Free tools
Everything here was worked out on a real site with real traffic, using the same free tools the software uses. No theory, no “it depends”.
Keyword research without Ahrefs or Semrush
Paid keyword tools sell you two things: a volume number and a difficulty score. Both are estimates. Here is how to get better answers for free, using sources that are closer to the truth than either.
A free SEO audit checklist you can run in one afternoon
Paid audits hand you 600 issues sorted by a severity score somebody else invented. This one has 24 checks, in the order that actually affects traffic, and every tool it uses is free.
Should you self-host your SEO tools? An honest answer
Running your own SEO tooling on cheap hosting sounds like the frugal, principled choice. I built one and ran it for months. Here is what it actually gains you, what it costs you, and why I moved mine to a server I maintain.
Google Site Kit: what it is actually good for (and what it is not)
Site Kit connects Search Console, Analytics and AdSense to WordPress with one sign-in. That is genuinely useful. The dashboard it puts in your admin is mostly not. Here is how to set it up and what to ignore.