Surfer SEO and Clearscope have emerged as prominent tools in recent times, garnering significant popularity.
Renowned for their content optimization prowess, both tools boast impressive track records in generating content ready for high search engine rankings.
In this guide, we'll conduct a comparative analysis of these two tools to help you discern which is better suited for your team's needs. Moreover, we aim to illuminate the optimal path forward in SEO tooling, given the evolving landscape of SEO practices.
What is Clearscope?
Clearscope is a widely recognized AI-driven content optimization platform.
Its functionality revolves around evaluating your content and top-ranking content, assigning them letter grades based on Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords or closely related keywords. The tool further suggests additional LSI terms to enhance the SEO-friendliness of your content.
Upon generating a report for your selected keyword, Clearscope provides a Keyword Overview dashboard, amalgamating insights from three subtabs: Keyword (re)Search, Relevant terms, and Competitors.
Pros
1. Efficient organization of keywords by relevance, facilitating their incorporation
2. Seamless integration with Google Docs and WordPress
3. Intuitive interface, suitable for beginners
4. Comprehensive competitor analysis and term mapping features
Cons
1. Relatively high subscription cost for the default package
2. Limited availability of customer support during specific hours
For a deeper dive into Clearscope, consider reading our detailed Clearscope Review.
What is Surfer SEO?
Surfer SEO is an on-page SEO tool renowned for its multifaceted functionalities, including keyword clustering, site content audits, SERP analysis, and AI-powered writing assistance.
One of its standout features is the content editor, also referred to as the optimizer, which suggests precise NLP (natural language processing) terms and heading recommendations to enhance the ranking potential of your content.
The tool scrutinizes the top-ranking pages for the target keyword, identifying similarities and offering suggestions regarding aspects such as average word count, headings, paragraphs, and images.
You can also use Niche Finder's Website Audit to find out more information about this website.
Pros
1. The content score ranging from 0 to 100 serves as a valuable metric for comparing your article against competitors.
2. Features like content planning and audits complement its core capabilities effectively.
3. The ability to insert notes simplifies communication of requirements with writers.
4. The AI-driven Grow Flow feature introduces an exciting dimension to the tool.
Cons
1. The outline builder might inadvertently lead to direct copying of subheadings.
2. Some provided terms may be irrelevant, necessitating manual review.
Surfer SEO Vs Clearscope: What are the Main Differences?
The primary distinction between Surfer SEO and Clearscope lies in their scope of functionalities. While Surfer primarily focuses on on-page optimization, Clearscope offers both optimization and content monitoring capabilities.
Keyword Planner
Surfer SEO's keyword planner provides multiple sets of keyword clusters, aiding in the discovery of targetable keywords, including both SERP-based and semantic variations. The Chrome Extension offers individual keyword data as you navigate through SERP pages.
In contrast, Clearscope's keyword planner furnishes comprehensive keyword data, encompassing monthly search volume, CPC, competition, and trends spanning the past 6-12 months.
However, Clearscope cannot access keyword clusters available in Surfer, while Surfer lacks access to individual keyword data as provided by Clearscope.
Content Creation & Optimization
Both Surfer SEO and Clearscope boast robust content optimizers, with minor differences in functionality.
Surfer's content editor employs a numerical content scoring system, whereas Clearscope utilizes a letter-grade approach. Both tools suggest NLP terms based on SERP analysis, though Surfer allows for the customization of competitors, a feature absent in Clearscope.
Regarding outline creation, Clearscope offers an advantage by granting access to competitors' outlines, research insights, and statistics, streamlining the topic development process. Furthermore, Surfer integrates with Jasper for AI content creation, a feature not present in Clearscope.
Content Monitoring
Clearscope distinguishes itself through its content monitoring feature, absent in Surfer SEO. With Clearscope's content inventory, users can track individual content performance in SERPs for specific search queries.
Moreover, Clearscope supports Google Console integration, facilitating tracking of overall impressions and clicks for content. Conversely, Surfer SEO lacks a comparable content monitoring feature.
Conclusion on Surfer SEO Vs Clearscope
In summary, SurferSEO emerges as the more versatile and cost-effective choice, offering enhanced value for each investment dollar and consistently updating its feature set to remain abreast of industry advancements.
Nevertheless, it would be remiss to disregard Clearscope entirely; it remains a straightforward, valuable, and scalable SEO writing tool particularly suitable for larger businesses with more specific requirements.
