TrustRadius Insights for RavenTools are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.
Pros
Responsive Customer Service: Many users have expressed their satisfaction with RavenTools' customer service team, which has been described as highly responsive and helpful. Reviewers consistently report quick response times and assistance within 24 hours when reaching out for support.
Easy Data Presentation: A significant number of users appreciate how RavenTools presents data in a format that closely resembles Google Analytics. This similarity makes it easier for users to navigate and understand the data, allowing for seamless integration across various platforms.
Simple Setup Process: Users find the setup process in RavenTools to be straightforward and user-friendly. After linking their accounts, they notice that the tool automatically populates relevant data, eliminating the need for manual entry or configuration.
RavenTools has helped our team streamline reporting processes, we use RavenTools to track website and SEO metrics as well as have connected the reporting tools to our advertising tactics including, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Ads, and Geofencing ads. This helps us have a centralized report that is sharable with clients to provide monthly insights into progress and successes as it comes to our Marketing and Advertising campaigns.
Pros
Provides easy, seamless reporting with scheduling
Connects with all important marketing/advertising avenues
Easy to use online platform
Cons
Takes a bit to fully understand the RavenTools software interface
Keyword research tool can be hard to use
Likelihood to Recommend
RavenTools really helped us streamline monthly reporting tactics. We pre-created reports that are scheduled to send out monthly, the best part was they were easy to edit and quick to change prior to them sending out monthly. RavenTools would give great feedback in regard to website insights, Google analytics, SEO, and advertising online.
We use this for our marketing reports, it really helps make our reporting (and lives) easier to be able to put all our data information together under one roof. We incorporate Analytics, social media (like Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube), Google search console, Bing Webmaster tools, Adwords and more. To be able to add this all in one report is wonderful and makes it easier for our clients to review their information as well. What I enjoy too is the ability to add your own written text for every section so you can elaborate further on the information that is being provided. Clients prefer layman's terms.
Pros
Incorporating multiple streams of data from different platforms.
Clean and simple reporting.
Ability to add your own text of information to reports to help elaborate on the date.
Cons
Adding Instagram reporting.
Their ranking functionality could be a bit better.
Their site optimization can be a bit confusing as well and can lower their score of your site.
Likelihood to Recommend
If you would like to streamline your marketing reports for clients, this is a great option. It can run a bit pricey depending on how many clients you have and how many keywords you are looking to rank or links looking to add, etc. But overall, they do provide a significant amount of tools to track a lot of data under one roof. If you are dealing with 5 clients or fewer this might not be the most affordable route (this could also depend on your monthly revenue).
I use RavenTools on a regular basis to provide clients a quick and easy to review summary of their website and social media analytics and engagement numbers. RavenTools allows me to easily and quickly pull in data analytics from various sources and efficiently combine them into a custom, white-labeled report that I then provide to my clients.
Pros
Centralize data points and resources to a single area and platform for easy access and review
Visually present data to customers without being overwhelming or cumbersome in data overload
Automate basic reporting and data consolidation to free up time for focusing on more strategic activities or executing desired plans and activities.
Cons
I really wish RavenTools provided additional reporting for other social media platforms, particularly right now... Instagram
If RavenTools could track and report on hashtag engagement across the social media platforms they already integrate with, that would also be a huge benefit.
Would be great if RavenTools could provide comparison data for reporting based on similar industry types or verticals
Likelihood to Recommend
The challenge I've frequently faced is finding a tool that fits a sweet spot of providing plenty of resources and functionality while also maintaining affordability for a small independent consultant like myself. Raven has been able to maintain that sweet spot for me for quite some time. Their customer service is also generally responsive and although it would be nice if they could move quicker on releasing some new and needed features, their price point still makes it very attractive compared to their other larger competitors.
RavenTools is used in some way for all of our clients. We most frequently use it to create monthly reports, but also utilize its audit tool to keep track of client website performance.
Pros
This is a great program for reporting to clients. There is easy integration for Adwords, Analytics, and Search Console.
