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SpyFu

SpyFu

Overview

What is SpyFu?

SpyFu 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…

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

SpyFu has proven to be an invaluable tool for conducting competitor research and analysis in the advertising industry. Users have praised …
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Smooth and Easy PPC Research Tool!

9 out of 10
September 01, 2022
I use SpyFu for researching competitor PPC campaigns and keeping an eye on their strategies. I find it helpful to see what keywords they …
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SpyFu- give it a tru!

8 out of 10
May 19, 2022
Incentivized
We are looking for help with ranking our website in both paid and organic searches. SEO keyword research can be overwhelming, and we did …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 14 features
  • Competitive analysis (50)
    9.1
    91%
  • SERP ranking tracking (43)
    8.1
    81%
  • Keyword analysis (51)
    6.9
    69%
  • Backlink management (39)
    5.8
    58%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Basic

$39

Cloud
per month

Professional

$79

Cloud
per month

Team

$299

Cloud
per month

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

Using Spyfu to Find Leads for a B2B Google Ads or SEO Agency - SpyFu Review and Demo For B2B Leads

YouTube

Jeff Demo 07 - Using SpyFu for Local SEO YouTube

YouTube

SpyFu Review Video Demo - Excellent or Scam?

YouTube

Domain Ad History Demo, Part 2 | SpyFu Domain Ad History

YouTube

Domain Ad History Demo, Part 1 | SpyFu Domain Ad History

YouTube

Spyfu Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives (+ Demo)

YouTube
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Features

SEO

Core features related to search engine optimization

7.2
Avg 7.8

SEO Channels

Features related to optimizing your website for specific channels

7.7
Avg 7.6

SEO Platform & Account Management

Features related to scalability and integration of the SEO platform

8.7
Avg 8.4
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Product Details

What is SpyFu?

SpyFu Video

SpyFu Demo

SpyFu Competitors

SpyFu Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

SpyFu 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 keyword areas vis-a-vis rival actors in the same or contiguous marketing space. Published pricing starts at $79 per month with the Basic plan, for Google, Yahoo & Bing research, 6 years of historical access, unlimited access to SpyFu's tools, but somewhat limited access to leads and domain contacts keyword rank tracking. The $139 Professional plan gives full access to UK data and doubles the rank tracking of keywords from 400 to 800, and provides custom branded (white label) reports and API access. the $999 Agency plan gives team access (10 user logins) and unlimited tracking and reporting capabilities.

Moz Pro and RavenTools are common alternatives for SpyFu.

Reviewers rate Competitive analysis highest, with a score of 9.1.

The most common users of SpyFu are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(132)

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!

SpyFu has proven to be an invaluable tool for conducting competitor research and analysis in the advertising industry. Users have praised its ability to provide strong directional insights for evaluating search advertisers, allowing them to understand their potential clients' past PPC efforts and identify opportunities for new campaigns. With its keyword research capabilities, users have been able to optimize their AdWords campaigns and allocate budgets effectively, ensuring that they are targeting the right keywords and avoiding spending on ineffective ad campaigns. SpyFu's SEO insights have also been highly beneficial for users, enabling them to assess the effectiveness of their SEO efforts and identify areas for improvement. By analyzing competitors' backlinks, users have been able to enhance their own backlink profiles, improving their website's authority in search engines.

The software has matured over time and added new elements, making it an integral part of users' arsenal for competitor research and baseline SEO analysis. Users have particularly praised SpyFu's ability to deliver a domain's ad history, which has helped them remain competitive in paid search. By identifying profitable keywords and uncovering low-hanging fruit through keyword tracking and competitor analysis features, users have been able to drive successful SEO campaigns. SpyFu's impact on search marketing ventures cannot be overstated, as it provides users with a powerful edge over their competitors in the search engine space.

In addition, SpyFu has become widely utilized for SEM and SEO business intelligence. Its comprehensive insights into competitors' monthly spending, ad copy, keywords, and SEO rankings allow users to gain valuable information for strategic decision-making. The tool has proven effective in pivoting campaign strategies quickly based on the insights provided by SpyFu. Users have found it instrumental in competitor analysis and strategizing marketing programs, helping them understand the competition landscape and assess viability within given budgets.

