Table of Contents
About SpyFu
SpyFu is a search analytics company that was formerly called GoogSpy. It was founded in 2005 by Mike Roberts. He is also its current president and has led the company into great success ever since its inception.SpyFu essentially brings up all the keywords that are mostly bought by websites on Google Ads. Further, SpyFu also displays the words that are available on various websites when running within searches on the platform.
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona in the United States, the SEO Company is one of the best in the industry. It has diversified integration programs that lets you reach them with any of queries at any time.
How SpyFu works
From its domain name, you can guess that SpyFu does the spy work for you. You get to understand your competitors and how they rank on search engines using SpyFu. All you need to do is enter the domain name of the competitor on the search bar shown in the snapshot below:
I entered 10BabyGear.com on the search bar and it gave me the following under the overview section:
Under overview, you also get to know who your competitors are as shown in the snapshot below:
In addition to competitors list, you also get to know the following about your competitors:
- The top keywords the competitor ranks and SEO clicks it gets per month
SpyFu is unique as it specifically provides detailed research on the following:
- SEO Research
- PPC Research
- Keyword Research
- Backlinks Research
- SEO and Paid Search Research Reports
- Tracking of keywords
Keyword Research
These 6 main tools by SpyFu are what makes it unique for anyone looking to understand Google Ads optimization and SEO to get more clicks. Lets understand this by going through each of the functions above:
SEO Research tool by SpyFu enables you to understand the following:
- A list of competitors and the number of words they rank for, their clicks per month and the monthly value of those clicks (for each competitor)
- Kombat feature within SEO Research enables you to compare the three main competitors and identify the keywords your competitors rank for. You also identify the keywords that you can easily outrank your competitors
- Keyword Grouping by SpyFu enables you to identify keywords by groups. For example you could be trying to rank for baby related keywords and the tool will give you all the top keywords you can go for.
- Within SEO Research SpyFu will also give you the most valuable keywords and pages of a competitor and this is one of the most accurate tools in the market. Aside from spending optimization for Google Ads, the SEO Keywords feature was one of my main considerations when I finally decided to sign up. SEO Keyword feature shows you the Most Valuable pages and keywords, Newly ranked Keywords and Keyword Rank Gains.
- The SEO Research tool also shows the top ranking pages but this was not as accurate when I checked with a few sites that I own.
- SpyFu also shows the backlinks that your competitor has. However, I found the backlinks to be very few compared to actual. I was actually disappointed. It showed 10BabyGear having only one backlink yet it has 500+ on Ahrefs.
- You can also get detailed SEO reports for your website on SypFu
SpyFu tool has the most detailed SEO Report that gives you great insight into how your competitors rank and can leverage it to go after certain keywords. You can check out an example of a 47-page SEO Report here.
PPC Research
SpyFu has the most comprehensive PPC research tool that enables you to understand the following:
- Your competitors’ paid keywords
- Your competitors estimates PPC clicks
- Estimated monthly budget (PPC Budget)
I entered Amazon.com on SpyFu PPC research tool and it gave me the following:
Some of the main keywords Amazon is spending its more than $500k budget is on the following:
- Cloud storage – It cost them more than $10 per click
- HBO subscription – It cost them $2.39 per click
- Download music – It cost them $0.4 per click
You can check out the full PDF here.
The tool also gives you the most profitable Ads and Keywords
If I ran Amazon’s Ads departments, the tool also gives me the top Adwords buy recommendations.
SpyFu also enables you to understand the most successful ads about a keyword and who sponsored the ads with details such as:
- Website that ran the ads for the keyword
- Their monthly budget
- % number of times it appeared top of Google SERP (for every 100 searches)
- The months the ads ran
- Screenshot of the ads as they appeared on Google
Check out the PDF of the page here.
You also get to see how each ad snippet looked like on Google
The tool also gives you a list of the best backlinks that can help you rank for the keyword
Furthermore, SpyFu also displays all the other keywords that have been used during ‘user searches,’ that display the domain’s website on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). More so, it also indicates the attached pricing to each click on the specified keywords. SpyFu indexes approximately 7 billion results stretching across 102 million domains in the internet.
SpyFu has become a very crucial tool in my internet marketing strategies. I can now effectively ‘spy’ on competitors by analyzing the traffic on their websites and how they affect revenue. By simply typing the competitor’s domain name onto SpyFu’s search bar, I was able to access valiant information.
