A Case for SEO Software Updates: When Free Is Not The Best Deal

Freebies… We fall head over heels for free stuff. Because free is almost always the best price. Almost, but not in the case with SEO software. In SEO software field, free is a tricky notion. Good when it comes to free trials and lifetime feature improvements that we expect out of all software products. Bad when it comes to search engine updates. Namely, wanting the latter to be free, yet also expecting the tools to rock your rankings and be accurate … let’s just say it ain’t gonna happen. Here’s why.

There is a reason why Matt Cutts leads Google’s (web spam) team “in charge of Search Engine Optimization issues”.
If you look beyond Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” mantra – whoever still buys it, read Lore Sjoberg’s opinion piece on Wired – Google’s real agenda stands out clear as day -- SEO principles need to be redefined, SEO software done away with. Sad, yet true.
So, let good ole Matt mingle with his search converts, and knightly fight off the world’s best search technologies by purposefully changing Google search algos.
Oh well, we can’t make Google change its ways. But what we can do is make sure that SEO tools we use keep on working for us, whether Google wants it or not.
And this is where SEO tools differ from the rest of the software products – in SEO software world, it’s not just about features that we WANT to get better, it’s about search engine updates that SEO software providers MUST make every couple of days for their software to remain accurate.
These search engine updates are, as you may guess, usually not free – you keep on paying for this service every month. Did I just say service?
Bingo! Google’s wrath makes SEO software a SERVICE, with teams of developers playing cat and mouse with search engines to integrate most recent search algo changes into SEO products. Maybe if more users knew about this, they would come to the same conclusion as myself - free or optional (optional my butt!) search updates are utter deception.
Providers that tell you that you don’t really have to update algos and just keep using their tools are outright lying – they are too scared to tell you the truth and see you go. Providers that do updates for free won’t bother with daily software adjustments (and you shouldn’t expect them to if you aren’t paying for this costly service). What you get in both cases is wrong search data.
So the question you need to ask is this: How well do my SEO tools keep up with Google’s core search algo changes?*
My software** provider checks search algos every 12 minutes.
Now, for THAT I am willing to forego free, and even cheap. Because you know what, I don’t mess around with my rankings and I do what I gotta do – that is, I pay for the value I get, no more, no less.