surfer-seo-review

Are you considering using Surfer as your on-page optimization tool, and do you want to read a review to be sure it is worth it? No worries! I’m sure to guide you. This Surfer SEO review will explore all the features of this tool and how you can use them to boost your ranking and organic traffic. You get to know its pricing plans, pros & cons, alternatives, and why I recommend it. 

Best Pick

Surfer SEO

Optimize your content with Surfer’s insight and recommendations to outrank your competitors.

Don’t have to be an SEO guru to rank on search engines. Surfer has features like SERP Analyzer, Content Editor, Content planner, Content Editor, and Audit that help you plan your content and rank easily on Google.

What Is Surfer SEO?

surfer seo

Surfer SEO tool is an SEO content intelligence software that ensures you come up with content ideas, plan, edit and optimize your pages to outrank your competitors and drive massive organic traffic. Michael Suski, a renowned SEO guru, co-founded this tool in 2017 to end the guesswork on-page SEO, save you time, and recommend what to implement to boost your organic traffic.

Below is a picture of the complete Surfer SEO team.

 Michael Suski, the founder; Tomasz Niezgoda, the marketing executive who teaches you on YouTube how to use Surfer like a pro; and other tech and SEO gurus working behind the scene to ensure you get the best out of this tool.

surfer seo team

Surfer has top-notch features like SERP Analyzer, Audit Tool, Content Planner, Content Editor, etc. which you will discover and see how they work in this post. At this time, there are 10k plus webmasters who trust Surfer for their SEO content planning, implementation, and optimization.

Why Do You Need  Surfer SEO tool?

Search engine optimization which is part of digital marketing is now competitive. The era of guesswork or trial and error is gone. In fact, the more you do trial and error, the more you lose the opportunity to rank for a juicy keyword to your competitors. That’s where Surfer SEO comes in.  There is nothing like having an AI SEO content optimization tool that analyzes Google algorithms to recommend core factors that influence ranking. That saves you time and ensures your on-page optimization strategy is on point. 

Pros

The user interface is beginner-friendly 
Integrates with Jasper AI to make content writing easy 
Has a free keyword tool – Keyword Surfer which you can add as an extension 
Offers insights on core factors that boost the ranking
There is a 7-day money-back guarantee 
Offers 17% discount on all annual plans
Superb customer support

Cons

Pricing plans are expensive 
Live chat support is only during weekdays 

Features Of Surfer SEO

Now you know why you need this tool, let’s dive into its features and how you can use them in your everyday on-page SEO task.

1. SERP Analyzer 

The SERP Analyzer is the heartbeat of Surfer SEO. It gives the different on-page factors and how they correlate to the positioning in the search results for a specific keyword. Enter the keyword you want to analyze and choose a location, which can be a country or city, and run the SERP Analyzer.

Within seconds, you see a detailed analysis for such a keyword.

 I break them down into sections for you to understand.

Specific Graph

On the left-hand side, you see different factors and the graph helps you see their correlation with rankings on search results. The interesting thing about the SERP Analyzer is that it tells you the key factors you should focus on. And you see them in the green bars, which represent how important these factors are to ranking. Full green bars show that there is a positive trend and correlation to ranking. Those are the factors you should pay much attention to. 

surfer serp analyzer

When you click on each of these factors,   the graph changes. The orange color line shows a positive correlation. For example, you want to check how H2 tags influence the ranking of such a keyword. Click on the H2 tag and the SERP Analyzer will show you the number of H2 tags pages ranking on top search results. The idea is to repeat them for all factors that show correlation with ranking, take note of the recommendations Surfer makes and implement them when writing your content.

On the default, the graph shows the average ranked position which is pages ranking on positions 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, etc. Uncheck the average position, and the graph shows your individual competitors for such a keyword and the number of words they have written.

Compare your website to competitors 

Here is a list of pages ranking in positions 1 -20 for the keyword you analyze. Beside each of the pages are 3 icons representing their content scores, domain score, and option to exclude pages that you think aren’t competitors. There is also a shortcut to view the content outline, audit the URL, Paste HTML, and take a screenshot. 

