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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

    Google Business Profile

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AGoogle Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a free tool that allows users to promote a Business Profile and business website on Google Search and Maps. With an account, users can see and connect with customers, post updates to the Business Profile, and see how customers are interacting with a business on Google.N/A
    Pricing
    BrightLocalGoogle Business Profile
    Editions & Modules
    Track Plan
    $39
    per month
    Manage Plan
    $49
    per month
    Grow Plan
    $59
    per month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BrightLocalGoogle Business Profile
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsBrightLocal offers custom enterprise plans for businesses with more than 50 locations.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    BrightLocalGoogle Business Profile
    Considered Both Products
    BrightLocal
    No answer on this topic
    Google
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    86%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    48 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    47 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    48 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    40 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    46 Answers
    Features
    BrightLocalGoogle Business Profile
    SEO
    Comparison of SEO features of BrightLocal and Google Business Profile
    Feature
    BrightLocal
    6.7
    12 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Google Business Profile
    -
    Ratings
    Keyword analysis7.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Backlink management4.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    SERP ranking tracking7.711 Ratings00 Ratings
    Page grader7.52 Ratings00 Ratings
    Competitive analysis7.611 Ratings00 Ratings
    Site audit / diagnostics9.98 Ratings00 Ratings
    Site recommendations6.64 Ratings00 Ratings
    Task management3.56 Ratings00 Ratings
    SEO Channels
    Comparison of SEO Channels features of BrightLocal and Google Business Profile
    Feature
    BrightLocal
    8.6
    13 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Google Business Profile
    -
    Ratings
    Local SEO8.613 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social SEO7.96 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile SEO10.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Global SEO7.72 Ratings00 Ratings
    SEO Platform & Account Management
    Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of BrightLocal and Google Business Profile
    Feature
    BrightLocal
    9.2
    11 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Google Business Profile
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-domain support8.59 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with web analytics tools9.910 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    BrightLocalGoogle Business Profile
    Small Businesses
    Serpstat
    Score10 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Yoast
    Score8.5 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    Google Trends
    Score8.6 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    BrightLocalGoogle Business Profile
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.6
    (14 ratings)
    9.2
    (48 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.5
    (3 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.5
    (2 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    BrightLocalGoogle Business Profile
    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
    Google
    The great advantage of Google My Business is that any business that complies with the privacy and authentication policy requirements can access all the functionality tools that help promote the business website through the referral system, exchange of opinions with other users and search engine optimization (SEO).
    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
    Google
    • Google My Business offers us an alert system in our work email, where we receive notifications when there is a new comment or review of our company. This alert system helps us to be aware of each of the opinions written by each client who has received our services, in order to be able to respond to each of them in record time.
    • Google My Business gives me a complete visualization of the clicks, location of the searches of my company and the visits that my business file has received. This visualization allows me to control access and measure the traffic that my business listing is generating in conjunction with the Google Maps service.
    • The update of my company file is done in real time and immediately. I don't have to wait several minutes for my company file to update. When I make a change to my company information, the changes are shown immediately to all clients who consult that business card.
    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
    Google
    • Like most Google products UX / usability is often lacking whilst feature set strong
    • Changing a locations address can be difficult with support hard to access
    • Clients can add photos, if badly shot / composed these can be detrimental to your brand.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    BrightLocal
    No answers on this topic
    Google
    I gave the Google Business Profile's overall usability an 8 because it doesn't update the directions automatically when you put in an address if a business moves. You also have to go in and manually move the pin. This isn't always easy to do. It would be much easier if the pin updated automatically.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Google
    Whether it is technical or customer support, Google My Business excels and suffers in the exact same ways that all other branches of Google do. While you'll eventually figure out the issue, the sheer magnitude of the company comes with expected hurdles, wait times, and support you'd come to expect from other large companies.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Google
    Google is the most powerful SERP and has much more robust features than Bing Places. Users also statistically trust Google more than Bing and it provides much more authority in the search space. The good news is that Bing Places can be synched with Google My Business which is great and convenient for business owners. It's just another alternative for businesses and I highly recommend that all businesses have an account with both Bing Places and Google My Business for optimal performance.
    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
    Google
    • I don't have any numerical metrics but, we have seen an influx in customers purchasing our hot hands ever since we listed them on Google Business Profile about a year and a month ago. We have since sold over 400 units since listing them as an available item.
    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