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RavenTools is a versatile marketing tool that has been praised by users for its ability to track the performance of digital media and …
Starting at $49 per month
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What is RavenTools?
Raven Tools from the Tennessee company of the same name is Internet or search engine marketing optimization software consisting of popular tools targeted at SEO specialists who need research automation. To that end it contains the familiar set of website…
Recent Reviews
Popular Features
- SERP ranking tracking (12)10.0100%
- Site audit / diagnostics (12)10.0100%
- Integration with web analytics tools (12)10.0100%
- Backlink management (12)7.070%
Pricing
Small Biz (2 users)
$49
Cloud
per month
Start (4 users)
$109
Cloud
per month
Grow (8 users)
$199
Cloud
per month
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Product Demos
Live Raven Tools Walk Through and Demo #2 (May)
YouTube
Raven Demo
YouTube
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What is RavenTools?
RavenTools Video
RavenTools Overview
RavenTools Integrations
RavenTools Competitors
RavenTools Technical Details
| Deployment Types | Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Raven Tools from the Tennessee company of the same name is Internet or search engine marketing optimization software consisting of popular tools targeted at SEO specialists who need research automation. To that end it contains the familiar set of website research and auditing, competitor monitoring, rank tracking, and also content investigation to see that material on the site is keyword-rich yet topically relevant. Social media and backlink checking tools facilitate outreach and drive traffic by way of getting cited by others. Like other more comprehensive solutions, Raven Tools also helps marketers manage PPC campaigns with analytics and reporting.
The Raven Pro edition allows 4 users access to Ravel Tools for $99 per month, while Raven Agency provides a group of unlimited size shared access for $249 per month. Both editions support unlimited campaigning and access to Raven Tools' foundational data sources, as well as white label reporting, but Agency triples Link Manager storage from 50k to 150k links.
Reviewers rate Keyword analysis and SERP ranking tracking and Page grader highest, with a score of 10.
The most common users of RavenTools are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Reviews and Ratings
(62)
Community Insights
TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!
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- Recommendations
RavenTools is a versatile marketing tool that has been praised by users for its ability to track the performance of digital media and campaigns, assist with web development and SEO planning, and create performance reports. With the software's integration with Google Search Console, Google Adwords, Google Analytics, and Majestic SEO's backlink data, users can easily generate comprehensive reports that provide valuable insights. One of the standout features of RavenTools is its site audit tool, which highlights issues such as semantic data, visibility issues, and duplicate content or title tags that need to be addressed. Users also appreciate how RavenTools helps them manage and track analytics across multiple websites, making it particularly useful for B2B lead generation and online sales of consumable products. The software is often used to track social media engagement, compare SEO health with competitors, discover backlinks, create automated reports, and perform site audits. Its visual reports make it easy for both analysts and non-analysts alike to understand the information presented. Furthermore, RavenTools enables users to load data from multiple sources into one platform and track metrics that matter to them and their clients. This consolidation of data helps make marketing reporting easier by providing a one-stop solution for measuring the effectiveness of digital marketing efforts. Additionally, the ability to add written text to each section of the report allows for further explanation of the information provided. RavenTools also proves valuable for monitoring keyword rankings and traffic for SEO projects and providing white-labeled SEO reports. Users have found that RavenTools helps them manage their time efficiently by streamlining tasks related to PPC, social media management, SEO, content creation, and research based on clients' goals. Overall, RavenTools is a user-friendly solution that provides valuable insights for users with varying levels of experience in the industry.
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.
Confusing and Hard-to-Read User Interface: Many users have expressed frustration with the user interface of RavenTools, finding it confusing and difficult to read. This sentiment is especially prevalent when users are trying to interpret charts for keyword placement.
Frequent Crashes in iPhone App: Some users have reported frequent crashes when using the Google Analytics portion of RavenTools' iPhone app. This issue has caused inconvenience and hindered their ability to access important data on-the-go.
Limited Reporting for Social Media Platforms: Several reviewers have mentioned that they would like to see additional reporting options for other social media platforms, particularly Instagram. The lack of comprehensive reporting for these platforms limits the effectiveness of RavenTools as an all-in-one marketing tool.
Users of Raven Tools commonly recommend the following:
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Utilize Raven Tools for SEO and PPC. Users suggest leveraging Raven Tools for search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. They find it to be a comprehensive reporting tool that works well for small companies.
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Manage multiple reporting and online tools. Users recommend using Raven Tools to manage various reporting and online tools simultaneously. It allows users to streamline their workflow and efficiently handle multiple sites.
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Seek assistance from customer service. Users advise reaching out to Raven Tools' customer service for assistance with any issues or inquiries. They appreciate the support provided by the team.
