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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Optimal

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AOptimal Workshop, a company in New Zealand, offers their suite of user research tools on a subscription basis, including the Treejack information architecture tool, OptimalSort card sorting test, Chalkmark first-click testing, and other tools.

    $2,388

    per year

    SpyFu

    Score7 out of 10
    N/ASpyFu is the eponymous SEO and PPC research platform from the company in Scottsdale, Arizona focused on "spying" on competitors, or basically using their behaviors to refine your own through keyword and content analysis, and backlink poaching. This positional search engine optimization and paid listings management platform touts the ability to lower costs and raise rankings via a Kombat-oriented approach... basically a cute way of saying "it makes comparisons" of how well your site does in niche…

    $39

    per month

    Pricing
    OptimalSpyFu
    Editions & Modules
    Starter
    $2388
    per year
    Enterprise
    Custom
    Basic
    $39
    per month
    Professional
    $79
    per month
    Team
    $299
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    OptimalSpyFu
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    OptimalSpyFu
    Considered Both Products
    Optimal Workshop
    No answer on this topic
    SpyFu
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    89%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    97%
    Would buy again
    28 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    27 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    29 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    88%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    21 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    86%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    22 Answers
    Features
    OptimalSpyFu
    SEO
    Comparison of SEO features of Optimal and SpyFu
    Feature
    Optimal
    -
    Ratings
    SpyFu
    6.6
    52 Ratings
    15% below category average
    Keyword analysis00 Ratings7.052 Ratings
    Backlink management00 Ratings6.040 Ratings
    SERP ranking tracking00 Ratings6.044 Ratings
    Page grader00 Ratings7.829 Ratings
    Competitive analysis00 Ratings7.051 Ratings
    Site audit / diagnostics00 Ratings7.232 Ratings
    Site recommendations00 Ratings6.031 Ratings
    Task management00 Ratings6.120 Ratings
    SEO Channels
    Comparison of SEO Channels features of Optimal and SpyFu
    Feature
    Optimal
    -
    Ratings
    SpyFu
    5.8
    39 Ratings
    27% below category average
    Local SEO00 Ratings5.033 Ratings
    Social SEO00 Ratings5.028 Ratings
    Mobile SEO00 Ratings8.029 Ratings
    Global SEO00 Ratings5.035 Ratings
    SEO Platform & Account Management
    Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Optimal and SpyFu
    Feature
    Optimal
    -
    Ratings
    SpyFu
    7.2
    28 Ratings
    16% below category average
    Multi-domain support00 Ratings6.028 Ratings
    Integration with web analytics tools00 Ratings8.518 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    OptimalSpyFu
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Serpstat
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Dovetail
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Yoast
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    UserTesting
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Google Trends
    Score8.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    OptimalSpyFu
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (11 ratings)
    7.0
    (62 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (10 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (3 ratings)
    7.6
    (13 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    OptimalSpyFu
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Optimal Workshop
    Optimal Workshop is great for UX testing for those with a budget to do so. This may be a little on the expensive side for smaller businesses, but definitely not anything crazy expensive. The insights that you get out of these tests are invaluable and can be the difference between launching a site and succeeding/failing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SpyFu
    If you have a Google ads PPC campaign and then I would say this is more or less essential if you want to know what your competitors are doing. You can get very useful data out of it even if you subscribe for one month. And the pricing is very reasonable. Even if you don't use Google ads, I would say this is still useful for your SEO/SMO team since it gives you a great idea of what keywords and traffic your competitors are working on.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Optimal Workshop
    • Tree Testing - it is a very simple and easy to use system, that provides the data needed from a tree test
    • Card sorting - provides a system for users to participate in navigation menu layouts. We looked into several options, but this seemed very intuitive for users.
    Incentivized
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    SpyFu
    • Keeping a tab on competitors organic and inorganic activities
    • Helps identify where the competitor is getting the backlinks from.
    • Identify competitors top content and the keywords that's bringing them traffic
