Google Defends Search Growth Amid User Move Toward AI Tools

Google issued a brief statement on Wednesday following courtroom remarks from Apple that caused a sharp market reaction.

During an antitrust hearing, Apple executive Eddy Cue said search use inside Safari declined last month. He described the drop as a shift in how people access information.

That comment drove Alphabet shares down more than 7 percent by the end of the day.

Some in the tech world have echoed similar views. On a recent episode of a Y Combinator program, one host said web traffic from Google dropped 15 percent. He believed the change came from users switching to newer applications that give direct answers.

He said people around him now rely more on ChatGPT and other tools to find what they need. In his view, Google feels less current and more like an older site that serves narrow tasks.

Google, in a short press release, said overall searches continue to rise. The company also noted that queries from Apple devices increased.

Google added that people now access search through apps, voice input, and camera use. No other details were included in the statement.

The company said it plans to show further developments at its I/O event.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: AI’s Data Growth Drains Water Supplies, as 70% More Centers Emerge
by Asim BN via Digital Information World

Speech Limits Tighten in India as X Complies with Sweeping Account Takedown Orders

Social media giant X is navigating an increasingly precarious path as government orders collide with its core identity. This week, the platform began disabling access to thousands of Indian accounts, many tied to news outlets and public figures, amid sharpening tensions between India and Pakistan.

The blocks come as Indian authorities seek to stabilize public discourse while managing a complex diplomatic moment. The directive, enforced under executive order, does not specify which posts violated legal boundaries. Instead, it broadly demands that entire accounts vanish from India’s digital space—a measure X calls excessive and incompatible with open dialogue.

X has received executive orders from the Indian government requiring X to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company’s local employees. The orders include demands to block access in India to…

— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) May 8, 2025

Compliance in India arrives with a caveat: accounts remain visible outside the country, and X maintains its public objection. The platform warns that silencing voices preemptively suppresses not just current speech but future contributions, branding such demands as disproportionate and harmful to civic discourse.

This isn’t the first time X has faced such decisions. In Brazil, the company initially resisted a similar order to remove content, prompting a brief nationwide suspension and a public clash between owner Elon Musk and government leaders. Eventually, X conceded—yet the differing responses across regions raise questions about the forces shaping its decisions.

In India’s case, business considerations may loom large. Tesla and Starlink, two ventures under Musk’s umbrella, are courting regulatory approval in the country. Diplomatic goodwill could ease that path, but challenging Indian censors might harden resistance. Behind the scenes, U.S. officials are reportedly supporting Starlink’s expansion, leveraging bilateral influence to open doors.

Meanwhile, across the border, Pakistan has quietly restored access to X just days after tensions escalated with India. For weeks, users relied on VPNs to bypass restrictions. Now, the ban has lifted—without official explanation. Whether symbolic or strategic, the timing suggests Islamabad may be sending a message about digital sovereignty and open platforms during fragile times.

Elsewhere, other governments have made similar moves. Meta has also restricted accounts in India following official complaints, including the removal of a Muslim news page on Instagram, sparking accusations of one-sided censorship.

The recurring pattern speaks to a broader issue: global platforms are being pressed to police speech based on fluctuating national interests. And while companies like X express commitment to freedom of expression, their actions often reflect more nuanced pressures—some political, others economic.

X says it is reviewing legal options to challenge India’s orders. But even as it does, the platform is walking a diplomatic tightrope—balancing speech rights, regional sensitivities, and business ambitions in a world where online presence increasingly depends on offline politics.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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• Crypto Taxation Around the World: High Taxes in Japan, Zero Taxes in Middle East Nations
by Asim BN via Digital Information World

Crypto Taxation Around the World: High Taxes in Japan, Zero Taxes in Middle East Nations

Cryptocurrency has gained global transaction now and is being widely used across different countries and jurisdictions. Some countries have imposed taxes on crypto trading while some have no taxes on digital currencies, and there are also some countries where trading in crypto is banned. Data from HelloSafe shows countries with the highest crypto taxes imposed. At the top of the list is Japan which has imposed up to 55% tax rate on cryptocurrency gains. Denmark has up to 52% taxes on crypto profits while Germany is considered crypto-friendly, however, if assets are sold within a year, a tax rate of 45% could be imposed.

