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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Conductor

    Score9.6 out of 10
    N/AConductor is an enterprise AEO platform that provides unified AEO & SEO intelligence, scaled AI content generation, and real-time website monitoring. From tracking visibility in LLMs to technical health and content optimization, Conductor’s platform empowers teams to increase authority and visibility in AI and traditional search and accelerate digital growth. Conductor states its current customers include global brands such as SAP, e.l.f Cosmetics, FedEx, and Mastercard.N/A

    Shorthand

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AShorthand enables the user to create interactive multimedia stories for any online audience — all with no code. The vendor boasts that Shorthand is used by hundreds of publishers, brands, non-profits, and more — including the BBC, Honda, Business Insider, and Doctors Without Borders.N/A
    Pricing
    ConductorShorthand
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ConductorShorthand
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ConductorShorthand
    Considered Both Products
    Conductor
    No answer on this topic
    Shorthand
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    95%
    Would buy again
    60 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    52 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    63 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    53 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    51 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    ConductorShorthand
    SEO
    Comparison of SEO features of Conductor and Shorthand
    Feature
    Conductor
    8.7
    282 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Shorthand
    -
    Ratings
    Keyword analysis9.4267 Ratings00 Ratings
    Backlink management8.394 Ratings00 Ratings
    SERP ranking tracking8.9252 Ratings00 Ratings
    Page grader9.2133 Ratings00 Ratings
    Competitive analysis8.2268 Ratings00 Ratings
    Site audit / diagnostics9.5253 Ratings00 Ratings
    Site recommendations7.7265 Ratings00 Ratings
    Task management7.9102 Ratings00 Ratings
    SEO Channels
    Comparison of SEO Channels features of Conductor and Shorthand
    Feature
    Conductor
    8.7
    249 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Shorthand
    -
    Ratings
    Local SEO8.9200 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social SEO8.135 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile SEO9.6217 Ratings00 Ratings
    Global SEO8.4210 Ratings00 Ratings
    SEO Platform & Account Management
    Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Conductor and Shorthand
    Feature
    Conductor
    9.6
    265 Ratings
    13% above category average
    Shorthand
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-domain support9.5235 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with web analytics tools9.6249 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content Creation
    Comparison of Content Creation features of Conductor and Shorthand
    Feature
    Conductor
    -
    Ratings
    Shorthand
    9.0
    1 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Content collaboration00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Content Publishing
    Comparison of Content Publishing features of Conductor and Shorthand
    Feature
    Conductor
    -
    Ratings
    Shorthand
    6.8
    1 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Content hub00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Embedded CTAs00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Content distribution00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Content promotion00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
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    ConductorShorthand
    Small Businesses
    Serpstat
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Contently
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Yoast
    Score8.5 out of 10
    CoSchedule Marketing Suite
    Score10 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Google Trends
    Score8.6 out of 10
    PathFactory
    Score8.3 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ConductorShorthand
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.5
    (283 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.7
    (15 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    6.4
    (155 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.8
    (236 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    3.7
    (8 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.6
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    7.8
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ConductorShorthand
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Conductor
    Conductor is a great tool to use when we're planning and optimizing content around specific trends. It also helps us track our on-going performance as well, which is great to help us improve. Conductor is less ideal for content that has a quick turnaround time or pieces where SEO isn't a priority, also if you're looking to manage content publishing directly. It's more useful when it comes to strategy and optimization for in-depth pieces.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    Shorthand is ideally suited to visual stories where you have a good number of images and/or embeds or video to include. It is well-suited to long-form stories, where you wish to keep the readers' attention longer than usual. It can help to differentiate particularly important or intriguing stories from others on your website - and for this reason, it could be used as a premium content tool, perhaps for subscribers. It can also be used to showcase stories about awards you've organised, giving them special treatment. It is less suited to breaking news, or very time-sensitive news stories, as it can take some time to prepare, post or update shorthand stories. And it doesn't work well for stories with strong accompanying imagery
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Conductor
    • When I need to quickly determine what Google features our keywords are ranking for: Featured Snippets, Carousels, Rich Snippets, Sitelinks, PAA boxes, etc.
    • The ability to create highly customizable dashboards that provide a one-page view of insights for the specific web properties you are tracking.
    • A content guidance tool that is unmatched by any other product available in the market.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    • Enabling visual storytelling with multiple pictures
    • Embedding rich media within a story, including video
    • Engaging readers for longer than average dwell times
    • Making it easy to create striking article design without coding experience
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Conductor
    • Backlink tracking/reporting (would like to see backlinks more easily and maybe backlink opportunities if possible)
    • Custom content briefs (right now I move the brief from the platform version into our own in-house Word doc template because it is more detailed. Would love to be able to customize the brief that is set up within Conductor so that we can do it all in one place.)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    • Additional flexibility in how text is overlaid on pictures would be welcome so that there are more choices on what images to use with particular layouts
    • Enabling users to control the path of text - for example, enabling runaround - could enable some excellent designs
    • Adding additional section templates could speed up design
    • More flexibility in caption placement would be helpful
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Conductor
    Conductor enables high-value SEO activity. There are a lot of moving parts in SEO and I'm always open to products that fit our requirements, but Conductor has built a stronger argument for its value after we subscribed than it had when we subscribed -- that's rare.
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Conductor
    I check features like the InsightStream every Monday to monitor any major losses or gains in performance. These are easily digested and save me tons of time searching for these insights manually. If there's anything "worth calling home about" I can easily add insights into a workspace and create a report to communicate these results. It's super easy to use Conductor with a team and across departments.
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Reliability and Availability
    Conductor
    Always works when I've needed it
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    I have never known it to be down during my use of it. All you require is an internet connection to log in and you can use it on multiple devices. Adding ease of accessibility, there are simple ways to log in. I've also never known a Shorthand story to go down once live on our site.
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Conductor
    Sometimes reports can take some time to load
    Incentivized
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    Shorthand
    Due to the integration with our content management software, there is a short delay on our site while it loads, which may cause some readers to drift away. However, I've seen other sites where it instantly loads articles, so I believe this to be down to the content management software behind our site more than Shorthand itself. Once that brief initial period is over, it doesn't require additional loading time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Conductor
    The Conductor support team is excellent, especially our Customer Success manager. Our monthly calls to review our wins, losses, and key takeaways for the next steps are incredibly helpful, and Conductor's platform provides not only an organic search tool for our company but also a learning resource via our Customer Success calls.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    In-Person Training
    Conductor
    Our in house SEO manager trained everyone. It was easy to learn and he was well versed with the product. Any questions we had he was able to answer or reach out to support to find the answer
    Incentivized
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    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Conductor
    I definitely recommend their professional services for getting started. It got our account 90% of the way to where we needed to be in order to gain value from it. In fact, I'd suggest that with few exceptions (such as, you have a staff that is already familiar with the platform and doesn't need any help), the quick start services over the first 30-90 days should be a standard part of onboarding with any new client. It definitely got us to the point of gaining ROI from the solution and, in turn, will make it easier to justify renewal and continued investment in it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Conductor
    We didn't use another product previously, we used an agency that did everything for us, so bringing Organic SEO in-house was why we went with Conductor. I have used other products in other roles and at other companies and each has its strengths. Conductor is good for large enterprises
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    Conductor
    Many features
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    As a web-based service, it is easy for users to log into from anywhere. Content can easily be shared, as you can set up teams that enable access to each other's work as required. And content can be reviewed by others before publication using the sharing function. You can also view how an article will look on different devices.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Conductor
    • Conductor helped us aim at low hanging fruits for quick wins, which increased our traffic
    • With Conductor's tool, it was easy to look at general keywords where we were already ranking, but not good enough, and then focus around what we could do to increase our positioning
    • All this extra traffic, gave us more leads, therefore more sales!
    Read full review
    Shorthand
    • Helped us create one of our top 10 most-read and most-shared stories in the last year
    • Enabled us to elevate key pieces of content, boosting dwell time on our site
    • But can also be time-consuming to adopt for some stories, meaning you need to choose well what stories really deserve the investment in time
    • Boosted collaboration between teams via its ability to share, including offering the chance for others to preview content prior to publication
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Conductor Screenshots

