWFinder
- Best for: B2B marketers primarily interested in finding new keywords
SEMRush
SEMRush offers a wide array of SEO tools. Its backlink data isn’t as comprehensive as ahrefs’, but it compensates with other advantages.
Its “Domain Vs. Domain” tool, for example, is incredibly powerful, allowing businesses to compare their websites to competitors rapidly. Site auditing of on-page content and technical factors is another plus for B2B marketers trying to identify non-content issues causing poor rakings, such as missing metadata or improper links. Users can also use the On-Page SEO Checker to track ranks and get advice on how to improve their website’s performance.
This tool may also help businesses compare keywords and domains by generating analytics reports that show website traffic, search statistics, and rival performance.
- Price: $99/month per user
- Top Feature: Domain vs. Domain
- Best for: Companies who want to compare their SERPs with 2-3 specific competitors.
Ahrefs
The original purpose of Ahrefs was to analyze a website’s backlinks. Still, it has expanded its capabilities to include a more extensive range of uses for monitoring overall SEO health. Its comprehensive backlink checking service remains a standout, but its ability to analyze competition search traffic is impressive.
B2B marketers constantly need new keyword ideas, and with over 7 billion keywords updated every month, they will never run out of options. The estimation of keyword volume extends beyond Google to nine additional search engines, including YouTube, Bing, and Baidu. These search volumes are modified and updated regularly using clickstream data.
With Ahrefs’ keyword difficulty score function, you can see if your keyword will rank based on other top-ranking pages. You may also use SERPS to determine why top-ranking pages have such high rankings.
In contrast to other keyword research tools, Ahrefs can display your terms’ estimated number of clicks and is the only tool that can provide advanced SEO metrics such as return rate, click-through rate, clicks per search, the proportion of paid clicks, etc.
However, while the user interface is simple, its feature set is more comprehensive than other premium programs, resulting in a steeper learning curve. Another disadvantage of ahrefs is its price. The $99 monthly charge for the entry tier gives you access to the essential services. Still, you’ll need to upgrade to the $199 tier to get historical backlink and ranking data, interactive position history charts, and more extensive competitor research.
- Price: $99/month per user for Standard
- Top Feature: Domain Authority
- Best for: Junior marketers and small businesses who need an full featured, easy-to-learn tool
BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo is a valuable tool for B2B SEO and content marketing because it enables marketers to better identify what material is beneficial (or not) and modify their strategy appropriately. The most shared content report is one of BuzzSumo’s most vital tools. Users can add a keyword, hit search, and the tool generates a list of the most popular material on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.
This feature helps determine which content is the most shared and creates the most backlinks. B2B marketers can then make more informed decisions regarding what types of material to post, how to structure the material, and when to publish it, all based on previously proven successful content.
However, it has two disadvantages. First, its advertised free trial comes with minimal functionality. Second, its backlink research – while an available feature – falls short of competitors such as Ahrefs and Moz Pro.
- Price: $99/month per user
- Top Feature: Most shared content reports
- Best for: Smaller companies (1- 100 employees) looking to create sharable content
SpyFu
SpyFu appeals to early-stage, growing businesses because of its affordable membership costs and free add-on services. However, its feature set isn’t as extensive as other tools on our list, and its primary selling point is the ability to monitor competitor PPC spending.
That said, SpyFu does offer a few unique capabilities aimed at competitive B2B industries. The SEO Recon Files tool, for example, is beneficial for identifying opportunities for site ranking and AdWords data. SpyFu also offers Keyword SmartSearch, a sophisticated keyword generator that proposes successful keywords and provides in-depth information on keyword performance.
- Price: $39/month per user
- Top Feature: Competitive Intel
- Best for: PPC focused marketers who need a basic SEO tool.
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