Apr 17, 2023

Discovering the Best SEO Tool: MarketMuse vs Clearscope

Suman Samal, Asst. Marketing Manager
Suman Samal
Discovering the Best SEO Tool: MarketMuse vs Clearscope
Suman Samal, Asst. Marketing Manager
Suman Samal
Apr 17, 2023

Discovering the Best SEO Tool: MarketMuse vs Clearscope

Wondering which SEO tool is better among MarketMuse & Clearscope? Read this comparison to discover the pros and cons of each tool.
Discovering the Best SEO Tool: MarketMuse vs Clearscope

Table of contents

Marketmuse and Clearscope are popular content optimization tools that help content creators and marketers improve their content quality and search engine rankings. While they share a similar goal, each platform has its unique features and strengths.

In this blog, we will compare Marketmuse and Clearscope to help you determine the best fit for your needs. We'll explore their key features, pricing plans, user experience, and customer support. 

By the end of this blog, you'll have a better understanding of the similarities and differences between these two content optimization tools. You will be able to make an informed decision on which one to use for your content creation and marketing efforts.

While there are merits to both Clearscope and Marketmuse, none can match the efficiency of Scalenut in simplifying your content creation and optimizing workflow. Sign up for a free 7-day trial and experience it for yourself!

What is Marketmuse? 

Marketmuse is an advanced platform that assists enterprises with their content intelligence and strategy needs. One of the primary benefits of this platform is that it automates various tasks involved in content creation and optimization using AI.

With Marketmuse, users can develop a comprehensive content strategy that aligns with their goals and objectives. It uses natural language processing (NLP) to generate initial drafts of blog posts and content briefs for writers. 

The AI-powered insights provided by the platform help companies make data-driven decisions about their content and optimize it for better performance.

Marketmuse Features 

Here are three notable MarketMuse features:

1. Content Inventory

MarketMuse provides a comprehensive assessment of the content you have produced to date. It includes detailed insights into topics covered, page quality, and actionable recommendations to enhance your content. Additionally, MarketMuse can help you gauge the competitors content quality on similar topics, providing you with valuable information.

2. Content Brief Generation

MarketMuse allows you to create content briefs with ease. Leveraging AI, MarketMuse can generate a content brief for you within minutes instead of hours. The content briefs contain recommended titles, subtitles, user intent, related topics, linking suggestions (internal and external), and questions to answer.

3. First Draft Natural Language Generation 

One of MarketMuse's most impressive features is "First Draft." Using AI, MarketMuse can generate a rough draft of a blog post on any subject based on the content brief you provide. Although no AI can write complete articles from scratch yet, MarketMuse First Draft is definitely making strides toward this goal. 

Who Should Use Marketmuse? 

  • Content marketers
  • Content creators
  • Marketing agencies
  • Publishers 
  • E-commerce companies 

Marketmuse Pros 

  • Generate content briefs
  • Content optimization features

Marketmuse Cons 

  • Pricing is unclear and expensive
  • It has a Poor UX/UI. 

Marketmuse Cost 

Marketmuse has two pro plans available in addition to a 7-day trial period. Read on to know about Marketmuse pricing. 

  • Plus: The Plus plan costs $179 per month and includes access for one user and one domain, with a page limit of 500.
  • Premium: The Premium plan costs $999 per month and offers unlimited users, multiple domains, and access to 500 or more pages.

What is Clearscope? 

Clearscope is an advanced content optimization software that leverages IBM Watson's cognitive computing capabilities to assess and optimize content to improve its search engine ranking. 

The software uses a unique approach by analyzing the highest-ranking content on search engines based on specific keywords to generate recommendations that align with search engine optimization (SEO) best practices.

To begin, Clearscope prompts users to provide a keyword they wish to rank for, such as "content optimization tools." Once the keyword is submitted, the software will reverse-engineer the top results on search engines like Google to identify the most relevant words and phrases used in those articles. 

