Who wrote this: LoudCrowd sells SEO and website work to trades, and two companies on this list, BrightLocal and Whitespark, sell local SEO services too. We run a free AI visibility check of our own, and it is not on the list. Nobody paid to appear here, and none of the links earns us anything.
How we chose these tools
We started from the jobs a one-van firm needs doing and looked for a tool for each. A tool made the list if it passed all four of these tests, which you can check yourself on the linked pages:
- You can keep using a free version. Anything that is free only for a trial period is out.
- Its maker's own website states what you get, or lets you use it with no sign-up.
- It does one of four jobs: your listing, where you show up, your reviews, or your website.
- A UK business can use it.
The order is A to Z, so being first means nothing. We read each tool's own page on 2 November 2026. We did not buy any paid plans or measure how accurate any of them is, so this list tells you what each one offers and does not rate them against each other.
The nine tools side by side
| Tool | Job | Free terms | You need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs Free | Website health check | 5,000 crawl credits a month per verified site | A website you can verify |
| Apple Business | Listing on Apple Maps | Free to get started | Company details and an address |
| Bing Places for Business | Listing on Bing | Free | A sign-up |
| BrightLocal Local Search Results Checker | See results in another town | 3 searches a day | No subscription |
| GMB Everywhere | See rivals' profile categories | Free to start, paid plan $30 a month | The Chrome browser |
| Google Business Profile | Listing on Google Search and Maps | Free | A Google Account |
| Google Search Console | See what people searched | Free | A website you can verify |
| PageSpeed Insights | Website speed on a phone | No price shown | Your web address |
| Whitespark Review Checker | Compare your reviews | Free | Your business name |
Each tool in detail
Ahrefs Free
Crawls your website and lists the SEO problems it finds, with analytics and SEO metrics alongside. Ahrefs used to call this Webmaster Tools.
- Free terms
- 5,000 crawl credits a month per verified site
- Suits
- A trade with a website of more than a few pages, or someone looking after it for you who wants a to-do list.
- Watch for
- You can only use it on sites you have verified as yours. It is written for marketers, so expect some jargon, and the page offers a paid Starter plan if you want more.
Go to Ahrefs Free. Checked 2 Nov 2026, source.
Apple Business
Lets you claim your business on Apple Maps and control the logo, hours, photos and details people see. Apple launched it in April 2026, and it is open to existing Apple Business Connect users.
- Free terms
- Free to get started
- Suits
- Anyone whose customers search on an iPhone, once the Google profile is done.
- Watch for
- Apple's guide to adding a location asks for an address and a map pin, and it does not mention home-based or service-area businesses. Read it before you enter a home address. Extra storage and AppleCare+ cost money.
Go to Apple Business. Checked 2 Nov 2026, source.
Bing Places for Business
Creates and manages your listing on Bing. It can import your details from your Google Business Profile, then sync them weekly, every two weeks or monthly.
- Free terms
- Free
- Suits
- Anyone with a verified Google profile, because Bing then verifies the imported listing automatically. Its help pages also have a section for businesses without a physical store.
- Watch for
- Publishing typically takes 7 to 12 days. The import can create a duplicate if you are already on Bing, categories may not carry across, and a linked listing has to be edited in Google.
Go to Bing Places for Business. Checked 2 Nov 2026, source.
BrightLocal Local Search Results Checker
Shows the Google or Google Maps results for a search as they look from the place you pick, so you can see the next town over without driving there.
- Free terms
- 3 searches a day
- Suits
- A trade covering several towns who wants to know where it shows up and where it does not.
- Watch for
- Three searches a day is the limit without a BrightLocal subscription, and the page will offer you a 14-day trial. It does not show AI Overviews.
Go to BrightLocal Local Search Results Checker. Checked 2 Nov 2026, source.
GMB Everywhere
A Chrome extension that shows the primary and secondary categories of any business you open on Google Maps. Its maker marks that feature as always free.
- Free terms
- Free to start, paid plan $30 a month
- Suits
- A trade that wonders why a rival shows up for a job it also does. The category is the first thing to compare.
- Watch for
- The page lists many other features and prices the tool as "Free or $30/mo". We could not confirm which of those features are free.
Go to GMB Everywhere. Checked 2 Nov 2026, source.
Google Business Profile
Your listing on Google Search and Maps, and the place to make your review link and QR code.
- Free terms
- Free
- Suits
- Every trade. Set this up before anything else on the list.
- Watch for
- Google still checks your address privately, and home-based trades need the service-area set-up. Our guide below covers that.
Go to Google Business Profile. Checked 2 Nov 2026, source.
Google Search Console
Shows the searches that bring people to your website, with clicks, impressions and average position, and tells you whether Google has indexed a page.
- Free terms
- Free
- Suits
- Any trade with its own website. Google says business owners should at least know it exists.
- Watch for
- It reports on your website only, so a trade with just a profile has nothing to connect yet.
Go to Google Search Console. Checked 2 Nov 2026, source.
PageSpeed Insights
Scores a page's speed on phones and computers. It uses real visitors' data from the last 28 days where Google has it, plus a simulated test.
- Free terms
- No price shown
- Suits
- Anyone who gets most enquiries from a phone and suspects the site is slow.
- Watch for
- Google says a good simulated score does not guarantee a good result for real visitors. Its targets for a good page are 2.5 seconds for the main content to load, 200 milliseconds to respond to a tap, and a layout shift of 0.1 or less.
Go to PageSpeed Insights. Checked 2 Nov 2026, source.
Whitespark Review Checker
Pulls your reviews and ratings from across the web into one view and shows how your Google reviews compare with local competitors.
- Free terms
- Free
- Suits
- A service-area trade: the page tells you exactly what to enter if you have no shopfront.
- Watch for
- Whitespark is a Canadian company selling local SEO software and services, so expect offers around the free tool.
Go to Whitespark Review Checker. Checked 2 Nov 2026, source.
Which order should you do them in?
Do the listings first, because the other tools have little to check until they exist. Get your Google profile right using our guide for home-based trades, then copy it across to Bing and Apple, using the same name, phone number and details on each.
Next come reviews. Make your review link from the profile, and follow our guide to getting more Google reviews so you stay inside Google's rules. A monthly look at the Review Checker will tell you whether you are keeping up.
Leave the website tools until last. If you still cannot find yourself on the map after all that, work through why a business does not show on Google Maps.