How to Use Surfer SEO: Your Guide to Rank Higher in 2026

Ranking on Google is tough.

You spend hours writing, but nobody reads your posts.

It feels like you are shouting into an empty room.

It is frustrating to see competitors with worse content rank above you.

You try to guess the right keywords, but guessing rarely works.

You put in the effort, but you don’t get the traffic. You need a better way.

Surfer SEO changes the game.

It looks at real gegevens to tell you exactly what to write. Stop hoping for traffic and start creating it.

This guide covers how to use the Surfer SEO tools you need to beat the competition.

Surfer

Halveer de tijd die je besteedt aan zoekwoordonderzoek! Surfer SEO stroomlijnt het proces en helpt je snel de termen te vinden die je content een boost geven in zoekmachines.

Probeer Surfer nu Surfer-alternatieven

How to use Keyword Research

Most people get keyword research wrong.

They pick a random word and write an article. This does not work well for search engines.

Surfer helps you build a strategy called a “Content Cluster.”

This helps you dominate a whole topic, not just one page.

If you read almost any surfer seo review, you will see that this feature is a favorite.

Step 1: Start with a Broad Topic

Don’t overthink this part. You need the main topic of your bedrijf or blog.

Unlike some complicated alternatieven voor surfer-SEO, this seo tool keeps things simple.

1. Log in to your Surfer dashboard.
2. Click on Keyword Research in the left-hand menu.
3. Type in your main topic. For example, you might type “vegan dog food.”
4. Select your target country.
5. Click the button to create your research.

Step 2: Review Your Clusters

Surfer doesn’t just give you a list of words. It groups them into “clusters.” A cluster is a group of articles you should write to cover a topic completely. This data comes from analyzing search engine results pages.

• Look at the “Keyword Clusters” panel.
• You will see boxes with main keywords and smaller sub-keywords.
• Check the keyword difficulty. This number tells you how hard it is to rank.
• Look at the search intent. You need to know if people want to buy something or learn. Always match the search intent to give readers what they want.

Step 3: Move to the Editor

Once you find a cluster you like, the next step is easy.

You don’t need to copy and paste anything manually.

• Click the purple “Create Content Editor” button next to any cluster.
• This automatically sets up your writing space based on top ranking pages.
• You can write in Surfer or use their extension to write in Google Docs.

This tool handles the math for you. You don’t need to guess about keyword density.

It guides your content optimization step-by-step so you can focus on writing good tekst.

How to use Content Editor

This is the bread and butter of Surfer. It is where you will spend most of your time.

Surfer’s content editor tells you exactly which words to use.

It helps you improve your search engine rankings without guessing.

Step 1: Create a Query

If you did not use the keyword research tool in the last step, you can start fresh here.

1. Go to the Content Editor dashboard.
2. Type in the exact target keyword you want to rank for. For example, “best vegan dog food for puppies.”
3. Check the monthly search volume. This number shows how many people look for this topic. A high search volume usually means more traffic for you.
4. Click the button to create your editor.

Step 2: Customize Your Guidelines

Surfer defaults to viewing the top 10 results on Google’s search results page.

But sometimes the top results aren’t for you. A detailed surfer seo review will tell you that context is key.

You should not copy giant sites like Amazon or Wikipedia.

• Click the Gear Icon to customize settings.
• Look at the list of ranking pages.
• Uncheck the big giants. Keep the sites that look like your blog or bedrijf.
• This helps you build the right content structure for your size.

Step 3: Write and Optimize

Now, look at the right sidebar. You might know the free keyword surfer Chrome extension, but this editor is much more powerful.

• Length: The tool tells you the best word count. If it asks for 1500 words, try to get close to that number.
• NLP: The tool uses natural language processing to find smart terms. It gives you a list of target keywords to include.
• Score: As you type, your score goes up. Any honest seo review will tell you to aim for the green zone.

This tool guides you step-by-step. It ensures your content is ready to compete before you even hit publish.

How to use SERP Analyzer

Sometimes you do everything right, but you still don’t rank.

The serp analyzer lets you look “under the hood” of the search results. It helps you fix on-page SEO issues that other tools miss.

