How to Create a Free SEO Tool to Attract Backlinks and Traffic

Looking for another feather to add to your backlink cap?

Here it is: Create your own free SEO tool. Why not? We did.

Our Domain Authority Checker hauls in wins left and right.

Below, I lay out the steps to brainstorm, build your tool, and get it before the right audience 👇

Why Create Free SEO Tools?

It’s simple: free tools are backlink magnets, and bloggers, marketers, and websites can’t resist linking to something that solves their problems.

Take our Domain Authority Checker: it’s racked up backlinks from industry heavyweights like Appsumo and niche SEO blogs, all because it’s a go-to resource for checking domain strength.

Traffic’s another big win. Users searching “SEO tools” or “check domain authority” land on our tool, pulling in steady visitors daily. Currently, it ranks for 558 keywords and pulls in 6,700 monthly organic visitors.

That’s down from its peak, too. At one stage, we were getting over 19,000 monthly organic visitors arriving on the page. Huge!

It’s not just about driving traffic, though. Offering a tool like this screams authority, positioning you as the go-to player in your niche.

Plus, it’s a lead machine. Embed a signup form or CTA, and you’re funneling users toward your paid services or email list, just like we’ve done with Loganix’s tool, driving newsletter signups and traffic to our service pages.

Why wouldn’t you jump on this? It’s a no-brainer for building authority, driving traffic, and landing new leads.

Brainstorming Tool Ideas

Stuck on what free SEO tool to build? Start with the 101s: understanding your target audience’s pain points. Hit up forums like Reddit, X, or niche SEO groups to see what’s bugging people, like this example I found on Reddit:

u/rzhandosweb is looking for a tool that simulates the SERPs. I’ve had this exact same question myself. The best tool I found is made by Mangools. It’s their Google SERP Simulator tool—a tool I use every single day.

Their tool is a raving success! It receives just under 12,000 organic visitors a month and earned 1,400 backlinks from 643 referring domains. Not too shabby.

That’s the kind of win you want. Simple, useful, and link-worthy.

How’d you go? Didn’t find any decent ideas on Reddit or Quora? Moz, Ahrefs, or SEMrush will help you spot tool ideas and gaps in the market. (More on this in the next section.)

You could also lean on AI if you’re into that type of thing. Here, using the tool’s DeepResearch feature, I asked Grok (X’s in-house AI tool) to brainstorm some tools.

Of course, these ideas are relevant to our niche: link-building and search engine optimization. So, tailor your prompt to your niche to uncover relevant ideas.

Say you run a weather site, you could whip up a free local weather forecast tool that spits out hourly updates, pulling links from outdoor blogs or travel sites hungry for real-time data.

Or, if you’re in fitness, build a free calorie calculator that nails daily intake for workouts, racking up backlinks from health forums and personal trainer pages.

For a cooking site, how about a free recipe converter that swaps ingredients for dietary needs (e.g., gluten-free), driving traffic and links from foodie blogs and allergy communities?

Allow your research and intuition to guide your decision-making. And, as I showed with Mangool’s example, think about the problems you face yourself. If you’re having trouble with something, it’s likely your audience is too.

Keyword Research and Demand Analysis

Think you’ve landed on a hot idea, but you’re not sure if anyone’s searching for it? Or are you still scratching your head, short of an idea?

Hit up keyword tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush to check the search volume for potential keywords or ideas you could target. Below, I used Ahrefs’s Keyword Explorer to pull up a list of keywords.

To produce a keyword list relevant to your idea and niche, head over to Ahrefs’s Keyword Explorer and enter a list of seed keywords (broad words and phrases). This generates a baseline report with related keywords, showing you what people are searching for in your niche.

For example, my seed keywords consisted of “on-page SEO tool, off-page SEO tool, keyword research tool, backlink analysis tool, SERP checker, rank tracker tool, online calculator, financial calculator, ROI calculator, conversion calculator, tax calculator, and mortgage calculator.”

Once your report is ready, click on Matching Terms to see a list of terms that are relevant to your seed keywords. Then, to refine your hunt, use Ahrefs’s filter options. I filtered for keywords with a keyword difficulty of 40 or less and a search volume of at least 1,000/month.

As you can see from the screenshot above, there are some real gems. “Cubic yard calculator” boasts a KD of 29 and an SV of 42K. There’s also “bench press calculator” with a KD of 40 and an SV of 39K, while “p value calculator” has a KD of 33 and an SV of 37K.

Some serious potential there, for sure. Not to mention, it’s a super easy way to find ideas or keywords that match your idea, while search volume gives you a solid feel of how much demand a tool might have.

Unfortunately, I don’t have access to the advanced features with the account I’m using here, but for more demand insights, look at the GR 12M column in Ahrefs. It gives you a projected growth rate in search volume over the next 12 months. Handy!

Development Process

Pick your method: go old-school and code from scratch with Python or JavaScript, use a platform like WordPress with plugins, or tap into APIs like Ahrefs’s for data to save time. I’m no developer, so I can’t help you much more here. Our in-house dev team did all the hard work on our domain authority checker tool.

But I can tell you that if, like me, coding’s not your thing, don’t be afraid to outsource.

Hit Upwork, Fiverr, or LinkedIn to find a dev with the expertise to help you out. A quick search on Upwork, and I found Darren B. He looks to have the skills we’d need to assemble an SEO tool, particularly if you’re running a WordPress site.

