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Is AI Our Friend or Our Foe in Tackling the Novel Coronavirus? – ReadWrite

Published

2 years ago

on

Brad Anderson


From the way we greet friends to the way we bag our groceries, the novel coronavirus has managed to make us reconsider even the most basic tasks in our day-to-day living. We’re more cautious and prudent, and even some of us have been called paranoid in the way we manage these interactions.

To put it mildly, COVID-19 has completely transformed the way we live as human beings, and it’s likely that these effects will continue to linger long after the pandemic has run its course.

Is AI Our Friend or Our Foe in Tackling the Novel Coronavirus?

One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced during this pandemic isn’t just how we’re dealing with the illness itself; it’s also how we’re coping with it as social creatures, too.

Many people continue to refuse to acknowledge the virus’s mere existence, making it all the more difficult to contain it. Because of this, the virus continues to spread at a prolific pace, despite social distancing protocols in place and the introduction of several promising new vaccines.

With AI on the front lines — we can watch the COVID-19 virus and its varients at an unprecedented level that was unknown in the past.

However, there is one lesser-understood ally hidden in the midst of our new normal, and that’s artificial intelligence (AI). AI technology has made it possible for scientists and researchers to try to predict future outbreaks and analyze the current virus itself to detect mutations in the strains.

AI is still ahead as the best predictor of which patients need extra care and watch-care help.

Not only that, but AI is also being utilized to predict which types of patients will have more severe symptoms and fall critically ill, and which ones will merely come down with a particularly annoying case of the sniffles. There is even a widespread effort to find a cure deep within the virus’s genetic code, and AI is at the forefront of this effort.

The success rates of AI in fighting, not only this virus — but many viruses to come.

No doubt, AI can be our biggest weapon in combating coronavirus, but its success is still largely unknown. Nevertheless, researchers doggedly continue to use it, despite knowing it is fraught with potential flaws.

This begs the question: are we becoming too codependent upon AI technology to save us from COVID-19 — and will our impatience to contort it to fit the mold of being our salvation actually backfire, leading to potential long-term risk and harm to us as a whole?

The Current Role of AI During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As it stands, AI is all but shaping the way we approach our attack on the coronavirus pandemic. Of course, this cautious praise isn’t intended to undermine the work of all the powerful minds who are also laboring tirelessly to find a cure for it; instead, AI is working alongside them, a concerted effort from both the greatest intelligent and artificially intelligent entities.

Currently, AI is being used in a number of ways in the race to suppress the virus, and each one shows remarkable promise in identifying, diagnosing, and treating it. However, are these methods actually viable, and will they actually make any difference in the outcome of our fight against COVID-19?

Disease Containment

If there’s one thing that this pandemic has taught us, it’s that as a collective, we humans are remarkably social creatures. Even the most introverted people have found themselves growing fidgety and impatient with the shelter-in-place ordinances, and it’s no mystery that one of the few industries that have flourished during the quarantine is actually our national parks.

We are social creatures, after all!

People were so desperate for a breath of fresh air, started taking to hiking trails to explore nature (at a safe distance, of course).

Still, humans will be human, and the urge to socialize and almost nomadic urge to travel is rooted deep within many of us. Finding ways to detect who is or isn’t infected with coronavirus, therefore, can be a reliable way to help prevent its spread.

Checking temperatures seems to remain the gold standard for weeding out the infected.

Checking temperatures has been one of the gold standards for weeding out who may or may not be infected, but even that has its own downsides—enter AI. Through predictive models on standardized demographics, artificial intelligence has been able to improve the rate of determining who may or may not be sick when entering a country, even when they are asymptomatic — nearly doubling its accuracy.

That’s not the only way AI has been able to identify sick people in a pool of otherwise healthy ones, either. Recently, researchers out of Northwestern University realized they could pinpoint which patients were COVID-19 positive, even when said patients had already been given a clean bill of health.

AI and the Chest Radiographs

Through AI analysis of chest radiographs, they determined that their machine-learning algorithm can detect the presence of the virus ten times more frequently than a team of human experts. Even better, they were able to do it with up to 6% greater accuracy.

Containing the novel coronavirus isn’t just about singling out those who have it, either. There’s also another highly important consideration: the growth and spread of the virus. AI has been no slouch in this department, either.

Though complex, AI-based models, an independent researcher by the name of Youyang Gu took it upon himself to try to predict the spread of the virus and its mortality rate. This model was hailed by groups such as the CDC as one of the greatest influences for public policy due to its accuracy in estimates.

Risk Management

Another major challenge facing healthcare providers is predicting which patients are going to be able to walk out of the hospital after recovering, and which ones will relapse and require a secondary admission back into the hospital.

Furthermore, there is the ongoing struggle to determine which patients needed just a minimal amount of care versus the ones who might eventually need to be intubated and placed on a respirator.

While there were already some rudimentary ways scientists can figure out the protocol — (such as the patient’s age, sex, and BMI), the issue isn’t foolproof.

Again, AI rose to the challenge and quickly proved itself to be an indispensable asset. Thanks to the efforts from researchers at the University of Virginia Medical Center, they were able to use AI-driven software to predict which patients would wind up developing respiratory failure and eventually require intubation.

Called CoMET, this software was able to collate an assortment of diagnostic criteria (such as the patient’s EKGs and vital signs) to alert the healthcare team of an elevated risk for the patient. In a way, this AI model was a grim sort of prophet, darkly predicting who would live and who was doomed to succumb to the virus.

Treatment Methods

AI has also been indispensable in helping researchers come up with a potential cure for COVID-19. With so many failed treatments already dismissed, AI has still helped narrow down which ones might actually be put to use as a treatment option for patients.

For instance, when researchers were running their initial clinical trials, they relied upon artificial intelligence to help them determine which treatment protocol might lend the best possible outcome for critically ill patients.

The models quickly scanned several different medications and narrowed down the one to be used in a control group.

This medicine, baricitinib, was shown to help offer the best outcome for these patients. Had the researchers not used the AI model to search their cache of already available medicines to narrow it down, they might not have realized it would be an ideal treatment option for them.

Instead, they were able to quickly scan their entire knowledge database to determine which human proteins to target. From there, they were able to eliminate the ones which had not been approved by regulators and eventually narrowed it down to which drug to repurpose for the trial.

Mutation Predictions

Then there’s the frustrating issue of the ever-shifting nature of the virus itself. Just like the basic flu virus changes and mutates from season to season, so does the COVID-19 virus. Already we’re starting to see new versions of the virus cropping up in several cities, and as these mutations continue to proliferate, we can reasonably expect to see new strains of the virus emerging.

How can researchers keep up with these genetic changes in the virus when they’re only now starting to address the current one?

With these more recent variants of the virus seemingly spreading at a much more rapid rate, it’s no surprise that, again, researchers are trusting in AI to help deal with this quandary. Its approach is also multifaceted, proving that the best way to combat an invisible enemy is from all possible angles.

For example, a team of researchers out of the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering have worked to develop a new method of suppressing these mutations. Using something called the “Immune Epitope Database (IEDB),” they have been able to facilitate the development of new vaccines to use against these mutant strains. What once took perhaps years now only takes seconds.

They’re not alone in their efforts against the virus, either. Virologists from the University of Liverpool have also tapped into the potential of artificial intelligence to help determine where the next coronavirus will crop up. Using predictive models and machine learning, they can feed a string of data into an algorithm, and the computer can spit out where it thinks the next mutation will emerge.

As certain species of mammals are more likely to become susceptible to strains of coronavirus, the mission was to determine which ones may be our next vector.

Their model was able to isolate not only nearly 900 species and over 400 strains of coronavirus, but also which mammals might be carriers of more than one type of strain at any given time.

So, What’s the Problem?

On paper, all of these applications sound nothing short of incredible. The use of artificial intelligence is making it possible for us to slow the spread of the virus, improve the quality of care of those who have already been infected with it, expedite the creation of a vaccine (and eventually a cure), and stop the mutations in their tracks before they can gain traction and wreak havoc in vulnerable communities.

What could possibly be a downside to all of these seemingly miraculous benefits of AI in our fight against coronavirus?

It can be difficult to even want to consider such a possibility, especially when AI is hailed as the pinnacle of scientific achievement. Nevertheless, its use isn’t without potential pitfalls. Take, for instance, the very real dangers of establishing precedent during unprecedented times.

