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20 Best Surfer SEO Alternatives for Enhanced SEO

3 weeks ago 30 mins read
Vasco Monteiro
Vasco Monteiro

Creating high-quality, optimized content is a challenging, time-consuming task. You must consider your audience, write naturally, incorporate relevant keywords, and make an engaging piece that can earn a spot on search engine results pages. Best SEO content writing tools like Surfer SEO can help you do this. But what if you could find an even better, more affordable alternative to Surfer SEO? This guide will explore the best Surfer SEO alternatives to help you smoothly transition to a new tool that meets your needs. 

One valuable alternative is the Journalist AI article writer. This tool helps you create SEO-friendly content faster than ever by utilizing advanced artificial intelligence to help you write a blog with little human effort. With the AI article writer, you can produce a blog optimized for SEO and even auto-generate a publish-ready article. 

What Is Surfer SEO?

woman working hard - Surfer SEO AlternativesSurfer SEO is a cloud-based tool designed to help you optimize your website and blog content for higher SERP rankings. The tool allows you to analyze and compare your pages against those currently ranking on the SERPs. Instead of guessing what Google likes to rank, Surfer SEO offers a data-driven analysis of what’s missing from your page, site, content plan, and more. 

Surfer SEO studies the top page rankings for all queries, SERPS, and pages you want to analyze. Surfer SEO will look at these results and identify on-page SEO metrics like: 

  • Primary and sub-keyword usage LSI/NLP/TF-IDF keywords 

  • Meta tags (meta description, schema, etc.)

  • Media elements Incoming backlinks 

  • Word count Outgoing external and internal links 

  • Headline Structure 

With these metrics, Surfer SEO can build a valuable model of what search engines want to see on a specific query. But it goes even deeper than content optimization. Surfer SEO has plenty of tools to help you research keywords, analyze SERPs, optimize your site overall, and more.

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Can I Use Surfer SEO For Free?

a hunder dollar bill - Surfer SEO AlternativesSurferSEO grants users access to a free Chrome extension, an excellent introduction to the software's capabilities. However, to test out the full version, you must choose one of the paid plans.

Is SurferSEO Worth It?

Surfer SEO is incredibly valuable for discovering new keyword ideas and creating optimized content. Using Surfer SEO, you can generate an output that is more optimized for search engines, which helps you identify keyword gaps with competitors. It even suggests relevant topics you didn't cover that are closely related to your niche. 

That said, Surfer SEO is not a magic wand. You need an existing piece of content to get started. While AI helps you write better content, you must manually edit the output to ensure it flows naturally and makes sense. 

Surfer SEO Best Alternative 

A better option than the Surfer SEO writing assistant and SEO tools is Journalist AI.

Key Features of SurferSEO

man infront of his desk - Surfer SEO AlternativesThe content editor feature is one of Surfer SEO's most powerful features. It allows you to analyze your content and suggest improvements based on the algorithm's demands. This feature examines word count, keyword density, and overall on-page optimization. For example, you're creating a new blog post about "best cryptocurrency exchanges." Naturally, you want the post to rank higher for that keyword, so you run the post through the Content Editor. 

The tool identifies that your post lacks subheadings, suggesting adding more headers with relevant keywords. This can improve the overall structure of your content and make it more appealing to both search engines and readers. In addition to subheadings, the Content Editor feature can suggest changes to your meta description, title tag, and other essential on-page elements. This can help ensure that your content is fully optimized for the search engines and is more likely to rank higher in the search results. 

Why You Need Surfer SEO’s Content Audit Feature 

The content audit feature of Surfer SEO is an essential tool for any website owner who wants to improve their website’s search engine ranking. This feature allows users to analyze their pages and posts to identify areas for improvement. The content audit performs a detailed analysis of the page or post, including meta-tag analysis, keyword density, and word count. This analysis helps users understand how well their content is optimized for search engines and what changes they need to make to improve their ranking. 

One of the benefits of Surfer SEO’s content audit feature is that it provides users with actionable insights. Instead of simply pointing out areas that need improvement, the tool offers specific recommendations for optimizing the content. This makes it easier for users to implement changes and see results quickly. 

