11 Content Analysis Tools For Content Marketers

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

  1. SurferSEO
  2. DashThis
  3. Databox
  4. Outranking
  5. Frase
  6. Google Analytics
  7. Google Search Console
  8. Clearscope
  9. MarketMuse
  10. Hemingway
  11. 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.

PlanPrice (Monthly)UsersTeam MembersAudits
Basic$4910110
Pro$9930330
Business$199701070

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

PlanPrice (Monthly)DashboardsAdditional Features
Individual$333N/A
Professional$10910Custom domain, additional thematic customization
Business$20925Priority support
Standard$339+50+ (pay for more)All features unlocked

3. Databox

databox content marketing

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.

PlanPrice (Monthly)DashboardsData updates
FreeFree3Daily
StarterFrom $913-50Daily
ProfessionalFrom $1693-150Hourly
PerformerFrom $289UnlimitedHourly

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

PlanPrice (Monthly)UsersDocuments
Basic$44.99130
Team$114.993Unlimited
EnterpriseCustomizedUnlimitedUnlimited

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

PlanPrice/MonthDocuments/Month
Mega$4010
Giga$8225
Tera$15750

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

PlanPrice (Monthly)UsersContent ReportsCustomized Onboarding
Essentials$170320No
Business$1,200Unlimited100Yes
EnterpriseCustomizedUnlimitedCustomizedYes

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

PlanPrice (Annually)Queries per Month
Free$015
Standard$7,200100
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

About the author

Ryan Prior

I'm Ryan, a SaaS SEO. Previously at Toggl (a B2B SaaS product) and Skale (a SaaS SEO agency), I'm now working on growth at Modash. I started this blog to share everything I'm learning in the world of SaaS SEO growth & marketing tools.

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