Your website may look perfect on the outside and still lose dozens of potential customers every day. Slow loading, hidden technical errors, weak meta data, unoptimised content – all of it stays invisible without systematic diagnostics. The good news is that powerful tools exist today with which you can diagnose the problems and turn them into concrete actions.
This article is the practical handbook of our series on website analysis. It is a cluster to the pillar website analysis – why, when and what you get, which explains the concept, the value and the “do I need an analysis now” decision. Here we focus on which tools and how to do it. If you are still not sure why you need an analysis at all – start from the pillar; if you already know and are now looking for the tools – you are in the right place.
In the following 13 tools (10 free and 3 paid) you will find everything you need for a technical audit, SEO analysis, speed, UX behaviour and competitive intelligence. At the end of the article you will find a decision framework of “which tool for what”, a comparison table and a concrete 4-hour workflow with which you can run a full analysis of your own site today.
What a full analysis covers (in brief)
A professional analysis brings together five areas: technical (indexing, speed, security), SEO (meta data, structure, keywords), content (relevance, currency), UX (behavioural data, heatmaps) and competitive (benchmarks, gaps). A detailed look at the five pillars, when they are needed and what value they bring is in the pillar guide. Here each tool is presented in the context of which area it covers.
A decision framework: which tool for what
Before diving into the list, the table below shows which problem area calls for which tools. Use it so you do not install 12 different solutions when your problem needs only 2 or 3.
| Problem / Task | Primary tool | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| “I do not know which keywords bring me traffic” | Google Search Console | Ahrefs/SEMrush |
| “My site is slow” | PageSpeed Insights | GTmetrix, WebPageTest |
| “Visitors come but do not buy” | Hotjar / Microsoft Clarity | GA4 (funnels) |
| “I do not understand user behaviour” | GA4 | Microsoft Clarity |
| “I need a full technical audit” | Screaming Frog | Ahrefs Site Audit |
| “I want to see what the competition is doing” | Similarweb | Ahrefs/SEMrush |
| “I need a backlink analysis” | Ahrefs | Majestic |
| “WordPress on-page SEO” | RankMath | Surfer SEO |
| “A quick overall site score” | SEOptimer | PageSpeed Insights |
| “Data-driven content” | Surfer SEO | Google Trends |
The rule of thumb: always start from the free Google tools, add a free UX tool (Clarity or Hotjar free), and only if you have the budget and genuinely complex needs – add a paid SEO tool.
The free foundation: 4 tools every single business should have
1. Google Search Console – the mandatory foundation
Google Search Console (GSC) is the first tool every site owner should set up, and the last one they should ignore. It is free, comes directly from Google and provides data no other tool can.
What it shows: which keywords your site appears for in Google – with the exact number of impressions, clicks, CTR and average position for every query. It reveals indexing errors (404 pages, blocked resources, canonical tag problems), sends notifications about manual penalties from Google, and checks mobile compatibility, Core Web Vitals and the status of the XML sitemap.
A real workflow: open Performance → Queries and sort by Impressions (high count, low CTR). These are queries that show you in Google but do not make users click – changing the meta description often increases CTR by 20-40% with no other work at all. This is the fastest win in SEO.
For whom: absolutely everyone who has a website. If you have only one analysis tool – let it be GSC.
Price: free forever.
2. Google Analytics 4 – what visitors do once they arrive
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is Google’s free tool for tracking traffic and user behaviour. While GSC shows how users find you, GA4 shows what they do once they land on the site.
What it shows: traffic sources (organic, paid, social, direct, referral), user behaviour (which pages they view, how long they stay, where they leave), conversion paths (from the first visit to the final action), audience segmentation by demographics, device and geography.
A real workflow: open Explore → Funnel exploration and build a conversion funnel from the entry page to the desired action (a purchase, a form, a call). GA4 will show you at which step you lose the most users – that is the point where you should focus your UX optimisation.
For whom: every site that wants to understand visitor behaviour. Essential for online stores and any site with conversion goals. A full guide to setting up GA4 and the other Google tools is in a separate article.
Price: free.
3. PageSpeed Insights – speed and Core Web Vitals in 30 seconds
PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is Google’s free tool for measuring loading speed and Core Web Vitals. It gives a score from 0 to 100 for the mobile and desktop versions, plus specific recommendations on what to improve.