There are also several countries which have no taxes imposed on cryptocurrency gains. Some of these countries are Malaysia, Brunei, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland. These countries do not recognize cryptocurrency as taxable income so they have no policies designed for its businesses and investors.

• Also read: New Report Found that Only 4% of the Global Populations Hold a Bitcoin

The countries with a complete ban on cryptocurrency trading are China, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Tunisia. Algeria and Morocco also have cryptocurrency transactions prohibited in the country. There are a lot of reasons why these countries have banned the trading of cryptocurrency and some of these include religious considerations, financial stability, and regulatory concerns.

Here is a comprehensive overview of cryptocurrency taxation across the globe.

Country	Max Taxation (%)	Type
Brunei	0	No taxation
Cyprus	0	No taxation
El Salvador	0	No taxation
Georgia	0	No taxation
Germany	0	No taxation
Hong Kong	0	No taxation
Malaysia	0	No taxation
Oman	0	No taxation
Panama	0	No taxation
Saudi Arabia	0	No taxation
Switzerland	0	No taxation
United Arab Emirates	0	No taxation
Indonesia	0.1	Very low taxation
Vietnam	5	Very low taxation
Liechtenstein	8	Very low taxation
Montenegro	9	Very low taxation
Bulgaria	10	Low taxation
Colombia	10	Low taxation
North Macedonia	10	Low taxation
Romania	10	Low taxation
Croatia	12	Low taxation
Argentina	15	Low taxation
Bolivia	15	Low taxation
Brazil	15	Low taxation
Costa Rica	15	Low taxation
Greece	15	Low taxation
Hungary	15	Low taxation
Russia	15	Low taxation
Serbia	15	Low taxation
South Africa	18	Low taxation
Ukraine	18	Low taxation
Poland	19	Low taxation
Estonia	20	Moderate taxation
Korea (South)	20	Moderate taxation
Latvia	20	Moderate taxation
Lithuania	20	Moderate taxation
Mexico	20	Moderate taxation
United Kingdom	20	Moderate taxation
United States	20	Moderate taxation
Norway	22	Moderate taxation
Czechia (Czech Republic)	23	Moderate taxation
Israel	25	Moderate taxation
Mongolia	25	Moderate taxation
Slovakia	25	Moderate taxation
Italy	26	Moderate taxation
Austria	28	Moderate taxation
Portugal	28	Moderate taxation
Spain	28	Moderate taxation
France	30	Moderate taxation
India	30	Moderate taxation
Peru	30	Moderate taxation
Sweden	30	Moderate taxation
Netherlands	31	Moderate taxation
Belgium	33	Moderate taxation
Ireland	33	Moderate taxation
Finland	34	Moderate taxation
Philippines	35	Moderate taxation
Thailand	35	Moderate taxation
New Zealand	39	High taxation
Chile	40	High taxation
Taiwan	40	High taxation
Turkey	40	High taxation
Australia	45	Very high taxation
Iceland	46	Very high taxation
Canada	50	Very high taxation
Slovenia	50	Very high taxation
Denmark	52	Very high taxation
Japan	55	Very high taxation
Albania	-	Data unavailable
Andorra	-	Data unavailable
Angola	-	Data unavailable
Antigua and Barbuda	-	Data unavailable
Armenia	-	Data unavailable
Azerbaijan	-	Data unavailable
Bahamas	-	Data unavailable
Bahrain	-	Data unavailable
Barbados	-	Data unavailable
Belarus	-	Data unavailable
Belize	-	Data unavailable
Benin	-	Data unavailable
Bhutan	-	Data unavailable
Bosnia and Herzegovina	-	Data unavailable
Botswana	-	Data unavailable
Burkina Faso	-	Data unavailable
Burundi	-	Data unavailable
Cabo Verde	-	Data unavailable
