RavenTools vs. SpyFu

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
RavenTools
Score 7.6 out of 10
N/A
Raven Tools from the Tennessee company of the same name is Internet or search engine marketing optimization software consisting of popular tools targeted at SEO specialists who need research automation. To that end it contains the familiar set of website research and auditing, competitor monitoring, rank tracking, and also content investigation to see that material on the site is keyword-rich yet topically relevant. Social media and backlink checking tools facilitate outreach and drive traffic…
$49
per month
SpyFu
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
SpyFu is the eponymous SEO and PPC research platform from the company in Scottsdale, Arizona focused on "spying" on competitors, or basically using their behaviors to refine your own through keyword and content analysis, and backlink poaching. This positional search engine optimization and paid listings management platform touts the ability to lower costs and raise rankings via a Kombat-oriented approach... basically a cute way of saying "it makes comparisons" of how well your site does in niche…
$39
per month
Pricing
RavenToolsSpyFu
Editions & Modules
Small Biz (2 users)
$49
per month
Start (4 users)
$109
per month
Grow (8 users)
$199
per month
Thrive (20 users)
$299
per month
Lead (40 users)
$479
per month
Basic
$39
per month
Professional
$79
per month
Team
$299
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RavenToolsSpyFu
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
RavenToolsSpyFu
Features
RavenToolsSpyFu
SEO
Comparison of SEO features of Product A and Product B
RavenTools
8.4
Ratings
8% above category average
SpyFu
6.6
Ratings
16% below category average
Keyword analysis10.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Backlink management7.00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
SERP ranking tracking10.00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Page grader10.00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Competitive analysis10.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Site audit / diagnostics10.00 Ratings7.20 Ratings
Site recommendations2.00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Task management8.00 Ratings6.10 Ratings
SEO Channels
Comparison of SEO Channels features of Product A and Product B
RavenTools
10.0
Ratings
27% above category average
SpyFu
5.8
Ratings
27% below category average
Local SEO10.00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Social SEO10.00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Mobile SEO10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Global SEO10.00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
SEO Platform & Account Management
Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Product A and Product B
RavenTools
10.0
Ratings
17% above category average
SpyFu
7.3
Ratings
15% below category average
Multi-domain support10.00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Integration with web analytics tools10.00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
User Ratings
RavenToolsSpyFu
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
RavenToolsSpyFu
Likelihood to Recommend
I would say RavenTools is most appropriate if you find you are spending a lot of time logging into different services and generating different reports from each. It's been a big time saver for us because we can compile all that data into one report and even generate a cover page and table of contents. This suite has also been beneficial for our sales team in that they we can provide detailed reports on the problems with their website before we even close the deal with them.
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If you have a Google ads PPC campaign and then I would say this is more or less essential if you want to know what your competitors are doing. You can get very useful data out of it even if you subscribe for one month. And the pricing is very reasonable. Even if you don't use Google ads, I would say this is still useful for your SEO/SMO team since it gives you a great idea of what keywords and traffic your competitors are working on.
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Pros
  • Centralize data points and resources to a single area and platform for easy access and review
  • Visually present data to customers without being overwhelming or cumbersome in data overload
  • Automate basic reporting and data consolidation to free up time for focusing on more strategic activities or executing desired plans and activities.
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  • Keeping a tab on competitors organic and inorganic activities
  • Helps identify where the competitor is getting the backlinks from.
  • Identify competitors top content and the keywords that's bringing them traffic
  • Get proper information of their current and past ADS run on Google.
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Cons
  • The analytics in the tool and the Google Analytics dashboard have been known to be out of sync, but this doesn't happen very often.
  • The reports occasionally have glitches, such as overlap of different modules.
  • The keyword tracking tool does not provide easy tracking of rankings over time.
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  • As with any database, their keyword database has limits, so the data returned is relative to their database, not necessarily the full picture.
  • When SpyFu database or scoring chances, the data provided can spike, thus causing confusion among stakeholders, we're reporting to.
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Likelihood to Renew
A year ago or so, Raven abandoned many of their organic rank reporting tools in an attempt to favor some Adwords intelligence. The market rebelled, as did I; in our desperation to find an alternative to Raven, none could be found and a great majority of users didn't want/need Adwords data. Months later, Raven reverted. I'd renew with Raven not just because nothing else cuts it, but because they are both trying to innovate, and listening to customers.
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Love this tool but would like insights from all 3 major search engines not just Google. I would also like deeper understanding of the placement for local businesses on Google Places/Maps. Insight into mobile search rankings and best landing pages per industry would also help :) Overall, SpyFu is a necessity for serious search marketers.
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Usability
Certain areas, Social Media scheduling, could stand to undergo a complete overhaul. However, most of the RavenTools interface is easy to use. You will not have any issues getting up and running and should there be an issue, the customer service is really good. They also continue to preform updates that make the usability even better
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SpyFu is an easy to use tool, and has a self -explanatroy dashborad to generate the data needed to provide insights into any B2B SEO and PPC campaign. It is not comprehensive, but it certainly provides good enough insight to make it a valuable part of any agency tool stack
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Support Rating
RavenTools has some of the best Customer Support I have ever received. They are quick to respond and will keep you posted on the progress of your issue. You truly feel as if you are getting customized service. No human is perfect and I have had one situation in which I had to reach out multiple times, but overall I fully trust and approve of their process
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SpyFu comes with a link to tutorial videos. I recommend you watch them. The software is capable of so much you really need to watch the videos and learn how to get the most out of it. When I have a question 90% of the time it's there. When it isn't, and I reach out to them, support is always quick and concise.
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Alternatives Considered
As a user of Hootsuite Free for reporting and social media management, RavenTools is more robust and fully functional. RavenTools provides a simpler dashboard and interface. You have more control over reporting, analytics views, and it is more intuitive. The only advantages I would say Hootsuite has is the ability to add apps that connect directly with other software and social media post management. Long story short, there is a reason I choose to put funds behind RavenTools vs. Hootsuite.
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I was surprised to find I preferred Semrush when it comes to keyword research. SpyFu is great (and less expensive than Semrush), but I felt the data Semrush provided was vaster than SpyFu. I was able to get more competitors spending insights in Semrush than SpyFu. Overall, I liked the ability to use both in our keyword research for both paid and organic marketing.
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Return on Investment
  • RavenTools has absolutely improved the reporting we provide our clients. We used to be mashing together dissimilar Excel reports. Comparisons between time periods was difficult to present and graphs had to be created manually with lots of time spent formatting them correctly.
  • RavenTools has improved the efficiency with which we put together our reports. This frees us up to do more high-level thinking about recommendations and up-sell opportunities which ultimately leads to more revenue.
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  • Helping us track our ranking.
  • It helps solve the problem of ambiguity when it comes to Google Ads. It makes the strategy more clear.
  • You can sift through lots of different online analytics to find the information, but it takes way too long. SpyFu has it all in one place!
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ScreenShots