Why I Moved On from Surfer SEO (Mostly)
Not long ago, Surfer SEO emerged as a leading AI content tool, gaining momentum on ChatGPT. Unlike all-purpose models, it was specifically built to combine writing with on-page SEO optimization. Users were drawn to its promise of a streamlined workflow. Aimed at marketers, SEOs, and content teams, it produces SERP-aligned articles with little manual effort. Its ability to deliver content that’s actually useful and rank-worthy is questionable though. Here’s my experience with it.
How Surfer stacks up in AI content generation
In terms of content generation, ChatGPT remains a formidable competitor. Several LLMs come close, particularly Google’s Gemini (it's so straightforward!). At Edify Content, the content team relied on Surfer SEO until early 2024. The biggest problem we encountered was its slowness: a 2,000-word article would take up to 20 minutes to generate. More troubling was the predictability of the output and its occasional errors.
Surfer SEO also lacked versatility. I frequently found myself taking what Surfer SEO produced and pasting it into ChatGPT. I did this because I needed a more specific prompt to shape the content into what I wanted. Over time, and without really intending to, I stopped using Surfer SEO for content creation altogether.
Fortunately... The Surfer SEO tool has continued to evolve. You now have the capability to set content guidelines and produce draft content by analyzing particular rival pages in the SERP. As with many AI writing tools, its strength lies in producing top-of-funnel content. While the text it generates isn’t overtly robotic, it still doesn’t script easily into a particular tone of voice either.
One helpful feature in Surfer is the option to refine a draft by choosing specific questions and topics for the final piece. You can also adjust headings, add or remove keywords, and change up the structure of your piece. While performing these tasks, Surfer keeps tabs with a visible "optimization score" that reflects how close your piece is to being polished. The scoring system eliminates the guesswork, particularly when you’re adjusting a draft to have greater SEO impact.
Surfer excels at on-page SEO features
Surfer SEO excels at SEO content optimization, but you still need to perform basic keyword research. Using advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP), Surfer SEO helps create user intent-aligned content and suggests semantically related keywords so that you can cover topics thoroughly and stay competitive in search.
One notable feature is Surfer SEO’s SERP Analyzer, which examines top-ranking pages for your target keywords. It gives a clearer picture of what users are searching for and why certain pages rank well. The SERP Analyzer highlights the elements that contribute to their performance and offers guidance on how to position your content to compete effectively.
I also found Surfer's keyword density recommendations helpful. While not groundbreaking, it provided important insights into optimal keyword usage. Without this feature, avoiding keyword stuffing often comes down to guesswork.
Why speed and workflow still matter
In my view, Surfer SEO's biggest weakness was its ease of use. The interface is intuitive enough, but the content generation process was far too slow. It dawned on me that I had better plan other tasks while waiting for it to finish. But if Surfer misinterpreted a prompt or my intent, I had to wait through another full run or spend extra time cleaning up irrelevant output. ChatGPT feels much faster and more flexible by comparison. Eventually, i found other content creation tools that did not subject me to such long waits.
Is Surfer SEO still worth it for SEO content?
Using a tool to achieve high SEO scores can sometimes negatively impact content quality or readability. With Surfer SEO, that tradeoff is occasionally apparent, particularly with bottom-of-funnel content that requires detailed information. Another issue is that the content requires a significant amount of manual editing to align it with a brand's tone or voice.
Surfer recently raised prices rather than lower them. If they're not careful, they'll find themselves in a death spiral, where fewer users incentivizes higher prices to make up the difference.
For now, Surfer SEO remains a leading AI-powered SEO tool for generating SEO content. Several newer players have entered this space, however. Many offer similar functionality at a lower cost or even for free. So I am not convinced that Surfer’s pricing structure makes it a worthwhile tool. At least not for those of us who like to take the initiative and combine tools.