7 On-Page SEO Tools We Actually Use to Optimize Content Faster

On page SEO is one of those things that sounds simple, until you are 40 minutes into a “quick edit” and you are still debating a title tag that is 3 characters too long.

And yeah, you can absolutely do it manually. Plenty of people do. But if you are publishing at any kind of pace, or you are updating old pages, or you are trying to scale content without your brain melting, you end up leaning on tools. Not because you are lazy. Because it is the only way to keep quality consistent.

This is the exact stack we use (and re use) when we want to optimize content faster without turning it into robotic SEO sludge.

A quick note. These are on page tools, not “everything SEO” tools. So you will see editors, content audits, on page checkers, and a couple utilities that save time on the stuff everyone forgets until the last minute (meta descriptions, internal links, rewrites, that kind of thing).

Let’s get into it.

1. SEO Software (AI on-page workflow, content updates, and hands-off publishing)

If we are being honest, this is the one we reach for first because it is not just a checker. It is the workflow.

SEO Software (the platform at https://seo.software/) is built around the reality that on page optimization is not a single step. It is a cycle:

• find opportunities (what to write, what to update)
• optimize the draft (structure, intent, coverage)
• ship it
• come back later and refresh what is slipping

The reason it speeds things up is you are not duct taping five tools together. You can go from strategy to draft to optimized content to publishing without the usual spreadsheet chaos.

If you want to see the on page angle specifically, start here: improve your page SEO. It is basically the “what should I fix on this page” problem, turned into a repeatable process.

What we use it for (on-page, not theory)

• Spotting pages that need updates before they fully decay. The built in content audit flow is useful when you have more than, say, 30 pages and you can’t remember what you published 9 months ago.
• Running an on-page review quickly with an on-page SEO checker mindset. Less “SEO score”, more “these are the obvious gaps”.
• Editing inside a purpose built editor. The AI SEO editor is where we do a lot of cleanup. Tightening intros, improving headings, adding missing sections, making the piece feel complete.
• Scaling the actual production loop. The content automation part matters because the fastest on page optimization is the one you do consistently, not the one you do once.

And yes, it is also useful when you are producing new content fast. The blog post generator is a practical starting point when you need a draft that is already thinking in terms of structure.

If you are currently using Surfer or Jasper and you are curious how the workflow compares, these are worth skimming:

• SEO Software vs Surfer SEO
• SEO Software vs Jasper

Subtle pitch, but real. If you are trying to replace the “agency plus writers plus editor plus project manager” situation with something fixed price and automated, SEO Software is kind of built for that.

2. Surfer SEO (fast content gap checks, SERP driven outlines)

Surfer is still one of the quickest ways to answer the annoying question:

“Am I missing anything obvious compared to what already ranks?”

We mainly use Surfer for:

• content gap scanning when we want to pressure test a draft
• outline validation when a piece feels thin
• SERP pattern recognition (what sections show up again and again)

It is not perfect. Surfer can push you toward writing for a checklist instead of a reader. But when you treat it like a diagnostic tool, it is great.

The best Surfer use case is when you already have a decent draft and you want to make sure you did not skip an entire subtopic that every ranking page covers. You fix the gaps, you keep your voice, and you move on.

3. Clearscope (intent alignment and “do we actually cover the topic” editing)

Clearscope is slower, more expensive, and honestly less fun. But the editing quality is high.

If Surfer feels like “optimize based on patterns,” Clearscope is more like:

“Does this page actually answer what the searcher wants, in a way Google can understand?”

We use it for:

• important pages (money pages, high intent pages)
• updates on existing posts that already rank and need a boost
• cleaning up topical coverage without rewriting everything from scratch

One small thing I like. Clearscope pushes you to add substance rather than sprinkle keywords. You still need to write like a human, but it helps you see where your content is vague.

4. Ahrefs (on-page opportunities, internal linking targets, and SERP reality checks)

Ahrefs is not an “on page optimizer” in the editor sense, but it is one of the best tools to decide what to optimize and why.

The workflow we use is simple:

• find a page that ranks 6 to 20 for a cluster of keywords
• open the SERP, look at what is outranking it
• decide whether the page needs a structural change (new sections, better intent match) or just polish (title, intro, examples)

Ahrefs helps with:

• keyword + page mapping (what should this URL even rank for)
• finding internal link opportunities (pages that can link into the one you are optimizing)
• seeing competing pages without guesswork

And then we usually jump back into an editor (often SEO Software, sometimes Surfer or Clearscope) to actually do the on page work.

5. Screaming Frog (technical on-page hygiene at scale)

Screaming Frog is the unglamorous one, but it catches the stuff that quietly kills performance.

We use it to scan a site and find:

• missing titles and meta descriptions
• duplicate titles
• H1 issues (missing, duplicated, messy)
• thin pages (low word count as a signal, not a rule)
• broken internal links
• messy redirects

It is also one of the fastest ways to build a list of “pages that need love” for a content refresh sprint.