What it shows: the three ranking metrics – LCP (loading of the main content), INP (interactivity), CLS (visual stability). It identifies the specific problems: unoptimised images, render-blocking CSS/JS, missing caching.
A real workflow: test the mobile version first – that is the one Google ranks. If the LCP is above 2.5 seconds, 80% of the problem is usually either in the images (not in WebP/AVIF format, no lazy loading) or in the server. Check the TTFB – if it is above 500ms, the problem is in the hosting, not in the site itself.
Additional tools: GTmetrix and WebPageTest give a waterfall analysis that shows exactly which request is slowing down the loading. Useful when PSI does not give enough detail.
Price: free.
4. Microsoft Clarity – free heatmaps and session recordings (the news of 2026)
Microsoft Clarity is a completely free alternative to Hotjar from Microsoft – no session limits, no domain limits. In 2026 it became the standard for small and medium businesses that cannot or do not want to pay for Hotjar.
What it shows: heatmaps (click, scroll, move) for all pages, session recordings of real user sessions, automatic detection of dead clicks, rage clicks, excessive scrolling and quick-backs (users who return immediately). Integration with GA4 to enrich the user journeys.
A real workflow: install it across the whole site and leave it 7 days to collect data. Then open the Insights dashboard and filter for “rage clicks” and “dead clicks” – these are the pages where users get frustrated. Often the problem is something obvious that you would never have noticed (a button that looks clickable but is not; a slider that does not work on a mobile device).
For whom: every site, especially online stores and landing pages. The GA4 + Clarity combination covers 90% of the cases where Hotjar used to be needed.
Price: free with no limits.
The next step: 3 free professional tools
5. Screaming Frog SEO Spider – a professional technical crawl
Screaming Frog is a desktop tool that crawls your whole site, exactly as Google does, and gives a detailed technical audit. The free version crawls up to 500 URLs, which is enough for most small and medium sites.
What it shows: broken links (404), duplicate content, missing or duplicate meta titles and descriptions, problems with canonical tags and redirects (301/302), orphan pages (pages with no internal links), and it visualises the site structure as a tree.
A real workflow: run a crawl of the whole site. First priority – filter “Response Codes” for 404 and 5xx errors and fix them. Second priority – “Page Titles → Duplicate” and “Meta Description → Missing”. Third priority – the “Internal” view → the “Word Count” column shows thin content (pages under 300 words), which often needs to be merged or removed. The correct site map is validated precisely here.
For whom: anyone who wants a full technical audit. Free up to 500 URLs – that covers most company sites.
Price: free up to 500 URLs; paid from £199/year for an unlimited crawl.
6. Hotjar (Free Plan) – an alternative to Clarity for companies with low traffic
Hotjar is the pioneer in heatmaps and session recordings. If Clarity is “Microsoft’s new pride”, Hotjar is “the established old classic”.
What it shows: the same features as Clarity – heatmaps, session recordings, funnels, feedback widgets, on-site surveys.
When to choose Hotjar over Clarity: if you need on-site surveys and feedback widgets for direct user feedback. If you need more detailed segmentation and filtering. If you are used to the interface and have already invested time in the setup.
When Clarity is the better choice: when traffic is high (Hotjar free caps at 35 sessions a day, Clarity has no limit). When you need integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. When you want automatic detection of rage clicks with no manual work.
For whom: owners of online stores with low to medium traffic. For CRO strategies, see our full guide to Conversion Rate Optimization.
Price: a free plan up to 35 sessions/day; paid from $39/month for higher volume.
7. SEOptimer – a quick general audit for beginners
SEOptimer is an online tool that generates a detailed audit of your site across roughly 100 parameters – from meta data and speed to mobile optimisation and social signals. You enter the URL and receive a report with scores and specific recommendations.
What it shows: meta tags (title, description), heading structure (H1-H6), loading speed and mobile compatibility, SSL certificate and security, social meta tags (OG, Twitter Cards), alt texts on the images.
A real workflow: use it as a “first quick check” – you generate an audit in 60 seconds and get a visual report with scores. After that you go deeper with the specific tools (Screaming Frog for technical, PageSpeed for speed, and so on).
For whom: small business owners who want a quick initial diagnostic without a deep understanding of SEO.
Price: a free basic audit; paid from $19/month for regular monitoring.