    Screenshot of Conductor's AI search performance metrics. Conductor helps to ensure a brand appears everywhere audience searches—from ChatGPT and Perplexity to Google AIO and AI Mode.Screenshot of website performance analytics that tie AI and search performance together and create visibility into how search impacts business goals. Viewers can analyze AI traffic alongside engagement and conversion metrics.Screenshot of an example of the available competitive intelligence. Viewers can analyze the competition's strategy and compare market share in both AI and traditional search to identify opportunities.Screenshot of the AI Topic Map, used to automate content strategy. As AI generation becomes a commodity, knowing what content to create becomes an competitive advantage. The AI Topic Map can be used to spot where to create or optimize content for the biggest impact.Screenshot of the AI Writing Assistant. The Writing Assistant orchestrates personalized content that fuses brand guidelines, competitors, knowledge sources, and real-time search insights to produce content that’s strategically designed to win with audiences and AI answer engines.Screenshot of AI Bot Crawling Analysis, used to find and fix the errors that make a site invisible to AI. Viewers can diagnose the technical errors that make the best pages invisible to LLMs. This dashboard transforms complex server logs into a simple workflow where viewers can monitor crawl frequency, optimize the crawl budget, and ensure that a brand's most valuable content is discoverable.

    Shorthand Screenshots

    Screenshot of Easily add sections and adjust styling.