For years, Surfer SEO has been a go-to tool for content creators, digital markets, and small businesses looking to enhance their on-page SEO.
The platform is home to 150,000 content creators, SEOs, teams, and agencies who want to produce high-quality content quickly and effectively.
Though it’s a great search engine optimization tool, it isn’t for everybody. That’s why we’ll explore the best Surfer SEO alternatives.
1. Rankability
Rankability was built by an SEO for SEOs. It’s one of the most powerful tools out there to build top-ranking pages.
The owner, Nathan Gotch, has used his decades of experience from his SEO agency to create software that simplifies the content creation process.
This tool gives you access to a complete SEO content workflow. You can perform keyword research, create AI content briefs, and optimize your content with NLP.
You’ll even have access to weekly mastermind calls as well as SEO training.
Not only this, but it’s a simple-to-use tool. It’s not complicated, so anybody can use it. You even share briefs with content writers via a link, offering optimal scalability.
Key Features
- AI-Powered Content Briefs: Create briefs in seconds that use natural language processing (NLP) to ensure SEO-friendliness.
- IBM Watson Integration: Get real-time data on actionable keyword suggestions without leaving the tool.
- Content Monitoring Tools: Track your content’s performance and get optimization recommendations for underperforming pages.
- Mastermind Calls: Join the weekly SEO mastermind calls hosted by Nathan Gotch for SEO strategy insights and best practices.
- Dark Mode: Enhance usability by changing the user interface’s color.
- Monthly Rollovers: Credits don’t wipe out at the end of the month; they stay in your account.
Pro & Cons
Pros
- All-in-one SEO tool for ranking on the search results.
- Offers AI tools for creating SEO content briefs quickly.
- Zero onboarding is required due to ease of use.
- Unused credits are rolled over to the next month.
- Uses IBM Watson for maximum data accuracy.
Cons
- No free plan is available.
Best Fit For
Due to the tools offered and the flexible pricing, Rankabiliy is for anyone interested in improving or streamlining their SEO writing process. This includes SEO experts, content teams, freelance writers, and even agencies.
2. SE Ranking
SE Ranking is a comprehensive SEO tool that helps users with SEO research, SEO monitoring, content marketing, and local marketing.
The tool itself has several key features. These include rank tracking, content editing with AI writer, keyword suggestions, on-page SEO checkers, SEO auditing, and SERP analysis.
All of these features are of quality, aiming to help content teams, SEOs, etc., deliver better and faster results. You’ll also get actionable insights combined from multiple data sources for maximum impact.
Alongside this, you get white-label reporting, which is perfect for SEO teams with recurring customers.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- User-friendly interface and white-label reporting.
- Offers integrations with platforms like Google Docs.
- Additional features like a plagiarism checker and local marketing tools.
Cons
- Add-ons like local SEO and their agency pack are additional money.
- The essential (starter) package doesn’t include a lot of SEO tools.
3. Frase
Frase.io has over 30,000 members using their platform to simplify their content workflow, helping with content research, creation, and optimization.
Many users like the Frase.io topic research features. It analyses the SERPs, pulling out headings used by top-ranking websites.
You can then use their drag-and-drop content outline builder to create, customize, and edit the content brief.
Once the content brief has been developed, you then use Frase.io’s AI writer to create the content to match the user’s search intent.
You’ll even have a content score to suggest how optimized your content is based on the number of words, headings, NLP keywords, etc.
The pricing of this platform is also reasonable, making it perfect for individuals or smaller businesses. You have a free plan and then plans ranging from $15 to $115 per month.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Affordable solution for individuals or smaller businesses.
- Strong focus on streamlining the content creation process.
- Integrates seamlessly with tools like Google Docs and WordPress.
Cons
- Primarily for content creation, nothing else.
- Lacks advanced SEO features.
4. PageOptimizer Pro
PageOptimizer Pro (POP) is primarily an on-page SEO tool, offering advanced features such as EEAT assessment and AI-powered schema generation.
Alongside these features, you also have various other tools for SEO professionals. This includes an AI writer, alerts, NLP integration, brief generation, bulk optimization, Google Doc integration, and more.
Together, these features offer a well-rounded platform. It isn’t built for non-serious SEOs, as there’s a steep learning curve. Instead, it’s built for those who understand the process and just need a little guidance optimizing it.
Considering what it offers, it’s pretty affordable. If you want to try it out, they have a free trial. When you start paying for it, it ranges from $34 to $61 a month.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- All-in-one on-page SEO tool; you don’t need anything else.
- Includes on-page SEO tools you don’t normally see, like EEAT assessment.
- Considering what’s offered, it’s an affordable platform.
Cons
- A bit of a learning curve for beginners.
5. Content Harmony
Content Harmony is the perfect tool for those looking to speed up keyword reports, content brief creation, and content creation.
Some key features offered on this platform include topic modeling, competitive analysis, and their intent scoring system.
It lacks advanced SEO tools, however. Instead, it’s a tool centered around content creation and on-page SEO.
The brief creation feature is pretty nice. It’s similar to what’s found on Frase.Io. It’s a drag-and-drop system, so you can change the brief how you please.
We also liked their keyword reports, as they showed import metrics like content, link, and domain difficulty.
In general, the tool is good for making SEO-friendly content. It’s also priced at $99 a month (billed monthly) or $89 (billed annually), which isn’t bad.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Great entry-level tool that has good content scalability.
- Offers seamless integration for digital marketing teams.
- Provides free onboarding and training materials.
Cons
- Lacks a lot of advanced SEO tools like site audits.
5. NeuronWriter
NeuronWriter helps you plan, write, and optimize content with the help of semantic ****** (NLP), competition data, and Google SERP analysis.
The content writer is the main attraction to NeuronWriter. It has a clean interface that displays NLP keywords to the right. It also has an SEO scoring system and AI writing assistance if required.
Another area we liked was their topical authority-building tools. These included features like content idea generators, topic clusters, content plans, and everything else required to build authority in a keyword/niche.
Alongside this, the platform itself is somewhat affordable. Their lowest package (Bronze) is priced at $23/month, so it’s budget-friendly.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Affordable pricing, even for small businesses.
- Supports the content workflow from idea to publishing.
- Offers integrations with popular platforms like WordPress.
Cons
- Limited advanced features compare to other tools.
- Suited for individuals or small teams, not agencies.
Conclusion
Out of all the platforms we reviewed, Rankability was the best. It’s a tool with all the necessary features to create SEO-friendly content while having several other “nice” extras like expert support, exclusive mastermind calls, etc.
The other tools, however, are also good. SE Ranking is a complete SEO toolkit, Frase.io is good for small teams, PageOptimizer Pro (POP) is great for on-page SEO, Content Harmony is decent for content planning, and NueronWriter, well, it’s affordable.
Each tool has a unique selling point, and the best Surfer SEO alternative depends on your needs. Because of this, we recommend that you evaluate your own SEO strategy and find out your specific needs for an alternative.
Once you have a good understanding, you can then test the platforms out. Most offer a free trial, so you’re able to try them before making the initial investment.