SpyFu was quick to display the keywords that the competitor ranked on, the keywords that they had bought, not to mention the pricing figures associated with the same. Knowing the competitor’s ad budget and the approximate number of clicks received, was crucial to me using the strategies that have been successful in their campaign in my site.
To put it simply, just as you type in certain keywords on Google and instantaneously get website links that lead you into the keywords, SpyFu lets you do the vice versa.
SpyFu Features
SpyFu has six main functionalities:
- SEO Research
- PPC Research
- Keyword Research
- Backlinks Research
- SEO and Paid Search Research Reports
- Tracking of keywords
These six main features incorporate an array of specific sub-features that infer the various functions that the SEM and SEO Company can do for you:
- Keyword searches
- Domain searches
- Backlink searches
- Paid keywords
- Organic keywords
- Filter sales leads
- Export Advanced Contact Info
- Data exports
- Unlimited backlink results
- Backlink exports
- In-Depth SEO reports
- Adwords Advisor Reports
- Custom Branded Reports
- API Access
- Organic Ranking history
- Adwords history
- Add your own keywords
SpyFu Pricing
SpyFu has three different pricing plans which vary in capability of functionality: the basic plan, professional plan and team plan.
| Pricing Plan | Monthly | Annually |
| Basic | $39 | $399 |
| Professional | $79 | $699 |
| Team | $299 | $2389 |
The difference between themonthly and the annual pricing is that itis much more expensive to purchase monthly plans than the annual plans. In addition to the pricing differences, the basic, professional and team pricing packages each have different functionalities.
Basic Pricing Plan
The basic pricing plan has the following provisions:
- Unlimited data exports
- Unlimited search results
- Unlimited domain PDF document overviews
- 250 sales leads and domain contacts
- 5000 weekly tracked keyword rankings
- 10000 top list search page results
- 10 small domain SEO reports
- 10 Adwords Advisor Pay Per Click reports
Professional Pricing Plan
SpyFu’s professional pricing plan has more advantages in addition to the basic pricing plan as indicated in the list below:
- 250 more sales leads and domain contacts
- 10000 more weekly tracked keyword rankings
- 40000 more top list results on the search page
- Custom branded reporting
- 20 more small domain SEO reports
- 10 medium domain SEO reports
- 20 more Adwords Advisor Pay Per Click reports
- White labeling
- 10000 API rows returned
Team Pricing Plan
More so, SpyFu’s Team Pricing plan has many more features in addition to all the features offered in the professional pricing plan. They include:
- 1500 more sales leads and domain contacts
- 25000 more weekly tracked keyword rankings
- 25000 more top list results on the search page
- 5 user logins
- Unlimited small domain SEO reports
- 20 medium domain SEO reports
- 10 large domain SEO reports
- Unlimited Adwords Advisor Pay Per Click reports
Trial Version
SpyFu does not offer a free trial version or a paid ‘cheaper’ trial You can sign up for its cheapest plan here.
Though you will be charged $39 for the first month you can cancel the subscription at any time (within the 30 days from signing up) via email, live chats or via phone.
SpyFu’s Data Accuracy and Validity
SpyFu uses data from Google searches to be able to offer the expected results. Google search engine is widely used in the world, covering up to 90% of all internet users; an approximate 3.5 billion internet users at a time. This data is then used for indexing relevant searches related to your search.
SpyFu is very confident in the accuracy of their data such that they keep backups of all the information that they have accessed as well as their respective sources. In fact, SpyFu has a cached version of every single result displayed on the Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) ever since they started collecting data in 2007.
Nonetheless, not all the information is accessed from Google. Information relating to the search volume, costs and number of clicks, are accessed from other reputable sources. Even so, information from these sources is also stored in their servers for referencing. SpyFu has well crafted algorithms that allow the utilization of different sets of information, to display the queried results.
Here’s what I found SpyFu to accurately give you data on:
- The information about Ads that your competitors currently purchase
- The most valuable keywords or web pages of a competitor
- The recommendation on ads to purchase on Google
- The competitors’ monthly spending
SpyFu didn’t accurately give me the most accurate info on estimated monthly traffic my competitors have, their backlinks, and their top-ranking pages.
