BrandWell vs Surfer SEO: Which One’s Right for Your Content Strategy?

Content is the lifeblood of any successful SEO campaign. And thanks to artificial intelligence, creating consistent volumes of top-notch content is now easier than ever.

But what does Google think of AI-generated content?

Google rewards high-quality content, no matter how it is produced.

High-quality content means original, people-first content that demonstrates E-E-A-T qualities.

Google ranks content that is helpful to users and comes from a trustworthy source. Not content that’s gibberish and sounds like a robot.

Ergo, high-quality AI content should also be undetectable.

BrandWell, formerly Content at Scale, was the first AI writer to zero in on undetectable content. And now there are two.

Surfer SEO now has Surfer AI, with the powerhouse SEO suite recently adding a personal AI writing assistant to its app.

In this in-depth comparison of BrandWell vs Surfer SEO, we’re pitting these two AI giants against each other to help you decide which tool is the better choice for crafting SEO-friendly content for your brand (or your clients’).

Table Of Contents:

• Overview: BrandWell vs. Surfer SEO
• Key Features of BrandWell
• Key Features of Surfer SEO
• How to Use BrandWell
• How to Use Surfer AI
• BrandWell vs Surfer SEO: Head-to-Head Comparison
• Real-World Performance
• BrandWell vs. Surfer SEO: Choose the Right Tool to Scale Smarter

Overview: BrandWell vs. Surfer SEO

In the realm of SEO and content marketing, BrandWell and Surfer are two heavy hitters.

The main purpose of Surfer is to make your life easier when it comes to optimizing your content for search engines. If you have an awesome blog post that you want to deliver to the right audience, Surfer steps in and provides you with recommendations on how to tweak your content to boost your rankings.

And now with the introduction of an AI writer, Surfer can help you write the actual content from scratch, effectively streamlining your content creation process.

On the other hand, BrandWell has been doing this for years. From its early days as Content at Scale, the long-form AI writer has been helping entrepreneurs and marketing agencies generate SEO-focused blog articles within minutes.

BrandWell is an all-in-one tool that puts your entire content marketing process on autopilot: from keyword research and blog outlining to article generation, optimization, and publication.

With the help of these AI tools, you can cut down your team of 10 writers to just one or two without sacrificing quality.

So, how are they different?

Surfer AI excels at writing blog posts while working alongside its industry-leading Surfer SEO engine so you get fully optimized articles that are almost publish-ready.

BrandWell does the same and so much more.

This all-in-one content marketing tool is designed to create content that not only performs well in search results but also strengthens their overall brand identity.

And with the introduction of generative AI, BrandWell can now write any type of content, on any topic, that sounds exactly like you! Instead of turning out generic articles like most AI writers do, BrandWell analyzes your brand personality and creates a custom voice so that all of your content reflects your (or your client’s) company.

Key Features of BrandWell

BrandWell is the most humanlike, feature-rich AI writing tool today. Powered by three AI core engines, NLP, and semantic analysis algorithms, BrandWell helps businesses and marketers create high-quality, SEO’ed content at scale.

What makes BrandWell stand out?

Long-Form Content Generation

BrandWell’s long-form AI writer, RankWell, excels at generating long-form, in-depth, research-backed content from a single keyword or URL input. It can produce blog posts ranging from 1,000 to 7,000 words in length, ensuring that your content is detailed and informative enough to satisfy user search intent and rank well in search engines.

Each AI-generated article comes in a publish-ready format as well, complete with an SEO title, meta description, table of contents, H2-H6 headers, bullets and lists, FAQ section, and an intro and conclusion. The app also automatically generates internal and external links, and although it doesn’t have image generation capabilities yet, you’ll be able to add stock photos from its gallery or upload your own.

While a human content writer takes 4-8 hours to produce a fully optimized article, BrandWell can write all these in just 5-10 minutes.

A distinctive aspect of BrandWell is its brand voice analysis. This function helps maintain a consistent tone and style across all generated content, which is vital for building a recognizable brand presence. It helps you write blog posts that genuinely reflect your company’s ethos.

The competitor analysis feature helps you understand what strategies others in their niche are using. This information can inform content plans and help identify gaps in the market.