Cambodia	-	Data unavailable
Cameroon	-	Data unavailable
Central African Republic	-	Data unavailable
Chad	-	Data unavailable
Comoros	-	Data unavailable
Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)	-	Data unavailable
Cuba	-	Data unavailable
Djibouti	-	Data unavailable
Dominica	-	Data unavailable
Dominican Republic	-	Data unavailable
Ecuador	-	Data unavailable
Equatorial Guinea	-	Data unavailable
Eritrea	-	Data unavailable
Eswatini (fmr. Swaziland)	-	Data unavailable
Ethiopia	-	Data unavailable
Fiji	-	Data unavailable
Gabon	-	Data unavailable
Gambia	-	Data unavailable
Ghana	-	Data unavailable
Grenada	-	Data unavailable
Guatemala	-	Data unavailable
Guinea	-	Data unavailable
Guinea-Bissau	-	Data unavailable
Guyana	-	Data unavailable
Haiti	-	Data unavailable
Holy See	-	Data unavailable
Honduras	-	Data unavailable
Iran	-	Data unavailable
Iraq	-	Data unavailable
Jamaica	-	Data unavailable
Jordan	-	Data unavailable
Kazakhstan	-	Data unavailable
Kenya	-	Data unavailable
Kiribati	-	Data unavailable
Korea (North)	-	Data unavailable
Kosovo	-	Data unavailable
Kuwait	-	Data unavailable
Kyrgyzstan	-	Data unavailable
Laos	-	Data unavailable
Lebanon	-	Data unavailable
Lesotho	-	Data unavailable
Liberia	-	Data unavailable
Libya	-	Data unavailable
Luxembourg	-	Data unavailable
Madagascar	-	Data unavailable
Malawi	-	Data unavailable
Maldives	-	Data unavailable
Mali	-	Data unavailable
Malta	-	Data unavailable
Marshall Islands	-	Data unavailable
Mauritania	-	Data unavailable
Mauritius	-	Data unavailable
Micronesia	-	Data unavailable
Moldova	-	Data unavailable
Monaco	-	Data unavailable
Mozambique	-	Data unavailable
Myanmar (Burma)	-	Data unavailable
Namibia	-	Data unavailable
Nauru	-	Data unavailable
Nicaragua	-	Data unavailable
Niger	-	Data unavailable
Nigeria	-	Data unavailable
Pakistan	-	Data unavailable
Palau	-	Data unavailable
Palestine State	-	Data unavailable
Papua New Guinea	-	Data unavailable
Paraguay	-	Data unavailable
Qatar	-	Data unavailable
Rwanda	-	Data unavailable
Saint Kitts and Nevis	-	Data unavailable
Saint Lucia	-	Data unavailable
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	-	Data unavailable
Samoa	-	Data unavailable
San Marino	-	Data unavailable
Sao Tome and Principe	-	Data unavailable
Senegal	-	Data unavailable
Seychelles	-	Data unavailable
Sierra Leone	-	Data unavailable
Singapore	-	Data unavailable
Solomon Islands	-	Data unavailable
Somalia	-	Data unavailable
South Sudan	-	Data unavailable
Sri Lanka	-	Data unavailable
Sudan	-	Data unavailable
Suriname	-	Data unavailable
Syria	-	Data unavailable
Tajikistan	-	Data unavailable
Tanzania	-	Data unavailable
Timor-Leste	-	Data unavailable
Togo	-	Data unavailable
Tonga	-	Data unavailable
Trinidad and Tobago	-	Data unavailable
Turkmenistan	-	Data unavailable
Tuvalu	-	Data unavailable
Uganda	-	Data unavailable
Uruguay	-	Data unavailable
Uzbekistan	-	Data unavailable
Vanuatu	-	Data unavailable
Venezuela	-	Data unavailable
Yemen	-	Data unavailable
Zambia	-	Data unavailable
Zimbabwe	-	Data unavailable
Afghanistan	Banned	Cryptocurrencies banned
Algeria	Banned	Cryptocurrencies banned
Bangladesh	Banned	Cryptocurrencies banned
China	Banned	Cryptocurrencies banned
Egypt	Banned	Cryptocurrencies banned
Morocco	Banned	Cryptocurrencies banned
Nepal	Banned	Cryptocurrencies banned
Tunisia	Banned	Cryptocurrencies banned

