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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    BrightLocal

    Score7.2 out of 10
    N/ABrightLocal is a search engine optimization tool that tracks search rankings, builds citations, and monitors online reviews and stresses local search performance.

    $39

    per month

    Critical Mention

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ACritical Mention headquartered in New York offers their eponymous media monitoring platform for public relations and crisis management.N/A

    Synup

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/ASynup is a location intelligence tool that helps businesses with their local marketing, discovery, and engagement. Businesses and agencies alike can use Synup to get listed online, monitor online reputation, generate business reviews and track search engine analytics.

    $49

    per month

    Pricing
    BrightLocalCritical MentionSynup
    Editions & Modules
    Track Plan
    $39
    per month
    Manage Plan
    $49
    per month
    Grow Plan
    $59
    per month
    No answers on this topic
    Solo
    $49
    per month 1 location
    Premium
    $299
    per month up to 10 locations
    Pro
    $499
    per month up to 25 locations
    Scale
    $899
    per month up to 50 locations
    Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BrightLocalCritical MentionSynup
    Free Trial
    YesNoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsBrightLocal offers custom enterprise plans for businesses with more than 50 locations.—A discount is available for annual billing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    BrightLocalCritical MentionSynup
    Considered Multiple Products
    BrightLocal
    Chose BrightLocal
    The price was cheaper at BrightLocal, although I have had to pay extra for things, but I like the flexibility that an al cart type program brings. I would say that Synup is easier to use and much simpler. Yext is more expensive and requires constant enrollment, but maybe the …
    Incentivized
    Critical Mention
    No answer on this topic
    Synup
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    86%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    71%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    57%
    Delivers good value for the price
    4 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    71%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    86%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    83%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    Features
    BrightLocalCritical MentionSynup
    SEO
    Comparison of SEO features of BrightLocal and Critical Mention and Synup
    Feature
    BrightLocal
    6.7
    12 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Critical Mention
    -
    Ratings
    Synup
    -
    Ratings
    Keyword analysis7.08 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Backlink management4.05 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    SERP ranking tracking7.711 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Page grader7.52 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Competitive analysis7.611 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Site audit / diagnostics9.98 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Site recommendations6.64 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Task management3.56 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    SEO Channels
    Comparison of SEO Channels features of BrightLocal and Critical Mention and Synup
    Feature
    BrightLocal
    8.6
    13 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Critical Mention
    -
    Ratings
    Synup
    -
    Ratings
    Local SEO8.613 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social SEO7.96 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile SEO10.04 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Global SEO7.72 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    SEO Platform & Account Management
    Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of BrightLocal and Critical Mention and Synup
    Feature
    BrightLocal
    9.2
    11 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Critical Mention
    -
    Ratings
    Synup
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-domain support8.59 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with web analytics tools9.910 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    BrightLocalCritical MentionSynup
    Small Businesses
    Serpstat
    Score10 out of 10
    Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
    Score5 out of 10
    Google Business Profile
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Yoast
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Cision Communications Cloud
    Score8 out of 10
    Google Business Profile
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Google Trends
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Meltwater
    Score7.6 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    BrightLocalCritical MentionSynup
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.6
    (14 ratings)
    1.6
    (21 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.5
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    BrightLocalCritical MentionSynup
    Likelihood to Recommend
    BrightLocal
    If you are a local business owner or marketing agency catering to local businesses, BrightLocal is a must have software. It has everything you need to track your local marketing efforts and to identify opportunities to make improvements, all at a very reasonable price point. You can also create nice looking reports to send to clients which are simple to create.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Critical Mention
    Critical Mention is great for schools/businesses/etc. that want to know when they are in the news. Sometimes a brand's reputation can suffer greatly if you are not aware of an issue that was posted by a competitor or media outlet If you are not in the news a lot, there is no need for this product.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Synup
    Synup is ideal for businesses with several locations, ensuring consistent and accurate information across all directories. This is crucial for franchises, restaurant chains, or retail stores. Small businesses and startups, often with limited resources, benefit from Synup's user-friendly interface and time-saving features. It simplifies the process of managing online listings without requiring extensive technical expertise. Businesses placing a high value on online reputation management find Synup valuable. The platform's review monitoring and centralized dashboard help businesses respond promptly to customer feedback, enhancing their overall online image.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    BrightLocal
    • When we use BrightLocal's citation building service, I know that we're getting quality citations done right. Their staff will email you with any questions and always double check the information before creating inaccurate citations.
    • I love that BrightLocal is very quick about making changes when requested. For example, if we can't find a city on the drop-down list, you can chat them and they'll add it. Or if a report is pulling incorrectly, they'll re-run it within a reasonable timeframe.
