BrightEdge vs. Google Analytics

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BrightEdge
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
BrightEdge is an enterprise-level SEO (Search Engine Optimization) platform from the company of the same name in San Mateo, California. It includes customizable dashboards, reporting, forecasting, SEO recommendations, backlink management and competitive analysis. It covers local, global, mobile, social and content centric SEO. Presently BrightEdge's platform supports the marketing efforts of many well-brands, like Nike, Microsoft, and Netflix.
$0
per month
Google Analytics
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Google Analytics is perhaps the best-known web analytics product and, as a free product, it has massive adoption. Although it lacks some enterprise-level features compared to its competitors in the space, the launch of the paid Google Analytics Premium edition seems likely to close the gap.
$0
per month
Pricing
BrightEdgeGoogle Analytics
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Google Analytics 360
150,000
per year
Google Analytics
Free
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BrightEdgeGoogle Analytics
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BrightEdgeGoogle Analytics
Considered Both Products
BrightEdge
Chose BrightEdge
Price is definitely a factor in comparing Google Analytics or Google AdWords Keyword Planner against BrightEdge. If you can afford it, I recommend keeping your Google products and adding in BrightEdge to give you the most robust landscape analysis possible. Once you start using …
Chose BrightEdge
We initially selected BrightEdge, as we thought that it would be a simple way to optimize our web pages for search. A few months into it, we felt otherwise and within the first year, we decided to not renew our contract when it came up for renewal. Basically, the majority of …
Chose BrightEdge
I see a lot of similarities with the other two products. Personally, I think a big aspect of using BrightEdge is familiarity with the platform. Just like any of these SEO tools, the value from these comes with how efficient users can be with the interface. BrightEdge has a …
Chose BrightEdge
While relatively expensive, Brightedge really does offer the best quality product but just as importantly (if not more so) the level of client/agency support. We have biweekly training with the entire team to continually stay up to date on Brightedge's offerings and strategies. …
Chose BrightEdge
BrightEdge is a more robust program and offers better analytics in real time. It is worth the money if you are using it a lot. Semrush offers a lot of great information and functionality, but it cannot offer the depth of BrightEdge. Ubersuggest is better for beginners or …
Chose BrightEdge
I found BrightEdge to be more intuitive to use and that the onboard training offered matched my team's learning style. They are an innovative SEO leader that takes time, energy, and effort to learn your unique business and challenges. Purchasing an enterprise level SEO platform …
Chose BrightEdge
I haven't used any other products like BrightEdge, although my colleague has and he seems to think BrightEdge is the number 1 product for all things 'SEO'.
Chose BrightEdge
BrightEdge stacks up against competitors because of the quality of the direction given to optimize content. It actually tell you which keyword/paragraph/h1/h3 add and where to match within a market opportunity or a competitor similar content, always considering the SERP and the …
Chose BrightEdge
We previously spend more money with agencies that we're able to show what work was being done to improve SEO. This platform shows current ranking, makes recommendations, and tracks completed tasks. It is very easy to see where the money is going.
Chose BrightEdge
BrightEdge is able to do more in many ways - it's a more comprehensive tool for SEO keyword research (at least based on my personal experience) and also is able to present dashboards online, which was a major hurdle for us using the locally-installed version of AWR which could …
Chose BrightEdge
Both are good tools. The biggest difference comes in your needs. Like I said earlier, BrightEdge is an enterprise tools and has the features set to support that. Moz is a consumer product and it a great place to start, but the analytics integration, tracking, reporting …
Chose BrightEdge
I am a legacy Hubspot user and I regularly evaluate and test new and popular SEO tools, such as Moz, seoClarity, GinzaMetrics, etc. ( a wide range of tools of different complexity and price range). Even though no software is perfect (including BrightEdge), I can confidently say …
Chose BrightEdge
We used both, but used SEM Rush for smaller level clients and BrightEdge for enterprise level clients.
Chose BrightEdge
BrightEdge works well in tandem with Google Analytics, but one should not rely on one over the other with regard to those 2 tools.