Furthermore, SpyFu has been used for various purposes such as analyzing potential keywords, conducting SEO data research, gaining insights into how search engines perceive websites, establishing baselines, conducting competitive analysis, and performing marketing and brand audits. Its advanced competitive keyword research capabilities have allowed users to collect thousands of keywords for themselves and their competitors, providing a wealth of data for analysis and optimization. SpyFu's auto-generated SEO reports have also been vital to the success of SEO efforts, providing users with comprehensive insights into core keywords and identifying new opportunities or challenges. Additionally, the estimation of competitors' monthly AdWords spending by SpyFu has provided valuable information in highly competitive fields.

With its interface and growing catalog of advantages, SpyFu has met users' needs

Intuitive User Interface: Many users have praised SpyFu for its highly intuitive and easy-to-navigate user interface. They appreciate the straightforward design and layout, which allows them to quickly access the information they need. This user-friendly interface has been mentioned by several reviewers, making it accessible to employees of all experience levels and easy for anyone to use and navigate.

Competitor Analysis: The ability to analyze competitors' advertising strategies and tactics is highly valued by users. Several reviewers have expressed their appreciation for being able to see what advertising has been done in the past. This feature allows them to gain insights into their competition's strategies, stay informed about their industry, and make data-driven decisions for their own campaigns.

Keyword Insights: Users find the keyword tool within SpyFu to be a great resource for understanding their website's performance as well as comparing it to their competitors'. Many reviewers have highlighted how this tool helps them identify top-performing keywords and compare them against their competitors' keywords. By optimizing SEO strategies based on these insights, users are able to stay ahead of the competition in search engine rankings.

  1. Lack of Clarity in Explanations: Some users have found that certain aspects of SpyFu are not well explained, leading to confusion and difficulty in understanding their purpose.

  2. Irrelevant Keywords: Several reviewers have mentioned that the keywords provided by SpyFu can be irrelevant to the selected business, which compromises the accuracy of the data.

  3. Graphs Difficult to Work With: The graphs in SpyFu have been described as challenging to navigate at times, indicating that they may not be intuitive or user-friendly.

