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How to rank higher on Google and improve your website's SEO

To rank higher on Google, your pages need to answer what people actually search for, load quickly, work well on phones and be easy for search engines to crawl. SEO software shows which terms your buyers search, where you rank now, what competitors rank for and which technical problems hold your site back. Rankings build over time, so treat SEO as ongoing work rather than a one-off fix.

By Bill Belcamino · Page updated September 19, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team

Price this for my team See the software it takes

How to improve Google rankings, step by step

Set up the search engine's site owner tools so you can see which searches already show your pages.
Research the terms your buyers use and match each important term to one page on your site.
Fix technical problems first: broken pages, slow loading, missing titles and pages search engines can't reach.
Improve or write pages that answer each search more clearly than the pages ranking now.
Earn mentions and links from relevant local and industry websites.
Track rankings and clicks over time and update pages that slip.

Why it matters

53% of small businesses use SEO. Source

The software this job takes

Which categories a job needs is Editorial assessment; the tools, prices and dates are Verified data.

Prices are each vendor’s published entry plan, recorded from its own pricing page and dated. The example column prices a team of 10: only per-user prices are multiplied; flat and per-account prices are shown as published. Change the team size in the finder.

You need this

SEO Software

SEO tools show what people search for and how your site ranks against competitors.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Semrush	From $117.33/mo billed annually ($139 monthly)	Per account per month, billed annually; extra users from $45/month	$117.33/moFlat per account per month, billed annually; extra users from $45/month	YesLimited free account — 10 Analytics requests/day, 1 project	Sep 17, 2026Vendor pricing
Ahrefs	From $29/mo (Starter); full toolset from $129/mo (Lite)	Per account per month (Starter)	$29/moFlat per account per month (Starter)	YesAhrefs Free — limited Site Explorer & Site Audit for sites you own	Sep 17, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all SEO Software pricing →Head to head:Semrush vs Ahrefs2 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Often added

Website Builders

A website builder gets a professional site live without hiring a developer.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Wix	Free (Wix branding); paid plans for a custom domain	Not stated in our record	$0 to startFree (Wix branding); paid plans for a custom domain	Yes	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing
Squarespace	From $19/mo	Per site per month, billed annually	$19/moFlat per site per month, billed annually; includes 2 logins, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	No	Aug 26, 2026Vendor pricing
WordPress	Free software; hosting, themes and plugins cost extra	Not stated in our record	$0 to startFree software; hosting, themes and plugins cost extra	Yes	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all Website Builders pricing →Head to head:Wix vs WordPress Wix vs Squarespace4 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Often added

Paid Ads Management Tools

Paid ads tools manage and optimise Google or Meta campaigns from one place, with automation rules and client-ready reports.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Optmyzr	Essentials $209/mo for up to $25K ad spend (annual); $299 monthly	Per account per month for up to $25K of monthly ad spend, billed annually ($299 monthly); not per user	$209/moFlat per account per month for up to $25K of monthly ad spend, billed annually ($299 monthly); not per user	NoNo — 14-day free trial, no card	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing
Madgicx	Pro Complete $32/mo under $1K Meta ad spend (annual); $45 monthly	Per workspace per month under $1K of monthly Meta ad spend, billed annually ($45 monthly); price rises with spend	$32/moFlat per workspace per month under $1K of monthly Meta ad spend, billed annually ($45 monthly); price rises with spend	NoNo — 7-day free trial, then a limited freemium plan	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing
AdEspresso	Starter $49/mo up to $1,000 ad spend; Plus $99/mo unlimited (monthly)	Per account per month, up to $1,000 of monthly ad spend (Starter); not per user	$49/moFlat per account per month, up to $1,000 of monthly ad spend (Starter); not per user	NoNo — 14-day free trial	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all Paid Ads Management pricing →Head to head:Optmyzr vs Madgicx Optmyzr vs AdEspresso Madgicx vs AdEspresso6 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

What to look for

Editorial assessment

Keyword data for your market Check that the tool shows search data for your country or city and your niche. National figures can mislead a local business.
Site audit A crawl that lists broken links, slow pages and missing titles gives you a fix list your web person can work through.
Rank tracking limits See how many keywords you can track and how often positions refresh, since that often decides which plan you need.
Competitor research Look for a way to see which pages and terms your competitors rank for. It shows you content gaps to fill.
Your website platform If your site runs on a website builder or shop platform, check that you can edit titles, descriptions, URLs and redirects there. SEO tools find problems, but your platform has to let you fix them.
Users and projects Check how many users and websites each plan allows if more than one person or site is involved.

Common mistakes to avoid

Chasing broad terms first Aiming for huge generic terms wastes effort. Specific searches with clear intent are usually easier to rank for and more likely to bring customers.
Buying reports nobody acts on An SEO suite doesn't move rankings by itself. Budget time for someone to fix what it finds.
Ignoring the site itself Slow pages, thin content and a confusing structure hold rankings back whichever tool you use.
Judging results too early Search changes take time to show up. Give each change time to settle before deciding it didn't work.

What to settle before you buy

Which searches matter most for our business, and which page should rank for each?
Who will write and update pages, and who fixes technical issues?
Which platform runs our website, and what can we change on it ourselves?
Are we targeting customers nationally or in specific areas?
How many websites and team members need access to the SEO tool?
How will we measure success: rankings, clicks, inquiries or sales?

Ready to take it to whoever signs off?Turn your shortlist into a one-page decision brief with verified prices, or price the whole job for your team size.

Build a decision brief Open the finder

Frequently asked questions

How do I rank higher on Google?

Find the searches your buyers use, give each one a page that answers it more clearly than what ranks now, and fix technical issues such as slow or broken pages. Earn links from relevant sites and keep content current. Track progress in an SEO tool and in the search engine's own site owner reports.

How do I rank on Google AI Overviews?

Start with the search engine's own guidance for site owners on its AI features. In general, pages that answer the question directly, state facts accurately and are easy to crawl are the ones worth building. Be wary of anyone promising guaranteed placement in AI answers.

What SEO tools should a beginner use?

Start with the search engine's site owner reports, then add an SEO tool when you need keyword research, rank tracking and site audits in one place. Pick one your team will actually open, and check how keywords, projects and users are limited on each plan. The table above shows each tool's verified entry price and billing unit.

How do I improve SEO on a Shopify or Wix site?

On a hosted shop or website builder, focus on what you control: page titles, descriptions, headings, image alt text, clean URLs and useful content on product and service pages. Your platform's help pages show where those settings live. An SEO tool's site audit shows which pages to fix first.

How we built this page

We start from the job, not the product. The phrasings people search for this job (for example “how to rank higher on google”) come from our research into how small and mid-size teams describe it. Which software categories the job takes is our editorial judgment. Every tool, entry price, billing unit and date comes from HelpCompare’s open dataset, recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page; nothing is estimated, and where a vendor publishes no price we say so. We take no affiliate commissions and publish no scores of our own. See our methodology or download the data from Open Data.

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How to rank higher on Google and improve your website's SEO

How to improve Google rankings, step by step

The software this job takes

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What to look for

Common mistakes to avoid

What to settle before you buy

Frequently asked questions

How do I rank higher on Google?

How do I rank on Google AI Overviews?

What SEO tools should a beginner use?

How do I improve SEO on a Shopify or Wix site?

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Bill Belcamino