Many of these new technologies being used against COVID-19 have been given an immediate green light, despite the fact that they have not been rigorously tested enough to determine their accuracy or safety. In doing so, is this going to make it possible for other algorithms and technologies to slip past tight regulatory controls for the sake of the “greater good”?

Then there’s the issue of bias. Already certain demographics are suffering from prejudice and have a higher mortality rate.

If an overtaxed and fatigued doctor already believes that a patient is going to get worse and may not recover, are they still going to extend the same heroic measures to keep them alive as they may offer to a different patient?

Furthermore, regarding all of this demographic information that has been collected: whose hands is it falling into, and what are they doing to protect our privacy?

As it stands, we don’t even know if any of these innovations even work as described, and there is still not sufficient enough data to corroborate their efficacy. This could create a false sense of security not only for healthcare workers, further putting them at risk of exposure, but also for the public in general.

People are unquestionably weary of the strict regulations in place, and the idea that they can relax and lower their guard can be extremely alluring and dangerous. Many of these innovations cannot even be used by laypersons, which again leads us to wonder who they are for in the first place.

Being Your Own Advocate

Ultimately, prudence — and not blind reliance on a poorly understood technology — can help you remain healthy in the ever-changing COVID landscape. This isn’t to lambast AI technology, but rather, an admonishment to take it with a grain of salt and a firm reminder to continue to employ due diligence moving forward.

Please — be willing to help stop the pandemic.

By continuing to adhere to the current CDC guidelines, making sure to wash your hands and wear your approved facial covering, and through routine checking for possible infection with either an affordable at-home COVID test or one provided by your employer, you can do your part to stay safe against the virus both today and in the uncertain months ahead of us.

Image Credit: lalesh aldarwish; pexels

Brad Anderson

Editor In Chief at ReadWrite

Brad is the editor overseeing contributed content at ReadWrite.com. He previously worked as an editor at PayPal and Crunchbase. You can reach him at brad at readwrite.com.

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The Future of Calendars: Predictions and Trends

Published

3 hours ago

on

03/31/2023

By

Calendar


We live in a world where online calendars are a part of our daily lives. No matter how diligently you use an online calendar, you’re still benefiting from it. For instance, you might be reminded to send a birthday card online, schedule events or business meetings, or block out your day.

It is important to realize that online calendars are still a relatively new productivity tool that is rapidly developing. As a matter of fact, your online calendar is becoming more of a personal assistant that will advise you on how to spend your time best. But, there is so much more than calendars are capable of in the future, such as the following predictions and trends.

Solving scheduling problems.

“So far, it looks like the reinvention of the calendar will happen in two phases,” notes David Pierce for Protocol. “First, users will get access to a new set of tools, integrated with Google and Outlook calendars but opening up lots of new features.”

After that, calendars will be turned into a standalone service if they prove successful. In the same way, Slack is to email, Zoom is to a desk phone, and Airtable is to Excel, all these companies hope to be to your Outlook calendar, he adds. “Time is money, all these calendar companies will argue to investors and customers, and we’ll save you both.”

“We’re only at the beginning of the first phase, though, and still attacking the first problem worth solving: scheduling. How about one solution? It’s as simple as speeding up the process.

Superhuman, for example, scans emails for dates like “next Friday” and lets users send invitations accordingly. Scheduling is, in essence, an email problem. As a result, it should be available as an email solution as well. In a similar vein, Vimcal, often referred to as “Superhuman for calendars,” is a new app that focuses on speed, and CEO John Li said most people want meeting creation to happen lightning fast.

Calendar is another option if you want to speed up the scheduling process. The Find a Time feature in Calendar allows you to schedule with others quickly. Using multiple calendar users, create events based on their availability and see when they are busy.

Chatbots will be able to organize your meetings.

Professional life has become quite complicated following the pandemic. For example, working remotely from home isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Many of us find it hard to keep up with the increasing demands on our time.

At the same time, the number of American employees working remotely is expected to increase to 36.2 million by 2025. So, we’re going to have to get used to these new working conditions. Thankfully, technology can save the day.

The majority of the time, work involves scheduling meetings and being on time. In order to make your life easier, you can use a chatbot to help you set up meetings. Chatbots can still be useful as an additional meeting planning tool, such as SharePoint calendars.

