In the content industry, analysis is the last divider between what performs and what doesn’t.
Content analysis tools differ in both what they recommend and how they recommend it. Content analysis could refer to:
- How well optimized the content is for SEO
- How many conversions the content is driving
- Analyzing engagement factors like time on page and return traffic
- How well the content ranks in Google
- How many social shares it gets
- …etc.
Not all metrics are equal, but if you want to drive traffic and end up getting more conversions, content analysis is what will get you there. So, we will look into content analysis tools that pave you a path to both.
Here are the 11 best content analysis tools
- SurferSEO
- DashThis
- Databox
- Outranking
- Frase
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Clearscope
- MarketMuse
- Hemingway
- ProWritingAid
1. SurferSEO
SurferSEO is provides several features for content analysis. It's primarily for ensuring that content is optimized for SEO.
Best for: Analyzing how well optimized content is for SEO
Starting price: $49/month
Free trial: No, but their Chrome extension that displays keyword volume (and other metrics) is free
Jobs to be done: SEO content writing & editing, keyword research, content planning & outlines
Reasons to use SurferSEO
SurferSEO’s flagship feature is its content editor, which helps you make sure your writing stays on track from an SEO perspective. It can also be used to audit / analyze existing content, hence it's mention in this post. Pulling data from the current top results in the SERP, it can help you to:
- Get the appropriate word count
- Hit the right keywords at the appropriate densities
- Cover the right topics and subtopics
- Compare your page directly with your top competitors
- Find opportunities for SEO writing and link building
SurferSEO’s content analyses are thorough. As well as the typical content optimization recommendations you get in the editor, audits also include points like:
- Internal link opportunities
- Feedback on page structure (e.g. add more images)
- Load speed
Pricing
Surfer's pricing starts from $49/month. View pricing here.
| Plan | Price (Monthly) | Users | Team Members | Audits |
| Basic | $49 | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Pro | $99 | 30 | 3 | 30 |
| Business | $199 | 70 | 10 | 70 |
2. DashThis
DashThis is a tool specifically designed for reporting dashboards for marketing. You can pull your content KPIs together in a dashboard, and share it with your team easily.
Best for: Pulling content KPIs together in a user-friendly dashboard
Starting price: $33/month
Free trial: yes, 15 days
Jobs to be done: Content analysis, KPIs, creating reports, sharing reports
Reasons to Use DashThis
DashThis is a great choice if you want a neat dashboard to review your content KPIs in one place, along with all of your other marketing KPIs. You can think of it like a Google Data Studio alternative, but with better integrations, easier to use/learn, and added customer support.
DashThis integrates with dozens of marketing data sources. The data they analyze provides metrics for SEO, SEM, social media behavior, advertising, and more. However, the full list of data points is up to you. What DashThis ultimately provides is customizable but thorough dashboards. So, you can stay on top of your market with thorough, ongoing analysis presented in the way you choose.
It’s also worth pointing out the value provided through DashThis. For the quality and comprehensiveness of what you get, DashThis is inexpensive.
Pricing
| Plan | Price (Monthly) | Dashboards | Additional Features |
| Individual | $33 | 3 | N/A |
| Professional | $109 | 10 | Custom domain, additional thematic customization |
| Business | $209 | 25 | Priority support |
| Standard | $339+ | 50+ (pay for more) | All features unlocked |
3. Databox
Databox is another tool for creating data dashboards. The idea is that you connect your data sources, pick which KPIs you want to display, and share the dashboard with your team.
Starting price: Free
Free trial: yes, 15 days
Jobs to be done: Content analysis, KPIs, creating reports, sharing reports
Reasons to use Databox
Databox works similar to DashThis. There's a few key reasons why you might try Databox instead to create a content marketing dashboard:
- Databox has a free-forever plan (3 data source connections)
- Databox covers more use cases than just marketing
- They are offering free dashboard setups (even to free users)
There are many templates to use for content analysis, and there's a good chance one-click integrations are available for your existing tools. Take a look at their content analysis templates here.
