Welcome to our updated Surfer SEO review for 2024. Surfer is a leading SEO and content optimization platform designed to help businesses, marketers and writers boost their search engine rankings.
In this comprehensive review, we‘ll analyze if Surfer is still a top choice for on-page SEO in the new year.
Here‘s what we‘ll cover:
- What is Surfer SEO and who is it for?
- An in-depth look at Surfer‘s key features
- Surfer subscription plans and pricing
- The main benefits and drawbacks of using Surfer
- How Surfer compares to rival tools in 2024
- Tips for getting the most from Surfer SEO
Let‘s start with a quick refresher on what Surfer is and who it can help.
What is Surfer SEO in 2024?
Surfer is an all-in-one SEO toolkit focused on optimizing your on-page content for higher rankings and more organic traffic.
The Poland-based company was founded in 2015 by a group of five entrepreneurs and has grown into a trusted platform used by over 15,000 businesses worldwide.
Some of Surfer‘s key features include:
- Content Editor: Analyzes your draft posts against high-ranking competitors and offers real-time suggestions to optimize your copy.
- Keyword Research: Discovers high-potential keyword groups based on search volume, competitors and difficulty.
- Audit Tool: Identifies issues with existing content holding back your rankings.
- AI Writer: Generates rough drafts of new posts in seconds (available as an add-on).
Surfer is designed for SEO agencies, marketing teams, bloggers and small business owners who want to simplify on-page optimization.
It competes directly with other established SEO writing tools like Frase and Clearscope in 2024.
Next, let‘s take a deeper look at Surfer‘s features for research, writing and auditing content.
Surfer SEO‘s Key Features and Tools
Surfer packs an impressive range of capabilities into a user-friendly dashboard accessible from any device.
Here are some of the notable features we evaluated for this 2023 review:
Powerful Content Editor
Surfer‘s content editor is the core of the platform. As you write new draft posts, it provides real-time feedback and suggestions to match the formatting, length and keywords used by top-ranking competitors.
The editor compares your draft against five URLs you select as benchmarks to beat. It then gives you clear, actionable advice for improving your page‘s search optimization on the fly.
You can also leverage Surfer‘s editor to overhaul old underperforming content.
Other handy writing features include plagiarism checking, WordPress integration, shareable draft links and exportable CSV reports about your latest pieces.
Accurate Keyword Research
Surfer‘s keyword research toolkit makes finding untapped, high-value keywords easy. And it goes far beyond reporting basic stats like monthly searches.
The tool reveals full keyword clusters around your core search term, along with metrics for search intent, traffic potential and difficulty. This data lets you cherry pick the very best keywords to target next.
You also get useful competitor insights with a breakdown of all keywords currently driving traffic to rival domains.
Bulk-export all your keyword research for expanded analysis. And check search volume estimates for 70+ global regions.
AI Outline Generator
Surfer‘s recently added AI assistant creates full content outlines in 60 seconds flat.
Simply enter a focus keyword or topic, and Surfer‘s AI will put together a customized article blueprint covering all the sub-topics you need to nail that post.
The outlines definitely still need human input to turn into finished, publishable pieces. But having Surfer handle the outline legwork is a huge time-saver.
You also have the option to purchase Surfer‘s premium AI Writer add-on starting at $49/month. We found the AI draft quality solid but overpriced.
Deep Content Audits
Rounding out Surfer‘s robust toolset is a potent content audit feature. It gives you X-ray vision into issues sabotaging the search visibility of existing blog posts and pages.
Just feed the tool any URL plus your target keyword, and Surfer will instantly spotlight problems related to:
- Text length and formatting
- Keyword usage and density
- Outbound links
- Meta tags
- Media elements
Our tests found around 70-80% of the tool‘s content suggestions to be on point. Acting on them resulted in nice search visibility and traffic gains.
You can run up to 100 audits per month on Surfer‘s Scale plan.
Extra Integrations and Tools
Other valuable additions setting Surfer apart are its generous Google Drive and Sheets integrations, plus:
- Free Surfer Keyword Surfer browser extension
- HubSpot, WordPress, Shopify and other platform integrations
- Multilingual NLP content analysis in 5 languages
- Surfer monitoring project management features
- Helpful learning academy content
Next let‘s break down Surfer‘s subscription plans and pricing…
Surfer SEO Subscription Plans and Pricing
Surfer offers several escalating plans to meet the needs solos to large teams.
Here is an overview of the pricing and core features for individual plans:
| Plan | Price Per Month | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $89+ | 30 content editors, 2 seats, 100 keyword searches |
| Scale | $129+ | 100 content editors, 5 seats, SEO audits |
| Scale AI | $219+ | Content AI writing, 10 seats, outlines |
| Enterprise | Custom Quote | Dedicated support, premium training |
The starting prices above are for annual contracts. You‘ll pay 20-30% more for monthly subscriptions.
Add-on extras like more content editors ($5 each) and Surfer‘s AI Writer (from $49/month) cost extra too.
We see the Scale or Scale AI plans as the best value sweet spots for small teams optimizing lots of content.
For solos working on a budget, the Essential plan should still provide ample capabilities. Those with bigger content volumes or teams can inquire about volume discounts.