The user suggests trying the free trial of SpyFu first and utilizing the on-boarding support provided. They highly recommend using SpyFu for SEO and PPC, considering it a great tool for competitive keyword research. Utilizing the help section and video tutorials is recommended. SpyFu is seen as worth the money, offering numerous features at a reasonable price. It is suggested to use SpyFu to stay competitive in advertising and to target specific issues with the help of the provided videos. For small businesses unable to afford SEO and PPC agency prices, SpyFu is considered a great investment. Trying SpyFu and upgrading are recommended, as it is easy to use, particularly for SEO purposes. Tracking competitors' ads, keywords, and spending using SpyFu is also advised. To improve digital marketing efforts, it is suggested to take advantage of SpyFu's capabilities. The tutorial videos provided by SpyFu should be watched for better utilization of the tool. For PPC professionals, SpyFu is considered a must-have. Running reports often and leveraging the information provided by SpyFu for informed business decisions are recommended practices. Taking advantage of reduced pricing for the trial period and the guided tour offered by SpyFu are additional suggestions. SpyFu is highly regarded as a great tool for competitive research and SEO analysis in online marketing. Considering SpyFu for gaining valuable insights and ensuring competitiveness online is suggested. Reviewers find it fast, easy to work with, and reasonably priced. For paid search analysis, utilizing SpyFu is recommended. The competition section of SpyFu can also be used to expand prospect pipelines with more companies.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-3 of 3)
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Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I first began exploring SpyFu to determine if it would be useful to the public relations and marketing firm I previously worked at. As a small firm, we were cautious about investing in expensive software that did not directly address our needs. At the time, a competitor of one of our clients was spending big bucks on their marketing campaigns and we were struggling to keep up. We identified the need to track their success, as well as other competitors in the field, so that we could follow their movements and see what was working for them. My role was to go through each SpyFu training module and create a PowerPoint presentation to share with our team so that we could understand how it works and if it would be adequate to meet our needs.
  • One of SpyFu's greatest strengths is that it is easy to understand and follow along through videos and training modules. As someone who struggles with technology, watching and re-watching these explanatory aids was crucial in understanding the benefits of the software itself.
  • One of the most useful features is the Kombat tool, which allows you to see which keywords your direct competitors are honing in on or avoiding. This tool narrows down the keyword search so that you aren't wasting time on irrelevant keywords that your competitors aren't wasting time on either.
  • Even if YOU can understand your findings, you still have to convey them to your client. SpyFu's Recon Files generate SEO and PPC Reports that are aesthetically pleasing, simple to follow and succinct for your client to follow along.
  • Occasionally, SpyFu has been unable to find the website of a competitor, leading to a blank search.
  • Sometimes the suggested keywords can be irrelevant to what I am trying to find.
I think SpyFu will become more and more relevant as companies begin to understand the advantages of SEO and PPC marketing. At the moment, this particular software might be more appropriate for larger companies with bigger marketing campaigns, as smaller marketing firms do not always use PPC marketing.
SEO (8)
52.5%
5.3
Keyword analysis
70%
7.0
Backlink management
60%
6.0
SERP ranking tracking
60%
6.0
Page grader
N/A
N/A
Competitive analysis
90%
9.0
Site audit / diagnostics
60%
6.0
Site recommendations
N/A
N/A
Task management
80%
8.0
SEO Channels (4)
75%
7.5
Local SEO
80%
8.0
Social SEO
70%
7.0
Mobile SEO
70%
7.0
Global SEO
80%
8.0
SEO Platform & Account Management (2)
70%
7.0
Multi-domain support
70%
7.0
Integration with web analytics tools
70%
7.0
  • SpyFu allowed us to see how our biggest competitor was utilizing SEO and PPC marketing and how this was allowing them to outperform our own efforts. After we went through the tools on SpyFu, we could see what keywords were being utilized and which were ineffective and began integrating them into our own marketing campaign.
At this point, I have only used SpyFu and believe it is the most efficient software for our purposes.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
SpyFu is one of the main tools my company use to rely on for PPC competitive audits and identifying new keyword opportunities.
  • Venn diagrams for analyzing which PPC keywords you and your competitors are both bidding on. The data is incredibly useful and the diagrams are great to utilize during client presentations.
  • Stellar user experience: The site is not bogged down by too many unnecessary bells and whistles. It's a very easy tool to pick up and start using without requiring much training.
  • SpyFu also gives you a well rounded snapshot of the PPC Ad copy for your and your competitors. This can be extremely useful to better understand the variations in strategy that different companies are using to achieve their objectives.
  • SpyFu could use a bit of a visual revamp. I believe that if it offered more of a visually pleasing aesthetic, people would use it more often.
  • It would be great for SpyFu to develop an alert system that's triggered by major events or changes in your competitors keyword strategy (keyword type, bids, etc), or even if can identify when competitors are adding or implementing major edits to their ad copy.
Great to use to develop sales collateral. It's also very useful for competitive analysis and client reporting.
  • It offers great insights. This instills a greater sense of confidence from our clients in that we are doing a good job of researching the market.
  • Major time saver for our strategists and PPC practitioners.
What differentiates SpyFu from its competitors is that it's simply easier to use and a lot more affordable. At the end of the day, companies will spend a lot of money for other tools that offer a great deal of functionality that no one ever uses.
SpyFu offers such a great value proposition at such a low price, there simply isn't any justification for not using it as part of your tool arsenal when managing a search program.
February 11, 2014

SpyFu is a master!

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
At my ad agency role, our analytics team used SpyFu mainly to assess competitor search marketing intelligence to benchmark our search marketing recommendations for our B2B and B2C clients. SpyFu is mainly being used within the analytics department, which focuses on search marketing, web analytics and social media analytics for various clients. SpyFu helps us gauge the competitor landscape in search marketing for a given client industry and space.
  • Providing a systematic dashboard of competitor's search marketing strategy.
  • Providing a list of keywords as well as keyword analysis for a given domain.
  • The SEO report and PPC report are in depth and detailed, providing useful information.
  • Improve the visualization of the various reports. Some are not visually pleasing.
  • Consider enabling real-time analysis of competitor keyword campaigns.
  • Provide a guideline to how to interpret a SEO/PPC report.
Does the software tell me exactly what my competitors are doing in search? What are the organic and paid keywords they are using? How much are they paying for these campaigns?
  • The reports are not cheap but can be downloaded and circulated throughout key team members to work on the same project together.
  • The value of SpyFu is in providing proprietary search marketing intelligence that other software just can't.
  • SpyFu's data enabled our team to build a more accurate search campaign for our clients.
SpyFu is very insightful in getting competitor search marketing data, so it's quite indispensable in any search marketing campaign, especially for an ad agency role.
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