You can also schedule meetings using Messagely or TARS. It is also beneficial to manage teams remotely and track their time by using a time tracker. It is possible to balance work and life with the help of these chatbots.

Chatbots and software powered by artificial intelligence also show great promise for helping businesses become more productive and profitable. For example, a phone validator app checks the validity, type of line, network carrier, location, etc., of the line to improve productivity.

These chatbots can handle scheduling and organizing meetings while you focus on other important tasks.

Calendars will become even more intelligent.

Smart calendars or intelligent calendars collect every schedule or action to boost productivity and simplify management using intelligence or automation. Using an intelligent calendar will help you establish boundaries between your personal and professional life.

As well as blocking time, you can reduce the time spent on certain tasks manually. Your ideal workweek can be automatically scheduled and managed using a smart calendar. Besides scheduling tasks, you can use an intelligent calendar to increase efficiency and reduce human dependency.

It goes without saying that an intelligent calendar can enhance productivity and save you time. In an effort to streamline meetings, increase event aggregation, and reduce time wastage, intelligent calendars have become a necessity due to the following:

  • Notes can be jotted down in the calendar to help keep track of important information and deadlines.
  • Synchronize your personal and work calendars.
  • It is possible to get information from smart notes that will help you determine what actions to take.
  • Organizes all your meeting invitations
  • From the app, you can get relevant information about the weather, traffic, and drive times.

With Motion, for example, you can always know what to do next. It creates a day-by-day schedule based on meetings, giving you a minute-by-minute overview. Trevor AI is another AI calendar app that helps you organize your day by keeping track of your lists of tasks to do; this AI calendar app puts one task at a time so that you work more efficiently.

Furthermore, Calendar can provide smart suggestions on when, where, and who to invite when scheduling meetings. It’s not magic. With artificial intelligence and machine learning, Calendar can create a unique scheduling experience for you.

Finally, intelligent calendars can help you become less distracted and more productive.

If you block out 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in your calendar for undisturbed work, quiet time is from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. Your calendar will automatically block out this time instead of creating a recurring event.

During this time, you may find your calendar automatically disables distractions like email and social media notifications. It’s possible that your calendar will determine when you’re most productive as well. As such, if you fade out every 50 minutes, you’ll be reminded to stretch and take a break.

And, that’s just scratching the surface. Considering that the size of the global artificial intelligence market was $136.55 billion in 2022 and is projected to increase by 37.3% from 2023 to 2030, calendars will continue to become more and more intelligent.

The AR calendar will bring your calendar to life.

It’s true that some companies have been using augmented reality (AR) to make plain old paper calendars more interactive for the past several years.

As an example, once you download an app, you just need to point your phone at a calendar image and tap the screen. Using AR, Tengo Interactive created an airport calendar that provided users with a behind-the-scenes view. Other companies have created wall calendars that utilize augmented reality to explain their entire product range.

By 2028, the AR market is expected to reach $97.76 billion. Due to this, augmented reality calendars and marketing opportunities will continue to expand rapidly.

By using this technology, you will be able to walk through a property in virtual reality. From there, you might be able to make an appointment with the realtor if you like what you see.

If you are planning a trip to the Grand Canyon, you could experience the destination before booking the trip. Or, you could view local restaurants, salons, or museums. You then have the option to make reservations or book tickets and have them automatically added to your calendar.

Use ChatGPT prompts to manage your time.

On November 30, 2022, ChatGPT was launched, which quickly sent the internet into a frenzy. Just one week after it was launched, OpenAI’s chatbot reached 1 million users. It also gained 57 million users in its first month and is supported by Microsoft’s $10 billion investment in Open AI.

Still not impressed? After two months of launch, ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users, making it the world’s fastest-growing consumer app. And some people have even dubbed it “the best AI chatbot ever released to the general public.”

As a result, it would be remiss of us not to mention ChatGPT. Furthermore, the app deserves its own section due to its popularity.

But, what link is there between ChatGPT and calendars?

In particular, Chat GPT can help you locate open times on your calendar for dental appointments or team meetings. In order to fix this problem, you might write a prompt telling it what your schedule looks like for the week and ask for a reorganization.

As well as scheduling meetings and appointments, ChatGPT can keep track of deadlines and deliverables for event managers. ChatGPT’s natural language processing feature enables event managers to input their requirements and view their schedules on a calendar.