Utilizing AI to Generate Content Outlines 

The AI outline generator is one of Surfer SEO’s most innovative features. It uses artificial intelligence to create a framework for the website’s content that meets the ranking criteria of the targeted keyword. The tool suggests headlines, sub-headings, and topics for users to cover in their content. 

This feature saves time when brainstorming ideas and researching content production. What sets Surfer SEO’s AI outline generator apart from other content creation tools is its ability to analyze the competition. The tool looks at the top-ranking pages for a given keyword and uses that information to suggest content topics most likely to help the user’s page rank higher. This makes it easier for users to create relevant and optimized content for search engines. 

Grow Flow: Surfer SEO’s AI Growth Management Platform 

Grow Flow is a feature of Surfer SEO that provides a user-friendly dashboard for managing website optimization. It offers detailed insights into daily traffic, keyword ranking, and on-page optimization. The user can conclude how to improve search engine rankings based on these insights. 

One of Grow Flow's benefits is that it uses artificial intelligence to provide personalized recommendations for improving website performance. The tool analyses the user’s website and offers specific recommendations for optimizing it based on the user’s goals and objectives. This makes it easier for users to make data-driven decisions about improving their website’s search engine ranking. 

Integrations and API Support 

Surfer SEO provides full API support, allowing users to perform custom analyses based on their requirements. This means that users can integrate Surfer SEO with other tools they use in the SEO industry to create a more comprehensive optimization strategy and streamline their SEO process. Thanks to its API support, Surfer SEO can integrate with several popular SEO tools, including Jasper AI, Semrush, WordPress, and Google Docs. This makes it easy for users to work with the tools they are already familiar with and streamline their optimization process. 

Plagiarism Checker 

The article plagiarism tool is an essential feature for bloggers and content creators who want to ensure that their content is unique and not plagiarised. This tool allows the user to check the unique percentage of their content, helping to avoid content duplication, which can result in Google penalizing the website. 

The tool compares the user’s content to other web content and identifies any similarities. If the tool finds that the user’s content is too similar to different content, it will flag it as potentially plagiarised. This allows the user to change their content before publishing it, ensuring it is unique and optimized for search engines. 

20 Best Surfer SEO Alternatives for Enhanced SEO

person sitting alone and working - Surfer SEO Alternatives1. Journalist AI: Your Automated SEO Article Writer

Journalist AI is an impressive go-to tool for automating the SEO content writing process. With Journalist AI, you can generate articles optimized for SEO, auto-publish them to your website, and even syndicate them across the web. The tool’s publishing features, automations, and “SEO-optimized” writing make it as easy for companies to write high-quality content at scale. As a B2B AI writing tool, it’s hard to beat. 

2. Ahrefs: The SEO Tool For People Who Love SEO

If Semrush isn't your speed, Ahrefs occupies a similar space in the SEO tools ecosystem as a premium rank tracker with slightly cheaper subscription options. It’s also my go-to tool for competitor analysis. As a rank tracker, Ahrefs has many of the same features as Semrush. 

You can monitor specific webpages or domains to see how they rank for keywords over time, perform site audits, and explore historical ranking data with customizable charts. It also has some appealing bonus features, like Web Explorer, which shows you ranking statistics for pages across the web for given keywords. 

Pros

  • Accurate, timely ranking data

  • Detailed keyword analytics

  • Less expensive than Semrush

Cons

  • Limited reporting tools

  • Tool suite is mainly limited to analysis and monitoring

3. SEOClarity: An All-In-One SEO Tool For Content Optimization

In a sea of niche SEO products, SEOClarity is about as close to an all-in-one tool as it gets. With a wide range of general SEO and content optimization features and an AI assistant, it can likely replace several other tools for many users. On the SEO analysis end, seoClarity does many of what these other tools do. It offers rank monitoring, search trend insights, actionable diagnostic insights, performance scoring, page error and inefficiency detection, competitor analysis, traffic potential projections, topic exploration, and more. 