    • BrightLocal has a lot of different reports that are easy to send to your clients. You can even add them to a web-viewable dashboard so that your client can simply bookmark a link and view their reports when they please.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Critical Mention
    • Critical Mention's customer service is excellent. Any time we've had a challenge finding a clip or anything, they are on top of it and go above and beyond to make sure we have what we are looking for quickly.
    • The ability to create tailored clips of each mention and quickly share them is unparalleled.
    • The reporting feature is fantastic. It makes it very simple to pull detailed reports and share them with interested parties.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Synup
    • Synup is extremely good at keeping track of customer reviews from various platforms in one centralised dashboard.
    • One of Synup's strengths is its ability to sync business information simultaneously across multiple platforms.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    BrightLocal
    • Up and down rankings were not always right on with the local search, but only off by one or two spots
    • It felt like it was only used for local SEO, and I know there are more features, just never got to them.
    • Didn't seem useful for every single client in the way Ahrefs or Spyfu did
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Critical Mention
    • I believe the one frustration I have with searching in general that if the closed captioning is not correct on the broadcast end Critical Mention will miss that data. Which is not a Critical Mention issue and does overcome depending on the search. Also, it would be great if you wanted to capture a complete 30 minutes newscast, it could be done by using the search. The clips need to be about to handle 30-minute programs.
    • One nagging issue when using Critical Mention is that it does not save e-mail addresses when sending a report and this requires a waste of time having to type in e-mails that should be able to be pulled from the customers' contacts.
    • Also, it would be great if you wanted to capture a complete 30 minutes newscast, it could be done by using the search. The clips need to be able to handle 30-minute programs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Synup
    • Improving the mobile app experience could be beneficial.
    • Product is little too expensive.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    BrightLocal
    No answers on this topic
    Critical Mention
    I gave this a 5 only because I do not make the decisions to renew. When I used this at my previous company, I also recommended to the decision maker to renew this tool as it was a crucial piece to the overall client objective
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Synup
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    BrightLocal
    No answers on this topic
    Critical Mention
    It's great for quickly looking up a specific clip, but this platform makes it difficult to select and accurately report on a high volume of clips
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Synup
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    BrightLocal
    Although their customer support has always contacted me, they have not always been helpful. Many times I've had reports or information disappear with them telling me they had no record of it, even when I had reports that the information was in there. There are times when their system did have bugs and the support was able to help me there. Overall, the support staff is there but they cannot always do much and need to wait for their development team to get back to them which often takes a long time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Critical Mention
    Look, Critical Mention follows up on an or phone call immediately or in the AM the following business day. I have called them after hours and get a live person to work through any issues that may have come up. Support seems to be job one with Critical Mention.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Synup
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    BrightLocal
    No answers on this topic
    Critical Mention
    Critical Mention implementation was easy and fast. Their support and training were awesome.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Synup
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    BrightLocal
    Thryv reached out to me about 3 weeks before signing up with BrightLocal. While all of their features were impressive, there were only about 3 features that I would have used. Thryv wanted $200 per month for their service, which I found to be way overpriced for what I was wanting to use it for. I selected BrightLocal because it had the features I wanted at a lower price and then add ons. After using BrightLocal for a week and speaking with Becki, a customer service executive, I have discovered more features that I would use on BrightLocal than on Thryv.
    Read full review
    Critical Mention
    Burrelles is confusing and outdated. Critical Mention works on the side of the account team and understands our needs better. I was able to share hundreds of outlets that I wanted to be included in my online search and Critical Mention added all of them in less than a day I was seeing better results in my searches. The possibilities with Burrelles seem limited while Critical Mention's online monitoring service really lets me craft reports the way I want to
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Synup
    Synup was recommended by a colleague and had great results for their company. We did a trial period and noticed a big turnaround in customer engagement and a boost in the positivity of our business.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    BrightLocal
    • BrightLocal's ranking reports have helped us better serve our clients' SEO needs, especially local SEO.
    • Reporting is nicely accomplished with their online client report dashboards.
    • Negative: some of their software defects are glaringly obvious take forever to fix, creating a number of awkward moments when we talk our clients through their reports.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Critical Mention
    • Every week the department I am a part does dozens of searches on Critical Mention. We use it as our primary search engine for all things broadcast.
    • One negative aspect is that we do not know where Critical Mention gets their audience viewing numbers from so we just have to take it as their word.
    • Another negative aspect is that we are limited on the amount of time that one clip can be so we have to share several clips of the same show with our clients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Synup
    • My Business after using Synup experience an increase in local visibility.
    • We improved our rating from 3.5
    • to 4.1 and our posts get 65% more engagement.
    • Real-time analytics provided by Synup empower my business with valuable insights
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    BrightLocal Screenshots

    Screenshot of Location SummaryScreenshot of Local Search Rank CheckerScreenshot of Local Search GridScreenshot of Local Search AuditScreenshot of Google My Business AuditScreenshot of Citation Tracker

    Synup Screenshots

    Screenshot of Agency Operating SystemScreenshot of Local Listing Management SoftwareScreenshot of Online Reputation Management SoftwareScreenshot of Social Media Management SoftwareScreenshot of SMB Prospecting Tool for AgenciesScreenshot of Sales Pipeline & CRM