Below are five of the best traffic‑ and link‑building tools that won’t break the bank—each one is available for $0 (free) or a one‑time, non‑recurring cost that stays under $50. None of these come with hidden upsells or subscription requirements.
| # | Tool | What It Does | Why It’s Great for Traffic / Link Building | How to Get It (Cost) | |—|——|————–|——————————————-|———————| | 1 | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Crawls your website (or any URL) to find broken links, duplicate content, missing tags, and more. | Identifying and fixing broken links immediately boosts SEO signals and keeps crawlers happy. | Free version (500 URLs) – https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/ | | 2 | Xenu’s Link Sleuth | A classic Windows link checker that scans for broken or dead links, redirects, and provides a simple report. | Lightweight, no‑frills, and perfect for quick audits of any site. | Free – http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html | | 3 | Ahrefs Backlink Checker | Free, one‑shot backlink analysis for any domain: top referring domains, anchor texts, link types, etc. | Gives you a snapshot of your link profile and competitors without a subscription. | Free – https://ahrefs.com/backlink-checker | | 4 | Moz Link Explorer (Free Tier) | Offers a limited but useful backlink audit: top pages, top referring domains, anchor text profile. | Great for spotting new link opportunities and monitoring changes over time. | Free tier (5 queries/month) – https://moz.com/link-explorer | | 5 | Ubersuggest (Free Tier) | Provides keyword ideas, search volume, SEO difficulty, and a backlink overview for any domain. | Combines keyword research with link data, perfect for a holistic traffic strategy. | Free tier (3 queries/day) – https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/ |
How to Use Them Together
- Audit: Start with Screaming Frog or Xenu to find on‑page issues and broken links.
- Backlink Snapshot: Run the domain through Ahrefs or Moz to see your current backlink profile and competitor links.
- Keyword + Backlink Insight: Use Ubersuggest to identify high‑volume keywords and see which domains are already linking to similar content.
- Follow‑up: Fix the broken links, build new links based on competitor data, and track progress with Screaming Frog’s reports.
Bonus: All‑Free Traffic Tracking
- Google Analytics – free, industry‑standard traffic analysis.
- Google Search Console – free, tells you how Google sees your site and which queries bring traffic.
These free tools give you a solid foundation for traffic generation and link building without the need to pay anything beyond a one‑time download or free subscription. Happy optimizing!
