Be it 2019 or 2100 the most important SEO tool is your brain. You actually don’t need any other tools, at all. Well if you want to be technical you need fingers or another type of input system, a device, internet connection…

Learn about Google. No better place to start learning than at the source, Google search console.

I wrote a long post about Google SEO basics so instead of droning on about it here you can click the link if you want.

Besides Google. Give thought to other sources of real traffic, or qualified traffic, such as the Better Business Bureau or YP.com if you’re a local business or yelp.com if you’re a restaurant or other such local business.

Keyword Research. This falls under learn about Google but it bears repeating. Don’t just add random keywords to your website, add “consumer keyword phrases”, or, the phrases people actually type into the search bar. Pay close attention to search returns pages including the related phrase suggestions and the ad titles.

Social. People love social media. When someone leaves a popular social media website from a link on your wall or feed it’s a plus. When someone leaves Facebook or Twitter and clicks through your website for a while, that’s +++. Why do search companies use social measurement as a tool? People are creatures of habit and normally stay in their own small search bubble. If different people with no apparent social connection start liking and sharing the same thing, there is a good chance this ‘thing’ is actually real, useful and good… right?