You can learn most of SEO with free tools. SEO, or search engine optimisation, means getting a website found on Google without paying for each click. Learn it in this order: how search works, keyword research, writing pages, the technical side, then local SEO and links. Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Keyword Planner, PageSpeed Insights and Google Trends cover most of what a beginner needs, and all are free.
Tools do not teach SEO by themselves. Use them on a real website, even a small one you build for practice. This list is part of our wider guide on how to learn digital marketing step by step.
The order to learn SEO in
- How search works. Google finds pages (crawling), stores them (indexing), then decides which ones to show for a search (ranking).
- Keyword research and search intent. What people type, and what they actually want when they type it.
- On-page SEO. Page titles, headings, clear answers and links between your own pages.
- Technical SEO. Speed, mobile layout and making sure Google can read every page.
- Local SEO. Showing up on Google Maps and local searches, which matters for most Nepali businesses.
- Links and trust. Getting other real websites to mention and link to you.
- Measuring. Checking what changed and deciding what to do next.
10 free SEO tools and what each one does
1. Google Search Console
This is the first tool to set up. It shows which searches brought people to your site, how often your pages appeared in Google, and which pages Google could not index. You can also submit a sitemap, a list of your pages, so Google finds them faster. It is free once you prove you own the site.
2. Google Analytics 4
Search Console shows what happened on Google. Google Analytics shows what happened on your site after the click: how many people came, which pages they read and whether they sent an enquiry. Learn both together.
3. Google Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner shows search ideas and rough monthly search volumes. It sits inside Google Ads, so you need a Google Ads account. You do not have to run an ad to use it. Without ad spend, the volumes are shown as wide ranges, which is still enough to compare keywords.
4. Google Trends
Trends shows whether interest in a search is rising or falling, and in which season. You can filter by country, including Nepal. It is useful for timing content, such as festival offers or exam season.
5. PageSpeed Insights
Paste in any web page and it scores how fast the page loads on phone and computer. It also lists what is slowing the page down. Most of your readers in Nepal will be on a phone, so check the mobile score first.
6. Rich Results Test
Some pages show extra details in Google, such as FAQs or star ratings. These come from structured data, small labels in the page code that describe the content. Google's Rich Results Test checks whether your labels are set up correctly.
7. Bing Webmaster Tools
This is Microsoft's version of Search Console, for the Bing search engine. It is free and can import your site from Search Console in a few clicks. Bing's results also feed some AI tools, so it is worth the short setup.
8. Google Business Profile
This is the free listing that shows a business on Google Maps and in local searches. For a shop, clinic or restaurant, it is often the quickest SEO win. Learn to fill in categories, opening hours and photos, and to reply to reviews.
9. Screaming Frog SEO Spider (free version)
This desktop program crawls a website the way Google does and lists broken links, missing titles and redirect problems. The free version crawls up to 500 pages, which is plenty for a small site.
10. Microsoft Clarity
Clarity is a free tool that records how visitors scroll and click, and shows heatmaps of where they tap. It helps you see why people leave a page without acting, which numbers alone cannot show.
A simple practice plan
- Build a small website on a topic you know. WordPress is a common choice.
- Connect Search Console, Google Analytics and Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Use Keyword Planner and Google Trends to pick five questions people search.
- Write one clear page for each question. Answer it in the first paragraph.
- Check each page with PageSpeed Insights and fix the biggest problem.
- Wait a few weeks, then look at Search Console to see which searches you appear for.
Keep notes of what you changed and what happened. Those notes become the start of your portfolio.
Mistakes beginners make with SEO tools
- Chasing the biggest keywords. A new site rarely ranks for broad searches like "digital marketing". Start with longer, specific questions that fewer sites answer well.
- Checking rankings every day. SEO moves slowly. Look at Search Console once a week and compare whole weeks, not single days.
- Fixing every warning. Tools list many small issues. Fix the ones that stop Google reading a page, or that slow it badly, and leave the rest.
- Writing for the tool instead of the reader. A page stuffed with one keyword reads badly. Write a clear answer for a real person first, then check the keyword is there naturally.
Where to go next
Free tools get you far, but practice goes faster with feedback. Our SEO training page explains the SEO part of our Digital Marketing with AI course, where SEO gets about 30 hours across three weeks on a WordPress site you build and publish yourself.