Clearscope will then generate a list of key terms and topics based on this analysis, along with a list of competitors who currently rank for the selected keyword.

When users select the "optimize" option for a specific topic, Clearscope will provide an outline of recommended optimization actions. 

Clearscope's approach to content optimization can assist users in producing high-quality content that resonates with their target audience and boosts their search engine ranking.

Clearscope Features 

1. Optimization Assistance

Clearscope's signature feature is its optimization tool, which provides valuable insights into competitor content, average word count, relevant LSI keywords, readability level, and formatting. The real-time analysis makes it easy to receive on-point recommendations for optimizing your content.

2. Keyword Research 

Clearscope's keyword research tool is user-friendly and informative, simplifying the search engine optimization process. Input a target keyword, and the tool will generate a curated list of 30-40 keyword suggestions and relevant terms to incorporate into your content. 

Additionally, you can access search volume data and historical trends for each keyword, most likely sourced from Google Keyword Planner. 

3. Integration with Google Docs and WordPress 

Clearscope offers added writing assistance through its integration with Google Docs and WordPress. By integrating Clearscope within these platforms, the writing process becomes smooth and easy for the writers.

Who Should Use Clearscope

  • SEO Strategists 
  • Marketers 
  • Writers 

Clearscope Pros 

  • Top-notch content optimization with an A++ rating.
  • Seamless integration with both Google Docs and WordPress.
  • It is a cost-effective tool. 

Clearscope Cons 

  • Lacks the ability to generate content briefs.
  • It does not offer any backlinking features.
  • It lacks a toolkit for content strategy.

Clearscope Cost 

You can select from these three Clearscope pricing options:

  • Essentials: Priced at $170 per month, this plan includes one user seat and 20 report credits per month.
  • Professional: Priced at $350 per month, this plan includes three or more user seats, 50 or more credit reports, and access to a keyword research tool.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing based on your specific requirements, including custom credits and user seats, and custom Google top-level domains (TLDs).

Marketmuse vs Clearscope: In-Depth Feature Comparison 

Here's a head-to-head comparison between the two tools. 

Clearscope vs Marketmuse: Keyword and Topic Discovery 

Clearscope offers a research tool and keyword insights integrated into the content editor. The editor tracks related keywords and provides sorting options. It also includes a research tab with themes, questions, and external links.

MarketMuse has different tools for keyword research, related questions, and content optimization. Each tool needs separate credits to use. With the research tool, you can get keyword data and find answers to related questions.

Winner: It's a tie. 

Clearscope vs Marketmuse: Content Editor 

Clearscope prioritizes the needs of content editors and provides them with quick access to research tools, while MarketMuse offers a range of tools with SEO optimization being just one of them. Both editors employ real-time grading of content, taking into account important factors such as keyword usage and word count.

Clearscope has live metrics with suggested targets, a term map, and a competitor map. MarketMuse has a similar keyword matrix, real-time content score, recommended target score, SEO recommendations, and a content tab.

Winner: Both are equally competent in this category. It's a tie. 

Clearscope vs Marketmuse: Content Brief 

Marketmuse allows you to create efficient content briefs with ease on its platform. It employs natural language analysis rather than relying on keywords to guide you in crafting organic content on any subject. Conversely, Clearscope doesn't offer this feature to its users. 

Winner: Marketmuse 

Clearscope vs Marketmuse: Ease of Use 

Let's examine the user ratings of G2 (on a scale of 1-10) for the categories "ease of use" and "ease of setup" of different SEO tools. Clearscope ranks higher with an average user rating of 9.6 in the "ease of use" category. Its users find the platform "intuitive" and "extremely easy to navigate."

In terms of "ease of use," MarketMuse falls behind with a rating of 8.8. While MarketMuse reviewers appreciate the software's features, some criticize the user experience as "clunky" and "slow," with "some search queries taking several minutes to return results." 

Winner: Clearscope 

Marketmuse vs Clearscope: Which is Better? 