Specialized Content in Multiple Formats

BrandWell is no longer an exclusive long-form AI writer. Its generative AI suite, WriteWell, features a powerful chatbot and 30+ AI agents that are purpose-built specifically for short-form content creation.

As a writing assistant, AIMEE can help you shorten/lengthen paragraphs, summarize sections, fix spelling/grammar, and even change the tone of voice. AIMEE’s output is also based on your brand’s unique personality, so it beats AI detection every time.

Your BrandWell subscription will also give you access to Agents, which are pre-trained for generating ad copy, emails, social media posts, product descriptions, landing pages, and other types of short-form content.

Any time you need specialized content, these 30+ AI Agents will help you get the job done.

Keyword Research and Targeting

BrandWell allows you to input specific keywords or phrases that you want your content to target. It then analyzes the top 50 ranking pages for those keywords and generates content that incorporates those keywords naturally and effectively.

You can also create topic clusters around these keywords and start building authority. It isn’t easy to do this manually, especially if you’re in a new domain.

SEO Optimization

RankWell also comes with BrandWell’s proprietary content intelligence suite that supercharges your content and ranking potential.

Similar to the Surfer user interface, BrandWell has an SEO sidebar that appears next to the content editor where you’ll see your content’s SEO score as well as recommendations for how many words you should write, how many images and links you should add, and how many times secondary keywords should appear in your article.

RankWell also allows you to run optimization audits while you are editing your content, so you don’t have to leave the app to use another tool.

Plagiarism Scans

BrandWell has developed its own plagiarism checker that you can run inside the app or on a standalone browser. This helps maintain the integrity of your content, protects your website from potential penalties from search engines, and keeps your reputation intact.

AI Detection

BrandWell is one of only two AI writers that has its own AI detector. Again, you can run it inside the app or on a browser to flag text that sounds too robotic.

Auto Publish with WordPress Plugin

Another feature that differentiates BrandWell from other AI writing tools is its WordPress plugin. This allows you to publish your work automatically without having to log into your WordPress account and copy-paste the whole thing. All you have to do is enter your WP login details in the project settings once, and all your BrandWell-generated blog posts will sync to your WordPress blog.

The auto-publish tool is available for Shopify blogs as well, with more integrations coming soon.

From keyword research to publishing your work, BrandWell is the only tool you will ever need. It automates the entire process, making it one of the most powerful AI writing tools for creating high-quality, SEO-optimized content at scale. Its combination of AI intelligence, user-friendliness, and cost-effectiveness makes it a valuable asset for businesses looking to enhance their content marketing strategies and achieve their online goals.

Pros of BrandWell

BrandWell AI presents several advantages for users, particularly those prioritizing brand consistency alongside SEO performance. Its design focuses on intuitive use, and it offers a robust free version for users to test its capabilities.

• The platform boasts a very user-friendly interface, making it accessible even for beginners.
• There’s a strong emphasis on building and maintaining brand identity through content.
• It provides comprehensive competitor analysis to inform your strategy.
• It supports the creation of various content types, including blog posts, social media posts, ad copy, and other marketing materials.

Cons of BrandWell

Despite its strengths, BrandWell AI has areas where it could improve, especially when compared to more established players.

• Historical data might be more limited due to its newer status in the market.
• It currently offers fewer integrations compared to Surfer.
• The free version, while robust, may have limitations on certain advanced functionalities.

Key Features of Surfer SEO

Before Surfer’s AI writer came along, the app’s main core strength was its data-driven approach to content analysis. It is widely recognized for its in-depth, data-driven methodology for content optimization.

Surfer SEO’s SERP analyzer is particularly powerful. It breaks down the characteristics of top-ranking pages for a given keyword, offering insights into optimal word count, keyword density, and common headings. This information is crucial for developing a competitive content strategy and achieving better search rankings.

Topical Map

At the heart of its platform is the Topical Map, a feature designed to help marketers build comprehensive, authority-driven content clusters. It generates topic suggestions based on your niche and outlines how these ideas connect, making it easier to plan content that aligns with search intent and builds topical authority over time.

Content Editor

Next up is the Content Editor, Surfer’s flagship feature. It analyzes top-performing pages in the SERPs and generates a real-time content score as you write, based on NLP data, word count, keyword usage, headings, and structure. This is gold for agencies juggling multiple writers, ensuring SEO best practices are baked in from draft one.