Pair it with a content audit and you have a pretty complete picture. Like, technical problems plus content problems. Two different things, both matter.

If you are doing this inside the SEO Software ecosystem, the built-in content audit helps you find pages to update, and Screaming Frog helps you catch sitewide hygiene issues. They work well together.

6. Grammarly (readability cleanup, tone smoothing, and dumb mistake prevention)

This might sound basic, but Grammarly saves real time.

Not because it makes you a better writer overnight. But because it catches the repetitive stuff:

• missing articles
• weird tense shifts
• clunky sentences that are technically fine but hard to read
• accidental duplicate words (my personal curse)

On page SEO is not only headings and keywords. If your content is tiring to read, people bounce. That feeds into performance over time.

Also, if you want a lightweight alternative for quick checks, SEO Software has a simple grammar checker that is handy when you are already in the workflow and just want to tighten a draft without bouncing between tabs.

7. SEO Software utility tools (meta tags, rewrites, expanding sections, extracting keywords)

This is kind of a bundle entry, but it is real. The small tools are what make optimization faster day to day, because they eliminate the “oh right, I still need to write a meta description” moment.

Here are the ones we actually use.

Meta title and meta description generators

If you are rewriting titles manually every time, you are going to waste hours over a month. Not because titles are hard, but because you overthink them.

• Meta title generator for quick variants when you need something within pixel limits and actually clickable.
• Meta description generator for summaries that do not sound like a boring template.

We still edit them. Always. But starting from a solid draft is faster than starting from a blank box.

Paragraph rewrites when the draft is “fine” but not great

Sometimes content is accurate but dull. Or it is repetitive. Or the flow is weird.

The paragraph rewriter is useful when you want to keep meaning but fix the readability. Especially in intros and transitions, where people bounce fast.

Sentence expansion (when you need depth without fluff)

This is surprisingly useful for on page optimization because a lot of content is thin in specific spots. Not the whole article. Just certain sections.

The sentence expander helps you turn a short, vague line into a fuller explanation. The key is to expand with specifics. Examples, steps, edge cases. Not filler.

Keyword extraction (cleaning up research fast)

When you are working with notes, transcripts, competitor copy, or a messy draft, pulling the key terms manually is annoying.

The keyword extractor speeds up the “what are the main concepts here” step, which then makes it easier to decide headings and internal links.

Headline generator (quick angles for H2s, not just the H1)

Most people think of headline tools as clickbait machines. But they are useful for H2s too.

If your article feels like one long block, a headline generator can spark section ideas you did not think of. You still need to keep it aligned with search intent, but it helps.

The on-page SEO process we follow (so the tools actually help)

Tools are only "time savers" if you use them in a repeatable order. Otherwise you just bounce around.

This is the loose process we follow:

1. Pick the page that matters. Use a content audit or rankings data to find a page that is close to winning. If you are doing it inside SEO Software, start with the content audit.
2. Check intent and structure. Open the SERP, look at the top results, note repeated sections and angles.
3. Run an on-page pass. Use a checker or editor to spot missing topics, weak headings, thin sections. The on-page SEO checker and AI SEO editor cover this part well.
4. Improve readability. Grammarly or a grammar pass. Shorten sentences. Add examples. Cut fluff.
5. Fix the metadata. Title tag, meta description, make sure it matches the actual page and the query. Use meta title generator and meta description generator as starting points.
6. Add internal links intentionally. Link from relevant pages with relevant anchor text. Not random "click here" stuff.
7. Publish, then revisit. A lot of gains come from refreshing pages, not only publishing new ones. This is where content automation becomes a cheat code if you are producing content at scale.

That is it. Not fancy. Just consistent.

A few quick picks (if you only want one or two tools)

If you are overwhelmed and just want a simple starting point:

• If you want the most hands-off, end to end on-page workflow, plus publishing: SEO Software.
• If you want a fast “what am I missing vs the SERP” checker: Surfer SEO.
• If you want premium editorial guidance for key pages: Clearscope.
• If you want to clean up sitewide on-page issues fast: Screaming Frog.
• If you want fewer embarrassing grammar mistakes: Grammarly.

And if you are already in the SEO Software ecosystem, bookmark these because you will use them more than you think:

• Improve page SEO
• On-page SEO checker
• AI SEO editor
• Blog post generator

Also, if you are in “research mode” and comparing AI writing tools in general, this roundup is a decent rabbit hole: AI writing tools. You might also find some useful alternatives to popular tools like Semrush in this list of Semrush SEO writing assistant alternatives.

Let’s wrap this up

On page SEO is not hard. It is just relentless. There is always another heading to improve, another section to add, another internal link, another rewrite that makes the page clearer.

So the goal is not to “perfect” every page.

The goal is to build a process where you can optimize quickly, publish confidently, and then come back and refresh what matters. Over and over.

If you want a single platform that covers the strategy, the content creation, the on-page optimization, and the publishing loop, take a look at SEO Software. It is basically what we use when we want to stop stitching tools together and just ship more good content without the chaos.