SpyFu’s Alternatives
SpyFu has a variety of features and yet it does not adequately fulfill all the requirements that I expected from them. Nevertheless, there are other SEO softwares that offer many functionalities at much friendlier prices. These alternatives include:
- Ahrefs
- Moz
- Kwfinder
- Serpstat
- SEMrush
- KeywordSpy
SpyFu Vs Ahrefs
I shall compare the pricing, rating, ease of use, customer support as well as the product features between SpyFu and Ahref to evaluate the best SEO tool ideal for you.
| SpyFu | Ahref | |
| Pricing plan | Has 3 pricing plans: $39/month, $99/month and $299/month | Has 4 pricing plansLite – $99/month, $179/month$, 399/month and $999/month plan |
| Free trial | No free trial | No free trial |
| Rating | Capterra – 4.4/5 of 99 reviews G2 – 4.6/5 of 398 reviews | Capterra – 4.8/5 of 207 reviews G2 – 4.6/5 of 244 reviews |
| Ease of use | 4.4/5It is extremely easy to use and with a fantastic interface and a whole load of competitive insights | 4.4/5It is super easy to use, is super fast and has amazing databases |
| Customer support | Email – YES Phone – YES Live support – YES | Email – YES Phone – YES Live support – YES |
| Product features | Competitor analysis – YES Dashboard – NO Auditing – NO Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Google analytics – NO Keyword tracking – YES Localization – NO Revenue management – NO Link management – NO User management – NO Content management – NO Mobile search tracking – NO | Competitor analysis – YES Dashboard – YES Auditing – YES Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Google analytics – NO Keyword tracking – YES Localization – YES Revenue management – NO Link management – YES User management – NO Content management – NO Mobile search tracking – YES |
| Platforms | Windows – YES Web–based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO | Windows – YES Web–based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO |
| Number of users | 1-9 users | 1000+ users |
| Company size | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES |
| Supported languages | English | English |
| Training | In Person – YES Live Online – NO Webinars – NO Documentation – YES | In Person – NO Live Online – NO Webinars – NO Documentation – YES |
| Mail address & contacts | Phone: +1-888-201-0422 or (Intl) 480-779-3955Address: Scottsdale Air Park, Scottsdale, Arizona, United States | Email: [email protected]Phone: +91-415-655-1014Address: 16 Raffles Quay, #33-03 Hong Leong Building, Singapore 048581 |
When contrasting Ahref and SpyFu, I reckon that Ahref has more advantages than the latter. Nonetheless, these additional features contribute to the higher pricing associated with this packaging.
SpyFu Vs Moz
Moz is yet another SEO tool that can be used instead of SpyFu. Listed in the table below are the relative comparisons in features, functionalities and user rankings:
| Moz | SpyFu | |
| Pricing plan | Has 4 pricing plans: $99/month, $149/month, $249/month and $599/month | Has 3 pricing plans: $39/month, $99/month and $299/month |
| Free trial | Free trial – YES | Free trial – NO |
| Rating | Capterra – 4.4/5 of 261 reviews | Capterra – 4.4/5 of 99 reviews |
| Ease of use | 4.3/5It has complex interface which might be challenging for novice users | 4.4/5It is extremely easy to use and with a fantastic interface and a whole load of competitive insights |
| Customer support | Email – YES Phone – NO Live support – YES | Email – YES Phone – YES Live support – YES |
| Product features | Competitor analysis – YES Dashboard – YES Auditing – NO Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Google analytics – NO Keyword tracking – YES Localization – NO Revenue management – NO Link management – YES User management – NO Content management – YES Mobile search tracking – NO | Competitor analysis – YES Dashboard – NO Auditing – NO Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Google analytics – NO Keyword tracking – YES Localization – NO Revenue management – NO Link management – NO User management – NO Content management – NO Mobile search tracking – NO |
| Platforms | Windows – YES Web–based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO | Windows – YES Web–based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO |
| Number of users | 1-99 users | 1-9 users |
| Company size | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES |
| Supported languages | English | English |
| Training | In Person – NO Live Online – YES Webinars – YES Documentation – YES | In Person – YES Live Online – NO Webinars – NO Documentation – YES |
| Mail address & contacts | Address: 1100 2nd Avenue Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98101, USA | Phone: +1-888-201-0422 or (Intl) 480-779-3955Address: Scottsdale, Arizona, USA |
I find Moz to be a much better SEO tool as compared to SpyFu. This is because of the various additional features that it offers. For starters, it has a trial version that customers could use in order to determine the applicability of the software before purchasing the services. It also offers training through webinars and live tutorage.
