The Top 15 Chrome Extensions For SEO

Posted in: SEO

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Google Chrome is the browser that houses the most impressive collection of SEO extensions. Not only does Google Chrome work well, but these SEO Chrome extensions offer insightful details about the way Google’s search engine works. If you’re a Chrome user yet to explore how SEO extensions improve your workflow, now is your chance! The SEO Chrome extensions listed below offer a wide range of applications to enhance your SEO recommendations. As a Technical SEO Agency we’ve found these to be perfect for our team, web developers, and general digital marketers.

What Are the Best SEO Chrome Extensions?

These are the best free Chrome extensions that SEOs should use:

What Are Chrome Extensions For SEO?

Google Chrome extensions for SEO are integrated software programs users can install to improve their overall browsing experience. These can be customized to create the best setup for each individual user and their needs – like a pocket knife for browsing! For reference, Chrome extensions appear in line with the address bar on the right-hand side of the Chrome interface. In addition, most of these tools can be found in the Google Web Store.

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The SEO Chrome extensions detailed here are those that I have found to be most useful for my work, however, there are also a few that help me in everyday life as well. Installing an extension takes no time at all and they can increase your efficiency tenfold. Check out the best SEO Chrome extensions below to up your browsing game!

1. Meta SEO Inspector

This is by far the most-used SEO extension I have, and it makes SEO inspection a snap. This tool has it all when it comes to individual page evaluations.This extensions allows you to check on key SEO elements and even provides helpful warnings for problem areas. Just a few of the components it displays include metadata, headers, alt text, and canonicals. If you’re an SEO, this is a definite must-have Chrome extension.

Meta SEO Inspector screenshot

2. Redirect Path

This chrome extension is invaluable for every SEO or web developer. It displays a drop-down list of server response codes and associated URLs, which can be copied. This allows you to be aware of every redirect and 404 error without performing a full crawl of the site. It is especially helpful when identifying and resolving redirect chains or redirects with too many hops. All of these are critical data points for Technical SEO reviews.

Redirect Path screenshot example

3. Web Developer

This one truly does it all. My favorite use for this extension is being able to view a page without Javascript or CSS. This makes it easy for me to see what it might look like to a web crawler and to quickly recognize any problems that need to be resolved. This extension also overlaps with the Meta SEO Inspector (the first tool in this list) by displaying header tags, alt text, and printing on-page links among other things.

Web Developer extension capabilities

4. Wayback

An SEO Chrome Extensions that lets you look into the past is The Wayback Machine. It allows you to view archived versions of webpages. This function can provide valuable insights into why a page may be performing a certain way in search results in relation to changes made to the page. Additionally, being able to see where it came from gives you a much greater perspective of the site. With that background information in mind, you can thoughtfully strategize the direction you should take yoru SEO strategy moving forward.

Wayback extension in use

5. Wappalyzer

As an SEO, when I encounter a new site, I want to see what I‘m working with. This means the first things I want to check are the systems being used. Wappalyzer is a Chrome extension that makes this a breeze by immediately showing the variety of technologies that are being utilized by the site. From the CMS to the SEO plugin, Wappalyzer can give you a peek into the back end.

Wappalyzer extension interface

6. SERP Counter

The SERP Counter is so simple yet effective SEO Chrome Extension. It helps put SERPs into perspective, especially when queries result in links being pushed further down the page. In addition, it’s a great visual to share with others so they can know where the site stands with SEO performance. As Search Engine Result Pagess have evolved, the SERP Counter makes them easier to understand.

SERP Counter extension in use

7. Check My Links

With the Check My Links extension, you get a fast track look at the state of links across individual pages. This tool will highlight valid links, redirects, invalid links, and more which makes optimizations that much easier. The Meta SEO Inspector (the first tool listed) displays the anchor text for each individual link as well, which is another example of how these tools work in unison.

screenshot of the Check My Links extension in use

8. NoFollow Referrer

The NoFollow Referrer extension is also helpful when you want to identify potentially problematic links that may be negatively impacting your SEO initiatives. This Chrome extension works by outlining no-follow and do-follow links so you’ll know which links are being crawled, and those that may not be. Furthermore, it saves you a trip into Google Search Console by pointing out no index HTML tags as well.

No Follow Referrer extension options

9. View Rendered Source

Being able to view how a browser renders a page is critical for SEOs who are trying to understand how search engines see the content. This convenient SEO extension displays the raw source code, the rendered source code, and a comparison of the differences between the two.

View Rendered Source crawler view comparison

10. Word Counter

Last, but certainly not least, the humble Word Counter is my go-to SEO Chrome Extension. I frequently take advantage of this tool when writing or evaluating metadata to ensure I’m using the full available character count while avoiding potential truncation. I also like to use it in competitor comparisons to determine if page length is a commonality among top-ranking URLs.

screenshot of the word counter extension in use

With each of these Chrome extensions in your back pocket, you are sure to make new SEO discoveries. I speak for myself and my fellow SEO team members when I say these tools greatly impact our everyday work and allow us to communicate our findings more efficiently. While these are the most valuable SEO extensions, there are a few others I’d like to recommend for more general use. These are less technical but no less useful!

Honorable Mentions:

Each of the extensions noted below can be helpful for any marketer or web user in general. These can definitely save you a few headaches and clicks so you can get more done!

Multiple Tabs Search

With this fantastic SEO tool, you can search for multiple queries at once and have all the SERPs appear in different tabs. You can also open several pages in different tabs at once. This has been a critical tool during competitor research when I’m reviewing numerous competitor pages and it is also helpful during keyword research when I’d like to take a look at a variety of SERPs.

Copy All URLs

This is another invaluable tool similar to the one mentioned above. With Copy All URLs, you can select multiple Chrome tabs by holding “shift” then click the extension. Once copied you can paste all associated URLs wherever you need them to go. 

Save image as PNG

When my SEO efforts have me working on improving site speed, I frequently download images in order to resize and compress them appropriately. All too often, I find I have downloaded a WebP file which makes this process more difficult. This little trick allows you to download any image as a PNG and avoid the annoying discovery of a WebP in your downloads folder.

Grammarly

Honestly, if you aren’t using Grammarly, what are you doing? Grammarly is the spell check of this decade and I’m not sure how I ever survived without it. The “New Document” feature is also immensely valuable for writing and reviewing copy. It allows you to see word count, reading time, and readability in addition to the spelling and grammar corrections, all important aspects of ensuring a page comes across as trustworthy, one of the important SEO EEAT signals.

Disable Extensions Temporarily

If you’ve now installed each of these SEO Chrome extensions, you likely have a lot going on at the top of your browser. As such, I‘ll leave you with this parting extension gift. If your extensions are ever acting funky or you need to view a page without them (ad blockers are common culprits here) this extension will turn them all off at once. You can turn them all back on easily, but be sure to put this in a spot where you will not click it accidentally.

With all of that being said extensions can also add a lot of weight to Chrome. In order to avoid overly taxing your browser be sure to audit your extensions every few months. By doing this you can remove those you’re not using or deactivate extensions that aren’t used often while keeping them around for the rare instances they are needed.

Now that you know all the best SEO chrome extensions, go forth and be a better marketer, developer, or SEO! There are thousands of other SEO Chrome extensions waiting to be discovered as well. If you find another extension that is helpful, let us know below. Learn more about how our team of SEO experts can help improve your technical insights by getting in touch with us today!

Note: This article has been updated to include information relevant for 2024. 

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