Do you want a profitable and fulfilling affiliate site?
(And you use a Mac?)
You’ll need accurate information; you’ll need to use the right keywords, get information on your competition, and have a reliable outreach process.
To put it briefly — you need the best SEO tools for Mac.
Yes, even if you’re bootstrapping.
Mac Tools For SEO
Before we roundup the best SEO tools for Mac, it’s important to note that most marketing software today isn’t on desktop. While that was the norm back in the early 2010s, SEO tools today are mostly browser-based.
So anyone can access them, whether they use Mac, Windows, or even Linux.
But there are still extremely valuable tools that are only available in a desktop form. In the list below, you’ll find a bit of both.
Moreover, we included different types of tools for Mac OS, including keyword research software, SEO reporting apps, and email marketing tools. This way, you can achieve your Market Samurai (remember that?) status regardless of what specific SEO software you need.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
The Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a website crawler. It’s a very complex desktop tool that has tons of features for authority site owners. These include broken links research, technical site audit analysis, and other advanced tools for digital marketing professionals.
Screaming Frog is a veteran in the scene. It was launched back in 2010, and it’s been a wonderful marketing tool ever since. It’s available for Windows, Mac OS X, and even Ubuntu Linux.
With it, SEOs can:
- Quickly analyze any page on the web.
- Find broken links for link building purposes.
- Audit their own site to understand how to improve it.
- Find and fix duplicate content issues.
- Visualise site architecture.
- Generate XML sitemaps and robots.txt files.
- Check the spelling and grammar for their content.
- Optimize article titles and metadata.
And a lot more.
The toolset is stacked, so SEO Spider is not a free SEO tool. It costs £149.00 per year, which is not as expensive as other online SEO tools, but still relatively pricey. It does have a free version as well, but it’s limited to 500 crawls, and nearly half the features of the paid version.
Spider SEO has some drawbacks. For starters, it’s a very complex application. This makes it hard for beginners to use the tool to its maximum capabilities.
On top of that, Spider SEO can be very taxing on your Mac. Users have reported performance issues when they try to use Spider SEO to analyze large websites.
Still, it’s one of the best SEO tools for Mac, especially if you’re experienced and you want a desktop application.
SEO PowerSuite
Like the Screaming Frog Spider SEO tool, SEO PowerSuite is a desktop application compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It’s also a very complex application, with a rank tracker, keyword research tool, site audit, and competition analysis functionalities.
SEO PowerSuite is an all-in-one seo tool for Mac, but all of those functionalities don’t come cheap. Webmasters can expect to spend $299 each year on an SEO ProSuite subscription, while agencies can pay as much as $699 each year.
If you’re interested in SEO PowerSuite, you can also try it for free.
In that case, each module of the tool will have limitations, especially when it comes to project saving or exports.
The best SEO PowerSuite tools are its auditing tools and rank tracker. If that’s crucial for your business, and you want an all-in-one solution, SEO PowerSuite could be the way to go.
On the other hand, the tool could have better keyword research functionalities, especially when it comes to semantic SEO. Scheduling features, even when measuring things like search engine rankings, is also harder with SEO PowerSuite than with most other tools.
Advanced Web Ranking
If you’re looking for an efficient rank tracker on Mac, Advanced Web Ranking is one of the best tools out there. It’s the first browser tool on our list, and it has a robust search engine tracking system. Advanced Web Ranking can:
- Segment ranking based on device used.
- Show different rankings based on location.
- Gather data and deliver insights about a company’s ranking. This is great for competitor analysis.
- Perform advanced SERP analysis.
However, therein lies Advanced Web Ranking’s first disadvantage. Its huge data processing abilities can be quite costly.
AWR charges users based on the number of crawls (searches?) they perform. If you keep tabs on a lot of keywords, your bill can rack up much higher than the flat monthly fee.
Besides search engine optimization and rank tracking, AWR also helps with competitor analysis and SEO reporting. This makes it a good Mac compatible tool for agencies.
SE Ranking
SE Ranking is a beginner friendly all-in-one SEO tool. It’s browser based, and it’s got everything a novice webmaster needs:
- Rank tracking tool
- Keyword research and keyword generator tool
- Site audit tool
- Social media tools
- On-page content optimization tools
And a lot of other valuable features for SEOs.
Sounds too good to be true right?
All of those features, and it’s all beginner friendly?
SE Ranking is a good SEO tool for Mac, and it’s definitely easier to use than its all-in-one counterparts… but it’s not perfect.
The most common issue you might run into when using SE ranking is keyword research.
The database they pull from isn’t huge, which makes it hard to rely on SE Ranking for valuable SEO opportunities. It also doesn’t have good support for all the search engines, or local opportunities.
Some users also find its interface confusing at times. But as far as tools for Mac OS go, it’s one of the best options on the market.
Web CEO
Web CEO is an online platform that’s built for agencies that manage multiple websites. Its biggest advantage is that you can set-up a white label online platform with it.
This takes the Web CEO brand out of your customer interactions, so you can customize your customer experience a bit more.
Its toolset is impressive. Web CEO has anything an agency needs:
- SEO tools for rank tracking, keyword analysis, website auditor, and link research.