You can copy the URL of your already existing page which is about the keyword you analyze and paste it on the Compare Website and click Compare

Check the graph to see how you compare with other pages ranking on top search results. 

The SERP Analyzer shows you the number of words you have written compared to your competitors. You also see the position of your page on Google search results.

Look at the factors that influence ranking such as keywords, number of paragraphs, word count, alt text, meta description, images, H tags, etc.  Take a look at what the top ranking pages have done in these aspects and do the same or even outdo them. Click on Refresh for Surfer to capture the changes made to your page. If done properly, the SERP Analyzer will show that your average position has increased. 

Surfer’s SERP Analyzer also gives insight into the following:

  • Common ranked keywords with their relevancy, search volume, and number of overlapping pages
  • Common questions which are questions people ask about such keyword 
  • Popular phrases and words which the top ranking pages used, density, and counts
  • Common backlinks, which is a website where all the top ranking pages have acquired links

The SERP Analyzer shows you all these for you to implement in your page to boost your ranking and drive more organic traffic.

2. Content Planner

Topic clusters when done properly are one of the fastest ways to rank for competitive topics in your niche. Surfer’s content planner helps you create these clusters. Clusters are sub-topics related to a pillar topic you want to write about. When you write, publish, inter-link and link them to your pillar post and vice-versa, it boosts the chances of your pillar post ranking better.

If you have a niche site, this feature is useful to you. You can use it to create subtopics in your niche that will position you as an authority and also boost your ranking on search results. 

Let’s see this in action.

I entered a broad topic” Keto diet”, selected the United States as my location, and clicked Create Content Planner. Within seconds, Surfer analyzes and recommends subtopics in blocks.

From the screenshot below, you see topics like benefits of a keto diet, ketogenic diet for epilepsy, is keto dangerous, etc.

surfer seo content planner feature

For each of the blocks, you see other keywords related to the main sub-topics. Surfer gives the search volume and intent of each of the keywords. You can even filter keywords based on intent like informational, customer investigation, etc., and also based on search volume. 

You can also analyze each of the clusters or sub-topics based on monthly search volume and potential traffic. The aim is to remove keywords that you think aren’t relevant to such a cluster. Now you have a list of keywords to cover under a cluster, you can use the create Content Editor option to transfer them to the Content Editor tool, where you begin to write your content. 

3. Content Editor

Surfer’s Content Editor is your go-to for preparing SEO content guidelines. The main aim is to help you write content that satisfies search intent, close content gaps, and boost the ranking of your pages to drive more organic traffic. 

Grab your target keyword, enter it in the content editor, set your location, enable the NLP and analyze. 

Surfer content editor shows you the word count, the number of images, paragraphs, headings, etc. your content should have to rank. 

 content editor feature of surfer seo

The organic competitor analysis shows your pages ranking top on Google search results for such keywords with their content score and domain score. Use the advanced setting to exclude pages that are not your competitors. For example, an ecommerce page or Facebook page isn’t your competitor since you plan to write or optimize a blog post. 

When you scroll below, you see terms to use which are keywords or phrases that influence ranking. Surfer picks prominent keywords in your competitors’ pages and combines them with natural language processing and its own algorithm to arrive at keywords that influence ranking the most.

I recommend you always make use of your instinct to decide on a keyword that should be relevant to your content from what Surfer recommends. Remember, Surfer works on artificial intelligence and so can’t replace human judgment. 

Also, there are related topics and questions which users ask, and you should address them in your content. Surfer pulls these questions from Google’s people also ask section, the questions your competitors asked and answered in their content, and its database. 

Optimization of existing articles on Content Editor 

The easiest way is to copy your published article and paste it into the note section of Surfer SEO content editor. It’s like running a content audit for a page. You see your content score, word count, number of paragraphs, and other key insights that influence ranking.