Surfer AI

For those looking to scale faster, Surfer AI automates the writing process by generating full-length, SEO-optimized articles with minimal input. It uses data from the Content Editor to guide structure, tone, and content depth so you’re not just pumping out generic AI content, but pieces designed to rank.

Content Audit

The Content Audit tool helps marketers refresh underperforming content by comparing it to competitors and offering optimization suggestions. Think of it as a quick diagnostic tool to get more mileage out of your existing assets.

AI Outline Generator

To speed up the outlining process, the AI Outline Generator offers ready-to-go structures based on current SERP leaders. You can tweak the format and subheadings to match your brand voice or content goals.

AI Detector and Humanizer

On the AI front, Surfer also includes an AI Detector and AI Humanizer, which are crucial features in the post-GPT boom. The detector helps identify whether a piece of content might be flagged as AI-generated, while the humanizer rewrites content in a more natural, human-like style. That’s a big win for agencies trying to stay on the right side of Google’s ever-evolving algorithms.

Keyword Surfer Extension

Lastly, the Keyword Surfer Extension is a free Chrome plugin that turns every Google search into a keyword research session. It shows search volumes, estimated traffic, and related keywords right in the SERPs, perfect for quick inspiration and on-the-fly planning.

Together, these tools make Surfer SEO a robust, all-in-one platform for marketers who want to plan smarter, write faster, and rank higher without leaving their workflow.

Pros of Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO offers significant benefits, especially for users who appreciate detailed analytics and data-backed recommendations. Its established presence means a wealth of user experience and refinement.

• Provides extensive data analysis for highly optimized content.
• Features an intuitive content editor that simplifies the optimization process.
• The platform receives regular updates and feature improvements.
• Strong community support and learning resources are available.
• Effective for detailed competitor analysis and understanding search intent.

Cons of Surfer SEO

While powerful, Surfer SEO might present a steeper learning curve for some users. The sheer volume of data can occasionally feel overwhelming, particularly for those new to advanced SEO concepts.

• The interface can be complex for beginners to fully utilize.
• Access to some of its most powerful features requires subscribing to higher-tier plans.
• While it offers a free trial, there isn’t a comprehensive, robust free version for ongoing use.

How to Use BrandWell

BrandWell generates human-like content with zero prompting in three easy steps.

Step 1: Log in to your BrandWell account and choose the project you want to work on. If this is for a new client, click “Create a New Project” to set up a brand profile.

Step 2: On your project dashboard, click the “Write New Post” button in the upper right corner.

Step 3: Enter your seed keyword or URL and click “Write Article Now.”

BrandWell only took 5-7 minutes to write a 2,950-word blog article! And you can run up to a hundred keywords all at the same time. Just save your keywords list in a .csv file and send it to RankWell using the bulk upload function.

BrandWell generated a title, H2-H4 headers, bullet points, numbered lists, an introduction, and a conclusion with CTA. But what stood out was the addition of a table of contents, meta description, URL slug, clicks-to-tweet, FAQ section, and the capability to run an optimization audit directly within the content editor.

You can edit all these using the floating toolbar and the SEO tools on the right panel. Let’s break down what these buttons can do.

• Link Analyzer – Want to know how link-heavy your article is? BrandWell gives you a quick link count so you can spot overkill (or missed opportunities) in seconds.
• Content Brief – Need to rewrite a post but don’t want to lose your SEO gains? The Content Brief keeps your context and credit intact, so you can refresh with confidence.
• Ranking Contents – Pulls extra insights straight from Google’s top results so you can beef up your article with more depth, examples, or supporting points.
• SEO Keywords – Instantly see which keywords and entities you should be including. Think of it as your built-in content strategy assistant.
• SEO NLPs – BrandWell scans your content and compares it against what’s ranking to show how well your keywords stack up. Great for spotting gaps or overuse.
• Optimization Audit – Need to make your post more EEAT-friendly? The audit tool gives clear suggestions to improve credibility, trust, and authority.
• Plagiarism – Run a quick check to make sure your content is original and clean. No surprises when it goes live.
• AI Detector – Find out whether your content might get flagged as AI-generated. Especially helpful if you’re blending human and machine-written copy.
• Checklist – A practical to-do list with tips to push your SEO score higher.
• Media Library – Add relevant stock photos based on your keyword or upload your own. No more digging through folders or sites for visuals.
• Publish Options – When you’re done, export your article as a Google Doc, Word file, or HTML, or even print it out.