Pricing
Databox pricing scales up based on the number of data source connections, and dashboards you need. The free plan is good if you're a team of 1-2 content marketers needing 3 or less integrations.
| Plan | Price (Monthly) | Dashboards | Data updates |
| Free | Free | 3 | Daily |
| Starter | From $91 | 3-50 | Daily |
| Professional | From $169 | 3-150 | Hourly |
| Performer | From $289 | Unlimited | Hourly |
4. Frase
Frase is a complete content solution that comes with research, analysis, and writing tools. They offer a few unique analytical angles that can make a huge difference in casting a wider net for traffic.
Best for: High-volume, high-quality optimized content creation, small but busy marketing teams
Starting price: $39.99
Free trial: yes, 7 days
Jobs to be done: SEO content writing, editing, planning & outlines, AI writing
Reasons to Use Frase
Frase can be used for analyzing how well optimized content is for SEO, similar to SurferSEO and Outranking. It also has AI-writing features for content ideation, outlines, and more.
Frase is the first platform to have used the “answer engine optimization” method. What this means is that with all analyses, you get a few FAQs to work with. Knowing exactly which questions people are looking for from you and your competitors gives you a few edges.
First, you can simply make an FAQs section to gain some extra traffic. Second, your content can be qualitatively better by providing more thorough insights into the problems your readers care about.
The above and more analytical features are presented in the content brief section. After that, Frase also includes analytics and metrics for SEO phrases, linking, and more.
Pricing
| Plan | Price (Monthly) | Users | Documents |
| Basic | $44.99 | 1 | 30 |
| Team | $114.99 | 3 | Unlimited |
| Enterprise | Customized | Unlimited | Unlimited |
5. Outranking
Outranking is an SEO tool that offers analytics on the key metrics needed to outcompete for the top search result spaces.
Best for: Content optimization for solo SEO professionals or small teams looking for fast turnaround
Starting price: $40/month
Free trial: yes
Jobs to be done: SERP analysis, content writing/editing optimization, ROI analytics
Reasons to Use Outranking
Outranking’s analytical tools include SERP analysis, SEO scoring, and ROI analytics.
When incorporated into a complete workflow, Outranking’s content analysis has the potential to both rank your content higher and optimize your ROI. The platform also offers AI-powered writing assistance to help you reach your goals faster.
If you want a complete analysis for marketing and sales but aren’t looking for expensive, flashy options, Outranking is a great choice.
Pricing
| Plan | Price/Month | Documents/Month |
| Mega | $40 | 10 |
| Giga | $82 | 25 |
| Tera | $157 | 50 |
6. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free tool that every website can use to analyze content performance.
Best for: Everyone (as an additional tool)
Starting price: Free
Free trial: Forever
Jobs to be done: checking conversions & engagement of your content
Reasons to Use Google Analytics
First of all, Google Analytics provides any Google user with several free analytical tools. You can log into your Google account right now to gain insights into the customer journey and your marketing ROI.
In the context of content analysis, Google Analytics will help you check several metrics, such as:
- Time on page
- Number of pages per session (are people reading multiple posts?)
- Conversions
- Total visits
- … and more
As a free tool, it's a no-brainer for every website to be using to analyze content.
Pricing
Google Analytics is free. Google Analytics 360 offers very advanced features, though most important features are already free. Contact Google for a quote. Rates start at $12,500 per year.
7. Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a completely free (forever) tool that helps you understand how your content performs in Google searches. It's great for research, content planning, and performance measurement.
Best for: Everyone (as an additional tool)
Starting price: Free
Free trial: Forever
Jobs to be done: SEO analysis, SEO troubleshooting
Reasons to Use Google Search Console
As another free service that provides useful data, it’s a no-brainer.
Google Search Console does lots of things. In the context of content analytics, though, primary uses might be:
- Checking which keywords are driving traffic to your content
- Checking ranking positions (if you don't have a separate SERP tracking tool)
- Ensuring your content is indexed in Google
- Requesting the re-indexing of your site for new or updated content
- Ensuring mobile friendliness
- Basic checking of internal & external backlinks
Pricing
Google Search Console is always completely free to use.
8. Clearscope
Clearscope is an SEO tool whose default features provide analysis for SEO and readability. The fact that these two features are default and provided alongside each other already gives Clearscope an edge over many alternatives.
Best for: Larger businesses looking for fast onboarding and scalability
Starting price: $170/month
Free trial: No
Jobs to be done: Writing/editing optimization, SEO research, readability editing
Reasons to Use Clearscope
If you run a large organization, or a medium-sized one looking to scale, Clearscope has a lot to offer.