Some of your chores will be taken care of by your calendar.

“Online calendars aren’t merely more useful than their paper peers,” writes Howie Jones in a previous Calendar post. “Today’s top calendar apps can recognize and prevent double-bookings.” Others can adjust meetings across time zones.

But, over the next decade or so, how much more will online calendars be capable of?

“While I wouldn’t hold out for magically tackling your chores for you, there are many more online calendars will be able to do by 2030,” Howie adds. You may see the following upgrades:

Book travel.

As your calendar continues to evolve, your reservations will be made for you. How? Several popular online calendar apps will integrate airlines and hotel services. From the same app, you can decide when and where you want to go.

Scan and plan.

Let’s say that you walk past a flyer or a billboard advertising a local event. Rather than scanning down the information, why not let your calendar app copy it down for you?

Suggest nearby events.

You can use your mobile device’s location tools to find out where you are. Your calendar app will then show you all events within a specified radius when you choose the day and hour. As long as it knows your preferences, it won’t suggest a roller coaster park if you hate them.

Tend to your home.

Google Home and Alexa will soon be able to connect with your online calendar, so you can schedule actions for each device connected to your smart home network.

Maintain your vehicle.

Changing your car’s oil and rotating its tires should be done every few thousand miles. Using your calendar app, you can keep track of your mechanic visits and schedule future appointments. With the help of an app like Google Maps, it will alert you when you have reached your mileage threshold. The app will suggest a highly-rated mechanic if your current mechanic is unsatisfactory.

Published First on Calendar. Read Here.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Samson Katt; Pexels; Thank you!

Calendar

We are Calendar, trying to make the world a much more productive place. Check us out online at https://www.calendar.com.

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Top 10 Software Development Companies In Chicago 2023

Published

9 hours ago

on

03/31/2023

By

Jigar Agrawal


Finding top software development companies in Chicago is never an easy choice. Chicago is a significant technology hub, and there are thousands of companies that have offices in this region. This makes choosing your partner difficult. But not from now. If you stick through the end of this article, you’ll know the software development companies you should approach whenever you need any services.

List of top 10 Software Development Companies in Chicago For 2023

1. eSparkBiz

eSparkBiz is a software development company with multiple decades of experience in serving international and local clients. The company has multiple offices around the globe and offers hiring models that are suitable for customers of all sizes.

It offers services like digital transformation, software development, web app development, mobile app development, AI/ML, Data Science, In-depth Analytics, IoT, and Blockchain development. This company is a one-stop solution for all your software needs, and you’ll get the best solutions from their experienced staff.

eSparkBiz also provides end-to-end product development and maintenance for startups. So, if you’ve got a great idea, give them a ring and get it transformed into a business with their expertise.

2. Forte Group

Forte Group is a large software development company from Chicago with 22 years of industry experience. The company has more than 900 software professionals working on different projects and technologies for their global clients.

The company provides product management, QA, Ecommerce Strategy, and enterprise software engineering services. Forte provides end-to-end product development and maintenance for customers around the world from its ten global office locations.

3. Highland

Highland is another company on this list with multiple decades of experience. It assists organizations in developing, designing, scaling, and customizing digital goods, experiences, and companies that benefit others. It has an extensive portfolio of projects, and till now, it has helped its clients launch over 350+ ground-breaking products.

The company provides innovative business solutions and helps companies with digital transformation and innovation needs.

4. Launchpad Lab

Launchpad lab is a team of digital product specialists who collaborate with you to change your company by using the relevant services, talents, and technology. The company provides a wide variety of services like web app development, mobile app development, UI/UX design, product strategy, and salesforce development.

If you want to work with the best and most futuristic technologies, the team at Launchpad lab will surely help you. Moreover, the company has already built and maintained futuristic solutions since 2012 for companies around the globe.

5. Vault Innovation

Vault innovation is a custom software development company that provides end-to-end software engineering services. It has helped numerous business owners launch their exciting digital products and leave competitors in the dust.

The company provides various development services like Technical architecture, Backend Development, Frontend development, QA testing, and project management too.

Vault innovation also provides flexible hiring models that help you leverage the best while keeping costs in control. Whether you are looking to build an entirely new product or enhance an existing product, Vault innovation has the skilled developers to turn your requests into features.