It's worth noting that while users highly recommend Raven Tools, they also suggest considering other tools in the market and being aware of its limitations before making a purchase. Overall, users find Raven Tools to be a cost-effective solution that provides valuable information, but its effectiveness ultimately depends on the user's skills and specific needs.
Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(1-6 of 6)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
April 25, 2018
A Great All-around Tool
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
July 01, 2014
RavenTools: The leftover casserole of SEO software
We currently use RavenTools solely within the marketing department to manage and track analytics across three different websites owned by Action Target. One website is dedicated to B2B lead generation while the other two are dedicated to online sales of consumable products. In the past, we've used RavenTools to track social media engagement, compare SEO health of our own sites to competitors', discover backlinks, create automated reports, and perform site audits.
- RavenTools has teamed up with SEO services like Moz and Magestic SEO to provide detailed data about the SEO health of your own websites as well as how they compare to your competitors' websites. I can directly compare number of backlinks, page speed, domain authority, integration of Google Analytics, presence of robots.txt files, on-site social media engagement, and home page load time. This a great way to get an idea of how your site stacks up against others and what can be done to improve it.
- RavenTools' automated reports are mostly great (I'll cover the negatives later). You can create reports with as much data as you would like and schedule them to arrive as often as you would like. I have SEO, social media, and site performance reports delivered to my team and me every Monday covering the last 10 days, and a broader quarterly report arrives in the inboxes of a few executives once a quarter.
- RavenTools' graphs are often easier to read and decipher than graphs found in Google Analytics. Part of the reason is the graph height. Google Analytics graphs are fairly short, so it's difficult to see smaller variations in the data. Those variations are more pronounced within RavenTools using the data.
- I've stopped using the automated reports. They still arrive in my inbox every Monday morning, but they're not providing the data I need. One, the great looking graphs that you see online are replaced with really bland graphics that often have scale issues (e.g., the vertical axis on the bounce rate graph goes up to 400% making it impossible to see any kind of variation). Two, you can't drill down the data you want reported. It won't report specific data like conversion rates for mobile and tablet users vs. desktop users. It only reports generic metrics which are rarely actionable and usually don't mean a thing. Three, there are often formatting issues within the report (not a huge issue, but it does look bad when I'm sending it to executives). Four, it's really difficult to make sweeping changes to different reports. If you decide there's a specific stat you want to include in the reports you've already created (not too specific, mind you, because that's not possible), it takes a long time and a lot of effort to make the changes.
- The analytics portion of RavenTools leaves much to be desired. It's basically a reformatting of what you can find in Google Analytics, but without all of the flexibility. I would much rather see my web stats in GA where I can drill down the data and make better comparisons across acquisition, behavior, and conversions. RavenTools recently redesigned the analytics portion of its website to present the numerical data found underneath the line graph on top in a different way, but it mostly just turned it into a sea of red and green boxes that is difficult to read.
- The SEO portion of RavenTools isn't very user friendly and doesn't adequately explain what certain metrics are and how they're calculated. For instance, under Campaign->Site Performance, it shows SEO metrics for your site compared to competitors' sites. Two of the metrics provided by Magestic SEO (Trust Flow and Citation Flow) have the exact same definition and are apparently calculated "by the number citations (sic) to a given URL, (sic) or domain." That tells me nothing. Also, there's no explanation for why Majestic SEO and Moz calculate backlinks so differently. When there's a difference of nearly 100% in those statistics, it make you wonder how accurate they are and what they're actually measuring.
- There are content errors found throughout the RavenTools website. This doesn't necessarily affect the functionality (except when those errors prevent you from understanding what a certain metric is and how it's calculated), but it does reflect on the quality of the service in general. I tend to distrust websites that are full of textual errors, and it tells me that they don't put a lot of effort into the user experience (especially since some of the most glaringly obvious errors haven't been fixed in more than a year).
June 30, 2014
Great for reporting, lacking in analysis
I currently work in-house at a large, publicly traded online marketplace. When I used RavenTools, I was at a very small (between 10-15 people) SEO agency. RavenTools was the primary link building tracking, social media monitoring, and reporting tool, as well as a secondary keyword tracking tool. As I generated most of the reporting I was the primary user of the tool, but most folks dipped into it now and then as necessary.
- Reporting—this was by far the thing that RavenTools did best, in my estimation. The reports the tool created looked sharp and authoritative, and were very modular and customizable. This is no small thing when you work in an agency and need to provide reporting to clients.
- Link tracking—this was sort of like a proto-Buzzstream, a CRM-esque tool that enabled users to identify link prospects, links acquired, and the like. A nice feature (pretty ubiquitous now, but still valuable) was tracking those links, so if they went away you could act on that.
- Keyword research—RavenTools mashed up a few different sources of data—Keyword Planner (then the Keyword Tool), Wordtracker, and SEMRush—which provided a nice multifaceted range of data on keyword targets. This is valuable because none of these tools are individually entirely trustworthy, so it's good to get several options.