The keyword tracker feature allows us to monitor keyword rankings.
The website audit tool helps us identify site issues in order to resolve them. We typically run this feature once a month for all of our clients.
Cons
The analytics in the tool and the Google Analytics dashboard have been known to be out of sync, but this doesn't happen very often.
The reports occasionally have glitches, such as overlap of different modules.
The keyword tracking tool does not provide easy tracking of rankings over time.
Likelihood to Recommend
RavenTools is particularly useful for developing WYSIWYG reports for clients. These reports are fairly superficial, but typically all you'd need for clients. It may not be appropriate if you need to drill deep into Google Analytics in your reporting.
RavenTools is being used by our marketing department to provide support to our marketing, sales, and product management teams. As the digital media coordinator, it provides me the ability to track the performance of various digital media and campaigns all in one place. I also use the various tools to assist with web development and SEO planning. Additionally, I use the report creation tools to create performance reports for various teams within our marketing department.
Previous to using RavenTools, our company did not have the ability to track digital media statistics. There was also no reporting system to share progress with various team members. The marketing department was struggling to get detailed insights. RavenTools has solved all of these problems.
Pros
Customer Service: Anytime I have had an issue or question regarding a RavenTools feature, their customer service team has been very responsive. You [may] expect a response within 24 hours. I do not recall a time I have had to wait more that 2 hours for assistance.
Data Organization: One thing I truly appreciate about RavenTools is they present their data in a similar fashion to the original data platform. For example, RavenTools Google Analytics Data is organized in the same way you would find it on the Google Analytics website. The makes it extremely easy to find what you are looking for and allows easy use across multiple platforms.
Easy Setup: Getting started in RavenTools is very simple. All you have to do is link up the accounts for your various brands. No extra coding is needed. The data will auto populate for you.
Automation: Another great feature is the ability to set up automated reporting. Not only is it useful for those who need to receive the data, but it also serves as an action item for me. I can create a report template for each brand and set it up so I get an email whenever the scheduled report is ready. This reminds me to go in and check on any updates.
Cons
Downtime: There have been instances when I have needed time-sensitive reports and have discovered parts of the system are down. If you are using this software with multiple clients on a daily basis, you may run into some issues. I have experienced everything from reports failing to be updated in real time to not being able to reach the website.
Limited Platform Integration: While RavenTools does offer a decent amount of data, they seem to be slow to add some platforms. For example, you can't connect your Instagram account and on their website they explicitly say "No plans to develop an integration anytime soon." - which is very unfortunate.
Dashboard Organization: I guess this could be considered Personal Perfernce, but I think some tools could be better organized on the dashboard. After using RavenTools for 3 years, I still have to search around for certain tools. Let's say I want to do some keyword tracking. I can go to the "Campaign" tab and insert multiple keywords. A week later I want to research those same keywords. If I go under the "Research" tab, none of my keywords are there. I have to go back to the "Campaign" tab, click research, and then I am redirected to the "Research" tab where the information populates. You would think that the information would automatically remain under the "Research" tab, but nope. I would have to go through the "Campaign" tab and repeat the process again just to revisit the keyword information.
Communication: I feel the communication to users has decreased over time. I appreciate a platform that makes changes to improve the user experience, but I don't feel I am informed of updates. I will go into the dashboard and notice that something has changed or moved unexpectedly. Now I have to go to Google and dig around to find what changed and how to use the new setup. I wish they would go back to creating updated video tutorials.
Likelihood to Recommend
If you are looking for a one-stop shop for MOST things related to digital marketing, RavenTools is a great solution. You will be able to monitor social media, Google tools, email campaigns, and much more from one spot. It really cuts down on time spent moving from account to account. If you are looking for clean and easy to read reports for clients, RavenTools is perfect for that as well. It provides tools and reports that can be used by internal and external teams alike.
RavenTools is used in our marketing department as a tool for both our own business and our customers. We primarily use it for website audits for SEO purposes because it makes addressing issues with search easy to fix. We also use it to track who is linking back to our sites.