Ahrefs and Semrush are a little more robust for this specific use case of analysis because they’re almost entirely dedicated to it. But seoClarity still holds its own, mainly by adding the kinds of on-page analysis utility you get from audit-centric products like SEOptimer and Surfer. 

Pros

  • Generative AI assistant

  • Extensive suite of SEO analysis tools

  • Rich content optimization tools

Cons

  • Custom or unclear pricing for the lowest and highest tiers

  • Expensive middle-tier plans

  • Fairly bare-bones interface

4. Clearscope: The Content Optimization Tool For SMBs

Clearscope offers a range of core features. You can build content briefs and SEO outlines, gain insight into what’s helping other pages rank well, and then incorporate those elements into your content. You can create and organize reports by entering the target keyword or search intent, selecting your domain, and choosing the language. Clearscope uses natural language processing to help you create content that outranks your competitors. While Clearscope is a popular choice for SMBs, it might provide far more solopreneurs than required. 

Pros

  • User-friendly interface

  • Quick keyword discovery and NLP-based content optimization

  • WordPress and Google Docs integration

  • Multi-language support

  • Unlimited users on all plans

Cons

  • Expensive, especially for smaller businesses

  • Keyword features can be inconsistent for niche topics

  • Lack of transparency in feature explanations

  • Limited customization options

5. SEMrush: A Feature-Rich Tool For Comprehensive SEO Tracking

Semrush is synonymous with SEO. This rank tracker’s insights and features are robust and scalable enough to handle virtually all performance monitoring needs for SMBs and enterprises. There’s very little Semrush can’t do, but most of its utility caters to keywords, SERP analysis, and page ranking metrics. 

Its highly detailed dashboard with customizable widgets gives a thorough overview of how well a tracked domain performs in terms of authority, backlinks, traffic, organic keywords, and average time on site. You can drill deeper into these within their dedicated widgets or turn them into reports. 

Pros

  • Massive suite of high-end rank and keyword tracking tools

  • Customizable dashboard

  • Enterprise-level functionality

Cons

  • Premium pricing

  • Not quite as feature-rich as all-in-one tools

6. Frase: A Content Optimization Tool Powered By AI

Frase combines the beauty of SEO and AI to guide you in creating content that ranks well across all four process stages: researching, outlining, writing, and optimizing. It offers various features to analyze your competitors’ content, providing insights into important SERP metrics such as word count, domain rating, and heading count. With Frase, you can generate a comprehensive content brief in seconds, identify the keywords that matter, and determine how many times you should use them in your content. 

You can even organize your SEO outlines with Frase’s drag-and-drop feature, allowing you to add headings that your competitors use quickly. Leveraging its AI features can help fuel creativity and expand heading ideas. Frase’s AI writer goes beyond Surfer SEO by incorporating background research from other sources. It analyzes your search competitors to help you effectively outline and optimize your content. Additionally, it allows for collaboration if you want to work alongside your freelancers or coworkers. 

Pros

  • All-in-one content creation tool (research, outlining, writing, content optimization)

  • AI-powered brief generation and competitor analysis

  • Intuitive, real-time interface

  • Affordable pricing

  • Collaborative features

Cons

  • No mobile optimization

  • Limited integrations

  • Weak keyword search functionality

  • Article limits on lower-tier plans

7. SEOptimer: The SEO Audit Tool For Diagnostics

SEO audit tools are like therapists: they can help you figure out what's wrong, but it's up to you to fix it. SEOptimer specializes in diagnosing SEO-related performance issues with a website or individual webpage that comes with a few essential tools to help address them. Just plug a webpage into SEOptimer's dashboard, and you'll see a tidy sequence of performance grades on the A+ to F scale, usually in just a minute or so. 

This gives you a snapshot of where your page might lose traffic based on on-page SEO indicators, backlinks, user experience, overall performance, and social media connectivity. You'll also see a list of recommendations for solving these problems and getting your grade up (which may give serial overachievers like me flashbacks to asking their AP history teacher how they can raise their 93% A—one more point to an A). 