SpyFu Vs Kwfinder
Kwfinder doesn’t have big toolboxes like SpyFu and Moz Pro do. This is because it is a goal-oriented SEO tool that focuses on ad-hoc keyword research. Even so, Kwfinder is a suitable alternative to SpyFu when it comes to handling specified SEO functions.
| Kwfinder | SpyFu | |
| Pricing plan | Has 3 pricing plans: $29/month (billed annually); $39.90/month (billed annually) and $79.90/month (billed annually) | Has 3 pricing plans: $39/month; $99/month and $299/month |
| Free trial | Free trial – YES | Free trial – NO |
| Customer support | Email – YESPhone – YESLive support – YES | Email – YESPhone – YESLive support – YES |
| Product features | Competitor analysis – YES Comprehensive competitor research – YES Dashboard – YES Auditing – NO Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Advanced Rank Tracker – YES Google analytics – YES Alerts/Notifications – YES Keyword tracking – YES Backlink Quality Check Tool – YES Competing product analysis – YES | Competitor analysis – YES Comprehensive competitor research – NO Dashboard – NO Auditing – NO Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Advanced Rank Tracker – NO Google analytics – NO Alerts/Notifications – NO Keyword tracking – YES Backlink Quality Check Tool – NO Competing product analysis – NO |
| Platforms | Windows – YES Web-based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO | Windows – YES Web–based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO |
| Company size | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES |
| Supported languages | English | English |
| Training | In-Person – NO Live Online – YES Webinars – YES Documentation – YES | In Person – YES Live Online – NO Webinars – NO Documentation – YES |
| Mail address & contacts | Address: Obchodna 2 811 06 Bratislava Slovakia, EU | Phone: +1-888-201-0422 or (Intl) 480-779-3955Address: Scottsdale, Arizona, USA |
Kwfinder is a suitable for SEO functions because it can be able to handle user-specific demands. Further, it does these functions at very friendly pricing tiers. Its 10 – day free trial period allows you to decide on whether to continue with their services
SpyFu Vs Serpstat
Serpstat is yet another suitable SpyFu alternative. Serpstat has almost similar functions as those of SpyFu. In fact, Serpstat has additional features that SpyFu does not as indicated in the table below:
| Serpstat | SpyFu | |
| Pricing plan | Has 10 pricing plans:Guest – Free Registered users – FreePlan A – $19/monthPlan B – $69/monthPlan C – $149/monthPlan D – $299/monthPlan E – $499/monthPlan F – $999/monthPlan G – $1499/monthPlan H – $2500/month | Has 3 pricing plans:Basic pricing plan – $39/monthProfessional pricing plan – $99/monthTeam pricing plan – $299/month |
| Free trial | Free trial – YES | Free trial – NO |
| Rating | Capterra – 4.7/5 of 117 reviews | Capterra – 4.4/5 of 99 reviews |
| Customer support | Email – YES Phone – NO Live support – YES | Email – YES Phone – YES Live support – YES |
| Product features | Competitor analysis – YES Dashboard – YES Auditing – YES Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Google analytics – YES Keyword tracking – YES Localization – NO Revenue management – NO Link management – YES User management – NO Content management – NO Mobile search tracking – NO | Competitor analysis – YES Dashboard – NO Auditing – NO Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Google analytics – NO Keyword tracking – YES Localization – NO Revenue management – NO Link management – NO User management – NO Content management – NO Mobile search tracking – NO |
| Platforms | Windows – YES Web–based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO | Windows – YES Web–based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO |
| Number of users | 1000+ users | 1-9 users |
| Company size | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES |
| Supported languages | English & Ukrainian | English |
| Training | In Person – NO Live Online – YES Webinars – YES Documentation – YES | In Person – YES Live Online – NO Webinars – NO Documentation – YES |
| Mail address & contacts | Email: [email protected]Address: Odessa, Ukraine | Phone: +1-888-201-0422 or (Intl) 480-779-3955Address: Scottsdale, Arizona, USA |
When contrasting Serpstat and SpyFu, I found that Serpstat has an array of functions such as live training, webinar sessions and an integrated user interface, absent in SpyFu. Further, it has a flexible payment plan that cuts across all market areas.
I would recommend using Serpstat as an alternative to SpyFu with regards to their functionalities. Nonetheless, Serpstat was started much recently (2013), and thus cannot compete with the incredible experience and user information acquired by SpyFu.
