gShift vs. Shorthand

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
gShift
Score 7.1 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
gShift is the flagship cloud-based search engine optimization platform from the Canadian company gShift Labs headquartered in Barrie, Ontario, launched in 2009 to simplify and "demystify" organic SEO. Billed as a comprehensive and integrated suite of tools, gShift offers keyword analysis across multiple and international (including Baidu) search engines, backlink checking and insights, content-level analytics and reporting, mobile discoverability and local search analysis, and some more rarely…
$199
Shorthand
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Shorthand 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
gShiftShorthand
Editions & Modules
kontextURLs
$199
Influencer Marketing module
$299
Brand Professional
$325
Agency Professional
$999
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
gShiftShorthand
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsSEO Platform pricing is based on the number of keywords per month. kontextURL pricing is based on the number of clicks registered per month. Influencer Marketing module pricing is based on the number of influencers and/or rosters managed.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
gShiftShorthand
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
gShiftShorthand
SEO
Comparison of SEO features of Product A and Product B
gShift
8.6
1 Ratings
10% above category average
Shorthand
-
Ratings
Keyword analysis10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Backlink management6.01 Ratings00 Ratings
SERP ranking tracking10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Page grader9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Competitive analysis9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Site audit / diagnostics7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Site recommendations8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Task management10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
SEO Channels
Comparison of SEO Channels features of Product A and Product B
gShift
8.3
1 Ratings
8% above category average
Shorthand
-
Ratings
Local SEO10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Social SEO9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile SEO4.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Global SEO10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
SEO Platform & Account Management
Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Product A and Product B
gShift
6.0
2 Ratings
34% below category average
Shorthand
-
Ratings
Multi-domain support5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with web analytics tools7.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Content Creation
Comparison of Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
gShift
-
Ratings
Shorthand
9.0
1 Ratings
11% above category average
Content collaboration00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Content Publishing
Comparison of Content Publishing features of Product A and Product B
gShift
-
Ratings
Shorthand
6.8
1 Ratings
18% 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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All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
gShiftShorthand
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(2 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
gShiftShorthand
Likelihood to Recommend
gShift Labs
gShift's pace of development is pretty amazing and they are very responsive to enhancement requests and other feedback on their solutions. gShift is well-suited for an agency environment where multiple clients need the basics in keyword rankings and website analytics and PPC reporting integration. gShift is less suited for a large organizations with multiple properties or web presences that are all integrated but require silos for reporting purposes or any type of parent-child reporting relationship that necessitates reporting at the property level as well as summarized reporting for all properties.
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
Read full review
Pros
gShift Labs
  • Bringing most of your applications to one platform.
  • Managing Gmail Accounts.
  • Bringing all your communication channels to one spot.
  • Easy setup and account integration.
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
Read full review
Cons
gShift Labs
  • Minor bugs and defects are an ongoing issue - for example, PDF export capability for custom dashboards seems to be down frequently. While these type of defects are always resolved in 1-2 weeks, the fact that some of them keep reoccurring is an ongoing frustration.
  • Custom Dashboard functionality is limited to pre-set defaults as far as what data points or "beacons" as gShift calls them, that you could pull.
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
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
gShift Labs
No answers on this topic
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.
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Performance
gShift Labs
No answers on this topic
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.
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Alternatives Considered
gShift Labs
They are very different tools can't compare them.
Read full review
Shorthand
No answers on this topic
Scalability
gShift Labs
No answers on this topic
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.
Read full review
Return on Investment
gShift Labs
  • We have been able to identify other keyword ranking opportunities and increase our on-site conversion rate.
  • gShift has helped us prioritize content and discover content that is over-performing, and better optimize that content and use it for remarketing purposes.
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
Read full review
ScreenShots

gShift Screenshots

Screenshot of Web Presence Overview Dashboard - collection of data beacons to help focus on analytics, keyword and content performance trends, competitive visibility trends, keyword discovery, content discovery and competitor discovery.Screenshot of An agency level beacon designed to highlight keyword/content, analytics and domain-specific trends across multiple web presences.Screenshot of Keyword Dashboard - a collection of beacons designed to provide keyword visibility and discovery insights.Screenshot of Content Engagement Dashboard - Customizable kurl  dashboard designed to provide insight on content performance.Screenshot of Content Conversion Dashboard - Customizable kurl dashboard designed to provide insight into performance, optimization and ROI of content campaigns.Screenshot of Site Audit Recommendations - prioritized list of website issues based on technical SEO best practices.

Shorthand Screenshots

Screenshot of Easily add sections and adjust styling.