I feel BrightEdge is the preferred vendor over SEOmoz for enterprise-level businesses and clients because of the in-depth analysis as well as the …
Google Analytics
Chose Google Analytics
Coremetrics offered better support to the admins, but the data was unclear and often misleading. Site catalyst is difficult to use and has a high barrier to entry. Google analytics is a better data platform, with a better user interface, but they are lacking in the support like …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
BrightEdgeGoogle Analytics
SEO
Comparison of SEO features of Product A and Product B
BrightEdge
8.8
46 Ratings
13% above category average
Google Analytics
-
Ratings
Keyword analysis9.646 Ratings00 Ratings
Backlink management7.240 Ratings00 Ratings
SERP ranking tracking9.444 Ratings00 Ratings
Page grader8.239 Ratings00 Ratings
Competitive analysis9.246 Ratings00 Ratings
Site audit / diagnostics9.543 Ratings00 Ratings
Site recommendations8.046 Ratings00 Ratings
Task management8.941 Ratings00 Ratings
SEO Channels
Comparison of SEO Channels features of Product A and Product B
BrightEdge
8.1
44 Ratings
6% above category average
Google Analytics
-
Ratings
Local SEO8.535 Ratings00 Ratings
Social SEO8.030 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile SEO7.141 Ratings00 Ratings
Global SEO9.034 Ratings00 Ratings
SEO Platform & Account Management
Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Product A and Product B
BrightEdge
8.9
44 Ratings
6% above category average
Google Analytics
-
Ratings
Multi-domain support9.035 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with web analytics tools8.743 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BrightEdgeGoogle Analytics
Small Businesses
Google PageSpeed Insights
Google PageSpeed Insights
Score 9.9 out of 10
StatCounter
StatCounter
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Advanced Web Ranking
Advanced Web Ranking
Score 8.3 out of 10
Siteimprove
Siteimprove
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
Score 8.7 out of 10
Contentsquare
Contentsquare
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BrightEdgeGoogle Analytics
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(78 ratings)
9.0
(183 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(35 ratings)
9.0
(51 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(10 ratings)
9.9
(8 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(14 ratings)
7.0
(42 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.3
(2 ratings)
9.0
(7 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
BrightEdgeGoogle Analytics
Likelihood to Recommend
BrightEdge
BrightEdge has been a long-standing partner with us. I have had 10 years of experience with using their platform. It is a very large robust platform that allows us to find the information we need and quickly. Unfortunately with the company being so large, they are unable to make quick changes and customers suggested enhancements as quickly as other platforms.
Read full review
Google
Google Analytics is particularly well suited for tracking and analyzing customer behavior on a grocery e-commerce platform. It provides a wealth of information about customer behavior, including what products are most popular, what pages are visited the most, and where customers are coming from. This information can help the platform optimize its website for better customer engagement and conversion rates. However, Google Analytics may not be the best tool for more advanced, granular analysis of customer behavior, such as tracking individual customer journeys or understanding customer motivations. In these cases, it may be more appropriate to use additional tools or solutions that provide deeper insights into customer behavior.
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Pros
BrightEdge
  • Strong analytics
  • Integrates with other tools
  • Instant provides real time research, ranking and recommendations
  • The Client Success team is truly an extension of my team with experts in the industry to help support our team and growing the organic channel
  • Education and career growth opportunity—constantly providing ways to connect with others in the industry, user groups, events, and conferences
  • Onboard process is very thorough and customized
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Google
  • Multiple reports to see website use and behavior
  • Allows you to customize reports with days, weeks, months, and years
  • You can build out a dashboard to easily view stats from multiple websites in one place
  • You can share analytics reports via the dashboard, automatically emailed PDFs or in other formats
Read full review
Cons
BrightEdge
  • The storybuilder feature isn't anything outstanding. I feel like I can get the same type of data and format from Google Data Studio.
  • I feel like the Hyperlocal feature is still very junior compared to other features. It provides you good insights, but you have to set all the data fields before you can get a picture as well as it doesn't really give you an idea of how you can improve.
  • The mobile SEO solution is a good concept, but it needs some tweaks to be better, especially when building out a mobile story builder. Some of the data isn't simple to read and the mobile keywords functions don't also account for voice searches.
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Google
  • Data sampling is somewhat inaccurate on the free tier - this is addressed in premium but is expensive.
  • Some of the UI is very similar in naming when presenting different data, some in-situ information might be useful.
  • Gotchas around filtering and data validation.
  • Implementation can be tricky, it can take a lot of time and expertise to get a full, accurate picture of your metrics.
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Likelihood to Renew
BrightEdge
I would renew, as I don't feel there is a product out there that would have the impact on our SEO efforts as effectively as BrightEdge. It provides the information I need and integrates with other tools like Google Webmaster Tools, to truly have the depth of information that makes their suggestions for SEO changes so valued.
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Google
We will continue to use Google Analytics for several reasons. It is free, which is a huge selling point. It houses all of our ecommerce stores' data, and though it can't account for refunds or fraud orders, gives us and our clients directional, real time information on individual and group store performance.
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Usability
BrightEdge
Easy-to-use and intuitive design make using the BrightEdge platform a joy. Yes, I have familiarity with it and know where to go but there are definitely not a ton of extraneous bells and whistles or unnecessary tools which is part of the brilliance of their UX. Sometimes I get hung up on where keywords and keyword groups are under settings but it is typically because I am moving too quickly, and not because they've moved it.