- Social media marketing tools.
- Competitor research functionalities.
- Advanced reporting features to ensure good communication with customers.
- Email alerts.
Much like SEMRush, Web CEO doesn’t revolutionize SEO tools. It just adapts useful webmaster features to the needs of agencies. Since it’s an online platform, it’s also available with Mac OS X devices.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is our go-to all-in-one SEO platform. It’s the largest online crawler after Google, which guarantees valuable data for keyword research and SERP analysis. On top, its website auditor and site crawling capabilities are above average.
We like Ahrefs because it’s a reliable and comprehensive solution.
Do you want to find low-hanging SEO gems? Ahrefs can help.
Do you need a rank tracker? Ahrefs has it.
Want to analyze your competition’s search engine rankings? It’s all a few clicks away.
We especially like its content explorer, link database, and constant updates. Not to mention, it has the best keyword research tool on the market.
However, it’s one of the most expensive SEO platforms. With its cheapest subscription costing $99 each month, it’s a big investment for beginner authority hackers.
Surfer SEO
Surfer SEO is another fantastic keyword tool.
Surfer SEO has amazing support for on-page content optimization, and an innovative Content Editor extension that we use for all of our articles.
Here’s how their crowning jewel works: You choose a target keyword for one of your articles. Then, Surfer will analyze all articles ranking for that keyword, and come up with a list of keywords that you should use to optimize your content.
This is called correlation SEO, and it works wonders for us.
Besides this amazing tool, SurferSEO also features a website auditor, SERP analyzer, and content planning functionalities. It’s also extremely easy to use, if a tad bit pricey. The entire Surfer SEO suite will set you back at least $49 each month.
Link Whisper
Do you go through a grueling process of finding internal links for every new article you upload?
Link Whisper thinks you shouldn’t.
Compared to the other entries on this list, this link assistant is far from complex. But it’s effective.
Link Whisper is a Wordpress plugin. It’s powered by AI technology, and it will recommend internal linking opportunities when you edit content in the Wordpress editor.
On top of that, the link assistant can provide insight on broken links, orphan pages, and other internal linking data.
Link Whisper is also really easy to use, so it’s the best link assistant you can get for your site. The only improvement we’d like to see is some form of external linking capabilities. You can’t conquer search engines from your bubble.
Hunter.io
Hunter.io doesn’t provide a technical website audit, or any link assistant tool. Rather, Mac OS X users can subscribe to Hunter.io if they want to level up their outreach efforts. We use Hunter.io to find link building opportunities, and we’re very happy with what it can do.
At its core, Hunter.io helps you find email addresses to reach out to. Whether you need them for link building, general PR, or even sales, you can quickly generate new leads with the tool.
Hunter.io lets you source email addresses in bulk, by domain search, or with a name as the base for your search. You can also use this platform to verify email addresses, or even to create outreach campaigns.
If you already use something else for outreach, Hunter.io also has great integration with CRMs.
If you want to give it a try, you can use the free version for up to 25 searches. If you want all the premium features, though, you’ll pay as much as $49-$399 each month. Prices drop if you pay for a full year in advance. Even in that case, Hunter.io is on the expensive side of marketing tools.
Pitchbox
Pitchbox is a roided-up version of Hunter.io. It’s an outreach tool that covers all of your bases – sourcing leads, reaching out to prospects, and getting valuable data about your processes. It takes everything further with advanced insights and integrations, a smooth interface, and a fully-fleshed CRM.
Moreover, Pitchbox has amazing support for influencer outreach. This turns Pitchbox into a comprehensive PR platform.
But with so many capabilities, the price is higher than average. Pitchbox doesn’t have clearly advertised pricing on their site.
(You know it’s pricey when they say “Request a Demo”)
But if you request a demo, get in touch with their sales team, and decide you want to hop on board… you can expect to spend between $195-$1500 each month for Pitchbox.
Free SEO Tools To Keep In Mind
Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux users that want to conquer search engines shouldn’t sleep on the OG SEO software. Here are some SEO tools that are helpful regardless of your platform, project, or budget:
- Google Analytics. We can’t understate the importance of Google Analytics. It’s a comprehensive free tool that provides extremely valuable insight into how users interact with your site, how you acquire traffic, and how you lose it. As far as free SEO software goes, there’s nothing as valuable as Google Analytics.
- Search Console. The Search Console is a SERP analysis platform from Google. It’ll give you a great overview of your presence on search engines, and how much exposure you’re getting.
- Ubersuggest. If you need keyword research, you can’t go wrong with Ahrefs. It’s the best SEO tool for that purpose. But if you can’t afford it, a free tool like Ubersuggest can be a great replacement.
Conclusion
The best SEO tools for Mac aren’t too different from the best ones for Windows.
Webmaster tools have moved from your desktop to your browser. So anyone can enjoy them.
For the most part.
If you like desktop tools, you still have options. Tools like the Screaming Frog SEO Spider or the SEO PowerSuite are amazing options for Mac OS that can help you bring your projects to life.
But newer platforms like Ahrefs, SurferSEO or Hunter.io have amazing benefits. We might even say they’re a requirement for success as an affiliate marketer.