BrandWell syncs with your WordPress or Shopify blog so that every article it generates will go live in an instant. You can activate the WordPress or Shopify plugin in the Integrations section of your Project Settings.

If you need help finding long-tail keywords to write about, you can use BrandWell’s keyword research tool, which you can find on the left sidebar. You can either generate a list of keyword ideas or create a topic cluster.

After clicking the “Generate Keyword” button, BrandWell gave me 200+ suggestions for long-tail keywords, along with their respective search volumes, keyword difficulty, cost per click, and trends. From this list, I could easily turn these phrases into a long-form blog post, build topic clusters, or add them to my content planner/calendar that can also be found inside the BrandWell app.

BrandWell has come a long way from being “just” a long-form AI writer. It’s evolved into a full-blown content powerhouse. At the center of this transformation is AIMEE, BrandWell’s smart chatbot that’s ready to brainstorm, write, or edit anything in seconds. On top of that, the platform now includes 30+ specialized AI agents for short-form marketing copy, from social media captions and ad headlines to email subject lines and product descriptions.

That means you can go from blog posts to bite-sized content without ever leaving the dashboard. You can access AIMEE and your AI agents through the left sidebar or the SEO toolkit on the right.

Whether you’re running content at scale or juggling client deliverables, BrandWell now feels less like a writing tool and more like your entire creative department that runs on autopilot.

How to Use Surfer AI

To kick off your journey with Surfer AI, start by setting up an account and purchasing a subscription. This is a fairly straightforward process.

Now let’s start writing your article.

Step 1: Log into your account and click “Start a new article” on the Surfer dashboard.

Step 2: Click the “Write with AI” button and enter your seed keyword.

One of the most powerful features of Surfer AI is that it gives you instant keyword analysis before you even finish typing your keyword! Here you can see the search volume and keyword difficulty for each phrase related to your topic.

Step 3: Once you have chosen a keyword to write about, click the “Create for x AI credit” button to prompt the AI to scrape the Internet for information about your topic.

Wait a few minutes and then click “Customize your article” to start putting it all together.

Step 4: Choose an article type and tone of voice, then click “Create outline”.

Step 5: Wait around 3-4 minutes for the AI to generate your blog outline. Here you can change headers to H2s or H3s and add context to each section to further guide the AI. You can also delete the headers you don’t like but you cannot rearrange them.

Once you’re done, click “Let’s write”.

Surfer AI took a full 11 minutes to write my article, and the result was a 2,453-word blog post with a whopping SEO score of 98/100.

You can edit your article using the standard toolbar at the top of the content editor.

One of Surfer’s most practical features is the Content Audit tool. Instead of guessing what needs fixing, Surfer runs a full audit in seconds, analyzing your page against the top-ranking competitors. It checks everything from word count and keyword usage to headings, meta tags, and internal links.

The Audit in Seconds feature does exactly what it sounds like: it quickly scans your content and surfaces actionable insights almost immediately. No manual comparisons or spreadsheet juggling required.

What really stands out, though, is the Find the Best Opportunities functionality. It helps you pinpoint which content updates will actually move the needle, so you’re not wasting time on pages that won’t deliver ROI. Perfect for prioritizing efforts across multiple client sites or large blog archives.

Surfer also makes on-page improvements super efficient with Auto Optimize and Insert Links. Get suggestions for tweaking phrasing, adding missing keywords, or reorganizing headings based on what’s working for top-performing pages. Surfer will then scan your domain and show smart opportunities to add relevant internal links from or to the audited page.

Another standout feature of Surfer AI is that it gives you suggestions on where to place images throughout the article. If you don’t have photos on file, click the “Add from Pixabay” link and choose from stock images recommended by the AI.

When you’re done fine-tuning your article on the content editor, you can click the “Share” button to share the article with your team or hit “Export” to publish it to your WordPress blog. You need a WordPress plugin to sync Surfer AI with your WordPress account.