On the left-hand side are tools you need to optimize your content. For example, you can click on keywords to see how your competitors are using chosen terms in their content. You can hide terms that are already optimized, and also use the filter option to show missing terms in your content. 

4. Audit Tool

The audit tool is meant for you to boost the ranking of an existing page to drive more organic traffic. It’s like running an SEO audit on your page. If you want to move a published post from page 2 of Google to page 1, you need the audit tool.

 Enter your focus keyword, and URL and run an audit. Within seconds, Surfer analyzes your page in comparison with other top ranking pages for the same keyword and provides detailed insight and recommendations on measures to improve the performance of such a page on search results.

surfer seo audit tool

You see the content score of your page and that of pages ranking in positions 1 to 10 on Google, with steps to improve it. Another is missing backlinks, which is an SEO factor. These are websites linking to your competitor’s page, but you. This is an insight that places Surfer above other on-page optimization tools like Page Optimizer Pro. 

 Backlinks are key when it comes to ranking for competitive keywords. Even Google considers it as one of the top factors that decide the position of your page on search results. 

Acquire backlinks from these websites and other authority websites in your niche to such a  page to stand a chance of outranking your competitors.

Internal Linking Structure 

The audit tool analyzes the internal linking structure of your page and that of your competitors. The aim is for you to link to other related pages on your website to boost its ranking. This works fine if you have written and published related pages. You can take a clue from your competitor’s internal linking structure.  

NLPs

There are prominent words and phrases that influence the ranking of a page. Google algorithm wants to see them in your content. They are called NLPs and the audit tool does the NLP analysis and recommends such words for to include in your content. 

The audit tool also offers insight and recommendations into the following:

Load time: How long it takes for your page to load. A slow page will impact ranking negatively since Google pays attention to Core Web Vitals. So you work on your page speed if it doesn’t load in under 3 seconds. 

Title & meta description length: Optimize your title and meta description with keywords and in the appropriate length. 

Time to the first byte: This is the time between when the server requests a page and receives the first information from the server. It has to do with the quality of service your web hosting company offers and how easy for users to access your page from distant locations.

Word count: The total number of words on your page in comparison to your competitor’s pages.

Page structure: How you structure your page for Google to understand and serve it to users. 

Partial keywords: Keywords that are related to your focus keyword, which you should include on your page.

Exact keywords: These are keywords that match the query users perform on Google before they land on pages that rank top on search results

5. Keyword Research 

Surfer has a keyword research tool that you can use when you log in to your dashboard. You can conduct keyword research based on your location and in 70 different languages. You see the monthly search volume of the keyword you want to write about and that of other keywords related to it.

This keyword tool has a Chrome extension known as Keyword Surfer. It is free to use and saves you the money you invest in a keyword researcher tool. You can install it from the Chrome Web Store and add it as an extension on your PC. That makes it easy to conduct keyword research directly from your browser.

You see the search volume of the keyword you want to write, related keywords, and monthly organic traffic of pages ranking on top Google search results for it based on location. You also see the word count for each of the pages, and the keyword density of their focus keywords in the content.

keyword surfer

When you scroll down left, you see an option to generate an outline based on the keyword you want to write. Surfer analyzes outlines of top ranking pages for that keyword and provides insight for you to create yours. The interesting thing about Keyword Surfer is that it saves you the money you invest in keyword tools like Keyword Everywhere, which are similar to it. Plus, it is beginner-friendly. 

6. Grow Flow

Surfer SEO introduced this feature to help you streamline, optimize and automate your SEO strategy. After connecting your website to Google Search Console, link the domain you want to Grow Flow, Surfer provides insights that help boost your SEO efforts. To ensure you don’t forget crucial tasks that can boost your ranking, Surfer personalized them, so you see them immediately you log in to your Grow Flow dashboard. 