The better platform ultimately depends on your specific needs. Both Clearscope and MarketMuse offer features like topic analysis, content editing, and competitive analysis. However, Clearscope is the more powerful and flexible option, albeit more expensive.

If you require advanced features such as AI-generated briefs, content, or link suggestions, MarketMuse is your only choice. However, these features come at a higher cost and are limited by their credit system.

When selecting a platform, there are three primary considerations to keep in mind. 

  • First, if budget is a concern, MarketMuse offers the cheapest introductory plan, while Clearscope has the lowest ceiling.
  • Second, if you want AI-generated content and planning, MarketMuse might be your only option. 
  • Third, if you need a high volume of content per month, Clearscope may be the better choice, as MarketMuse can be expensive for a reasonable content flow.

Although there are concerns with AI-generated content, MarketMuse is still an efficient tool if you can afford it to get a lot of your basic work done efficiently. However, there's another option that can provide you with the best of both worlds: Scalenut. 

Scalenut: A Better Alternative 

Scalenut is a comprehensive platform for content marketing and SEO that equips users with complete control over their content landscape. 

With its state-of-the-art capabilities, including the AI Writer, SEO Content Assistant, and Keyword Planner, Scalenut streamlines the process of content planning, content research, writing, and optimization.

When you utilize Scalenut, you can rest assured that your content will be meticulously crafted and optimized to achieve maximum exposure and organic traffic on search engines and social media channels. 

Besides, Scalenut offers a convenient Chrome extension, enabling you to access its features directly within Google Docs. Here are some notable features that distinguish Scalenut from other comparable tools on the market.

Scalenut Features 

Cruise Mode 

Scalenut's Cruise Mode is a revolutionary AI technology that has transformed the landscape of content creation. This powerful tool enables users to generate comprehensive, high-quality long-form content in minutes, with minimal effort. 

By providing a few key inputs, Cruise Mode handles the heavy lifting, producing quick and efficient first drafts that exceed expectations.

AI Copywriting 

Scalenut's AI Copywriter assistant leverages state-of-the-art deep learning techniques to produce writing that mimics human language. 

By leveraging a vast corpus of billions of texts, this tool has acquired a refined understanding of language, enabling it to grasp the subtleties of words and sentences. 

Social Listening 

Scalenut's extensive social listening capabilities encompass a broad spectrum of popular public forums on the internet, including Quora, Reddit, and Google. 

It enables you to gain a more profound insight into your target audience's preferences, challenges, and the latest developments in your industry. 

SERP Ideation 

Scalenut's SEO Assistant stands out from other SEO tools in the market with its robust real-time SERP analysis feature. 

This advanced tool offers a complete 360-degree intelligence report for your chosen keyword, allowing you to verify the relevance and precision of your article's content.

Scalenut Pricing 

If you're considering using Scalenut, you'll have three different pricing plans to choose from. Take a look below to see which one might be the best fit for you:

  • The Individual plan: This plan costs $12 per month and offers users 100,000 AI words and 5 SEO reports. It's perfect for freelancers and hobbyists who need access to some basic features.
  • The Growth plan: For $32 per month, the Growth plan includes unlimited AI words and 30 SEO reports. This plan is designed for entrepreneurs and small businesses who need more advanced features than the Individual plan.
  • The Pro plan: The Pro plan is the most comprehensive plan Scalenut offers, starting at $60 per month. This plan includes unlimited reports and a dedicated customer success manager. It's best suited for enterprises and agencies that need robust features and support.

Also, before you make a final decision, you can take advantage of Scalenut's 7-day free trial to see which plan works best for your content creation process.

Suman Samal
Asst. Marketing Manager
ABout the AUTHOR
Suman Samal
Asst. Marketing Manager

Suman Samal is a Asst. Marketing Manager at Scalenut. She is a technology enthusiast with a keen interest in content marketing and SEO. She truly believes that with the right set of tools every organization can improve the ROI of their content marketing campaigns. She spends her time managing content operations at Scalenut and ensuring that everything we publish is of the highest quality.

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