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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cision Communications Cloud

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ACIsion Communications Cloud is used for identifying key media and influencers, connecting with audiences, monitoring traditional and social media, and analyzing outcomes.N/A

    Semrush

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/ASemrush is a relatively popular search engine optimization tool set from the company of the same name based in Pennsylvania and founded in 2008. Largely the platforms relies on competitive intelligence, and features SEO staples like backlink checking, keyword analysis to refine SEO and PPC campaigning and locate low-cost / high-yield keywords, analysis of competitors who co-occupy desired ad and listing spaces, domain vs. domain analysis, as well as site audit and domain tracking. Semrush can…

    $139.95

    per month

    Pricing
    Cision Communications CloudSemrush
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Pro
    $139.95
    per month
    Guru
    $249.95
    per month
    Business
    $499.95
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cision Communications CloudSemrush
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details—17% discount for annual pricing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cision Communications CloudSemrush
    Considered Both Products
    Cision
    Chose Cision Communications Cloud
    Cision has a stronger, more widely reached database and is great for enterprise teams, not just smaller PR teams. We prefer it over the other platforms.
    Incentivized
    Semrush
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    45 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    107 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    32 Answers
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    95 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    44 Answers
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    106 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    37 Answers
    99%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    36 Answers
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    95 Answers
    Features
    Cision Communications CloudSemrush
    SEO
    Comparison of SEO features of Cision Communications Cloud and Semrush
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Semrush
    8.0
    154 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Keyword analysis00 Ratings8.6154 Ratings
    Backlink management00 Ratings8.4147 Ratings
    SERP ranking tracking00 Ratings8.4150 Ratings
    Page grader00 Ratings7.9129 Ratings
    Competitive analysis00 Ratings8.5149 Ratings
    Site audit / diagnostics00 Ratings8.0150 Ratings
    Site recommendations00 Ratings7.7139 Ratings
    Task management00 Ratings6.491 Ratings
    SEO Channels
    Comparison of SEO Channels features of Cision Communications Cloud and Semrush
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Semrush
    8.2
    140 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Local SEO00 Ratings8.1128 Ratings
    Social SEO00 Ratings8.0106 Ratings
    Mobile SEO00 Ratings8.5113 Ratings
    Global SEO00 Ratings8.1114 Ratings
    SEO Platform & Account Management
    Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Cision Communications Cloud and Semrush
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Semrush
    8.4
    125 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Multi-domain support00 Ratings8.1115 Ratings
    Integration with web analytics tools00 Ratings8.7119 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cision Communications CloudSemrush
    Small Businesses
    Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
    Score5 out of 10
    Serpstat
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Critical Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    Yoast
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Meltwater
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Google Trends
    Score8.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cision Communications CloudSemrush
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (280 ratings)
    8.2
    (154 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (17 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (54 ratings)
    8.2
    (10 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (192 ratings)
    9.9
    (17 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cision Communications CloudSemrush
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cision
    For a small start-up, the cost-benefit to add lift to press releases [and] particular milestone accomplishments is definitely there with the Cision [Communications] Cloud. Much of what we do, by necessity, is done internally without the benefit of outsourced press folks, so the Cision [Communications] Cloud ease of use and reporting is very important.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    This is suited to plan for keywords in a single market, but it struggles when you need to consolidate several markets. It is well-suited to discover new keywords directly related to the ones being used currently to expand the content the company is creating to get better results.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cision
    • Their upgraded press release templates and ability [to] pull in an entire, completed release makes the [process] faster and easier, and allows for more graphics, such as company mastheads, [are done well].
    • The media tracking offers the ability to find relevant placements across the entire country.
    • The journalist database streamlines the process of finding relevant reporters to directly connect [to] on news releases that are relevant to their beats.
    • The process of setting up, creating, and distributing a release is seamless, easy to use, and not labor-intensive.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    • Great visuals for keyword position tracking, love that you can see the page that is ranking
    • Enjoyed the auto-generated reporting feature (specifically in the context of keyword position tracking)
    • Shows many different and useful views for competitive research
    • Great templated keyword research tools for those who are not as hands-on with SEO
    • I LOVE the Keyword Magic Tool for honing in on longtail, high-opportunity keywords
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cision
    • In the media influencer database, the classic Cision allowed us to do a zip code radius search to really drill down to the neighborhood level. That's because we do localized media advisories and press releases for events at neighborhood schools. One part of a big city like Chicago really doesn't care what's happening in another part of Chicago that's too far away. The zip code radius search was a feature in the classic Cision but not with the current Cision Communications Cloud. We've asked for this to be restored several times, but nothing's happened. In fact, we were told to use DMA — which actually goes wider in a search (bigger than a city), not more narrow as needed. This reflects a basic misunderstanding of what we need.
    • Another missing feature involves a merge field when sending out an email press release through Cision. This is the "select insert field" button in the upper right that's used to personalize a release with the media contact's name and other information. This is key for localization of the release. Many media outlets won't run a release unless it's local. While "county" is a feature in the influencer database when putting together a media list in Cision, "county" is not available to insert into a press release as a merge field. Counties are important because this is how many newspapers and health departments are organized and identify themselves. I've asked for this to be implemented, to no avail. As a workaround, we've had to use "contact city" or "outlet city."
