Google Tool Bar

Just get it. You'll be glad you did. It's free and includes a pop-up blocker and a ton of other useful features to make search easier, faster, and more fun. You'll find yourself using it to determine best sites for creating themed links to improve your website's PageRank visibility. PageRank explained here.

Add URL Link Development Tool

Once you have your site up, you want to find other directories, websites, and authority sites that have high PageRank in Google. But, hey, just get started if you have a new site.

Pick a keyword phrase from your home page and put it in this tool to see the suggested sites you can contact or submit your website to. Go ahead, try it out.

Link Popularity Comparison Tool

Optimzing your page with keywords is only half the battle. You must develop a linking strategy from other websites and directories on the Internet. Write articles, publish an Ezine, create a blog, post in forums, submit Internet press releases.  Just get going and get creative. Use this tool to see how you compare to your competition.

Keyword Suggestion Tool

This handy little tool will show you the results of your query from both Wordtracker and Overture so you can determine which phrases are searched most often. Very handy, considering you typically have to go to two browsers to do this - and now you can do it in one.

Note: The full 'paid' version of Wordtracker is worth the money if you have a serious project or you do SEO work as a professional. I use it for more than 200 websites myself.

Enter a search phrase below to see how often it's searched for, as well as get suggestions for alternate (but similar) keywords.

Then, once you know the keywords you want to target, you can use our free keyword position tracking tool to monitor your placement progress.

Search Engine Keyword Tracker & Keyword Ranking Tool

This utility can be used to check search engines for keyword ranking and track search engine ranking for your various keywords over time, which, as you probably know, is critical when doing search engine optimization. These guys (Digital Point Solution) have done an excellent job with this tool. Recommended

In order to use this tool, you need to create a username and password ( which is completely free ). Because it tracks your data historically, they need to know which data is yours.

Create Free Account Now

Search Engine Mega List

A complete list of search engines and directories with direct-add URL links. Very handy list of search engines worldwide, with links to manually add your domain. Recommended

Search Engine Submission - Free

Free search engine submission service that we recommend.

They also offer a Professional Search Engine Submission to 120 search engines for $29.95, which I endorse. You pay only ONCE and that's the right answer - not monthly. Don't get yourself hooked into paying monthly submissions fees. That's just bonkers.

Lynx Viewer

This service allows web authors to see what their pages will look like (sort of) when viewed with Lynx, a text-mode web browser. Pretty darn handy.

Open a PPC Google Adwords Account

Create your google adwords account online but BE CAREFUL. It's too easy. Read their guidelines and proceed slowly at first. Remember, no Popups on the pages your send people to.

Create a PPC at Overture Account

Create your account at Overture

Knoodle Account Setup

Knoodle is a pay-per-click search engine like Overture, but the pricing is a lot less. They have relationships with 'the other half' of the users that don't use Google. Great folks to work with and low keyword bids ... for now.

HitsLinks Account Setup

Set up a new Hitslink account - this is how you measure and monitor traffic behavior at your site. Highly Recommended

WordTracker

The tool will give you an entirely new perspective, which will help you find the right keywords to drive more traffic to your site. It's what all the pros use. Highly recommended, though has a learning curve. Experience with the tool helps.

Alexa Web Search And WayBack Tool

Reviews traffic rankings and more for every site on the web! Alexa does this in association with Amazon.  Great location to learn about your competitors. The WayBack tool is down on the left-hand side of the page after you search on a domain. The WayBack tool allows you to see what your website looked like 5 years back. Yea, I know, amazing. It's slow but worth the wait.

Information about Web Spiders

Lots and lots of good tools -- free. Excellent site for learning more about search engine indexing and website promotion.

Information about Your Site In Search Engines

Tool to see all the pages from your site indexed at AltaVista, Google, Hotbot, Lycos and Northern Lights. Quick and useful and free.

Spam-Proof Your Email Address

This page will generate a HTML encoded mailto link that is reasonably 'spambot' proof. Spambots crawl over websites looking for email addresses. When they find one they add it to their database for junk email. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Expert Search Engine Positioning Tools by Jonathan Leger

Free high-quality search engine optimization tools, techniques, online assistant, keyword selection, themed back-links tool, Google Ranking tool, back-link checker, doorway page generator and more. Recommend.

Web Server Uptime and Other Related Information

Use this link to determine the status of a web server, uptime and a ton of other pieces of useful information. I use it before meeting with my clients so I understand their server setup.  It is at Netcraft.com

Yahoo free add URL

Use this link to add your site for free to Yahoo. However, if you're already in Google it's likely your home page is in Yahoo. Additionally, Yahoo is in the midst of a lot of changes. They may change to pay-for-inclusion status, so be aware.

Directories (short list) - Free and Paid Listing

DMOZ.org - Free but takes a while.
Goguides.org - $39
Gimpsy - $40
JoeAnt - $39
SuperPages - A free advertiser signup with profile. Worth doing.

Remember to use the ADD URL tool above because you'll find niche-specific directories for your website.