The tools I use to run my freelance SEO business in Switzerland

SEO tools

SE Ranking

My main SEO tool. I use it for keyword research, rank tracking, backlink analysis, and site audits. It covers most of what you need as a freelancer without the enterprise price tag. Ahrefs and Semrush are more powerful in some areas, but SE Ranking gives you 80% of the functionality at a fraction of the cost. For a solo operator, that math makes sense. If you sign up via my link, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Ahrefs SEO Toolbar

Free Chrome extension. I use it constantly while browsing. It shows on-page SEO data, redirect chains, noindex tags, hreflang, and more. Even if you don't have an Ahrefs subscription, the free toolbar is useful. It's one of those extensions that quietly saves you time every day.

SEO META in 1 CLICK

Another Chrome extension. One click and you see all the H tags, meta description, image alt texts, and image sizes on any page. I use it when I'm doing quick spot checks during client calls or when reviewing competitor pages. Faster than opening DevTools every time.

Keyword Surfer

Free extension that overlays search volume and word count directly on Google search results. The word count per result is what I use it for most. It gives a quick sense of what length content is ranking for a given query without opening every article.

MozBar

Moz's free toolbar shows Domain Authority scores inline in search results. DA isn't the be-all end-all metric, but it's a useful quick proxy when prospecting for link opportunities or assessing a site's credibility at a glance.

Squoosh

Browser-based image compression tool from Google. I use it to compress images before uploading them to client sites. The quality controls are excellent. You can visually compare the before and after at different compression levels and pick the right trade-off. Free, no account needed.

Website and hosting

Cyon

Swiss hosting provider. I host my own site and most client sites here. The servers are in Switzerland, which matters for some clients in regulated industries. Support is in German and genuinely helpful. More expensive than international alternatives, but reliable and I've never had an issue I couldn't resolve quickly. Affiliate link: I get a small referral credit if you sign up.

WordPress

The CMS I know best and the one most of my clients use. I help clients with WordPress setups, plugin decisions, and performance optimization. It's not perfect, but the ecosystem is wide enough that I can solve almost any problem without writing custom code.

Digital analytics

ObservePoint

I use ObservePoint to test and debug analytics implementations: GA4 tags, event configuration, and making sure nothing breaks after a CMS update. It's specialized and not cheap, but for analytics-heavy client work it saves a lot of manual testing time.

Money and bookkeeping

Abaninja

My bookkeeping tool. I use it for quotes, invoices, and expense tracking. It's Swiss-made and designed for small businesses, which means it handles CHF invoicing, Swiss VAT, and MWST correctly without workarounds. Not the prettiest interface, but it does the job and my accountant can access it directly.

Swisscard Cashback

I put most business expenses on this card and collect cashback. Nothing revolutionary, but as a freelancer every bit of cost reduction helps. Worth it if you have regular tool subscriptions in different currencies.

Project management

Trello

I keep client projects on Trello boards. Simple Kanban: To Do, In Progress, Done. I've tried more complex tools but always come back to Trello. For solo freelance work, you don't need much more than a clear visual of what needs doing. The free plan is enough for most use cases.

Notion

My documentation home. SOPs, templates, research notes, client onboarding docs. I use Notion for anything that needs to be written down and found again later. I don't use it as a project manager (Trello handles that), but for building up a knowledge base as you grow your freelance practice, Notion is hard to beat.

Toggl

Time tracking. Even for projects I bill at a flat rate, I track time. Partly to understand my own margins, partly because some clients ask for a time report. Toggl is simple enough that I actually use it consistently, which is more than I can say for other tools I've tried.

Dropbox

File storage and sharing. I share audit deliverables, reports, and assets with clients via Dropbox. Most clients don't have Google Workspace, so Google Drive isn't always practical. Dropbox just works and the shared links are straightforward for non-technical clients.

Meetings and scheduling

Cal.com

I use cal.com for all scheduling. Clients pick a slot from my calendar, no back-and-forth. It connects to my Google Calendar and only shows times I'm actually free. I also use it for my consulting calls here on Freelance Shift. The free plan is generous and the self-hosted option exists if you care about data sovereignty.

Productivity and Mac apps

Alfred

Mac app launcher and productivity tool. I use it instead of Spotlight for everything: opening apps, searching files, running snippets, and custom workflows. The Powerpack (paid) unlocks the really useful stuff like clipboard history and custom workflows. If you spend most of your day on a Mac, Alfred is one of those tools that quietly saves you hours per month.

Jumpcut

Clipboard manager. It remembers the last 99 things you copied. Sounds trivial until you realize how often you copy something, copy something else, and then need the first thing again. Free and unobtrusive.

Window Collage

Window management for Mac. I use it to snap windows into tiled layouts. Cheaper than Magnet and does what I need.

Shottr

Screenshot tool with built-in annotations. I use it to annotate screenshots before sending them to clients: circling things, adding arrows, writing quick notes directly on the image. Free for personal use, genuinely excellent.

Giphy Capture

For quick screen recordings I share as GIFs. Useful when I want to show a client how to do something in their CMS without writing a step-by-step document. Free Mac app.

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Some of the links above are affiliate links. If you sign up via one of them, I may receive a small commission. I only link to tools I actually use and pay for myself. This list isn't sponsored and I don't include things just because they have an affiliate program.