Pros

  • Simple, effective SEO diagnostics

  • Wide range of tools for testing specific SEO elements

  • Reasonably priced

Cons

  • Limited suite of tools to fix issues

  • Many tools aren't particularly complex

8. MarketMuse: An SEO Tool For Content Research And Optimization

MarketMuse offers a range of compelling features. With its competitive content analysis tool, you can gain insights into your competitors’ successful tactics and find ways to keep up with them. MarketMuse is also helpful for discovering the optimal number of images to use, which H2s would work best in your favor, the hyperlinks you need, and which keywords are most important. 

Use topic “clusters” to dominate the SERPs and gain valuable real estate within your niche. You can also research keywords by cluster and get a personalized score demonstrating how difficult it would be to get your site to rank for that term. MarketMuse takes the guesswork out of content planning and helps you build a high-impact content strategy in minutes. It offers a good scope of features for solopreneurs, SMBs, and large organizations. 

One notable feature of MarketMuse is its integration of ChatGPT. Most tools on this list have AI writing capabilities and rely on the GPT model for natural language processing, but MarketMuse offers an actual integration with the chat. This can be more convenient for users using ChatGPT in their content workflow. 

Pros

  • Comprehensive competitive content analysis

  • Topic cluster approach for SERP domination

  • Personalized keyword difficulty scoring

  • ChatGPT, WordPress, and Google Docs integration

  • Free plan available

Cons

  • Less intuitive user interface with a steep learning curve

  • Doesn’t auto-save work

  • Expensive paid plans

  • Keyword tools aren’t always reliable

9. Letterdrop: The Unique SEO Writing Tool

In a world of very similar SEO tools, Letterdrop is in its own category. Part content management solution, part SEO auditor, part keyword research tool, it's a unique product that does a little bit of a few different things. However, one distinctive feature is how it integrates content automation capabilities. Where most products on this roundup revolve around keywords in some capacity, Letterdrop starts and ends with the content itself (though it does have a decent keyword research tool). 

By connecting the platform to your website or individual blog posts (and Google Analytics while you're at it), Letterdrop gives rich insights into your on-page performance. It's also a tremendous one-stop sitewide performance optimization tool, with internal linking features to replace internal links, add links to keywords, and fix broken links en masse. I also like the Pages to Refresh feature, which suggests… pages that could use refreshing—specifically, pages that are almost ranking, could be split into multiple pages or cannibalize keywords. 

Pros

  • Automatically turns video content into blog posts

  • Has content management capabilities

  • Find and Replace feature changes internal links in batches

Cons

  • Not as feature-rich as competing all-in-one SEO tools

  • Reporting and diagnostic tools aren't as rich as some competitors

10. Content Harmony: SEO Content Tool For Efficient Research

Content Harmony claims they can turn two work hours into 20 minutes within one week. The tool, built by an entire content marketing agency, streamlines the whole research process, from keyword research to content brief creation and grading. It all starts with your keyword report. Content Harmony will gather hundreds of data points to give you a robust SERP analysis of your competitors. From there, build your brief and share it with your teammates and clients to see how your content scores. 

Pros

  • Efficient keyword research and brief creation process

  • Comprehensive SERP analysis

  • All plans offer unlimited users and projects

  • 90-day rollover credits

  • Flexible, volume-based pricing

Cons

  • Suboptimal Content Editor functionality

  • Small user base may be a consideration factor for many

11. BuzzSumo: A Keyword Research Tool For Content SEO

BuzzSumo is a keyword research tool that offers better search trend reporting, topic idea generation, and search engine results page (SERP) monitoring than most all-in-one products with keyword research functionality. It's more feature-rich than AnswerThePublic but comes at a price tag comparable to all-in-one suites. 

While you can do decent keyword research on all-in-one and rank-tracking platforms, BuzzSumo gives you what you pay for with a much richer suite of keyword tools. BuzzSumo's keyword tool is better than average: you get a list of basic CPC and volume metrics, a handy "Articles Published" metric to see how much competition it has, and a cute little line graph of volume trends. Each keyword suggestion below comes with its profile, which lists question concepts, article ideas, and detailed search volume charts. 