You can invite team members or freelancers directly onto this platform if you’re not writing the article yourself. This way, they’ll have direct access to all necessary guidelines right from where they’re writing.

You can also navigate back to the SERP Analyzer on the main dashboard and run an audit to compare your article to high-ranking posts. With actionable tips for improvements at hand, you can easily tweak your blog article accordingly.

Surfer AI is a powerful tool for writing long-form, SEO-focused articles, but it pales in comparison to BrandWell in terms of speed and efficiency.

BrandWell vs Surfer SEO: Head-to-Head Comparison

With a foundational understanding of each AI writing tool, we can now directly compare BrandWell and Surfer SEO.

Ease of Use

BrandWell generally scores higher in ease of use. Its user interface is designed to be intuitive, guiding users smoothly through the content creation process. This makes it an excellent choice for individuals or teams who prefer a simpler, more direct AI tool.

Surfer SEO, with its array of features and data points, can initially seem more complex. While its power is undeniable, new users might need more time to become comfortable with all its functionalities. However, its structured approach is valued by experienced SEO practitioners.

Content Optimization

Both platforms excel at content optimization, but through different lenses. BrandWell integrates brand voice preservation with SEO recommendations, helping to create generated content that is both discoverable and authentic.

Surfer SEO, on the other hand, adopts a highly data-centric optimization strategy. It provides meticulous guidelines based on an analysis of top-ranking content for a specific keyword, focusing on elements like word count, keyword frequency, and structural components. This often involves detailed suggestions from its Optimizer Pro feature set.

When considering the content creation process, BrandWell might appeal more to those who want AI writing to assist with brand consistency. Surfer SEO is geared towards users who prioritize dissecting search engine algorithms to gain a competitive edge for their blog posts.

Keyword Research

Surfer SEO holds a slight advantage in the depth of its keyword research capabilities. Its extensive database, coupled with SERP analysis, offers profound insights into keyword viability and search intent. It can be compared to specialized tools like Semrush in some aspects of keyword discovery.

BrandWell AI provides effective keyword suggestions, often with a unique angle of aligning them with your established brand voice. This can be highly beneficial for maintaining thematic consistency across your content. It aims to simplify finding terms that attract targeted buyer traffic.

Both tools can assist with rank tracking to a certain degree, allowing users to monitor their performance for key terms. Understanding traffic sources and how keywords contribute to them is essential, and both platforms provide data to support this.

Competitor Analysis

BrandWell excels in competitor analysis by not just examining rankings but also dissecting competitors’ brand voice and overarching content strategy. This broader perspective can reveal nuanced opportunities. It helps in understanding how competitors build deeper customer relationships.

Surfer SEO offers robust competitor insights, primarily focusing on technical SEO factors and on-page content elements that contribute to high rankings. It’s very effective for understanding the content structure and keyword usage of pages that perform well in search engines. This helps in pinpointing what works for others trying to attract buyer traffic.

A good SEO tool will provide actionable data from competitor analysis. BrandWell provides insights that could influence broader marketing, while Surfer SEO gives very specific content optimization clues based on competitor success. Understanding how competitors analyze Google Shopping trends or leverage paid channels could also indirectly inform strategies, though these tools focus on organic search.

AI Content and Detection

A growing concern in content creation is the rise of AI-generated content and the sophistication of AI content detector tools. Neither BrandWell nor Surfer SEO primarily functions as an AI content detector. Instead, these AI writing tools focus on guiding human writers or refining AI-assisted drafts to produce high-quality, valuable content that search engines are more likely to reward.

BrandWell, with its emphasis on brand voice, encourages a level of customization that can make generated content feel more human and less generic. Surfer SEO’s detailed, data-driven suggestions aim to create comprehensive and authoritative content that meets user intent, a key factor in how search engines evaluate AI content. Using these tools effectively can help produce blog posts that pass muster with both readers and algorithms.

The goal is to leverage AI writing capabilities to enhance the content creation process, not to simply produce mass AI content. High-quality output that provides genuine value is less likely to face issues with any AI content detector.

Integration and Workflow

The ability of an AI tool to integrate into existing systems and support content workflows is a significant practical consideration. Seamless integration can save time and improve efficiency. This is particularly true for teams using multiple platforms.

