When it comes to SEO, data is the key to success. To dominate the SERPs, you need to have a clear understanding of not only your own web pages, but also those of your competitors.
And how to achieve that, you ask?
By using SEO tools, of course!
The thing is, using SEO tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush can be tedious, especially if you just want to gauge how a competitor’s page is performing while you’re actually visiting it.
The solution? Use Mozbar for Chrome!
What’s that, you ask? Keep reading to find out!
What is Mozbar for Chrome?
Basically, Mozbar is a free browser extension that gives you all sorts of SEO data about websites you’re browsing.
Want to know a site’s domain authority, how many backlinks it has, or how well it’s optimised for a certain keyword?
Mozbar’s got you covered.
It’s the perfect tool for anyone who wants to do a little reconnaissance on their competitors or just wants to geek out on SEO data.
How to install Mozbar for Chrome
Step 1
First, fire up Chrome and click on the three dots in the top-right corner of the screen. From there, select “More tools” then click on “Extensions”.
Step 2
In the extensions tab, you’ll see an option to “Open Chrome Web Store.” Click on that to access the Chrome Web Store.
Step 3
Once you’re in the Chrome Web Store, search for “MozBar” in the search bar. Once you’ve found it, click on the “Add to Chrome” button to install the extension.
Step 4
Once you’ve installed the MozBar extension, you’ll see a little icon in your Chrome toolbar. Click on that to turn on MozBar.
Step 5
To start using the extension, you have to sign into your Moz account by clicking on “Log in”.
Alternatively, you can sign up for a new account if you don’t already have one. To do so, click on “Create account” and fill in the required fields to create a free Moz community member account.
Don’t forget to activate your account by verifying your email address.
Step 6
Finally, before you start using Mozbar, you have to set up the right search profile for your business. To do so, open the “Search Profiles” menu and click on “Add New Profile”.
Now, simply set the search profile according to your research needs.
Voila! Now you’ll get all info available to free users (we’ll talk about the differences between free and paid Mozbar later on).
PS: At the far right of the MozBar is the “Tools and Settings” section, accessible by clicking on the gear icon. From here, you can customise the Moz metrics you want to see in the toolbar (other than PA and DA). You can also access links to Moz resources and tools and log in to your Moz Pro account.
Pro tip: Here are some keyword shortcuts you can use to easily turn the extension on/off
- Mac: Cmd + Option + Control + M
- Windows: Shift + Ctrl + Alt + M
Mozbar for Chrome: Website toolbar vs SERP toolbar
With the latest version of MozBar, the toolbar has been given separate roles depending on whether you’re viewing a web page or a SERP.
Mozbar for Chrome: Website toolbar
The “website toolbar” is displayed on top of any web page you visit, and it’s your one-stop shop for all the metrics you could ever need when researching competitor websites. Such metrics include domain authority (DA), page authority (PA), spam score, and the number of links the page and website have.
Furthermore, with the main toolbar, you can also analyse a web page and get a better understanding of its quality and authority. More on that later.
Mozbar for Chrome: SERP toolbar
The “SERP toolbar” is specifically designed for use in the search engine results pages. With the SERP toolbar, you can create custom search profiles (we’ve explained how to do that earlier) and export search results to a .csv file. This is incredibly useful if you’re conducting competitor research or trying to identify new opportunities for your website.
Mozbar for Chrome: Features
MozBar has a plethora of features that can help take your SEO game to the next level, including:
Link metrics
MozBar automatically appears whenever you visit a website (this is the main toolbar we mentioned earlier). It provides valuable information about the page authority (PA) score, domain authority (DA) score, and links to the website.
What are those, you ask?
Domain Authority (DA)
Developed by Moz, Domain Authority is a score ranging from one to 100 that measures the strength and authority of a website’s entire domain. The higher the score, the more likely the domain is to rank well on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Page Authority (PA)
Also developed by Moz, Page Authority is a score ranging from one to 100 that measures the strength and authority of a specific web page. The higher the score, the more likely the page is to rank well on SERPs.
Spam Score
The Spam Score represents the percentage of sites penalised or banned by Google with characteristics similar to the site you are looking for. It ranges from zero to 17, with higher scores indicating a greater risk of being penalised by Google (a penalised website is unlikely to rank on Google).
Link Metrics
MozBar can also show a count of the total links pointing to the webpage if you enable it. This includes all internal, external, follow and no-follow links. Clicking on the count will take you to an Open Site Explorer analysis of the web page. With MozBar’s link metrics, you can easily analyse the backlink profile of any webpage and get a better understanding of its authority and ranking potential.
The “Page Analysis” feature
MozBar’s Page Analysis tab provides you with in-depth information about on-page elements, general attributes, link metrics, markup, and HTTP status. This information can help you optimise your own web pages and analyse your competitors’ pages.
Note that this is a paid feature.