Pros

  • Rich keyword data

  • Unparalleled content idea tools

  • Robust suite of content analysis tools

Cons

  • Premium price

  • Limited reporting features

12. Scalenut: An All-in-One SEO and AI Content Tool

Scalenut’s power lies in its ability to automate everything from SEO planning and research to content optimization, creation, and publishing. At first glance, you can see that this is a solid alternative to Surfer SEO, as it covers well beyond the basics. It offers AI-powered content creation, NLP-powered topic research, keyword research, SEO optimization features, and various AI capabilities. The star of the show? Cruise Mode. This feature can generate 1500+ word articles in 5 minutes. 

Scalenut can also research keywords, create outlines, and generate meta descriptions. Unlike Surfer, Scalenut includes an AI writing assistant to create various content formats (blogs, ebooks, emails) fueled by real-time SERP data and social trends. The platform also provides SEO optimization based on over 200 ranking factors, offering more comprehensive optimization than Surfer. It also includes plagiarism checking and supports multiple industries, making it versatile for agencies handling diverse clients. 

Pros

  • Comprehensive all-in-one platform for SEO and content creation

  • AI-powered content generation with “Cruise Mode”

  • Automated brief creation based on SERP data and social trends

  • Optimization based on over 200 ranking factors

  • Supports multiple industries and content types

  • Real-time SEO scoring and optimization suggestions

Cons

  • It may have a steeper learning curve due to extensive features

  • AI-generated content requires human editing

13. Answer The Public: A Unique Keyword Research Tool

The self-proclaimed tool for discovering what people are talking about, AnswerThePublic (ATP) gives users access to uniquely valuable search insights for a fraction of the cost of high-end keyword tools. What I like about ATP is that it boils keyword research down to its absolute essence: user search behavior. 

Typical keyword research tools tend to feel somehow divorced from the real users who drive the metrics. The usual keyword difficulty (KD) and cost-per-click (CPC) make search terms feel more like website assets than user signals. ATP reports on all those metrics, too, but its data presentation and segmentation help marketers get closer to the core of user intent. 

Pros

  • Very affordable, with lifetime offering on the lowest tier

  • Unique data visualization

  • Search trend monitoring and alerts

Cons

  • Limited to keyword research data

  • Only includes search data for Google, YouTube, and Bing

14. WriterZen: An SEO Content Writing Assistant

WriterZen’s functionality covers the entire content creation lifecycle, from initial topic ideation to final originality checks. Its feature set includes a Topic Discovery tool for generating content ideas, a Keyword Explorer that taps into Google’s database to find high-demand keywords, and a Keyword Planner for keyword clustering and creating content briefs. 

It also provides a built-in plagiarism checker and a GPT-3.5-powered AI writing assistant. However, the product is relatively new to the market, and its keyword research features may not be as robust or accurate as those of more established tools in the industry. 

Pros

  • Comprehensive all-in-one platform for SEO and content creation

  • Unique one-time payment model with no recurring fees

  • GPT-3.5 powered AI writing assistant

  • Strong focus on topic discovery and keyword research

Cons

  • The one-time payment model might not suit users who prefer more flexible, subscription-based options.

  • Keyword research tools could be more in-depth.

15. Copywritely: An SEO Content Optimization Tool

Copywritely offers a range of features, such as a duplicate content checker, grammar checker, readability checker, word counter, article rewriter, alphabetizer, keyword SERP checker, keyword density checker, a words-to-minutes calculator, a words-to-pages converter. These features are accessible for free but with limits. 

By opting for a paid version, you can get many different benefits, including support for nine languages, keyword research, competitor analysis, analysis of up to 10,000 words per check, task automation, custom task creation, and report generation. 

