This is an English translation and light adaptation of the original Bulgarian article: Списък с най-полезните професионални инструменти за уебмастъри и специалисти по дигитален маркетинг.
I had to perform a full website migration — moving all content and authority to a new domain. That process was a real test that pushed me to review and systematize every tool a serious professional needs. To save you time searching, I've collected the tools that actually work and are essential. All links are direct to the official tools or pages to save you clicks.
1. Tools for health checks and indexing: Direct communication with search engines
These platforms are your bridge to the search engine algorithms. Ignoring them is like piloting with covered windows.
Google Search Console (GSC) — Absolutely essential and free. It shows how Google sees your site: which queries bring impressions, which pages have problems, and whether there are critical indexing errors. After a migration, use the "Change of Address" tool in Settings — it officially notifies Google about the move and speeds up authority transfer.
https://search.google.com/search-consoleBing Webmaster Tools — Often overlooked, but very important. Bing feeds search for Microsoft Edge and even some parts of ChatGPT. After a migration, use its tools to check whether Bingbot is discovering broken links (404s) from the old domain — a clear indicator of redirect quality.
https://www.bing.com/webmastersIndexNow (WordPress plugin) — Not a checker but an active notifier. After you publish a new post, this type of plugin automatically pings Bing, Yandex and other IndexNow-supporting search engines so they learn about the change within minutes.
https://www.indexnow.org/URL Inspection Tool (in GSC) — One of GSC’s most powerful debugging tools. Paste the exact URL of a page from your new site and it shows whether the page is indexed, when it was last crawled, and any crawl/extraction errors.
2. Speed and mobile testing: Speed is decisive
Loading speed directly affects user experience and rankings. These tools give a clear, actionable picture.
PageSpeed Insights — Google's official tool. Besides general advice, it reports on Core Web Vitals (Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, Cumulative Layout Shift) — metrics that feed directly into ranking signals. If they are green, you are on the right track.
https://pagespeed.web.dev/GTmetrix — A detailed, user-friendly tool. Its waterfall chart is especially useful: you can see which script, style, or image causes the biggest delay. Indispensable for technical analysis and before/after comparisons.
https://gtmetrix.com/WebPageTest — The "Swiss Army knife" for tests. You can choose test locations (e.g. London or California), emulate networks (3G, 4G), and even device types. Ideal if your target audience is region-specific.
https://www.webpagetest.org/
3. SEO and backlink checking: Mapping your authority
Understanding where traffic and authority come from is fundamental. These tools give you that power.
Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker — Enter your old domain and get a list of sites linking to you. After you make redirects, check the new domain after a month or two to see whether links are being reported toward the new address.
https://ahrefs.com/backlink-checkerSEMrush Sensor — Useful for context. It shows the daily level of "volatility" in Google algorithms. If you notice a sudden drop in traffic, check Sensor to see whether the issue is a global update rather than something you did.
https://www.semrush.com/sensor/Ubersuggest / AnswerThePublic — Drill into keywords. These tools help discover new keywords, assess their difficulty, and get content ideas based on real user queries. Ubersuggest has a free tier; AnswerThePublic surfaces common user questions.
https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/
https://answerthepublic.com/
4. Clean history and technical health: Vetting domains and hosting
Buying a domain or hosting requires prior checks. These tools act like insurance.
Wayback Machine (Archive.org) — See how your new domain looked in past years. Make sure it wasn't a spammy site or a source of harmful content that Google might have remembered.
https://archive.org/web/MXToolbox Blacklist Check — Your web host may share an IP address with other sites. Enter that IP or domain to check if it appears on email spam blacklists; if so, you may face email deliverability issues.
https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspxSSL Server Test (Qualys SSL Labs) — A valid SSL certificate (the green padlock) is mandatory. This tool checks not only whether you have one, but whether the configuration is secure and modern, and provides a grade from A to F.
https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/
5. Useful tools for WordPress and daily maintenance
Site management requires attention to the invisible details users don’t see but search engines do.
Broken Link Checker (WordPress plugin) — After migration, this is one of the most important tasks. This plugin scans your posts and reports links that return 404 (including links to the old domain). Tip: once you fix everything, uninstall the plugin — continuous scanning can overload the server.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/broken-link-checker/Rank Math SEO or Yoast SEO — Every WordPress site needs a core SEO plugin. These help you optimize titles, meta descriptions, structured data, generate XML sitemaps, and manage robots.txt. Rank Math has a generous free version.
https://rankmath.com/
https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — While Search Console shows how people find you, GA4 shows what visitors do on your site: time on page, which pages they visit, and where they come from. Essential to understand audience behavior.
https://analytics.google.com/
Bonus: Content creation and monitoring tools
Grammarly or LanguageTool — Whether you write emails, posts, or product descriptions, these tools check spelling, grammar, and style and make your texts more professional and readable.
https://www.grammarly.com/
https://languagetool.org/Canva — No graphic designer? Canva is your lifesaver. Create professional images for social media, article headers, infographics, and simple presentations using templates.
https://www.canva.com/
Conclusion: Tools are your superpower
These tools are not just for crisis moments — they are for daily and weekly care of your digital asset. Making their use habitual is the key to sustainable success.
Suggested routine:
- Every Monday: review GSC and email notifications.
- Once a month: run speed tests.
- After every major change: scan for broken links.
Start with the free tools — they are more than enough to establish a solid foundation. Over time, if your business grows, investing in premium tools (e.g., full Ahrefs or SEMrush plans) will provide deeper insights and competitive advantages.
Remember: in the digital world, data is your strongest asset. These tools give you clear, actionable data so you can make informed decisions instead of acting blindly. Start using them today.
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