In his profile, Darren says his skills include using JavaScript, which we need for tool development. Plus, he lists that his a full-stack website developer with experience with WordPress plugins and API integration, so a tool like ours should be within his wheelhouse.

If I were to use Darren for this task, I’d shoot him a message and detail exactly what I needed, just to confirm he’s up to the job.

Something like: “I need a tool that checks backlinks for any URL. I want it to be minimal and mobile-friendly, and it must have quick load time.” This will help keep him on track and get the best outcome.

Designing for Simplicity and Value

Want your free SEO tool to stick and snag links? Keep it stooopid-simple.

Use a clean layout with one or two steps, no fancy bells that overwhelm users, like our Domain Authority Checker’s single input field for a URL.

Don’t leave your audience guessing, either. Add clear instructions or tooltips (e.g., “Check up to 10 URLs every 24 hours. Enter one URL per line.”) so they understand what’s up in milliseconds, not minutes.

Real value is a non-negotiable, so make sure your tool spits out accurate, actionable results users can trust, like our checker’s instant, reliable domain scores that SEOs swear by.

Go mobile-friendly, too. More than half your traffic’s on phones, so optimize for small screens with big buttons and fast loads, just like Loganix’s checker works flawlessly on iPhones.

Why overcomplicate it? A lean, valuable design pulls in traffic and backlinks for “SEO tools,” not headaches.

Promotion Strategies

Your tool won’t make the waves you want it to unless you promote it. Where do you start?

With SEO, of course. Optimize the tool’s landing page for “SEO tools” or “free [tool type] tool,” packing in keywords, a killer title (e.g., “Free Domain Authority Checker Tool”), and fast load times to rank on Google.

Hit social media hard by posting on X, LinkedIn, or SEO groups with a quick demo video or screenshot, shouting, “Tired of pricey tools? Try our free [tool]—link in bio!” to grab your audience’s attention.

Don’t slack on emails, either. Blast your email list with an announcement. Pitch it as a must-have, driving clicks and signups, just like Loganix did for our Domain Authority Checker.

Why hold back? These moves pull in traffic and links, making your tool SEO tool a smash hit.

Integrating with Blog Content

Want your free SEO tool to pull in traffic and links long-term? Here’s some tips:

Write related posts like “How to Use Our Free Backlink Checker for Killer SEO” or “Increase Your Rankings with [Your Tool].” Match these topics with a target keyword that fits the bill and drive users straight to it.

Then, link internally. Drop the tool in blog posts on link building, keyword research, or site speed, using calls like “Check your backlinks free here” to keep traffic flowing, just like we do with our Domain Authority Checker.

And keep pushing by showing results. How? Use the tool in case studies or “Before and After” posts (e.g., “How [Tool] Doubled My Domain Authority”), proving its worth and snagging shares from SEOs, like we’ve done to build trust in our checker.

Placing CTAs (Calls-to-Action)

For CTAs, your wording has to kick like a mule. No limp “click here” that just sits there looking sad. Go hard with stuff like “boost your SEO now” or “snag a free report today.”

We’ve messed around with this on our checker page and have tested different copy. Beyond everything else, what we’ve discovered is that weak words and a passive voice don’t cut it. You need to be direct, succinct, and use language that drives action, not procrastination.

Outreach to Influencers

Here’s how you get your tool out there without wasting your breath:

Start by tracking down influencers—SEO bloggers, X loudmouths, LinkedIn gurus—who’d actually give a hoot about your tool.

These aren’t always big names. They’re the voices your audience trusts, so don’t write off micro influences with small followings. Often, their audiences are more engaged than larger accounts.

Your pitch better not suck, though.

Tell recipients why your tool’s a win for their audience. “Hey, your readers need quick backlink checks? Our tool delivers that in one click” beats a lame copy-paste job any day.

Tracking Usage and Gathering Feedback

You don’t improve what you don’t track. Google Analytics is your best bud here. Check time on page to see if folks are sticking around or bailing fast. Bounce rates tell you if they’re hitting your tool and running, while session duration shows if they’re actually sticking in.

We track our Domain Authority Checker like this regularly. Last month, we saw folks averaging two minutes on the page with a 40% bounce rate. Not bad. It tells us what’s working and where it’s falling flat.

Looking for feedback straight from the horse’s mouth? You could slap a short form or survey right on the tool page. Ask: “What do you like? What’s missing?” Keep it quick, maybe three questions, so they don’t bounce out of annoyance.

Keep an eye on the chatter, also. Scour X, Reddit, or wherever your crowd hangs out for mentions or gripes about your tool. Set up a simple alert with Google Alerts to keep up with the discourse.

Iterative Improvements

Ongoing success? You’ll need to constantly tweak. Use data, listen to users, and stomp out problems before they snowball.

Those analytics you’re tracking? They’re screaming what’s broken. Slow load times, clunky navigation, whatever’s making users bounce.

Bugs? Squash them fast, or watch your credibility bleed out. Nothing annoys users like a tool that crashes or spits out garbage results. Speed matters here; let issues fester, and you’re just asking for disaster.

Conclusion and Next Steps

I’ve walked you through brainstorming a winner, nailing the build, promoting it hard, and tweaking it ‘til it hums.

Our Domain Authority Checker’s proof it works: backlinks from big publishers, steady traffic, and leads piling up.

But here’s the real talk: a tool’s just the start if you want to win the SEO game.

You’ve seen how we grind at Loganix. Every step is about hustling smarter, not just harder.

Ready to kick it up a notch?

👉 Head over to our SEO services page, and let’s set you on the road to victory. 👈