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Google
Google Analytics provides a wealth of data, down to minute levels. That is it's greatest detriment: find the right information when you need it can be a cumbersome task. You are able to create shortcuts, however, so it can mitigate some of this problem. Google is continually refining Analytics, so I do not doubt there will be improvements
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Reliability and Availability
BrightEdge
No answers on this topic
Google
We all know Google is at top when it comes to availability. We have never faced any such instances where I can suggest otherwise. All you need is a Google account, a device and internet connection to use this super powerful tool for reporting and visualising your site data, traffic, events, etc. that too in real time.
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Performance
BrightEdge
No answers on this topic
Google
This has been a catalyst for improving our site's traffic handling capabilities. We were able to identify exit% from our sites through it and we used recommendations to handle and implement the same in our sites. We have been increasing the usage of Google Analytics in our sites and never had any performance related issues if we used Analytics
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Support Rating
BrightEdge
This is a area where the BrightEdge team really shines. Their commitment to training and product support is unmatched not only for SEO platforms, but life in general. I often find myself wishing my internet provide and similar would go to BrightEdge for training on support and attitude. I would rank them an 11 if I could.
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Google
The Google reps respond very quickly. However, sometimes they can overly call you to set up an apportionment. I'm very proficient and sometimes when I talk to reps, they give beginner tutorials and insights that are a waste of time. I wish Google would understand my level of expertise and assign me to a rep (long-term) that doesn't have to walk me through the basics.
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Online Training
BrightEdge
No answers on this topic
Google
love the product and training they provide for businesses of all sizes. The following list of links will help you get started with Google Analytics from setup to understanding what data is being presented by Google Analytics.
  1. How to Use Google Analytics for Beginners – Mahalo’s how-to guide for beginners.
  2. A beginner’s guide to Google Analytics – A free eBook walking you through Google Analytics from setup to understanding what data is being presented.
  3. Getting to Know Your Google Analytics Dashboard – The title says it all! This is a brief post with one goal: to introduce you to the Google Analytics dashboard.
  4. Google Analytics for Beginners: How to Make the Most of Your Traffic Reports– This guide doesn’t cover setup, but it does a great job of helping you to better understand the data being presented.
  5. Google Analytics Video Tutorial 1: Setup – A video presentation that walks you through Google Analytics setup.
  6. Google Analytics Video Tutorial 2: Essential Stats – A video presentation that introduces you to some of the most important data being presented in Google Analytics.
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Implementation Rating
BrightEdge
For the most part it was seamless. The load time of clients was a little long, but otherwise was quite easy.
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Google
I think my biggest take away from the Google Analytics implementation was that there needs to be a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and how you want to achieve it before you start. Originally the analytics were added to track visitors, but as we became more savvy with the product, we began adding more and more functionality, and defining guidelines as we went along. While not detrimental to our success, this lack of an overarching goal resulted in some minor setbacks in implementation and the collection of some messy data that is unusable.
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Alternatives Considered
BrightEdge
While relatively expensive, Brightedge really does offer the best quality product but just as importantly (if not more so) the level of client/agency support. We have biweekly training with the entire team to continually stay up to date on Brightedge's offerings and strategies. They also offer the ability to do ad hoc reporting using some of their tools that can help us win new business and recommend Brightedge to additional clients, expanding our business as well.
Read full review
Google
I have not used Adobe Analytics as much, but I know they offer something called customer journey analytics, which we are evaluating now. I have used Semrush, and I find them much better than Google Analytics. I feel a fairly nontechnical person could learn Semrush in about a month. They also offer features like competitive analysis (on content, keywords, traffic, etc.), which is very useful. If you have to choose one among Semrush and Google Analytics, I would say go for Semrush.
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Scalability
BrightEdge
No answers on this topic
Google
Google Analytics is currently handling the reporting and tracking of near about 80 sites in our project. And I am not talking about the sites from different projects. They may have way more accounts than that. Never ever felt a performance issue from Google's end while generating or customising reports or tracking custom events or creating custom dimensions
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Return on Investment
BrightEdge
  • We have only started with BE a few months ago and so I don't have any hard numbers from an ROI perspective, but i can say that what we spent on BE is a fraction of what we were spending with agencies and we are actually getting results by doing this ourselves. From that perspective we have seen a cost savings.
  • With focused SEO campaigns and projects we have been able to move the needle on our SEO rankings for specific products and services. This is going to have a great impact for us in 2019 as we have some specific product goals and campaigns for 2019 that we have been working to build up over the last couple months of 2018.
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Google
  • It has helped us gain understanding of what is going on on our website.
  • It has helped us determine areas that need fixing (i.e. pages with extremely high bounce rates may need to be redone).
  • It has helped us understand our biggest avenues for bringing traffic to the website and business in general.
  • It has helped guide our website redesign.
Read full review
ScreenShots