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• Cryptocurrency Loss Increased while the Number of Bitcoin Millionaire Addresses Decreased in Q1 2025

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Medical Experts Warn AI Chatbots Use in Diagnosing Illness Can Obscure Risks and Spread Misinformation

Many people increasingly recognize how broken and inaccessible the modern healthcare system has become over time.

The waiting times are extremely long, and the costs remain at an all-time high. This has led to the arrival of AI chatbots who seem to be patients’ best friend when they cannot seek the right healthcare on time.

Recent survey shows how every one in six adults in the country resorts to ChatGPT to get a quick health fix each month. The issue doesn’t seem too alarming to many people, but we’d like to remind you that the stakes are very high, as it involves their health.

A new study led by experts at Oxford mentioned how relying on chatbots is now turning into a serious habit that poses so significant risk. So many individuals are struggling to get the right and clear solutions, so they end up putting in what they feel might be correct.

What is even worse is how people get advice that mixes reality with misinformation. This can be a huge issue if you follow advice from non-health experts providing quick and false remedies about your life.

The study in question entails 1,300 participants who were based in the UK and were provided with several different medical situations produced by doctors. The goal was to experiment with how well people could generate health decisions using AI tools and their own judgments. Participants made use of the leading AI models and could search online or rely on their own judgements about health.

The study found that there was no major benefit of making use of AI. People didn’t perform any better than the others, and there was no greater accurate data with chatbots than without them. Moreover, Large Language Models now attain near-perfect scores regarding medical licensing tests, but that doesn’t mean it translates into accurate data in the real-world setting.

Many people failed to identify loopholes and serious medical conditions, while others downplayed the actual risks involved after reading chatbot replies. Chatbots could really weaken decision-making instead of strengthening it. So, to keep it short and sweet, asking medical-based questions to a chatbot will never give you a replacement for an experienced physician examining you in a hospital setting.

The concern lies in how tech giants present chatbots as supportive tools for health advice, subtly blurring medical boundaries. The AMA advised physicians not to put reliance on chatbots such as ChatGPT for medical decisions.

We forgot to mention another alarming aspect of this study that has to do with security implications. All chatbots get trained on huge amounts of user data that could entail sensitive data and confidential patient data. So in the end, patient data is not kept secure, and it stays in the chatbot’s database.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: ChatGPT Continues to Dominate Search Market with Mega 80% Share
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

ChatGPT Continues to Dominate Search Market with Mega 80% Share

It looks like the world of search is being taken over by AI, and ChatGPT might be a good reason to blame.

Classic search engines are witnessing a general decline, while ChatGPT is leading the race of AI search with a mega 80% share as per recent stats published by Similarweb. It shared how the past six months saw OpenAI’s tool maintain a strong lead despite the ups and downs that came its way.

The classic search engines are struggling in terms of growth as AI tools begin to reshape how users look for data online. As far as today’s image is concerned, ChatGPT’s market share keeps rebounding to 80%, while one month ago, it was 77%. The AI giant continues to dominate while others just sit and watch from afar.

