For the most part, just about any product can help you in some way unless it's a real piece of junk. So if you already have one and are not getting the results you want, try to spend a little more time with it and make it pay off. But if you are looking, read on. This article covers 3 that have helped thousands get the ranking they need. Even if one is not right for you, you can see what the top rated tools do.

But before we dive into the tools, let's look at why we need them. In short; using SEO software is like buying time and expertise. A good piece of software will save you tons of time and give the results you'd get from a search engine optimization expert. If you have plenty of spare time to study and do manual SEO each month, you can save a hundred or so dollars and do it all without a tool. If you'd like to see faster results and focus your time in other areas, it's probably worth the money to buy a good product. Of course with so many claiming to be the best, the hardest part is finding the one that will work for you.

Over the past nine years, as an SEO consultant, I've used over a dozen well known, and not so well known SEO tools. The results have varied from "Wow!" to "What a waste!" We'll focus on the "Wows!" three types, one of which is likely to do what you need; 1.) Jumpstart (for maximum return with minimum cost), 2.) Site Owner's Best Friend (to tackle major SEO tasks and more), and 3.) SEO Pro Pick (what SEO professionals use to get the best possible results in the least possible time.)

So here they are, arranged by cost starting with the least expensive...

1.) SEO Equalizer ($77)

Those new to SEO, looking for a jumpstart with SEO software have found a winner with SEO Equalizer (http://www.EqualizeSEO.com). It became popular as an SEO spy tool and soon caught on as a great link building program and keyword analyzer. It provides an easy 'in' for anyone wanting to take control of their Web placement destiny. It's great for anyone who wants to minimize spending, boost ranking and does not mind waiting a little longer to see great results (as compared to the Pro Pick, SEO Elite below.)

Here's what it does best:

A.) Finds your most competitive keywords and phrases

B.) Locates and analyses competitor sites

C.) Builds and helps maintain link partnerships

Quick to learn and easy to use, SEO Equalizer is also one of the best bargains at $77 for a full license.

2.) Traffic Travis ($99)

This is a one of those hidden gems you dream about finding. A great app that not a lot of people know about (probably because the name is not very descriptive.) With a price tag of about $100, Traffic Travis (http://www.TrafficTravisSEO.com) is powerful enough for professionals and easy to use for a website owner, new to search engine optimization, who just wants results with very little learning curve.

Traffic Travis is like the "Swiss Army Knife" of SEO software and has become known as the "Site Owner's Best Friend." Here's some of what it does...

A.) Finds, sorts and organizes your most important keywords

B.) Shows your site's (and competitors') rankings on major search engines

C.) Completes a full range of SEO page analysis for any Webpage, so you can see what the top ranked pages are doing right for 'on page optimization' and how you can do even better.

D.) Helps build and manage backlinks (very important for Google.)

E.) Manages your Google AdWords campaign if you do PPC.

F.) And even builds online survey pages to quickly collect visitor feedback once they find your site.

It's tough to do an "apples to apples" comparison of this one with either of the others. It wears a lot of hats that Website owners can benefit from. Like SEO Equalizer it has shown me slightly slower results than SEO Elite, but is a great value.

3.) SEO Elite

My first "Wow!" happened in 2005 with SEO Elite (http://www.SEOeliteWeb.com). This app was the first truly affordable piece of SEO software I came across that did all it promised. At $167 it's about half the price of similar products but packs a lot more punch. It has three things that impress me almost as much as the results it gets...

A.) No annual fees (unlike some that charge $100 a year in "subscription" fees.)

B.) Free lifetime upgrades (I'm already on my 3rd version and it keeps getting better!)

C.) No Questions Asked, 8 Week Guarantee or full refund

That's why I bought it. This is why I kept it...

Google results after the first four weeks:

# 1 Spots = 7

# 2 Spots = 11

# 3 Spots = 16

Links = 409 high quality inbound links obtained (extremely important to rank well on Google)

That was all in the first month and for just one site. In the three years since then I have received hundreds of additional top rankings spanning multiple sites.

Here are some of the things SEO Elite does very well...

A.) Let's you check your site's ranking for unlimited keywords on the major search engines

B.) Tracks any changes in rank and notifies you

C.) Finds the best possible link partners for your site, based on Google's standards

D.) Shows which partners are still linking back to you

E.) Performs backlink searches on all major search engines

F.) Analyzes and compares special search commands on Google

G.) Finds exactly which websites your competitors are advertising on

H.) Helps you eliminate any penalized websites you link to

If you need great SEO software, can invest $167 and don't mind spending a few hours mastering a new tool, SEO Elite is worth looking at. It's the most widely used professional SEO software package for a reason.

Getting the right SEO software can be the best buying decision you ever make for your website. Enjoy!