- Social media monitoring—for our clients that needed this, this was a great tool. It was basically link tracking for Facebook, Twitter, and Google Alerts, but it pulled in the contextual post around the mention and you could assign sentiment to it.
- Depth of toolset—This might have changed in the interim but the level of analysis the tools provided was very input/output—you input data in the tool, you get a report of the data you input. Monitoring was a nice layer, but you can't go wild with filters and entering a data wormhole like you can with seoClarity or BrightEdge.
- "Useful" integrations—Raven was very much a tool built around reporting. When I say "useful," I don't mean to imply that the integrations were worthless—they just weren't things you could USE very well. They were more there to easily input into a report. The exception to this was the keyword research toolset.
- Use as an enterprise tool—Agency life and in-house life are two very different things. This tool definitely satisfies the needs of the former more than the latter, especially for smaller agencies who are less integrated with their clients.
June 24, 2014
Quote the Raven
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
RavenTools is being used to monitor the work that our SEO department has done to easily report to the client in an automated way each month. When covering numerous clients you always have to look for a way to manage your time efficiently, and effectively. Besides using the reporting module for each client, we also utilize the functionality of the PPC, Social Media, SEO, content and research functionality based on the clients goals they wish us to direct our attention to.
When researching for keywords, you want to make sure that the process in researching that you have created for yourself is time management friendly, effective, and a solid base to branch off of as you grow your SEO campaign. Creating content for numerous clients can be hectic, but with Raven Tools, it's a built in module that saves you from finding another software solution that will provide you quality content to use across your SEO and Social Media campaigns. As you can see, there are multiple departments within our company that use Raven Tools on a daily basis. The major thing I see Raven Tools addressing is cutting down on micro-tasking, which, if you're unfamiliar with the term, it's the small day to day tasks that can take up a large portion of your day, and add-up over the course of time to a lot of lost hours and days.
When researching for keywords, you want to make sure that the process in researching that you have created for yourself is time management friendly, effective, and a solid base to branch off of as you grow your SEO campaign. Creating content for numerous clients can be hectic, but with Raven Tools, it's a built in module that saves you from finding another software solution that will provide you quality content to use across your SEO and Social Media campaigns. As you can see, there are multiple departments within our company that use Raven Tools on a daily basis. The major thing I see Raven Tools addressing is cutting down on micro-tasking, which, if you're unfamiliar with the term, it's the small day to day tasks that can take up a large portion of your day, and add-up over the course of time to a lot of lost hours and days.
- I believe RavenTools has a solid grasp on reporting to clients. With a wizard, templates and step by step help instructions for those who are new, this feature is a must use.
- You can search a keyword to find out how competitive it is, as well as how easy or difficult it would be to rank for based on data you provide.
- Social Media keyword monitoring is a great tool to use. Since social media websites are one of the most popular places to find your targeted audience, it's crucial you use a tool like this to do it correctly.
- Though I'm not a big fan on the direction to paid advertisement participation, I cannot discredit RavenTools for my personal preferences. Their PPC module allows you to connect to your Adwords account and utilize the data with the insights and metrics which is great data to have if you find yourself going this route.
- The one thing I think RavenTools can improve on is implementing Reputation Management functionality into it's application. Since Reputation Management is a crucial aspect companies are looking to have focused on and taken care of effectively, I believe that they can utilize their existing tools to get a great head start with this functionality. In my humble opinion they've had a great product over the course of seven years, and still do, however, keeping up with the marketing trends such as Reputation Management is a key factor in the longevity of their users.
We were an advertising and marketing agency utilizing RavenTools to monitor and report on SEO and online marketing initiatives, both successes and opportunities for a large client base.
- Reporting - it was nice to be able to aggregate information from the various SEO and online marketing opportunities into one report. Not only that, but having the flexibility to add in information, minimal HTML, etc allowed us to expand on the reports with suggestions, additional information and ideas.
- Link building opportunities - being able to research competitors in the market and find a variety of opportunities to build solid, advantageous links was invaluable.
- Social monitoring allowed us to keep an eye on reputations and manage accordingly, without having to go out and chase down posts on the numerous social channels making it quick, easy and efficient.
- Regarding pulling in information from PPC - being limited to Google created an issue when it came to reporting as we also ran campaigns through Adcenter. Being exclusive to Google information is a little shortsighted.
- Not being able to pull more detailed and specific reports from Google Analytics was limiting as well. Only getting the dashboard and being able to segment by Paid vs non-paid was limiting when trying to drill down.
- The HTML functionality was a little clunky and could be very frustrating for those who aren't really skilled with it but need the functionality. Making a more user-friendly WYSIWYG would go a long way as not all online marketers are programmers.