    • After refining a media list in Cision using filters, I've had to download the list and take it offline to see the big picture, screen for duplicates, etc. While there is a button on the bottom left intended to help with this, it doesn't do the trick. That's because there may be multiple contacts with the same email address. In addition, one media contact may represent numerous media outlets, so this same contact could show up several times. It would be nice to have a better way to see the whole list online and eliminate both duplicates as well as those who previously opted out.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    • Extra seats can be expensive, as [an] agency with multiple team members this can be frustrating
    • Backlink data is not great, misses out a lot of backlinks (better off using a specialist backlink tool like Link research tools LRT)
    • Tracking multiple keywords, across multiple clients can be costly
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cision
    While I am happy with the product performance overall, TrendKite's recent merger with Cision is cause for concern. When we first signed on with TrendKite, I spoke with several users and the best response I received was that the company was a startup and we could expect there to be hiccups along the way as the company grew and the platform got more robust. That has certainly been the case. However, now that they have merged with Cision — a company that has grown too fast, has not focused on improving its product and has poor customer service — I have concerns that TrendKite will lose some of the qualities that have made it a great company and great product to work with.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    I [previously] used Semrush for many years and I cannot find any other tool being so complete and easy to use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cision
    The flexibility and customization of Cision Communications Cloud (TrendKite)* is among its most important features. Changing the dashboards, using keywords in the saved searches to pull out the best stories and the integration with marketing automation tools gives me confidence that I will able to continue using this tool well into the future. The future implementation and integration of the media contact database will complete the suite, making list management and email marketing programs much smoother. *This review was written before Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    The interface is a little less intuitive than it could be. The data is often available but filtering and manipulating the data can be a little difficult at times. Expanded comparisons would be helpful since most of the time seeing more than a few competitors at a time allows for a better sense of how to forecast.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cision
    Easily accessible 24/7.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    Semrush available when you need it!
    Read full review
    Performance
    Cision
    Generally, Cision performs well day to day, but it's got some annoying bugs that slow down usage/require user workarounds which is inefficient. More seriously, a few months ago, as a result of a major system upgrade, certain critical functionality was not working and I was unable to use the service for more than a day when I had time-sensitive work to execute
    Read full review
    Semrush
    SemRush performs well with few errors!
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Cision
    For Cision TrendKite in particilar, support always responded, but it was sometimes slow. For some of our booleans and search queries, we would need help refining and excluding terms/phrases that weren't relevant to our client or campaign. This sometimes took 1-2 days just to get a response back, which sometimes was too late when a last-minute report was due. This was only with the support staff, not necessarily our customer success manager or sales rep.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    I'm in a FB group for Semrush paid users and it amazing! They are fast to respond, take suggestions and help with questions. I have not felt alone in using this product at all. Highly recommend their support team. When I had an issue I can jump into the group and they will help get me the right person to help or even tag their programmers to look at something that is going on. Love the group!
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Cision
    The online training sessions available for the Cision Communications Cloud are helpful and informative. There's more than one option - initially, I signed up for the live webinar classes on basic functions and that is what I recommend other new users do as well. If I have specific questions or something I want to learn more about, I can search the online database and find article or online training videos to get the information I need.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Cision
    There is no implementation at the customer's end so this doesn't really apply to my instance of Cision (possibly to all instances of it).
    Read full review
    Semrush
    I did it by myself and do not have a comment!
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Cision
    It's a similar product. I think Meltwater sells itself as being a bit more niche, but I have not found many significant differences between Meltwater and Cision. Meltwater's sales process is a very high pressure and their prices are inflated.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    We have used both Ahrefs and Semrush extensively at our agency and Semrush remains the tool of choice. We find that Semrush has the largest selection of tools & features to use, with the highest accuracy, and provides top-tier analysis recommendations. It's really is the ultimate all-in-one tool when comparing other performance measurement tools in the digital marketing space.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Cision
    Easy to use, but still room for improvement.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    Semrush is flexible and scalable software which can be deployed across multiple departments and sites as needed.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Cision
    • Cision has a net positive impact on time savings for staff so we can be quicker to market
    • Cision has a positive impact on internal savings as it is used internally across multiple accounts and with the internal PR team
    • Cision is extremely useful when it comes to resourcing and conducting outreach in those DMA's where our agency doesn't have a physical presence
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Semrush
    • Using Semrush on behalf of our clients, we have seen some impressive growth in organic visibility, traffic, conversion and revenue, across multiple industries.
    • The site checks available with Semrush have helped us to pitch and sell our services, securing new clients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Cision Communications Cloud Screenshots

    Screenshot of Media Monitoring and Analytics are just part of the complete Comms Cloud. It combines deep data dive with a database of journalists and influencers, and a media relationship management tool.Screenshot of Track brand mentions in real time across the millions of online stories on the internet. Monitor millions of stories and breaking news happening daily across the web. Professional services consultants teams are in place to ensure best practices while setting up a monitoring account.Screenshot of Cision’s media and influencer relationship management tools include audience insights, combined with a pitchable database that enables brands to uncover the best media contacts and social influencers to reach their target audience.Screenshot of Identify the social conversations and influencers that are impacting a brand. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube monitoring capabilities track brand mentions across all major social channels. Analyze results for social mentions or campaigns on the fly with its reporting features.