SEO VPS — What To Consider Before Subscribing For a VPS
When you are working with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it is not unusual that you need to run certain tasks in the background on your computer.
These tasks might be inconvenient to run, especially if you work on other tasks. Investing in an SEO VPS (Virtual Private Server) can be a cure for those problems.
Here are some of the typical examples of SEO tasks and tools
- Running an SEO audit: Depending on the website's size and how deep you examine the site, it can take hours to run your SEO tasks.
- Rank tracking: If you use software to track your keywords positions in the Search Engines, this can also be a time-consuming process (and quite annoying if you forget to do it regularly
- Scraping websites: If you use a tool like Scrapebox for scraping links or images
- Automated SEO Software: For those running automation tools like Money Robot, GSA Search Engine Ranker, SE Nuke, Magic Submitter, Ranker X, captcha breakers, or other SEO software
- Social media marketing automation tools: If you use software for automating your Social media posting
Of course, you can let those SEO tools run on your normal PC or laptop, but you will also use bandwidth and computer resources.
It can be annoying if you have to postpone other tasks because of a lack of resources or postpone one of those background tasks even though they are important for your work.
By running these tasks on a VPS, you can free up resources on your normal PC and let the VPS do the job.
Windows or Linux VPS?
Most of the SEO software requires a Windows Server Datacenter installation, so it is required that you get a Windows SEO VPS.
If your purpose is hosting your own website, a Linux VPS can be a good investment.
How to connect to a Windows Server VPS
Usually, the VPS would be installed with eighter Windows Server 2012, 2016 or 2019 Datacenter. Don’t worry. You don’t need to be a server expert to figure out how to figure it out.
You can connect to your VPS by using Windows built-in remote desktop by opening the taskbar and search for “Remote desktop connection.”
Then you basically need to add the provided IP for your VPS and your username and password.
You are connected to your VPS, it looks like a normal Windows interface, and you can start to install your software.
Choosing the right kind of Webhosting
As already mentioned, you need Windows Server as an operating system. It doesn’t matter that much if you choose 2012, 2016, or 2019 version.
You must get a VPS that fits your purpose — just like a regular PC or laptop, a lot of RAM, SSD, and a decent CPU is something to aim for.
If possible, aim for a VPS with an SSD disk system to give the entire setup an extra boost.
Your server also needs a fast internet connection, and a bit of solid advice is to aim for a hosting provider that offers unlimited traffic!.
Available support
You also need to be sure that the hosting company can provide a decent uptime and customer support 365 days a year if you need it.
You should also be granted root access and be able to reinstall Windows if you need it.
Depending on your location, you might also need to consider if you need your VPS to be hosted in Europe or the US.
Example of a good SEO VPS hosting solution with SSD
- CPU: Six cores
- RAM: 16 GM
- Disk: 400 GB SSD
- Port speed: 600 Mbit (You can get servers with connection up to 1gb/s if needed)
- Unlimited traffic
A VPS usually has a way faster connection than you are used to from your bandwidth at home. A desktop is great, but a desktop is not the best choice if you require software to run 24/7 in the background.
If you are doing heavy website scraping, you definitely need a fast connection, so a provider offering 1gb/s on each server is worth considering.
VPS vs. Dedicated server — Which available plan is best for you?
If you compare a VPS with a dedicated server, you would see a big difference in pricing.
A dedicated server is, as the name describes, dedicated server resources. A VPS is based on shared resources.
However, the best VPS hosting provides usually guarantees a certain amount of CPU and GB RAM in your hosting plan.
Personally, I have always been more than happy using a standard VPS with plenty of GB RAM, a decent CPU, and SSD for my SEO tools.
I guess for most of us; a dedicated server would be a waste of money unless you use it for pro Webhosting and not for SEO tools.
VPS or Dedicated Server With Pre-installed SEO tools
Let me be brutally honest and tell you that I have tested several of those “fantastic offers” of a VPS loaded with tools available during the years.
You would often see offers like “Ranker X VPS,” “GSA/Srapebox VPS,” or similar.
It might sound tempting to get a pro-VPS with preinstalled marketing tools and the best SEO software, a fast CPU, SSD, plenty of GB ram, and unlimited traffic.
But here is the issue, often those SEO plan installations with GSA and other tools installed, doesn’t work.
In fact, it is usually not even a hosting company. The typical scenario is that it is a dedicated server broken up and resold (usually by an individual) to other people.
You can probably already figure out what happens when the GSA or other SEO software licenses suddenly stop working, and the “support is not available” at the moment.
Did I mention that those setups are usually so slow that you can’t even run the SEO tools?
A golden rule: A VPS or Dedicated server preloaded at a very affordable price is not something to consider. Subscribe to a decent VPS host and buy your own SEO software.
What VPS I would recommend
Once again, it depends on what kind of SEO software or marketing software you plan to run.
During the last 4 years, I have been using the same VPS provider (Contabo). They have data centers both in Germany and in the US:
Currently, I have two different VPS running 24/7 for different SEO purposes, and Contabo offers the best solution for my needs.
You can read my full Contabo Review here
FAQ:
Q: What does a VPS do?
A: A VPS is a virtual private server you can use for hosting your website or run a windows server. You can also use it for file hosting and video
Q: Are VPS safe?
A: Usually, the hosting company provides basic security like DDOS protection. But you need to monitor what you are doing and installing
Q: Why is VPS so expensive?
A: With a VPS, you get more server resources compared to shared Webhosting. But a VPS does not need to be expensive
Q: Do I need a dedicated server?
A: Running SEO tools does not require a dedicated server
Q: Why is a Linux VPS server cheaper?
A: Windows servers require a license, Linux is free
Q: Should I choose an SSD or a VPS with a regular disk?
A: An SSD disk is way faster compared to a regular disk, so aim for SSD
Q: Should I choose Europe or the US datacenter?
A: It depends on where you are physically located and the market you are going to target.
Q: Is a VPS shared hosting?
A: Yes, a VPS is a dedicated server where the resources are shared among users