SpyFy Vs SEMrush
SEMrush as an SEO tool has really outdone itself in the market. I would say that it is the best SpyFu alternative as it has virtually all functions of SpyFu and much more. The table below outlines the differences between the two marketing evaluation softwares:
| SEMrush | SpyFu | |
| Pricing plan | Has 3 pricing plans: $99.95/month, $199.95/month and $399.95/month | Has 3 pricing plans: $39/month, $99/month and $299/month |
| Free trial | Free trial – YES | Free trial – NO |
| Rating | Capterra – 4.4/5 of 261 reviews | Capterra – 4.4/5 of 99 reviews |
| Ease of use | 4.3/5It has complex interface which might be challenging for novice users | 4.4/5It is extremely easy to use and with a fantastic interface and a whole load of competitive insights |
| Customer support | You can get support via phone, chat or email | You can get support via phone, chat or email |
| Product features | Competitor analysis – YES Dashboard – YES Auditing – YES Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Google analytics – YES Keyword tracking – YESLocalization – YES Revenue management – NO Link management – YES User management – NO Content management – YES Mobile search tracking – YES | Competitor analysis – YES Dashboard – Yes Auditing – NO Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Google analytics – NO Keyword tracking – YES Localization – NO Revenue management – NO Link management – NO User management – NO Content management – NO Mobile search tracking – NO |
| Platforms | Windows – YES Web–based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO | Windows – YES Web–based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO |
| Number of users | 2-1000+ users | 1-9 users |
| Company size | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES |
| Supported languages | English | English |
| Training | In Person – YES Live Online – YES Webinars – YES Documentation – YES | In Person – YES Live Online – NO Webinars – NO Documentation – YES |
| Mail address & contacts | Email: [email protected]Phone: +1-800-815-9959Address: Boston, Massachusetts, USA | Phone: +1-888-201-0422 or (Intl) 480-779-3955Address: Scottsdale, Arizona, USA |
SEMrush is indeed a software to be reckoned with, in terms of the tools and features that facilitate SEO and SEM functions on the internet. With the array of endless functions, there is literally nothing that you cannot do with respect to internet marketing, competitor analysis and evaluation, as well as pricing tracking.
SpyFu Vs KeywordSpy
Instead of using SpyFu as your primary SEO tool, you can also use KeywordSpy, which has been in the market for close to two decades now. It has been used by many individuals to solve the competitor problems that are prevalent in the industry. Listed below is a comparative analysis between SpyFu and KeywordSpy:
| KeywordSpy | SpyFu | |
| Pricing plan | Has a starting price of $89.95/month | Has 3 pricing plans: $39/month, $99/month and $299/month |
| Free trial | Free trial – YES | Free trial – NO |
| Customer support | Email – YES Phone – NO Live support – YES | Email – YES Phone – YES Live support – YES |
| Product features | Competitor analysis – YES Dashboard – NO Auditing – NO Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Google analytics – YES Keyword tracking – YES Localization – NO Revenue management – NO Link management – NO User management – NO Content management – NO Mobile search tracking – NO | Competitor analysis – YES Dashboard – NO Auditing – NO Keyword Research Tools – YES Rank tracking – YES Google analytics – NO Keyword tracking – YES Localization – NO Revenue management – NO Link management – NO User management – NO Content management – NO Mobile search tracking – NO |
| Platforms | Windows – YES Web-based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO | Windows – YES Web–based – YES Mac – YES Windows mobile – NO Android – NO Linux – NO IPhone/IPad – NO |
| Company size | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES | Small businesses – YES Medium businesses – YES Large businesses – YES Freelancers – YES |
| Supported languages | English | English |
| Training | In-Person – NO Live Online – YES Webinars – NO Documentation – YES | In-Person – YES Live Online – NO Webinars – NO Documentation – YES |
| Mail address & contacts | Address: United States | Phone: +1-888-201-0422 or (Intl) 480-779-3955Address: Scottsdale, Arizona, USA |
Despite the vast experience that KeywordSpy has, I would not advice for you to use KeywordSpy in place of SpyFu. This is mostly because the software has limited functionalities that would be inconvenient for your internet marketing evaluation. Further has a complex interface and thus would require a significant amount of effort to be able to internalize features.
SpyFU Support
Their live chat option is available from Monday to Friday, and hours between 11 am in the morning to 12 am at end of the day. You can also reach them directly by phoning them through the following contacts: (US) 888-201-0422 or via (Intl) 480-779-3955.
My name is Nate Reiner and I am the editor here at 10Webtools. I have 8 years of experience using 50+ different web tools ranging from podcast, web hosting, email marketing, and much more. I previously managed a team offering support services to a large conglomerate that utilized tens of software solutions. I now run this blog full-time and when I am not reviewing or testing software, I enjoy riding bikes and supporting my clients achieve internet success. You can reach me directly at [email protected]