Honestly, I still feel that I haven't discovered all of the amazing aspects of this tool yet. As a Stanard-plan member, I do have a bit more leeway when researching or analyzing competitor articles. But there are really two things that were really a game-changer for me: 1. *Relevant* keywords - Not all SEO-powered writing tools differentiate between keywords for a specific article. I originally used Topic, and have also used Clearscope and Frase. All these tools are great, but their keyword recommendations are not always practical or contextual. 2. The number grade - Clearscope and Topic use letter grades, but I've found the use of a number to rank the keyword density of a piece to be a bit better. It gives me a better indication of how much more relevant the article could be compared to other high-ranking articles. And of course, the optimize/research tools are great. Since I got the 30% deal at Black Friday, I feel like it's a good price point for a solopreneur/small agency owner.
To be honest, it's a bit slow. That isn't necessarily a MarketMuse problem, though. It would also take Topic several minutes to create a file. Sometimes I wish it had a few features that Topic or Frase have, such as pulling common questions people ask from Quora or Google. Topic had a nice tool to pull statistics when it was still around. But those are minor things. The SEO relevance and results I've experienced for myself and my clients have really outweighed the minor inconveniences of having to open Google.
I'm a content writer, and I focus on blogs and websites. As a result, I try to provide the best quality human-oriented posts and include SEO best practices. I believe it's possible to write good, value-based content that also ranks. MarketMuse helped me cut down hours of SEO research through its laser-focused keyword recommendations and competitor information. Its keyword research tools, especially its new Topic Navigator, have further accelerated my process. Before using it for my clients, I tested it on my own blog. I optimized an article about learning Bengali, and this article jumped to my top-performing article AND it ranks 4th on organic Google Search. Most recently, I had a client tell me that my first blog for them (which I also wrote with MarketMuse) was performing 12x better than their other post. I've also compared my MarketMuse articles to those in Topic, Frase, and Clearscope, as I have clients who use these tools. An optimized article with MarketMuse that meets the average target for keywords or exceeds it typically also ranks high in other platforms. So I feel pretty confident with the platform overall.
I really love the premise of MarketMuse, and I find certain aspects of the platform REALLY useful (Newsroom, for example, can be great for timely articles). I used the service in a past role and really got a lot out of it. In this particular role, though, I don't feel like I got quite as much value, though it has certainly still been worth using.
I do feel that the pricing is sometimes a bit steep for the level of service one actually receives.
MarketMuse helped us create content clusters for some topics we were missing on our TaxBuzz website. We also used them to develop a number of content briefs for long form articles. Additionally, founder, Jeff Coyle, provided us with some extra consulting services during a major migration/revamp of the TaxBuzz site.
Writing a brief for a writer sometimes feels like it's easier to simply go ahead and write the darn post myself. With Market Muse I not only give my writer what to write about, I also know that what I'm asking her to do is going to guarantee I go head-to-head with my competitors. I no longer have to guess or "put myself in my readers' shoes" to know what to write about.
I would love for the price to come down a bit as we're a small company with lots of other marketing expenses.
Being able to find the right topics, backed by actual AI-driven research.
MarketMuse is mature and have impressive functionality. I find it very useful to find gaps in my competitors coverage and see my article scoring in real time while I write, so I can see what I need to add to get my score better.
The price of credits, they are extremely expensive!
I think my main benefints for using Marketmuse is getting extensive content briefs for pillar posts. Let me explain how it is structured. There are two types of "currencies" in MarketMuse. Credits and Queries. Credits are very expensive and provide high value AI functionality. Credits can be used for the content briefs and creating first drafts or even final drafts! Using MarketMuse for creating content briefs, I get access to more than enough info about the topic I am looking to write about. In Marketmuse there is a number of "applications" as they call it. Each of the applications have different functionality. Using the applications cost one or more "queries". You can analyze the distribution of related subjects when you are creating your blog posts with the app "research". You can see a heatmap over the highest ranking competition in "compete". You can use it to analyze what others have covered and see if there is gaps that your highest ranking competitors did not cover. You can keep your readers interested and engaged by answering the important questions they might have. You can see what questions readers want answered in the "questions" app. You can get help with internal- and external link building in the app "connect". It finds suitable articles to link between in the content on your own domain. It also finds suitable external links. You can edit your content in optimize. It scores your content as you write, helping you to improve your article before you publish a new article or republish an old one. I am happy that I can take advantage of this great tools in order to optimize and evaluate my work to get the best result.
I like how MarketMuse isn't just a content optimizer based on a single target keyword. Tools in that category can be useful, but they don't fall inline with how Google serves up websites / content based on search intent. Continually planning and adjusting a content strategy month to month is a very time consuming process, but it needs to be done. MarketMuse saves a ton of time by allowing you to look at a high level strategy (what topical areas am I lacking, which ones do I excel at?) while also allowing you to optimize single pieces of content that fall into your overall strategy. The dashboard view is my favorite part of the software because it makes all of the data more digestible.
It' s more on the expensive side compared to other tools, but they are one of the few platforms in the content strategy space that isn't just another copycat. The price won't be an issue if you don't have software sprawl across your organization. MarketMuse can easily replace several tools in your stack right now (depending on how you plan content), and is a huge value add for the price.
Less time spent reviewing the content strategy (major plus), better views of our topical strengths on our current content base, and a deeper analysis of what competing sites are doubling down on (or not).
The all encompassing research you can do for articles is top-notch. I also love the comparison tool so you can compare your article to other top ranking articles and update accordingly. Great tool, and I can see ranking much easier with this tool
A little costly for some of the features - like credits. You can get by without them by running queries, which I love, I just wish the credit system was a little more cost effective.
Helping to rank on google and providing me with ideas on what to include in articles in order to rank on Google.
Market muse is by far the best tool in the market to enable your content strategy. Many tools offer parts of a content strategy (like content optimization), but Market Muse is an end-to-end content strategy tool.
Although the tool offer value for the amount, their pricing is on the higher side. Glad to see they’ve recently introduced lower-tier offerings, making it more accessible to solopreneurs and small businesses.
Topic research, topic cluster identification, content optimization, internal linking, quick wins and much more. I rely heavily on Market Muse for my content strategy.
I like that MarketMuse is easy to use. It pulls my article via the URL so that I don't have to copy/paste it into the space like other optimizers I've used. Also, it gets results. I've seen articles I've optimized with MarketMuse move up the the rankings.
I think MarketMuse could do a better job of targeting long-tail keywords to include in articles. I feel like there are a lot of LSI keywords and short/broad terms suggested. I'd also like to see an option for optimizing an article that isn't published yet. I'd like the copy/paste option for new unpublished content.
I am optimizing my articles and literally seeing results. I am moving up in the rankings and driving more organic trafiic to my blog. MarketMuse makes it easy to find those LSI keywords.