How do you usually track your backlinks and keyword movements?

[syedanezunakther]

Hey folks,

Still learning the ropes with SEO, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to keep track of backlinks I build and how they impact rankings.

Do you use paid tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush, or are there any reliable free methods that work well for beginners?
Would love to hear how others manage their SEO tracking and what’s been most helpful for you.

Thanks in advance!

 

[alexpeteronoja]

You can use ubersuggest I think they have like a 3 free stuff a day or Google keyword planner

 

[IsmTheTism]

Ahrefs or SEMrush

Either one works, both are expensive, each has its own irritating ways in which they're better than the other. Idk about free tools but I'm sure they're out there.
Most if not all "try up to 3 times" or "search 5 keywords limit per day" type things can be gotten around with enough determination, a VPN or a proxy pool for quite cheap if you really want to avoid paying much. I've gotten to the point where i cant be bothered to go through all that so just use ahrefs. backlinks are tracked, you just check 'em every so often.

how they impact rankings.

how they impact rankings is always going to be nebulous and vague though, sorry mate. best you can do is get a feel for what those ranking higher than you are doing in terms of backlinks, comparing on-page SEO etc, and going from there. but you're not going to find a clear-cut answer. Semrush will tell you soemthing like "you need a great article and 73 backlinks to rank for this keyword" but even that is... really vague and messy