This tool is great for both new posts and existing content.

Step 1: Run an Analysis

You don’t need a dedicated customer success manager to figure this out. It is very simple.

• Click on SERP Analyzer in the menu.
• Type your chosen keyword or seed keyword.
• This tool looks at search queries differently from Surfer’s keyword research tool.
• Click the button to run the report.

It might look messy at first. But this data is key for your seo workflow.

It shows you exactly what the search engine likes.

Step 2: Compare Yourself to Winners

You want to see why the #1 page is winning. This is a huge part of content marketing.

• Find the input box to compare a URL.
• Paste the link to your blog post.
• Now, look at the chart. You will see your page against competitor pages.
• Check your search engine visibility compared to theirs.

This step helps you understand your target audience better than other seo tools.

Step 3: Check Hidden Opportunities

The chart shows many “ranking factors.” You can see things like meta tags, structure, and internal links.

• Word Count: Do you have enough text?
• Missing Keywords: Click the “Keywords” tab. It shows relevant keywords and related keywords you missed.
• Structure: See if you need more content creation to match the top sites.

This acts like a powerful SEO-audit tool. It gives you a specific plan to optimize content.

Why this matters for your workflow

Using the serp analyzer fits perfectly after Surfer gebruiken Content Editor.

1. First, use Surfer’s keyword research to get keyword ideas.
2. Next, create content with the content optimization tool.
3. Finally, use this analyzer to polish your use of the primary keyword.

Even if you use ai powered writing tools, you need this data.

It ensures your writing process leads to a high content score.

This completes your keyword research process and seo optimization.

Alternatieven voor surfers

Surfer vergeleken

Conclusie

Surfer SEO is one of the best SEO tools for anyone looking to grow online.

It takes the guessing out of your content strategy.

You no longer have to wonder if you used a specific keyword enough times.

The tool gives you a clear path to follow.

By using these features, you make your content creation process much faster and smarter.

It helps you handle your on-page seo like a pro.

Start using these steps today to see your rankings climb. You have the tools, now create something great!

Veelgestelde vragen

More Facts about Surfer SEO

• Surfer vs. Others: People often compare Surfer SEO to tools like Cora, Frase, and Website Auditor. Cora has great data but is hard to use. Frase focuses on AI writing. Website Auditor is cheaper but you have to download it to your computer, while Surfer works in your web browser.
• What It Does Best: Surfer is great at fixing pages you already have (on-page SEO). Tools like SEMrush are better for a wider variety of tasks. Some people think Surfer’s zoekwoordtool isn’t as strong as others, so they use Junia AI as a cheaper choice for writing.
• Gebruiksvriendelijk: Surfer is famous for being easy to learn. It connects to Google Search Console to find “quick wins.” This means it finds pages on your site that are almost at the top of Google (spots 4 to 20) so you can fix them easily.
• De contentredacteur: This tool gives you a score from 0 to 100 as you write. You should aim for a score between 70 and 85. If you try to get a 100, you might use too many keywords and make the writing sound robotic.
• The Plans: There are four main plans: Essential, Scale, Scale AI, and Enterprise.
  • Essentieel: Best for small projects. It costs $89 a month (or $69 if you pay for a full year). It lets you fix 30 articles a month.
  • Schaal: Costs $129 a month (or $99 if you pay for a year). It lets you fix 100 articles a month.
  • Schaalbare AI: Costs $219 a month (or $179 if you pay for a year). It includes 10 articles written entirely by AI.
  • Onderneming: Starts at $399 a month for big companies and comes with extra help.
• Slimme functies: Surfer uses “Natural Language Processing” (NLP) to suggest the best words to use. It also has a “Topical Map” to help you plan many articles at once.
• Helpful Audits: The Audit tool looks at your site and compares it to the winners on Google. It checks over 500 things, like how many words you have and if you have images or videos.
• Modern Tracking: Surfer now has an AI Tracker. This helps you see if your website shows up when people Vraag het aan AI bots (like ChatGPT or Gemini) for answers.
• Verbindingen: You can use Surfer directly inside Google Docs or WordPress. This makes it much faster to write and post your stories.