On-page elements
MozBar provides information about the following on-page elements:
- URL
- Page title
- Meta description
- Meta keywords
- H1
- H2
- Bold/strong
- Italic/em
- Alt text
General attributes
MozBar’s General Attributes tab provides information about:
- Meta robots/Meta tags
- Rel= “canonical”
- Page load time
- Google cache URL
Link metrics
MozBar’s Link Metrics tab provides information about:
- Page Authority score (PA)
- Domain Authority score (DA)
- External followed links
- Linking root domains
- Total links
Markup
MozBar’s Markup tab provides information about:
- Schema.org
- Open Graph Protocol
- Twitter Cards
- Microformats
The “Highlight Links” feature
MozBar’s Highlight Links tab is a super useful feature that allows you to highlight external links, internal links, do-follow links, and “no-follow” links. You can also search for specific keywords, and MozBar will highlight them throughout the web page.
Using this feature, you can better understand how your competitors are structuring their websites and to which websites they’re linking.
Note that this is a paid feature.
The “Page Optimisation” feature
MozBar’s Page Optimisation feature provides different page optimisation suggestions that you can follow to increase your domain authority and land higher on SERP rankings. This is known as on-page SEO, and we’ve explored it in detail in our guide “Why On-Page SEO Is Important”.
To use Page Optimisation, simply go to the Page Optimisation tab, enter a keyword for which you want to analyse the page, and click “Optimise.”
After clicking “Optimise,” you will be provided with three new tabs:
Summary
The Summary tab provides you with a page optimisation score, which is out of 100 and calculated using 27 different page optimising factors. The higher the score, the less work you have to do to optimise the page for a specific keyword.
Optimisation Factors
The Optimisation Factors tab suggests certain “fixes” to improve your on-page SEO for the keyword you searched. MozBar highlights the most important fixes with a red icon that will have the greatest impact on your page optimisation score.
On-page Content Suggestions
The On-page Content Suggestions tab provides further suggested topics/keywords related to the keyword you queried. You can use these suggested topics and keywords in your content to further increase the page’s relevancy with the selected keyword.
Note that this is a paid feature.
Mozbar for Chrome: Practical use cases
Okay, so far, you’ve installed Mozbar and got an idea about the features it offers, but you’re wondering, “what can I use it for?”
Well, read on to find out!
Spy on your competition
You know what they say: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Well, with MozBar, you can keep your competitors closer than ever before. By using the “Highlight Links” feature to analyse the links that your competition thinks are worth linking to, you can uncover valuable information about their strategy, content, and more. Who knows, you may even find some backlink opportunities or a community to tap into. So, don’t be afraid to get your spy on with MozBar.
Understand your competitors’ strategies
Have you ever wondered how your competitors are presenting their content?
With MozBar, you can take a look behind the curtain and see all of the on-page elements, from meta keywords to URLs, using the “Page Analysis” feature. By analysing this information, you can reveal important details about their content marketing and SEO strategy, such as what keywords they’re targeting. This can give you valuable insights that you can use to improve your own strategy and stay ahead of the game.
Find missed SEO opportunities
The “Page analysis” feature in MozBar can also help you find missed SEO opportunities. By digging deep into your competition’s pages, you can see which keywords they’re targeting and which ones they’re neglecting. If there are specific long-tail keywords that they’re not targeting, you can position yourself to take advantage of them. Long-tail keywords may not have as much search volume as broader keywords, but they’re often more specific and more likely to lead to a conversion. So don’t overlook the hidden gems that MozBar can help you uncover.
Take your on-page SEO to the next level
Well, this one should be obvious.
Using the “Page Optimisation” feature, you can analyse your own web pages to see how well they’re optimised for the keywords you’re targeting. If a certain page isn’t well-optimised, Mozbar will provide detailed steps you can take to get your on-page SEO game to the next level.
Mozbar for Chrome: Pricing
MozBar is totally free to download and use, but the free version is limited in terms of the data it provides, as you only get access to basic metrics like Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA). If you want access to the full Moz suite, you’ll need to cough up some dough.
Moz offers a variety of plans starting at £82 per month (or £65 per month if you commit to a yearly subscription). That may seem like a lot, but trust us; it’s worth it.
Since those plans are on the pricier side, Moz offers a free 30-day trial of MozPro. All you have to do is provide your credit or debit card information. Just be sure to cancel within 30 days if you don’t want to be charged. According to Moz’s terms of service, they don’t give refunds for subscriptions, so be sure to read the fine print.
If you decide to take advantage of the free trial, you’ll automatically be signed up for the MozPro medium plan, which costs £123 per month. But don’t worry; you can easily cancel your subscription right away and still enjoy the full 30 days of the trial. Just head over to the subscription page and select the cancel option.
With the paid version of MozBar, you get full access to MozBar’s features as well as access to Moz’s entire suite of tools. Those include the Backlinks Profile Analysis tool, Open Site Explorer, and Keyword Difficulty Tool. These tools are essential for conducting competitor research and identifying new opportunities for your website.
Need more help with SEO?
Mozbar can be of great help when conducting competitor research, but all the data it offers can feel overwhelming (borderline useless) if you’re not familiar with SEO. Fret not, though, as we can help. Book a discovery call with us today, and we’ll show you how we can take your SEO efforts to the next level.
0 Comments