The paid tools: when the investment is worth it
8. Ahrefs – for serious backlink analysis and competitive intelligence
Ahrefs is one of the leading paid SEO tools in the world and is particularly strong in backlink profile analysis. It holds one of the largest backlink indexes and gives detailed information on Domain Rating (DR), URL Rating (UR) and anchor texts.
What it does best: Site Explorer for a full analysis of the traffic and backlinks of any domain – including your competitors. The Keyword Gap analysis shows which keywords competitors rank for and you do not. Content Explorer finds successful content in a given niche. The Site Audit function runs a technical SEO audit.
For whom: SEO specialists, agencies and businesses for whom backlink strategy is central. If you run regular content campaigns and want to take over keywords your competitors rank for – Ahrefs is worth it.
Price: from $129/month.
9. SEMrush – a multi-disciplinary platform
SEMrush is a competitor to Ahrefs with broader scope – it covers SEO, PPC, social media and content in one platform. Particularly strong in competitive analysis and advertising data.
What it does best: Keyword Gap analysis, a Site Audit with over 130 checks, Position Tracking for daily ranking monitoring, and an SEO Content Template for creating optimised content based on the top 10 results.
Ahrefs vs SEMrush: which for what
The two tools compete directly and the choice is a source of endless debate. Here is a simplified distinction:
| Aspect | Ahrefs wins | SEMrush wins |
|---|---|---|
| Backlink analysis | ✅ A larger database | – |
| Keyword research | equal | equal |
| Technical SEO audit | – | ✅ More checks |
| PPC / Paid search | – | ✅ Significantly more data |
| Social media | – | ✅ Deeper features |
| Content tools | ✅ Content Explorer | – |
| Price | Cheaper at entry level | More expensive |
A simplified recommendation: if you are an SEO-first business – Ahrefs. If you are marketing-first and run advertising, social and SEO – SEMrush. Never pay for both at the same time.
SEMrush price: from $139.95/month.
10. Surfer SEO – content optimisation with data
Surfer SEO analyses the top 10 Google results for a given keyword and tells you exactly what your content needs to include in order to rank. Indispensable for creating new content and refreshing existing content.
What it does best: a Content Editor with recommendations on length, keyword density, H2/H3 structure and NLP terms. A SERP analyser for “reverse engineering” the ranking articles. Keyword Clustering for grouping keywords into topical clusters. An Audit function that compares your current page with the top results and shows what is missing.
A real workflow: before writing a new blog article – enter the target keyword into the Content Editor. The tool will tell you the ideal length (for example 2,400 words), the headings you should include, and the NLP terms the top 10 competitors use. Write with that data – the ranking improves significantly.
For whom: SEO specialists, copywriters and marketing teams who do regular content marketing. For businesses that publish 1-2 articles a month, Surfer may be overkill.
Price: from $89/month.
11. Similarweb – competitive and market intelligence
Similarweb is the tool for market intelligence – it shows the traffic, channels and engagement of any public site. With it you understand where you stand against your competitors.
What it does best: the total traffic of competitors and its distribution by channel (organic, paid, social, referral, direct), benchmark metrics for engagement, trending searches and market trends in specific niches, and the geography of the audience.
For whom: businesses that want to understand the competitive landscape. Particularly valuable for B2B and SaaS, where knowing competitors’ channels is strategic.
Price: a limited free version; paid plans from $199/month.
The specialised ones: for specific needs
12. RankMath – on-page SEO for WordPress
If your site runs on WordPress, RankMath turns on-page optimisation from a technical task into an easy checklist. It analyses every page and post in real time and gives specific recommendations.
What it does: an SEO Score Analyzer with applicable fixes for meta titles, descriptions, internal and external links. Automatic XML sitemap generation. Checks for text readability and a correct H1-H6 structure. Schema markup configuration with no code. Keyword tracking directly from WordPress.
For whom: anyone whose site is on WordPress. Yoast SEO is the popular alternative, but RankMath offers more functionality in the free version.
Price: a free version with generous functionality; a PRO plan from $5.75/month.
13. Majestic – specialised backlink analysis
Majestic is a tool focused entirely on backlink analysis. It has its own index and unique metrics – Trust Flow (link quality) and Citation Flow (quantity) – which give a more nuanced picture than simply counting backlinks.
What it does best: historical data on the backlink profile (5+ years back), comparison of the link profile with competitors, a Bulk Backlink Checker for mass link checking, and Topical Trust Flow for the topical relevance of the links.