Let’s look at some of the insight you get:

  • High-performing keywords you can add to your existing content to boost its ranking. Surfer lists all of them, with an option to copy all and paste them into your content and optimize. 
  • Relevant internal link suggestions for topic relevance. So you don’t need to invest in internal linking tools like Link Whisper. 
  • Best topics and low-hanging keywords to write about. This function is a great fit if you have a new blog that has a low domain rating.

Apart from the SEO insights, you can analyze your website’s growth and performance. For example, you see the number of: 

surfer seo grow flow analytics dashboard
  • Gained impressions
  • Completed tasks
  • Optimized pages
  • Gained clicks over a period of time
  • Number of published articles


Watch the video below to see how the Grow Flow works:

 7. Collaboration

When it comes to on-page SEO, you can’t do the job alone, especially for complex projects. You definitely need other people to help you. Surfer has collaboration features that allow you to work with your team. The interactive editor allows you to share a link to your project with your team members for them to work on without giving them access to your backend. You can push optimized content to Google Doc for further collaboration. The Pro and Business Plans support you to invite up to 3 and 10 members of your team respectively to work with you on a project.

Surfer’s Integration With Semrush 

Since Surfer announced its integration/collaboration with Semrush, another top SEO tool, a lot of its users have been using it to up their SEO game. 

Linking building is a key aspect of SEO and you need links to rank for competitive keywords. That’s why this integration will benefit you. So, if you use Semrush only as a website auditor and keyword research tool, now is the time to connect it with Surfer to achieve the following:

  • Study and understand the link-building strategy of your competitors
  • Monitor their recent referring domain and decide if it’s worth pursuing or avoiding 
  • Track how recent referring domains are impacting their rankings
  • See new domains referring to your website and how they impact your ranking 

Surfer SEO × Semrush: How does it work?

  • Login  to your Surfer SEO account, navigate to your menu, and select Semrush Integration
Connecting semrush to surfer SEO
  • Sign up with Semrush if you don’t have an account or sign in if you already have an account with Semrush
  • A message pops up asking you to receive domain and backlinks analytics; click approve
  • Go to Semrush, login, navigate to backlinks analytics, and connect your domain
  • Return to Surfer, navigate to  Grow Flow to see backlinks insights from Semrush which can be new referring domains, domains referring to your competitors that you should acquire links from, etc

The Grow Flow presents you with link-building tasks to perform that can boost your ranking. 

Surfer SEO × WordPress (WPSurfer)

Surfer SEO has developed its WordPress plugin called WPSurfer. This allows you to move your content from Surfer to  WordPress.

After SEO writing, optimizing, and formatting your content in Surfer’s Content Editor, you can export it to WordPress directly with just a click. All your images will land in your WordPress library, while  Headings, Paragraphs, and other formattings will appear the same. This saves you time and energy. 

This is how it works:

  • Download WPSurfer plugin from Surfer 
  • Go to your WordPress admin dashboard, click on add new plugin and upload it in zip format
  • Install and activate it
  • Add your WordPress domain to Surfer by connecting WPSurfer Plugin with your Surfer account
  • Return to your Surfer account and start exporting your optimized content to WordPress

Surfer SEO Pricing Plans

Surfer SEO plans are of three different types:

Basic Plan: $59/month (best for beginners)

1 website on autopilot to Grow Flow

Write and optimize 10 content per month 

20-page audits per month 

Free NLP for the first month

Invite 1 team member

Content Planner 

SERP Analyzer 

surfer seo basic plan

Pro Plan: $199/month  (best for SEO freelancers)

Grow 5 websites on autopilot with Grow Flow 

Write and optimize 30 content per month 

Audit 60 pages per month 

Guidelines enhanced with NLP

Invite up to 3 team members 

Content Planner 

SERP Analyzer 

surfer seo pro plan

Business Plan: $239/month (best for content marketing & SEO agencies)

Grow 10 websites on autopilot with Grow Flow 

Write and optimize 70 content per month 

Audit 170 pages per month 

Guidance enhanced with NLP

White labeling 

API

Invite up to 10 team members 

SERP Analyzer

Content Planner

surfer seo business plan

Customer Support 

Surfer has an active Facebook group of over 13K members where it offers support. Michael Suski and other team members at Surfer are happy to assist you. You get to see and hear the success stories of other Surfer users who use the tool to optimize their content and grow their organic traffic. On this Facebook group, you get updated when new features are released,  plus you can ask questions and get helpful answers. 

You can send them emails or engage them on live chat. There are tutorial videos, webinars, and knowledge base articles from the Surfer team which you can watch and read to resolve issues yourself.

In addition, the Surfer team organizes an SEO writing masterclass to sharpen your SEO content strategy, and content creation skills.

Surfer SEO Alternatives 

Surfer isn’t the only on-page optimization tool. There are other options  which you can consider if it doesn’t meet your requirements:

1. Page Optimizer Pro 

Page optimizer pro as surfer SEO alternative

Kyle Roof created this tool after he tested over 400 Google algorithms. However, it is specifically for page optimization, unlike Surfer which is a complete content intelligence tool. It has a few features in common with Surfer such as white label report, SERP Analyzer, and NLP. However, Surfer is more advanced than it.

For example, Surfer analyzes and compares your page automatically to 50 other pages, while Page Optimizer Pro can analyze only 10. And you have to enter your URL manually to ensure accuracy. Also, Surfer has a free Keyword tool, while POP doesn’t. 

Read where I compared Surfer SEO to Post Page Optimizer.

2. Postpace

post pace as surfer seo alternative

Postpace is another Surfer alternative that is suitable for beginners on a low budget. In terms of features, it is no match to Surfer. It only offers basic features you need to improve the ranking of your page on search results.

Surfer’s SERP Analyzer provides detailed insight on how to outrank your competitors, while Postpace’s topic report, which is a similar feature, doesn’t. The only advantage Postpace has over Surfer is its cheaper pricing plans.

Read my article where I compared Surfer SEO to Postpace.

3. WriterZen

Writerzen as surfer seo alternative

Writerzen is similar to SE ranking tool. It’s another underdog compared to Surfer. Writerzen analyzes only the top 10 ranking pages for a target keyword against Surfer analyzes 50 pages and provides deep insight. Surfer has a free keyword research tool, while WriterZen’s is tied to credit.

If you exhaust it, you have to wait until you renew your subscription. In addition, the content planner, audit tool, and content editor aren’t standalone features on WriterZen unlike on Surfer.

Read my Surfer vs Writerzen comparison.

4. RankIQ

Writerzen as surfer seo alternative

While Surfer is an all-around SEO tool, RankIQ is mainly for bloggers that want to identify low keyword difficulty and high search volume keywords in different niches which they can easily rank for. Its competitor analysis doesn’t cover backlink profiles, which is a core ranking factor. It only analyzes 30 top pages for a particular keyword, while Surfer analyzes 50 with great insights and recommendations. 

Check out this Surfer SEO vs RankIQ comparison.

What I Like About Surfer SEO 

You don’t need to be an SEO expert to use this tool. The SERP Analyzer feature is top-notch, and you can rely on it on accurate factors that influence the ranking of a page. The Content Planner feature is a valuable feature that helps to create topic clusters that you need to build a pillar page. I like the Grow Flow feature, which you can use to track and monitor the performance of your pages optimized with Surfer.

Even as a beginner, you can’t get lost using Surfer because the interface is beginner-friendly and there is a free course where you learn how to optimize your pages like a pro. The Surfer team is doing well when it comes to ensuring that every customer gets the best out of Surfer. They organize free webinars and release tutorial videos frequently.

Final Thought On Surfer SEO Review: Does It Worth It?

If you’re looking for a complete, content intelligence and optimization tool, Surfer SEO is worth giving a try. Its features help you implement major SEO strategies that boost the ranking of your page on search results.

In addition, it integrates with Jasper AI to help you end writer’s block while you use Surfer to ensure your content ranks higher on Google. Plus, You can monitor the performance of your pages using the Grow Flow feature to see what works. 

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