DeepSeek is down to 6.5% while Google’s AI networks stand at 5.6%, and Perplexity has hit 1.5% while Grok witnesses 2.6%. These figures are part of the bigger AI global picture, which was rolled out by Similarweb. Classic search engines keep losing market share, and one of the most important findings is that classic search engines aren’t growing fast enough. From Google and Bing to Yahoo, Baidu, and DuckDuckGo, it’s on the losing end of things.

Classic search displayed a steady fall of 1 to 2% when compared to data seen in the previous year. It’s crucial to mention how Google has seven times as the users as ChatGPT but yet the latter is picking up the pace to become the front runner.

AI is really altering the world of search, and some AI domains are experiencing faster growth than the next. Common examples include growth in general AI tools, voice generators, music generators, and DevOps with Code completion. Furthermore, some AI domains are getting smaller, like content generation, client support, and legal AI.

You need to remember it’s now only the world of search that’s getting impacted by AI. So many other digital sectors face major changes, like Education tech, freelance domains, and website builders. Right now, design platforms continue to grow 10% YOY, and that might hint at how AI assists instead of replacing the services.

Does this mean classic SEO matters or not? The answer is that it’s just not enough. Classic search traffic keeps falling, and you need to branch out.

The data produced in this report shows how constant negative growth for classic search engines, along with ChatGPT’s leading market position, hints at a huge shift in data discovery. So the take-home message here is to make the most of AI-based search while ensuring practices that work in classic search. This balance will lead to success for search marketers in 2025 and even further.

Read next: Apple Opts to Include List of AI Search Providers to the Safari Browser on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Apple Opts to Include List of AI Search Providers to the Safari Browser on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

iPhone maker Apple has confirmed the inclusion of a list of AI search providers in its Safari Browser. This will soon be available as a non-default option on iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Bloomberg says Apple’s Senior Vice President shared the news during his court testimony recently, where he confirmed that it was in the works. This is also the first time that Apple mentioned the figure for a fall in searches for Safari. Therefore, it makes sense that the inclusion of AI sources would be key to providing alternative means to search for data.

The matter is a lucrative one with the company and other search engines, where Apple would receive a share of advertising revenue through searches. Therefore, even if it’s on the lower end of usage, it would still make money, but less than before. Let’s not forget that Google might soon be stripped of Chrome, which would reduce its power to work as a monopoly in the search industry.

Apple is currently generating $20 billion around the globe through revenue shares from Google search via Safari on Apple products. The testimony today arose as part of the evidence for Alphabet’s monopoly legal battle. This might mean its contract with Apple, where Google works as the default across Apple products, would go down the drain.

Apple is very reliant on third-party firms for crucial AI functionality across devices.

We’ve witnessed Apple work hand in hand with ChatGPT to better Siri’s services as part of the initial wave of intelligence features from Apple. Under this deal, the company is said to be providing access to ChatGPT to Apple without any additional costs in return for great exposure. This entails the potential to convert users to paid subscribers.

To be placed inside Safari, it appears that Apple might wish to hit revenue sharing programs that are equal to what it generates through the Android maker Google. However, Apple says it looks forward to AI providers getting better and more competitive than Google in terms of general questions, and more in-depth search indexes.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: TikTok Leads Screen Time Cut Searches, Study Shows Rising User Concern Across Major Social Apps
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Top SEO Tools for 2025 Every Marketer Needs to Dominate Google Search Results

SEO (search engine optimization) is essential for any website to rank, as with passing times only optimized content becomes discoverable through search engines. Using the right keywords, well researched content, optimizing titles and meta tags, ensuring that your website is user-friendly, and building high-quality backlinks is something that is needed to ensure traffic growth on the website and for it to appear at the top of Google search results.

To support this process, SEO tools play a crucial role in defining, refining, and automating your digital strategy.

There are many SEO tools available on the web that pro SEOs use to make their websites stand out in Google search results. We have made a list of the 20 best SEO tools that you can use in 2025 so your content can stand out among others.

Choosing a Tool for SEO

There are different types and varieties of SEO tools, and you need to figure out what is best for you according to your content and website. If you are new to SEO tools, there are some beginner-friendly ones available.