    • Get proper information of their current and past ADS run on Google.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Optimal Workshop
    • The recruitment panelists are not professional, nor do they take the tasks seriously. You are going to get a lot of bad data.
    • They are HQ'd outside the US and must have a small team because the customer service is the absolute WORST I've experienced in their industry.
    • They pride themselves on documentation, but when they fail to document something they blame the customer for the mistake.
    • There are way too many limitations with the tool after you launch, limited integrations, and poor survey questionnaire options. The tool itself is far too basic for most sites, especially B2B.
    Read full review
    SpyFu
    • As with any database, their keyword database has limits, so the data returned is relative to their database, not necessarily the full picture.
    • When SpyFu database or scoring chances, the data provided can spike, thus causing confusion among stakeholders, we're reporting to.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Optimal Workshop
    No answers on this topic
    SpyFu
    Love this tool but would like insights from all 3 major search engines not just Google. I would also like deeper understanding of the placement for local businesses on Google Places/Maps. Insight into mobile search rankings and best landing pages per industry would also help :) Overall, SpyFu is a necessity for serious search marketers.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Optimal Workshop
    I would rate Optimal Workshop's overall usability 9 out of 10 due to several key factors. Firstly, the platform has a user-friendly interface makes navigation straightforward, even for first-time users. The tools and features are well-organized, ensuring users can quickly find what they need without unnecessary complexity. Secondly, the platform is highly intuitive, meaning users can easily understand how to perform tasks without extensive guidance. This is supported by clear and concise instructions throughout the application, reducing the learning curve significantly.
    Additionally, the learnability of Optimal Workshop is exceptional. New users can become proficient in a short amount of time, thanks to its well-thought-out design and helpful onboarding materials. Even more advanced features are presented in a way that feels approachable and manageable. Finally, the platform supports a seamless workflow, allowing users to focus on their research or tasks rather than struggling with the software. These qualities collectively make Optimal Workshop a reliable and efficient tool for many projects, justifying its high usability rating.
    Incentivized
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    SpyFu
    SpyFu is an easy to use tool, and has a self -explanatroy dashborad to generate the data needed to provide insights into any B2B SEO and PPC campaign. It is not comprehensive, but it certainly provides good enough insight to make it a valuable part of any agency tool stack
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Optimal Workshop
    We’ve never had to use much of their support services since the platform is very easy to use, we have however needed to transfer ownership between team members due to people leaving or other circumstances. Under those situations, the support offered to us has been been very quick and efficient and we never had to nudge them much to get the job done.
    Incentivized
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    SpyFu
    SpyFu comes with a link to tutorial videos. I recommend you watch them. The software is capable of so much you really need to watch the videos and learn how to get the most out of it. When I have a question 90% of the time it's there. When it isn't, and I reach out to them, support is always quick and concise.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Optimal Workshop
    For the price as it is very convenient for first-time beginners, its intuitiveness both for the one who is designing the activities and for those who have to interact with them. The fact that it collects and gathers the data into insights of the overall responses collected by all users.
    Incentivized
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    SpyFu
    I was surprised to find I preferred Semrush when it comes to keyword research. SpyFu is great (and less expensive than Semrush), but I felt the data Semrush provided was vaster than SpyFu. I was able to get more competitors spending insights in Semrush than SpyFu. Overall, I liked the ability to use both in our keyword research for both paid and organic marketing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Optimal Workshop
    • Optimal Workshop has had a positive impact on investigating information architecture on several websites.
    • Optimal Workshop has helped investigated the labeling on several websites.
    • Optimal Workshop has also support in the investigation of UX in navigations.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SpyFu
    • Helping us track our ranking.
    • It helps solve the problem of ambiguity when it comes to Google Ads. It makes the strategy more clear.
    • You can sift through lots of different online analytics to find the information, but it takes way too long. SpyFu has it all in one place!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots