Best PC Configuration for SEO Freelancers

Intro

How to choose a laptop for productive and comfortable freelance work? Which PC configuration is best for SEO? Which laptop characteristics are essential and which are just a marketing ploy? In this article, you'll find answers to your questions about choosing the most suitable device for working on the Internet, considering SEO freelancers' specifics. The right choice of laptop or computer will be much easier due to these tips. And finally, you'll find out the significant characteristics that ultimately affect work productivity.

Where to Begin in Choosing PC

Firstly, you must understand that the PC's configuration varies widely regarding working tasks. So ignore the stories of sellers and manufacturers who praise their goods. Instead, choose your laptop based on your requirements and purposes. Your budget PC may be able to cope with them, and it makes no sense to overpay for heavy-duty features.

At the same time, if your work requires certain functions and tasks involving complex programs, it makes sense to pay more and buy a more powerful PC that manages the programs related to your work. Since we are talking about tools for a freelance SEO activity, it's worth highlighting a few handy products of the Ranktracker service.

The first is the Keyword Finder which instantly wins your recognition by searching for the most relevant keywords you may have even guessed. This tool can increase your site's ranking in Google and other search engines' search results in many times over. Next on our hit list of the best tools for SEO specialists is Backlink Checker. It helps you spy on your competitors, which backlinks are most effective in building your content strategy.

Then, all you have to do is adapt them for your site and enjoy the results. And it closes the top three with the Web Audit tool, which is the fastest way to identify SEO problems so you can fix them later. Finally, you can find many other tools on Ranktracker that you'll like. However, if you're not yet familiar with this service, you can start with the programs mentioned here.

What Device is the Most Suitable for SEO

Young SEO freelancers often make the mistake of buying an expensive computer with the latest technology hardware. But generally, the only thing you need from a laptop for SEO needs is performance and a screen, so your eyes don't get tired. So further, you'll learn what PC and laptop assembly parts help you get the device you need.

Speaking of Desktop Computer

(Image source: Pixabay)

Ready-made desktop computer assemblies and a monitor are most often expensive. An exciting option for a ready-made solution is a system unit. But it will be easier to assemble a PC by components and get exactly the computer you want. Where to start in this case? Choose a motherboard with socket LGA 1200 or 1151 supporting Comet Lake, Coffee Lake architecture. Pay attention to the ATX format. It's not a good idea to use a scaled-down microATX or similar type of motherboard. The motherboard must have four slots for RAM so that you can always add RAM if there is not enough.

Accordingly, processors iCore 5 or iCore 7 models should use a microarchitecture Comet Lake, Coffee Lake. Furthermore, these are optimized and high-performance processors. And finally, the clock speed of the stone of 2.4 GHz will be optimal. Speaking of RAM characteristics, they are as follows:

• ✔️ Interface - DDR 4;
• ✔️ Memory - 8 or 16 GB;
• ✔️ The clock frequency is 2666 MHz or more. Buying two 8GB slots is better if your motherboard supports dual-channel RAM. You'll improve performance by splitting the work processors between the two slabs.

The SSD for Windows installation is an SSD with 240 GB of memory. Additionally, buy an external or internal HDD of 1TB or more, depending on how much you want to store. Finally, take a simple graphics card that fits on the motherboard. Many SEO specialists use graphics integrated into the processor and do not suffer from it. And don't forget a cooler for the CPU to manage CPU temperature and a power supply with a case.

Speaking of Laptop

Mac lovers can skip this point and go straight to the next. We agree that Mac laptops have a great screen and are very convenient. And it has its place. However, in our experience, we recommend choosing the device according to the following characteristics:

• ✔️ Intel Core i7/i5 eighth-generation processor with 2.3 to 3.5 GHz. These processors are suitable for high performance with low heat;
• ✔️ DDR 4 RAM – 8 or 16 GB. Buying a laptop with large RAM or at least additional slots for future expansion is desirable. RAM depends on how many apps can run on your device without freezing;
• ✔️ SSD drive for 1TB, which due to its high performance, allows you to open apps and run your operating system in 3 seconds;
• ✔️ GeForce graphics card with 2GB or 4GB memory.

So, the characteristics mentioned above are enough to work with programs for technical analysis of sites, FTP-client, and other applications. Note that buying a laptop with an IPS matrix monitor with a matte finish is better. In this case, your eyes won't get tired from constantly viewing information. On this basis, you can pay attention to the following models of laptops:

• Lenovo Ideapad 330 laptop
• ASUS S533EA-BN273
• Lenovo Yoga 7 14ITL5

However, if you have trouble installing SEO software or other problems with your PC and Mac (maybe you need to fix a corrupted windows file?), check out the Howly website. What is it, and why should you use it? So, it's an online service where you can get quality consultations on computer problems and solutions that won't take much time. The best experts fix all your computer problems at any time, 24/7. Isn't it great?

What Else You Should Consider

(Image source: Pixabay)

And this paragraph tells a lot about the benefits of the Mac. And to begin with, SEO specialists that work from home should pay more attention to the screen's quality than its diagonal. For example, if you put a 13-inch Mac and a 15.6-inch Windows laptop on the same table, the 13-inch Mac has much better image quality than a 15.6-inch Lenovo Windows laptop.

Poor image quality leads to poor vision later on. So we don't think you need it. With 15-17 inch laptops, you won't be comfortable going on long trips. And here, 13-inch laptops win at the expense of size and weight. As for eye health, always choose a quality screen, not a diagonal.

Another essential characteristic is the battery life. If you often need to go somewhere with a laptop, staying charged as long as possible is vital. And this task is best handled by Macs. You won't find many alternatives to Macs. Especially good in this regard Macs on the m1, which work without charge for up to 14-15 hours. In other words, that's two whole working days.

On the other hand, Mac is also almost the most powerful laptop in terms of performance, surpassing all Intel processors. Other Windows laptops hold a charge of 4-5 hours, but their actual runtime is only 2-3 hours. So the choice is up to you, and here you should proceed from the peculiarities of your work schedule.

The answer to whether you need a _disk drive _in a laptop is the following: if you watch discs or use them at work, you can buy a separate disk drive. And finally, let's talk about the number of ports. Rely only on how often and how much you use them. By the way, you can expand the number of ports with the help of USB hubs. So it is very convenient for those who need more ports.

Graphics Matters

If you like to play or work with graphics (and why not), then you need to consider such a characteristic as a video card. It can be of 2 kinds: integrated and discrete graphics cards. If you play, draw, or make videos, you need an extra graphics chip. All the rest is of no particular importance, and you decide for yourself how much of a hard drive you need in your SEO work and whether you plan to store terabytes of downloadable movies or not.

RAM Matters

Regarding the amount of RAM with an SSD hard drive and an i3 or higher processor, 8GB is enough if you don't do graphics or video editing. However, if you want a faster computer and prices are not much different, you can take a model with more RAM - 16, 32 GB. In addition, it helps your laptop survive longer because Windows and other programs are updated, and these updates load the PC. So laptop RAM is not super-important if you freelance doing simple everyday tasks like surfing the Internet, gathering social media stats, using SEO software, or writing texts.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you can conclude that freelance SEO specialists don't need a super-powered computer built on the latest technology. Instead, you should pay attention to the PC configuration allowing you to install software and use the tools you need to perform your routine SEO tasks.