Similarly, you need to see how much an SEO tool costs and if that cost justifies the flow of your work. Positive user feedback on SEO tools is also something that should be considered before you choose an SEO tool.

You also need to know why you need the SEO tool before going on the hunt for one. You may need SEO tools for different purposes, like SEO audits, keyword research, link building, keyword positioning, competitor analysis, and for on-page analysis, or you may need an SEO tool for all of these things.

We have categorized the best SEO tools into five parts:

• Best Free SEO Tool
• Best AI-Powered SEO Tools
• Best Local SEO Tools
• Best Google SEO Tools
• Best Paid SEO Tools

Best Free SEO Tools

If you are a beginner, it is best that you start from a free SEO tool so can get a hang of these tools and get familiar with their functions and features. The tools mentioned below aren’t completely free, but they have some free plans for beginners.

1- Exploding Topics

If you are looking for an SEO tool to explore trending topics, Exploding Topics is the best tool as it scans the whole internet to look for the latest trends, including blogs, search engines, websites, and forums.

This helps in spotting early trends that are gaining traction across the internet. Even though you cannot search for anything you want on Exploding Topics, you can still explore in relevant categories. The free version of Exploding Topics helps explore trending topics whenever you want, but its paid version can help you get reports, alerts, and trend tracking by product category.

2- PowerSuite

PowerSuite’s Free Backlinks Checker helps you analyze and monitor the backlinks that point to your website, and it helps you improve your SEO rankings. This tool helps track backlinks of any domain and includes InLink rank. It also highlights new and lost backlinks and helps focus on quality and not just quantity.

After you sign up for the PowerSuite website, you get access to the top 10,000 backlinks per site. It is a great tool if you want to work on your backlinks and want to identify which areas need improvement.

3- SimilarWeb

To check how your blog or website's public profile is performing online, you can use SimilarWeb, as it offers solid data for a basic analysis. You only have to enter a URL to get estimates for user engagement, traffic, traffic sources, and audience demographics.

It also spots many trends in referral traffic, bounce rates, and site performance, and can compare two sites side by side to highlight differences and similarities. It is a great website if you want to spy on competitors and see what type of strategies are working for them.

4- ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot by OpenAI designed to generate human-like responses and assist with a variety of tasks, including content creation, customer support, brainstorming, and SEO optimization. It can craft articles, suggest blog post ideas, generate keyword-rich content, and assist with detailed SEO research. With advanced natural language processing, ChatGPT aids content marketers in creating SEO-friendly content quickly and efficiently. While not solely an SEO tool, it is increasingly integrated into content strategy workflows to improve productivity and streamline the content development process.

5- Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a comprehensive SEO tool developed by Neil Patel that offers keyword research, domain analysis, and content suggestions tailored to improve search visibility. It allows users to discover profitable keywords, assess their competition's top-performing pages, and receive actionable recommendations to enhance website traffic. The platform also includes features like backlink tracking, rank monitoring, and site audits, making it especially useful for individuals and small businesses aiming to optimize their digital strategy without investing in expensive enterprise tools. Ubersuggest’s free version limits daily searches and offers less accurate backlink and keyword data than premium tools.

• Also read: The essential web tools list we can't live without — click here to explore our top recommendations!

Best AI-Powered SEO Tools

As it is an era of AI now, many SEO tools have incorporated AI for better functioning. With the help of AI-powered SEO tools, you can help build your content that ranks well, with AI’s ability to process large amounts of data to create quick SEO insights to help.

1- Outranking

Outranking is a paid SEO tool, whose pricing starts from $29 per month, but the free version is also available with limited access. It is designed specifically to give you customizable SEO outlines using AI based on your location, website, language, keyword, and title. It also helps users in optimizing content that is good for rankings, and gives content briefs to writers. Outranking is best for freelancers and SEO experts who write SEO content regularly, as it helps speed up content planning.

2- BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is a powerful content research tool that helps marketers discover trending topics, analyze competitors, and uncover content opportunities. By analyzing the performance of articles across various platforms, BuzzSumo provides insights into the most shared and linked content within a specific niche or industry. It helps marketers identify top influencers, track content performance, and refine their content strategy based on real-time data. BuzzSumo is particularly valuable for content marketers aiming to generate ideas for blog posts, social media campaigns, or outreach strategies.

3- Keyword Insights

Keyword Insights helps you do keyword research by grouping related keywords in clusters using AI. It generates outlines on the basis of current top-ranking content and also uses sources like Reddit, Quora, and People Also Ask. One of the key benefits of using Keyword Insights is that it builds topical authority, which helps with rankings and speeds up content planning with AI-generated outlines. It is a paid tool, with a $1 trial for 4 days, while the paid plans start with $58 per month.

4- Diib

Diib helps you track the real-time performance of your keywords by using AI. It lets you track keywords that are important and sends alerts when rankings drop or rise, and uses AI tools to monitor SEO health on the website.

By using Diib, you can react fast to SERP changes and always keep an eye on any changes happening in SEO. The only drawback of Diib is that it has a $99 startup fee, and you have to pay $14.99 monthly afterwards.

5- HubSpot

For SEO Optimization, HubSpot’s SEO Marketing Software gives AI-powered suggestions to improve your website’s SEO. The tool analyzes the content using AI and gives optimization tips according to the impact on search rankings. HubSpot also uses AI to generate content and suggest meta tags, keywords, and outlines, which helps with the website’s SEO content even without having deep knowledge. It also gives meaningful and deep SEO reports to help you take a look at what’s missing.

6- Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO is a content optimization tool that combines real-time data analysis with SEO recommendations to improve search visibility. It helps content creators and digital marketers craft SEO-friendly articles by analyzing top-performing pages for a given keyword and suggesting ideal word count, keyword density, headings, and structure. Surfer’s intuitive interface streamlines content audits, on-page optimization, and competitor benchmarking, making it especially valuable for agencies and freelance writers aiming for higher SERP rankings. With features like Content Editor, SERP Analyzer, and Grow Flow, Surfer SEO aligns content strategy with search engine expectations.

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Best Local SEO Tools

1- GeoRanker

GeoRanker is a helpful local SEO tool if you want to know how your website is ranking for specific keywords in specific cities or countries. It tracks all the changes in the rankings and compares the rankings with the competitors. GeoRanker is best for businesses that have different branches and work in different locations. The only drawback of this tool is that it has limited free access, and its paid plan starts at $99 per month.

2- LocaliQ

LocaliQ’s Free Business Listings Grader checks your business information across online directories and verifies that your business name, address, and zip code are accurate. It compares your business on other listings on different platforms like Yelp, eLocal, Google, Waze, and more, and identifies any inaccuracies so you can fix them. It is important to do so because if your listings are updated, it helps your business show up in local search and improves your trust with customers. 

3- Yext

Yext organizes and tracks customer reviews from different websites using API integrations to improve the visibility of your website. It immediately sends alerts when new reviews are posted and gathers them under one dashboard.

Yext also analyzes the tone of reviews and helps you reply to reviews manually or through an auto-response. Yext is a paid SEO tool, but its pricing isn’t public, so you will have to contact Yext to learn about the pricing.

• Also read: Want to Edit Videos Like A Pro? Use these Best Free and Paid Video Editing Tools in 2025

Best Google-owned SEO Tools

Google has put forward some beneficial SEO tools for people to use, which are completely free and provide you with all the aspects that can improve the rankings of your websites on Google. The three best Google SEO tools are as follows:

1- Search Console

For many people, technical SEO seems very hard, but with the help of Google’s Search Console, you can analyze and track issues regarding technical SEO on your website.