For whom: SEO agencies and link building specialists who want deep link profile analysis. For most businesses Ahrefs covers the same needs – Majestic is for the narrow case of “historical depth + topical relevance”.
Price: from $49.99/month.
A quick comparison: all 13 tools
| # | Tool | Main strength | Free? | Price (from) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Google Search Console | Indexing, keywords | ✅ | Free |
| 2 | Google Analytics 4 | Behaviour, conversions | ✅ | Free |
| 3 | PageSpeed Insights | Speed, CWV | ✅ | Free |
| 4 | Microsoft Clarity | Heatmaps, sessions | ✅ | Free |
| 5 | Screaming Frog | Technical crawl | ✅ up to 500 URLs | £199/yr |
| 6 | Hotjar | Heatmaps, surveys | ✅ 35 sessions/day | $39/mo |
| 7 | SEOptimer | A quick general audit | ✅ basic | $19/mo |
| 8 | Ahrefs | Backlinks, competitors | ❌ | $129/mo |
| 9 | SEMrush | End-to-end marketing | ❌ | $139.95/mo |
| 10 | Surfer SEO | Content optimisation | ❌ | $89/mo |
| 11 | Similarweb | Market intelligence | ✅ limited | $199/mo |
| 12 | RankMath | WordPress on-page | ✅ | $5.75/mo |
| 13 | Majestic | Backlink depth | ❌ | $49.99/mo |
A 4-hour workflow: a full analysis of your own site
Here is a concrete plan with which you can run a full audit in about 4 hours, using only the free tools.
Hour 1: Baseline data (60 min)
- 0:00-0:20 – Check Google Search Console → Performance → Queries. Export the last 3 months of data. Sort by Impressions and Position. Identify 5-10 queries with over 100 impressions and a position between 8 and 20 – these are the “quick wins” for content optimisation.
- 0:20-0:40 – Check Search Console → Pages → Indexing. See how many pages are in “Not indexed” and why. Fix the errors or redirect the pages.
- 0:40-1:00 – Check GA4 → Reports → Engagement → Pages. Look at the top 10 pages by traffic and bounce rate. Pages with high traffic and a high bounce rate (over 70%) are the priority for UX optimisation.
Hour 2: Technical audit (60 min)
- 1:00-1:30 – Run a Screaming Frog crawl of the whole site. While it runs, move on to the next task.
- 1:30-1:45 – Check PageSpeed Insights on the 5 most important pages (home, top 3 ranking pages, checkout/contact). Note all those with an LCP above 2.5s or a CLS above 0.1.
- 1:45-2:00 – Go back to Screaming Frog. Filter: 4xx errors (fix with a 301 redirect), missing title tags (add them), missing meta descriptions (add them), thin content under 300 words (consider merging).
Hour 3: SEO + content (60 min)
- 2:00-2:30 – Check the top 10 competitors for your keywords. For each – open PageSpeed and check Core Web Vitals. If they are faster than you, that is one reason they are ahead. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (the free version) or Search Console can show Top pages.
- 2:30-3:00 – Review your top 10 pages by traffic. The rules: the H1 contains the target keyword, the meta description is under 155 characters and persuasive, alt texts on all images, schema markup (Article, FAQ) implemented. We cover the intersection between design and SEO in detail in the SEO web design guide.
Hour 4: UX + plan (60 min)
- 3:00-3:30 – Install Microsoft Clarity if you have not already. Review the heatmaps on the top 5 pages. Look for: dead clicks (buttons that do not work), rage clicks (frustration), excessive scrolling (the content is too long without visual breaks).
- 3:30-4:00 – Create a prioritised action plan. An “impact/effort” matrix:
- High impact, low effort → do it this week (meta tags, 404 fixes, image optimisation)
- High impact, high effort → plan for next month (technical optimisation, content refresh)
- Low impact → postpone or ignore
After 4 hours you will have a document with 15-30 concrete actions, prioritised by return.
Common mistakes when using the tools
Five mistakes specific to the way the tools are used (not to the strategy – for that see the pillar).
Focusing on the “score” instead of on actions. PageSpeed gives 85/100 – and so what? The score is an indicator, not a goal. What matters is which specific problems it identifies and which of them are worth fixing. A page scoring 72 but with a fast LCP and low CLS can convert better than a page scoring 91 with a poor INP.
