Do affiliate links affect your scores?

No. Scores come from the scoring sheet below, filled in during hands-on testing. Whether a tool has an affiliate program — or none at all — has no effect on its score or position. See our affiliate disclosure for the full policy.

What is the “our own data” you mention?

We run a network of our own websites and tools, so we can show real Google Search Console numbers — impressions, clicks and ranking changes — rather than only vendor claims. These sites are new, so early reviews cite the data we genuinely have and label the sample period honestly; the evidence deepens as the data accumulates.

How often do you re-test?

We re-test the full set every January — re-running the task script, refreshing screenshots, re-checking prices and revising scores — and do lighter quarterly checks for price and feature changes. Each review shows when it was last updated.

Methodology

How We Test SEO Tools

Every AI SEO tool we review is tested the same way: a real account, the same set of tasks, screenshots of what we actually saw, and our own Search Console data where it’s relevant. Affiliate links never move a score.

Last updated: June 12, 2026

01 / Scoring

What we score, and how much it counts

Each tool gets a weighted score across six dimensions. The weights reflect what matters for getting SEO work done, not what’s easiest to demo.

Dimension	Weight	What we look at
Content optimization	25	Quality of on-page and content guidance against a shared brief.
AI features	20	Usefulness and accuracy of AI generation, not just whether it exists.
Technical SEO coverage	15	Crawl, schema, sitemaps, internal linking and audits.
Data & integrations	15	Quality of keyword/SERP data and how well it connects to your stack.
Ease of use	15	How quickly a real task gets done without fighting the UI.
Price & value	10	What you actually get for the money, including free tiers and limits.

02 / Process

The testing process

01
Sign up for real
We create a genuine account on each tool — paid where needed — and use it like a customer, not a demo.
02
Run the same task script
Every tool runs the identical set of tasks (the same brief, the same pages) so scores are comparable side by side.
03
Screenshot everything
We capture the logged-in interface and the actual output, with dates, so you can see what we saw.
04
Check against real data
Where it’s relevant, we back claims with our own Google Search Console numbers and label the sample period.
05
Score and write honestly
We fill the scoring sheet, list real pros and specific cons, and say who each tool is not for.

03 / Independence

How we stay independent

We make money from affiliate links and, later, from helping readers find vetted agencies — never from vendors paying for placement. There is no pay-to-play. A tool with no affiliate program is scored and ranked exactly like one that pays well. Full details are in our affiliate disclosure.

Who writes these reviews

Reviews are produced by the AI SEO Tools Hub editorial team and are bylined as we credit each reviewer. We also dogfood our own free tools on this site — the same meta, title, schema and sitemap tools you can use — which keeps us honest about what actually helps day to day.

04 / FAQ

Questions

Do affiliate links affect your scores?: No. Scores come from the scoring sheet below, filled in during hands-on testing. Whether a tool has an affiliate program — or none at all — has no effect on its score or position. See our affiliate disclosure for the full policy.
What is the “our own data” you mention?: We run a network of our own websites and tools, so we can show real Google Search Console numbers — impressions, clicks and ranking changes — rather than only vendor claims. These sites are new, so early reviews cite the data we genuinely have and label the sample period honestly; the evidence deepens as the data accumulates.
How often do you re-test?: We re-test the full set every January — re-running the task script, refreshing screenshots, re-checking prices and revising scores — and do lighter quarterly checks for price and feature changes. Each review shows when it was last updated.