Search Console can be used for several things, like confirming if Google is indexing your page properly, monitoring any problems occurring on the website, submitting your sitemaps, and alerting you about any security issues on the website. So even if you are not an expert in technical SEO, Google’s Search Console can help you with that.

2- Google Trends

If you are looking for an SEO tool for timely keyword planning, try Google Trends as it provides you with a real-time keyword popularity report, which shows how many people are searching for keywords over time. It doesn’t just show how many people are interested in a keyword, it shows how people’s interests are changing over time. You can filter the results on Google Trends according to region, time, and search type, like news or images, and it shows the results relevant to your query.

3- Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is an SEO tool by Google that shows how people arrive on your website and interact with it. It provides you with valuable insights like how much traffic is on your website, which type of blog posts and websites get the most traffic, and which pages are losing traffic. GA4 is the newer version of Google Analytics and has many updated features that track user behavior accurately.

4- Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a free tool that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. By creating and optimizing a Google Business Profile, businesses can enhance local SEO visibility, ensuring they appear in relevant local search results. It enables businesses to provide essential information like hours of operation, location, contact details, and customer reviews. Additionally, businesses can post updates, share images, and interact with customers, improving engagement and building trust within their local community.

• Also read: Top 9 Alternatives of Midjourney that Are Easy to Use For Beginners

Best Paid SEO Tools

Now comes the list of best paid SEO tools, which offer a variety of features only if you pay for them. This means that you must have a budget while opting for these SEO tools, and when you use them, they provide you with the best experience that can help you get traffic on your website with the right SEO strategy.

1- Ahrefs

Ahrefs is one of the best tools when it comes to SEO, and its plan starts at $99, with a $199 Standard Monthly Plan. It provides you with all the things that are needed for SEO, like rank tracking, keyword research, and competitor analysis.

Ahrefs works as a site explorer and analyzes the website for keyword rankings, backlinks, and traffic, and it also works as a keywords explorer, which looks at search volume, page rankings for a keyword, and any difficulty. It also provides users with a competitor analysis, which helps you in finding keywords that their competitors are ranking for.

2- Semrush

Although Ahrefs provides good SEO analysis reports and suggestions, Semrush does it in more depth and detail with a paid plan of $130 a month. It provides users with search volume trends, keyword intent, PPC keyword data, and more detailed keyword metrics. Ahrefs is better than Semrush in more rank-tracking features and technical SEO audits, while Semrush works best for highly technical users.

3- Screaming Frog

If you are having any SEO issues on your website, try Screaming Frog as it deals with issues like bad titles, broken links, incorrect redirects, and meta tags. It is similar to Google Search Console, but points out more specific issues so you can fix them as soon as possible.

If you are not a technical SEO expert, it may be a little difficult for you to grasp Screaming Frog, but once you get involved with an SEO audit, you will catch up soon. Screaming Frog crawls through the website, and a total of 500 URLs can be crawled with the free version of this SEO tool. Once you get the paid version at $249 per year, you can get unlimited URL crawls with increased functionality.

4- AnswerThePublic

With the help of AnswerThePublic, you can generate content ideas directly from real searches people make on Google and its variations from autocomplete suggestions. Although it is a bit different from SEO keyword search tools, it helps you come up with keywords and then provides information about the specific keyword, like its search volume and cost-per-click. Another interesting thing about AnswerThePublic is that it has added sites like YouTube, Bing, TikTok, and Amazon, so you can get an idea about what people are searching on these websites. Once you are registered on this website, you can get 3 free reports per day, while its paid plans start from $9 per month.

Top 20 Best SEO Tools in 2025

Above was the list for the top 20 SEO tools that you can use to drive traffic to your website and generate leads for a long-term business plan. SEO is getting more and more competitive with time, so it is best to keep up with the trends. Manual keyword guessing is a thing of the past now, as it won’t help your website rank well. You also need these SEO tools to compete with other websites by identifying the weak points in your SEO strategies.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World