6. Neologic

Neologic was founded in 2008, and since then, it has provided multiple software development and engineering services to global clients. Its services include process consultation, product management, and software support and maintenance over and above the core development services.

It follows a three-step process for software development and helps clients globally. Neologic consultants start with deep research on your problems and understand the core needs. After that, they design the end-to-end solutions and chart out the plans, and begin developing software that helps your business.

7. Plego

Plego technologies is a software consulting company with multiple offices around the globe. It provides services like web development, eCommerce store development, AI/ML products, and many more things.

Plego has been in the software development business since 2002, and by now, it has worked with large corporations like Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, Samsung, Intel, etc.

The company offers multiple hiring models, so you can choose the one that provides maximum efficiency for your investments, and you can always change the hiring models as you advance.

8. Atomic Object

Atomic Object is a custom software development and consulting company for all your technical needs. It provides services like web development, mobile development, IoT software, Desktop applications, and Cloud migration too.

The company works with the latest technologies like Android, Swift, Azure, React, AWS, NodeJS, and many others as and when its clients require it.

9. Caxy Interactive

Caxy Interactive is one of the oldest and top software development companies in Chicago. It was established in 1999 and has been based in Chicago since then. The company provides services like web development, analytics, and design for global customers.

10. SimForm

SimForm is a unique digital engineering and solutions provider. The company provides services in four main sections such as product engineering, cloud, and DevOps engineering, Data engineering, and Quality engineering.

If you want to build exceptional products with an extensive team, SimForm is the way to go. It provides project management, design, development, performance testing, and app management services. SimForm started in 2010, and by now, it has helped clients of various levels right including startups, public companies, Fortune 500 companies, WHO, and NGOs too.

Conclusion

Whether you are looking for an experienced and reliable solution provider or you are looking for an innovative and experimental software development company, you have all the best options in this list. So clear your requirements, and head to any of these software development companies in Chicago to build the best technological products for your needs.

Featured Image Credit: Provided by the Author; Thank you!

Jigar Agrawal

Jigar Agarwal Digital Marketing Manager @eSparkBiz, Passionate about anything related to Digital Marketing. Wants to unlock the world of technology and Social Media where every day there is a chance of new possibility as well as innovation. He help every SaaS Development companies to improve their ROI.

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Best Moz Alternatives of 2023

Published

15 hours ago

on

03/30/2023

By

SemRush and GritDaily


Every entrepreneur and small business owner needs to get SEO right if they want to be competitive in both the online and local markets in which they operate.

Making sure your website gets seen by the right people—your prospects—at the right time—when they’re ready to buy—is just the first-level challenge. You also need to make sure your site is optimized for local search traffic and ranking well organically to prospects who are in an earlier stage of the buyer’s journey.

To solve those business website challenges, many owners and entrepreneurs turn to reputable online SEO tools. For many years, Moz has been considered to be at the top of that list.

Moz and What It Can Do for Entrepreneurs

Moz Pro is a suite of SEO tools that includes keyword research, site audit, rank tracking, link building, and much more. One of the first SEO tools to hit the market, Moz Pro remains quite popular with businesses of all sizes.

However, some find Moz Pro to be prohibitively expensive, and many find its value—that is, what it offers in exchange for those high prices—to be less compelling than some of its competitors. While it does offer a free plan, that level provides access to limited features. Additionally, many users find the UI/UX (user interface/user experience) non-intuitive, with a steep learning curve.

These are just a few reasons why entrepreneurs might want to seek a different alternative to resolve their SEO challenges. In addition to tools offered by search engines, such as Google Search Console (a free tool that Google offers to help monitor site performance, indexing issues, and more), consider some of the Moz alternatives we’ve listed below.

1. Semrush

Semrush is a comprehensive suite of SEO tools that offers keyword research, competitor analysis, site audit, backlink analysis, and more. Like Moz, it will help you research and analyze keywords, including search volume, related keywords, and more.

Both sets of tools also help you choose keywords that are accessible and competitive, but SEMrush helps you assess how many links you’ll have to build in order to rank for that specific keyphrase. While Moz offers ranking data for results from Google, Bing, and Yahoo! Search engines, SEMrush only provides Google data.