First, the tool was designed for usability. It is not difficult for marketing professionals of any level of experience to become familiarized with Clearscope’s basic features. The UI is intuitive, and you can see clear connections between highlights, prompts, and relevant metrics.
In terms of on-page analysis, you can import your content for an immediate combination of Hemingway-style grading and Surfer-style SEO grading. Your content is scored clearly, as you receive many suggestions for improvement. Ideally, you can get your SEO scored at 100 and get the lowest readability grade possible (implying your content is easier to understand.
It's a great tool overall. There's a few downsides:
- It doesn't have a free trial
- There's no low-cost entry plan for smaller teams
- There's relatively few features overall
For those reasons, you may wish to explore Clearscope alternatives.
Pricing
| Plan | Price (Monthly) | Users | Content Reports | Customized Onboarding |
| Essentials | $170 | 3 | 20 | No |
| Business | $1,200 | Unlimited | 100 | Yes |
| Enterprise | Customized | Unlimited | Customized | Yes |
9. MarketMuse
MarketMuse is an AI content planning and optimization tool. Alongside their tested outlining and optimization editor, they also provide several analytical features.
Best for: Organizations looking to scale, larger content marketing teams
Starting price: $7,200/year
Free trial: Free version (limited)
Jobs to be done: SEO writing/editing optimization, thorough site SEO analysis (thousands of pages)
Reasons to Use MarketMuse
If you want a writing assistant that analyzes your copy for SEO, MarketMuse is worth your consideration.
The primary metric MarketMuse employs is the MarketMuse content score. This is a qualitative score for how the writing covers a specific topic. To do so, their AI analyzes thousands of other pages including your top competition’s.
Pricing
| Plan | Price (Annually) | Queries per Month |
| Free | $0 | 15 |
| Standard | $7,200 | 100 |
| Premium | $12,000+ | Unlimited |
10. Hemingway
Hemingway Editor is a simple and extremely inexpensive (or free) tool. Its single-minded purpose is to increase readability and conciseness. In that regard, it’s used as an industry standard for many forms of content writing.
Best for: Writers looking for a simple readability editor
Starting price: $19.99 (one-time cost)
Free trial: Can be used online for free (cannot save or work offline)
Jobs to be done: Writing and editing for readability and conciseness
Reasons to use Hemingway
Any writer in any position where readability matters should use Hemingway. The webapp is free forever (I've never paid for it), but even the premium tool only comes with a one-time charge of $19.99 for unlimited use.
When you copy content into Hemingway, it is graded for readability almost instantly. The higher your reading grade, the harder it is for readers to comprehend what you’re trying to say. The goal of editing in the tool is to “dumb it down” so to speak, so even a child can understand it. The logic is that if a child can understand it, an adult customer can digest it quickly.
To come up with a grade, Hemingway uses several metrics with their own prompts:
- Adverbs (to be removed wherever possible)
- Passive voice (to be changed to active voice wherever possible)
- Complex words to be replaced with simpler alternatives
- Sentences that are hard to read
- Sentences that are very hard to read
Pricing
Hemingway's webapp is free forever. You can gain complete, offline access to Hemingway Editor for a one-time fee of $19.99.
11. ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid, similarly to Hemingway, is an AI grammar and style tool. It is an editing tool that naturally provides several useful points for analysis in the process.
Best for: Solo writers, agencies, and similar small businesses
Starting price: $20/month
Free trial: Yes
Jobs to be done: Writing and editing for readability
Reasons to use ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid’s name is revealing and accurate. If you want an extremely comprehensive analytical and editing tool for written content, this is it.
In terms of functionality, ProWritingAid is often brought up as an alternative to Grammarly. However, this isn’t entirely accurate. Both tools analyze content for the same issues and provide similar suggestions. But ProWritingAid also offers:
- Checks for consistency
- Readability checks
- “Echoing” or repeating the same word in close proximity
- A human proof-reader, if you want to order one
- Overused words or phrases
- Several other unique checks
Pricing
ProWritingAid has a different pricing model than most alternatives. Instead of different service packages, you can only choose how you want to pay for their one, complete package.
Monthly Subscription: $20/month
Annual Subscription: $59.25/year
Lifetime Purchase (one-time cost): $299.25