BrandWell offers fewer direct integrations compared to Surfer, but it is designed to work smoothly with common content management systems like WordPress. Its standalone platform is often comprehensive enough for many users’ needs, simplifying the content creation process. The focus is on providing an all-in-one platform experience for core content tasks.

Surfer SEO excels with a broader array of integrations, connecting with popular writing tools (like Jasper, ChatGPT, or Google Docs via extensions), SEO platforms (Contentful), and project management systems (Zapier and WordPress). This extensive internal connectivity makes it a strong contender for teams already invested in a diverse toolkit.

Pricing

The pricing structures for BrandWell and Surfer SEO are tiered, designed to cater to a range of user needs, from solo bloggers to larger agencies.

Surfer SEO generally positions itself as a slightly more affordable option, particularly attractive for smaller teams or individuals embarking on their content journey. Some users may find its robust free version or free trial sufficient for initial needs.

BrandWell’s higher-tier plans unlock its full suite of advanced features and data capabilities, which come with a higher investment. Many users find the value justifies the cost, especially for intensive SEO campaigns.

Support and Community

The quality of customer service and the vibrancy of a user community can greatly enhance the experience with any AI writing tool. Access to help and shared knowledge is invaluable. Both BrandWell and Surfer SEO invest in these areas.

BrandWell provides responsive customer service and is actively cultivating its user community. Being a newer AI tool, its community is smaller but growing, offering a space for users to share insights and best practices. They often provide extensive internal resources to help users get started.

The company is keen on building deeper customer relationships with its user base, often soliciting feedback to guide platform development. This user-centric approach is beneficial for those seeking a supportive environment for their content creation journey.

Surfer SEO benefits from a larger, more established community of users. This active user base contributes to a wealth of shared knowledge, tutorials, and case studies. They offer comprehensive documentation, regular webinars, and a responsive customer support team, ensuring users can maximize the seo tool’s potential.

Real-World Performance

Examining hypothetical or aggregated results can illuminate how these AI writing tools perform in practical scenarios. Understanding their impact on key metrics is important for making an informed decision. Both platforms aim to deliver measurable improvements in search visibility and content engagement.

Case Study: E-commerce Site

Imagine an e-commerce site specializing in unique artisan goods. Using BrandWell, they might experience a notable improvement in brand consistency across product descriptions and blog content, leading to better engagement and potentially a 15% rise in organic traffic over a quarter. The focus on brand voice helps build deeper customer relationships.

Switching to Surfer SEO, the same site could leverage its data-intensive approach to optimize category and product pages, potentially achieving a 20% uplift in organic traffic. Several target keywords for their products might move to the first page of search results, directly impacting sales from their Google Shopping listings through improved organic feeder content.

Case Study: Travel Blog

Consider a travel blogger aiming to increase readership and monetization. With BrandWell, they could craft blog posts that capture their unique travel persona, leading to increased time on page by 25% and higher social media shares due to more engaging, brand-aligned content. The user-friendly interface would allow for quick content creation.

Using Surfer SEO, the blogger might optimize existing popular articles and new destination guides, resulting in a 30% surge in organic traffic from search engines. While social engagement might not see the same direct boost, the increased discoverability would significantly expand their audience reach. This tool would help analyze what makes competing travel blog posts rank highly.

BrandWell vs. Surfer SEO: Choose the Right Tool to Scale Smarter

The BrandWell vs Surfer SEO decision depends heavily on your specific content objectives, budget constraints, and current SEO proficiency. Both AI writing tools offer powerful capabilities to elevate your content strategy.

BrandWell stands out for its intuitive user interface and its unique focus on creating SEO-friendly content that also reinforces your brand identity, making it a strong choice for businesses that prioritize consistent branding alongside search performance.

Surfer SEO, with its established reputation, provides exceptionally deep technical insights and a more data-intensive approach to content optimization. It’s an excellent AI tool for those who require comprehensive, data-driven strategies and are comfortable with a more complex feature set to fine-tune every aspect of their blog posts and web pages for search engines.

Ultimately, evaluating your team’s needs, from the content creation process to the desired level of analytics, will guide you to the right writing tool to achieve your online goals.