SEMrush may also provide more help in the field of social media analysis with SM content optimization, management, and performance analysis tools. It offers a free trial, plus a free version with limited functionality as well as three paid plans.

Click here to try Semrush for free for 14 days.

2. Ahrefs

A popular SEO tool, Ahrefs offers keyword research, site audit, competitor analysis, backlink analysis, and more. Ahrefs lets you audit your own site for top keywords and performance, backlinks and anchor text, overall domain performance, and competitive domains.

Many users find the Ahrefs interface to be more simply designed and intuitive to navigate and use. It also provides robust domain data, including estimated domain traffic with the ability to view changes to a site’s performance over time.

Ahrefs will also show you keyword research data for ten search engines, not just Google. Like SEMrush, it lets you know how many backlinks you’ll need to build in order to rank well for selected keywords. Websites can use a free Webmaster tool’s version, or you can sign up for one of four paid plans.

3. Raven Tools

Raven Tools is a suite of SEO tools that includes site audit, keyword research, backlink analysis, rank tracking, and more. Users rank it especially highly for its keyword analysis and SERP (search engine results pages) rank tracking. Unlike some other alternatives on our list, it doesn’t offer a free version, but it does provide a free full-feature trial for seven days.

As part of its suite of tools, Raven Tools gives you access to SEO audits, on-page SEO analysis, SERP analytics, and page speed data. In addition, you can find tools for keyword tracking, backlinks tracking, and paid ad tools. With five paid plan levels from $50 to $480 a month, you can find the package that suits your business site’s needs.

4. Majestic SEO

Majestic SEO provides a backlink analysis tool that yields information on backlinks, anchor text, and referring domains. That’s the primary difference between Majestic and Moz. Whereas the latter site aims to provide a fully featured suite of SEO tools, Majestic is aimed at a narrower slice of the market. It does backlink analysis very well, however, including analysis of top incoming backlinks, tools to help you build more incoming links, comparison tools for your competitors’ domains, and other relevant metrics such as anchor texts and referring domains.

There are no free versions (and no free trial offers either, for that matter). Majestic SEO does offer three paid plans, which doesn’t provide as much choice as other sites we’ve profiled here. However, if you’re looking for help with your backlinks, it’s definitely one to consider.

5. Screaming Frog

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a site crawler that helps you identify technical SEO issues on your site. It manually analyzes each page on your site for broken links, duplicate content, missing title tags, and much more. You can also connect it with your Google Analytics account to get the most out of the data your GA account generates for you.

Unlike many of the other Moz alternatives here, which operate on an SaaS web-based model, Screaming Frog is a desktop program for both PCs and Macs. It offers a free version and a single paid version that costs about $260 for a license that must be renewed yearly.

6. BrightLocal

BrightLocal provides a targeted set of tools that help you manage your local business listings, monitor customer reviews, and track your local search rankings. It’s a good choice if you’re looking primarily for local SEO and reputation management tools, with access to local SEO and Google business profile audit reports.

BrightLocal offers a two-week free trial with access to all features, as well as three paid levels to its all-in-one suite of tools. In addition, you can pay-as-you-go for access solely to its Citation Builder tools, starting at $2 per website, including submission to hundreds of sites, removing duplicate listings, and repairing errors in existing listings.

7. SpyFu

SpyFu is a competitive analysis tool that provides insights into your competitors’ SEO strategies, including their organic search rankings, paid search campaigns, and more. If you’re mostly in search of tools for competitor analysis, rank tracking, and domain comparison functionality, SpyFu is a good alternative to Moz Pro.

SpyFu offers both a free trial and a free version, as well as three paid versions that let you run customized monthly reports.

The Bottom Line

If you need a comprehensive set of SEO tools but Moz Pro is a little out of your price range, or more than what you need, there are lots of Moz alternatives you can choose from. Consider exactly what SEO needs your site is currently experiencing before you choose an alternative SEO tool to try. For example, if competitor analysis is more important to you, look at Ahrefs or SpyFu. If you’re more concerned about local SEO and SEM, consider BrightLocal.

Check for a trial period or a free plan in order to test out the interface and UX generally, since you’ll want to pick an option that feels intuitive to use and that you can navigate with relative ease. Make sure the plan you’re considering meets both your business needs and your budget. That’s the best way to make sure you’re using the right SEO tools for your business and website.

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