Relying on one tool for everything. PageSpeed Insights does not see backlinks. Ahrefs does not measure UX. GSC does not show competitor traffic. A complete analysis requires a combination of at least 3-4 tools, each for its own speciality.
Correct setup, wrong data. GA4 configured without properly defined events and conversions gives the illusion of data without insight. Spend the first hour not on analysis, but on checking whether the tracking works correctly. Check events → conversions → funnels. Without that, every decision that follows rests on sand.
Optimising too aggressively for the tool. Surfer SEO says “write 2,400 words”, but your audience wants a quick answer. Optimising for the tool versus optimising for the user – optimising for the user always wins. The tools are a guide, not dogma.
A one-off check with no benchmark. A single audit today makes no sense without a comparison tomorrow. Export the data from GA4 and GSC once a month – after 3 months you will have a real basis for comparison. After 12 months – the whole trend of the site.
How to combine the tools: 3 recommended stacks
So you do not pay for tools you do not need, here are 3 combinations by budget.
The starter stack (free, €0 a month). Google Search Console + GA4 + PageSpeed Insights + Microsoft Clarity + Screaming Frog (up to 500 URLs) + RankMath (if you are on WordPress). It covers 90% of the needs of a small and medium business. With this you can run full audits on a monthly basis at no cost at all.
The growth stack (~$100/month). The starter one + Hotjar Basic ($39/mo) OR Ahrefs Lite ($129/mo – instead of $99, changed in 2026). It adds professional UX analysis or professional keyword and backlink analysis, depending on whether your focus is UX or SEO.
The professional stack (~$400-500/month). The starter one + Ahrefs or SEMrush ($129-140) + Surfer SEO ($89) + a Similarweb entry plan ($199). For agencies and businesses with an active content and link strategy.
At CreateWeb we use the combination of the free Google tools + Screaming Frog + Ahrefs + Microsoft Clarity for every professional website analysis. Over 95% of the value comes from that combination.
What comes after the analysis
The tools identify the problems. Actions follow. The overall picture – where to start, how to prioritise, what to expect as a result – we cover in the pillar guide to website analysis. After the analysis usually comes either a redesign (if the problems are structural), or a phase of ongoing maintenance and optimisation (if the problems are isolated).
Frequently asked questions
Which tool is best as a first one if I am just starting?
Google Search Console – 100% without doubt. It is free, the setup takes 15 minutes and it gives you data directly from Google on how the search engine sees you. Combine it with GA4 (also free) and you have 80% of your needs covered.
Is Microsoft Clarity really as good as Hotjar?
For 90% of cases – yes, and it is completely free. Hotjar has the advantage in on-site feedback widgets and better segmentation, but if you need heatmaps, session recordings and automatic detection of rage clicks – Clarity does all of that with no session limit.
Ahrefs or SEMrush?
If backlinks and SEO are the main focus – Ahrefs. If you do SEO + advertising + social media – SEMrush. Never pay for both – they do 80% of the same thing.
Do I need paid tools at all?
Not everyone. If your site has under 100 pages, receives under 5,000 visitors a month and you are not doing active link building – the free stack is entirely sufficient. Paid tools make sense for: an agency workflow, e-commerce above €50k monthly revenue, an active content strategy publishing 5+ articles a month.
How often should I run an audit with these tools?
GSC + GA4 – daily/weekly monitoring. PageSpeed + Screaming Frog – monthly for sites with active changes, every 3 months for static sites. Ahrefs/SEMrush – monthly for active content strategies.
How do I know whether a tool gives accurate data?
Cross-check between tools. Google’s own tools (GSC, GA4) are the reference point for your own site, because the data comes from the source. Third-party tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Similarweb) estimate traffic and can deviate significantly – use them for comparison between sites, not for absolute numbers.
Conclusion
The tools are the necessary condition for analysis, but not a sufficient one. Even the best stack has no value if the data does not turn into actions. Start small – install GSC, GA4 and Microsoft Clarity today, run a Screaming Frog crawl this week, do the first 4-hour workflow next week.
If you do not have the time or the expertise to interpret the data in a business context, we at CreateWeb do professional website analysis – from audit to an implementation roadmap. We work with businesses across Bulgaria and our portfolio shows the real results. For a free consultation get in touch with us or request a personalised quote.
For the complete view of why, when and what value an analysis brings – always come back to our pillar on website analysis.
Read more: Website analysis.