Pros

  • Wide range of free features

  • The paid version supports nine languages

  • Flexible, usage-based pricing

  • Competitor and keyword analysis included

Cons

  • Large businesses may need more robust features

  • Rarely updates 

  • Lack of agency-specific features

16. Topic: A Surfer SEO Alternative For Content Briefs

Unlike Surfer SEO’s focus on content optimization, Topic specializes in content brief creation and planning. It helps users create content that avoids keyword stuffing, fills content gaps, and captures long-tail search traffic. Topic is designed to streamline content creation and help users efficiently produce high-quality, well-researched content. 

Its key features include AI-driven keyword research based on top Google results, an Outline Builder for efficient content structuring, and a Content Grader for optimization. The recent release of Topic’s Copilot add-on enhances its capabilities, offering AI-powered writing assistance that adapts to the user’s style. 

Pros

  • Comprehensive AI-powered research

  • Intuitive interface and workflow

  • Based on NLP technology

  • Transparent and scalable pricing structure

Cons

  • More expensive than some competitors

  • Primarily a planning tool, it may need pairing with other content optimization software for full SEO coverage.

17. Jasper AI: A User-Friendly AI Content Tool

Jasper offers a free trial, and their monthly premium plans start at $49. Launched in 2021, Jasper AI has quickly become a key player in AI content generation, with 791,530 organic monthly visitors, according to SEMrush estimates. It's an excellent Surfer SEO alternative for marketing teams needing to produce content for various purposes at scale. 

Jasper helps you focus on creating content in your brand voice for many types of content in a user-friendly editor. Jasper has basic SEO templates and assists with some basic SEO tasks. It also offers an integration with Surfer SEO if you need scoring against your ranking competitors. 

Pros

  • Built on the GPT-4 model, the most potent model at present

  • Incredibly easy to use

  • Has image generation capabilities

  • Integrates with several tools

  • SEO-friendly features

  • Multiple language support

Cons

  • It is more expensive than some other options out there

  • Can give poor results in languages other than English

18. Uber Suggest: A Popular Free SEO Tool

Ubersuggest offers a free trial, and premium plans start at $29 USD per month. Launched in 2011, Ubersuggest was one of the small, intelligent tools that initially scraped Google Suggest. I often used it as a convenient tool to generate keyword ideas. Neil Patel acquired it in February 2017 for $120,000, and it has since grown into a popular all-in-one SEO tool. Ubersuggest provides a comprehensive set of all-in-one SEO features at a more affordable price than Surfer SEO. 

Pros

  • Fantastic onboarding video tutorial

  • Export files and reports

  • Free training to develop an SEO strategy

  • Decent SEO analysis

  • Chrome extension

  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Low competitor limit on the basic plan

  • It can be slow when running two reports at the same time

19. Moz: An Established SEO Software Company

Moz is a website that offers an SEO toolset, including an all-in-one SEO platform called Moz Pro, a local SEO analysis program called Moz Local, and a tool called STAT, which provides analytics for search engine results page ranking and tracking. 

Pros

  • Deep SEO tool suite

  • Excellent metrics and reporting

  • Redesigned crawling feature

Cons

  • User experience not intuitive

  • The depth and range of features might be overwhelming for some

20. Rank Math: A Powerful SEO Plugin For WordPress

Rank Math has evolved from a promising SEO plugin to a powerhouse in the digital marketing realm. Initially launched to streamline website optimization, it quickly distinguished itself with innovative features and user-friendly design. Rank Math has distinguished itself in the crowded SEO space with features that maximize website performance. Its offerings are divided between free and premium versions, each packed with tools to enhance site visibility and engagement. 

Pros

  • Comprehensive Features: Offers an extensive range of SEO tools, from keyword optimization to Schema markup, catering to various needs.

  • User-Friendly Interface: Designed with beginners in mind, ensuring ease of use without compromising advanced capabilities.

  • Cost-Effective: The single premium plan provides all features at a competitive price, making it an economical choice for users.

Cons

  • Learning Curve: Despite its user-friendly design, the sheer number of features can overwhelm SEO novices.

  • Performance Impact: With extensive features enabled, there could be a potential impact on website speed, especially in less optimized hosting environments.