Pros
The interface is simple and user-friendly.
The reports are intuitive and easy to create.
Summary screens make quick-views each morning a breeze.
Cons
The reports are very amateurish. The graphs are too big and the size can't be changed. Even with the customization they offer (adding your logo) the reports are too basic looking to present to clients. They are also all in black and white, which is a huge issue for us. They're just not impressive enough to show clients.
The keyword ranking system is difficult to understand because they use a different method than some other search ranking monitoring services that are on the market. They aren't very good at explaining the discrepancies between their software and their competitors'.
Customizing the reports is too time consuming.
Likelihood to Recommend
It is well suited for small businesses with easy to manage social platforms or those who are looking to improve search ranking. Their in-depth site audit tool is the primary reason we've been a customer for so long.
For big businesses with active social presence on several platforms or those who need to provide impressive reporting, this software would not be the best fit.
RavenTools is used by the digital marketing team to track SEO, keyword performance, and other digital metrics to supplement Google Analytics reporting on our various websites, primarily as an SEO keyword tracking and reporting platform. It isn't used by other departments outside of marketing, although they do receive portions of the reporting.
Pros
Reporting of keyword activity on our various sites
Helping plan new SEO strategies based on existing trends
Evaluating competitors' sites when planning SEO for new pages
Cons
It was difficult when the tool stopped providing keywords used for organic Google searches a few years ago.
When the product we repositioned as a digital marketing platform vs. an SEO platform, use of it as a standalone SEO package became more difficult
Many elements of the program overlap with other reporting and tools we already have from other vendors, and need to be supplemented with additional details before our reports are ready to share internally.
Likelihood to Recommend
RavenTools is not as well suited for a pure SEO tracking platform as it was years ago, but for people with minimal SEO tracking needs it can still function appropriately. It wasn't as useful for our company for SEO so we eventually added Moz.
RavenTools was being used to manage the online presence of multiple clients looking for SEO optimization and PPC and SMM campaigns. I was the only individual involved in using the product, but the custom reports we were able to generate for clients and sales meetings were key to the company's closing of content strategy contracts.
Pros
Actionable Reporting - the data that was generated such that clients could pick up and understand the information presented to them.
Cons
SERP Tracking - compared to MOZtools, Raven's SERP tracking is a bit more difficult to handle. Having easy to use actionable dashboard charts are something that was sorely needed.
SEO Management - it may not be the bread and butter of the suite, but I feel like Moz does this better. It was why I switched over to Moz.
Likelihood to Recommend
It is better suited to manage a paid search campaign rather than SERP tracking. Maybe I went in expecting something different, but once they lost their ability to do SERP tracking, even though it isn't something that determines the success of your campaign; it made it more difficult to speak to client's concerns because all they care about are SERP rankings.
RavenTools was used by our Search Marketing department for keyword research, competitor research, areas of opportunity, and positioning monitoring. It was later abandoned as the search team began looking at different options and eventually moved to another product.
Pros
Cross-competitor research
Rank tracking
Keyword research
Cons
Overall learning curve could be improved
I wouldn't mind seeing webinars or videos on tricks to get to most of the product
Managing keywords was a little goofy with a long list
Likelihood to Recommend
I love how quick it is to get your site set up and integrated with the other tools you're already using and compile all that data in a single place. It makes new set up of new accounts very quick and easy.
I am the Digital Marketing Specialist at DS Smith, Plastics Division. I manage 5 separate websites and RavenTools helps organize the keywords and the performance for each website. I also use this tool for the Social Media reporting tools.
Pros
Helps organize the keywords that you want to keep track of
The research tool helps save time and helps with decision making
The Social Media section is easy to use and the reporting is great
Cons
Generally, I love this tool, however I would add a section for Google Plus.
Likelihood to Recommend
I was an intern for a business coaching company, and I used this tool. When I moved over to my new company, I loved this tool so much that I suggested we used it as well.