Next let‘s weigh Surfer‘s biggest advantages and potential limitations…
The Main Pros and Cons of Using Surfer SEO
Based on months of hands-on testing and real-world use across client sites, here is our candid take on Surfer‘s biggest upsides and downsides:
Key Benefits of Using Surfer
- Produces tangible SEO results: Pages optimized with Surfer‘s guidance routinely reach page 1 search rankings faster in our experience. Just be prepared to also do some link building.
- Easy to master: The UI is polished, intuitive and beginner-friendly. Surfer‘s onboarding flows and tips help you make full use of its analysis features in little time.
- Good value: Packs multiple robust features into a competitive price point. The Scale plan can easily replace individual tools costing much more.
- World-class support: We‘ve always received thoughtful, timely support covering technical issues to usage questions.
Potential Limitations
- Some flaky suggestions: Roughly 20% of Surfer‘s content recommendations miss the mark for us. Be prepared to apply your own SEO judgement.
- Lagging UI speed: Web dashboard performance slows a bit navigating larger Surfer projects. The Chrome extension remains fast.
- No automated site audits: Getting holistic site-wide inspections requires running dozens of individual content audits. Would be great to see Surfer add full declarative site crawl scans.
- Steep learning curve for beginners: Casual bloggers may initially feel overwhelmed by data-dense tools like the keyword explorer. But added onboarding content helps ease new users in.
On the whole, we find Surfer‘s pros easily outweigh the cons for serious SEO.
Curious how Surfer stacks up to alternatives? Let‘s compare.
How Surfer Compares to Other On-Page SEO Tools in 2024
The SEO software market saw lots of new entrants in 2022. As leaders like Surfer, Frase and Clearscope raced to add fresh capabilities like AI writing.
Here is how Surfer sizes up now versus rivals:
Surfer vs Frase
Frase offers a slightly cheaper starting price but weaker features beyond phrasing suggestions. Surfer provides more robust optimization insights tailored to entire pieces of content.
Those needing an AI assistant for drafting posts at scale may prefer Frase‘s addon or standalone Frase Bible tool however.
Surfer vs Clearscope
Clearscope locks tons of great functionality behind an unjustifiably pricy paywall for solos. Surfer democratizes robust SEO tools at accessible rates for individuals and small teams alike.
For larger companies, Clearscope offers extras like automated site audits – but costs exponentially more.
Surfer vs MarketMuse
MarketMuse is another overpriced option with an dated UI. Surfer provides far better bang for buck, with cheaper plans packing way more capability. From mighty content editing tools, to full keyword research Suites and more.
Surfer vs INK Content Intelligence
INK is one of the newest contenders bringing AI content writing to the table. It‘s Crazy Egg parent company budget gives INK big potential. But for now, their web editor and optimization capabilities don‘t hold a candle to Surfer.
We still preferred Surfer‘s transparent UI and richer insights to manually level up content. Though INK may tempt brand new SEO users at a slightly cheaper rate.
Surfer vs Scalenut
Scalenut is another innovative AI-enhanced SEO suite standing out from the pack in 2022.
It offers holistic site audits and rank tracking lacking in Surfer. However, Scalenut‘s UI and human-centered editing features feel less intuitive than Surfer‘s focus.
If you want automated technical SEO scans or rank monitoring, check out Scalenut. Otherwise Surfer takes the cake for hands-on content optimization.
Surfer vs SE Ranking
SE Ranking has been a top rated general SEO tool for years. It provides way more all-in-one site analytics – from rank tracking and PPC management to full site audits.
But Surfer holds the edge for those just focused on creating search-friendly website content at scale thanks to its specialization. And it costs much less than SE Ranking while excelling at that task.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Surfer
To close out this 2023 review, we wanted to share some pro tips for extracting maximum value from Surfer based on extensive first-hand usage across client sites:
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Take the objective AI suggestions: It‘s easy to only accept or reject Surfer‘s input that already matches your own ideas. But often recommendations that seem odd at first have good search intent or competition insights behind them. Give every piece of feedback honest consideration.
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Create an optimization checklist: Come up with a consistent process for acting on Surfer flags about issues like text length, media use, outbound links etc. Turning broad tips into regimented tasks makes systematically optimizing large content libraries much more manageable.
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Always link out to related resources: Surfer dings pages for missing outbound links – but it‘s not just filler for metrics. Thoughtfully linking out to complementary evergreen resources both helps readers and search engines better classify the intent of your content.
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Use Surfer monitoring to manage projects: Surfer‘s monitoring features let you schedule alerts when your content hits certain optimization milestones. This takes the guesswork out of managing optimization projects across large multi-author teams.
Start putting these tips into practice to get way more from the tool than competitors just scratching the surface of Surfer‘s capabilities.
The Final Verdict
Surfer SEO retains its standing as a top solution for supercharging your on-page content in 2024 thanks to robust tools for planning, creating and fixing posts that drive real ROI.
For strapped solos, the Essential plan brings tremendous value. Freelancers, agencies and SMBs are well served by the extra power in the Scale and Scale AI tiers.
We wholeheartedly recommend Surfer to any serious SEO practitioner – especially those creating lots of content in house. It packs an unrivaled combo of keyword research, configurable writing templates, detailed audits and AI assistance.
The tool isn‘t without some marginal shortcomings. But generous support, constant development and tangible impacts on search performance make Surfer a podium finisher delivering on its promises.
Ready to try Surfer‘s unique approach to SEO content for yourself? Get started with a 7 day free trial today.