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Pros and Cons of SurferSEO

man looking worried - Surfer SEO AlternativesSurferSEO Pros

Rank faster and save time.

Surfer SEO allows users to boost their rankings quickly and save time. I’ve used Surfer SEO for over two years, which has saved me time creating briefs, writing content, and optimizing it. Most importantly, my content ranks higher than before.

Fantastic Content Editor

Surfer’s Content Editor is the standout feature, and I can hardly fault it. The UI is much better than other Content Editors I’ve tried, and the suggestions it offers help improve your organic ranking position, which is more than can be said for some competitor platforms.

Flexible Content Editor customization options

With Surfer, you can choose which top-ranking content to optimize your article against. While Surfer will make an educated guess, it doesn’t lock you in. You can also hide terms to avoid appearing in the editor while optimizing content.

Smooth Integration

The different tools and features in Surfer SEO are smoothly interconnected. For example, you can open up a keyword research report and then add the topic suggestion straight to the Content Editor from the same page. Likewise, when you audit a site page, you can open it up in the Content Editor to fix identified issues in one click.

Integration with WordPress & Google Docs

This is an important one for both those editing content and those writing it. The content editors work great, but with Surfer’s browser extension installed, you can seamlessly connect your Content Editor in Surfer with a blog post in WordPress or Google Docs document with one click.

Easily export content into WordPress.

Once you’ve written your content in Surfer’s Content Editor, you can export it directly to WordPress – and it’s straightforward.

Topic clustering

Another advantage of Surfer is that it clusters keywords into broader topics, allowing you to target several related keywords in one post. This is how all marketers should approach their content strategy going forward.

Excellent support

They’re always super responsive and friendly and can quickly resolve complex queries.

SurferSEO Cons

Expensive compared to competitors

The likes of Frase and Scalenut offer much better value for money.

SERP Analyzer UI needs improving

The SERP Analyzer feature is bloated with unnecessary data points that most SEOs won’t make use of. The UI of Surfer in general is fantastic, but when you open up the SERP Analyzer, it takes a nosedive.

Domain Planner only supports the top 100 pages.

This tool is fantastic, don’t get me wrong. But I’d prefer it to show all the pages on my site. Typically, it’s the underperforming content that needs improving most.

Minor bugs

Over the course of my use of the tool, I noted a few very minor bugs. For example, Surfer doesn’t recognize that you’ve added a suggested term if it’s hyperlinked in the Content Editor. Also, on rare occasions, loading reports takes longer than it should (I waited at least 30 seconds for a keyword research report). It's not a huge deal, and it is rare these bugs occur, but we’re nitpicking here.

Is SurferSEO Better Than SEMRush Writing Assistant?

Surfer SEO shines when it comes to delivering detailed optimization recommendations. Its thorough competitor research provides a clear path for ranking improvement.   SEMRush, on the other hand, excels at providing a comprehensive overview of SEO, allowing you to implement a well-informed strategy that addresses multiple areas.  

Surfer SEO's Core Functionality 

Surfer SEO analyzes top-ranking pages for your target keywords and provides actionable insights based on its findings. The tool generates content outlines and offers real-time feedback on crucial optimization areas like word count, keyword usage, and structure.  

SEMRush's Core Functionality 

While Surfer SEO focuses specifically on content optimization, SEMRush covers much more ground. The tool helps you discover potential keywords, assess their difficulty, track rankings, analyze competitors, conduct technical site audits, and more.

Get 3 Free Articles from Journalist AI's AI Article Writer Today

Journalist AI is an artificial intelligence content writing tool specializing in SEO content writing. With Journalist’s AI writing, you can create blog posts that rank on Google. Journalist AI writes, optimizes, and publishes SEO content for you. First, it helps you find a topic and niche based on what your audience is searching for on Google. 

Next, it generates an outline and lets you individually create sections of your article. Finally, it helps you get the article SEO optimized for Google before publishing it straight to your WordPress blog. The best part? It’s all automated, so you can save time and focus on other essential tasks for your business.

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