What Is Frase?

Frase is an SEO content optimization platform that does one thing really well: it tells you what to write to rank on Google. Not what you *think* you should write, not what ChatGPT guesses you should write — but what the top 20 pages currently ranking for your keyword actually contain.

I have been using Frase since late 2024 for client SEO projects, and here is the honest take: it is the closest thing to hiring a junior SEO researcher who never sleeps, never complains, and costs $45 a month instead of $3,000.

Here is how the workflow actually works. You type in a keyword — say "best project management software for small teams." Frase scans the top 20 Google results, extracts the headings they use, the topics they cover, and the questions people ask. Then it builds a content brief that tells you: write at least 2,200 words, cover these 15 topics, answer these 8 questions, and here is a suggested outline based on what is already working. You write your article in the editor, and as you go, a score updates in real time. When the score hits green, you have covered everything the top-ranking pages cover — and usually a bit more.

The tool does not guarantee rankings. Nothing does. But what it guarantees is that your content will not fail because you missed a topic your competitors covered. That alone saves hours of manual SERP analysis.

Who Is Frase Actually For?

Three groups get the most value out of Frase:

• Freelance SEO writers. If you charge per article, Frase lets you write better articles faster. You stop guessing what to include and start following a data-backed brief. Clients notice the difference — your content ranks better, they keep paying you.

• Content agencies managing multiple client blogs. The content brief generator is a client-facing asset. You can send clients a professional brief showing exactly what research went into the strategy. It justifies your retainer and makes you look competent.

• Affiliate site builders. If you run niche sites monetized with display ads or affiliate links, Frase helps you find content gaps your competitors missed. Write the article that covers more topics and answers more questions — those are the pages that outrank the competition over time.

If you write one blog post a week for your personal site, Frase is probably overkill. The cost-to-value math only makes sense when you are writing at scale or charging clients for the output.

How to Make Money with Frase

This is the part that matters. Here are the actual ways people use Frase to generate income.

1. SEO Content Retainers ($500 - $2,000/month per client)

The most straightforward model. Find local businesses or SaaS startups that need blog content. Use Frase to research their keywords, build content briefs, and write optimized articles. Charge a monthly retainer that covers 4-8 articles.

A typical client pays $1,000/month for 4 SEO-optimized blog posts. Frase cuts your research time per article from 3 hours to 30 minutes. At 4 clients, that is $4,000/month with a $45 tool cost. The margins are real.

2. SEO Audits + Content Optimization ($300 - $1,000 per audit)

Most websites have existing content that is not ranking. Run their top 10 pages through Frase, compare the content score against the current SERP, and deliver a report showing exactly what topics each page is missing. This is a one-time service, not a retainer, so it is easier to sell as a first engagement. Once the client sees the gaps, the natural upsell is the monthly retainer.

3. Affiliate Content Sites

Build a niche site around a topic you know. Use Frase to find long-tail keywords where the top-ranking content is thin or outdated. Write better, more comprehensive articles. Monetize with Amazon Associates, Mediavine ads, or niche affiliate programs.

This is a longer play — expect 6-12 months to build traffic. But once a site hits 10K-20K monthly visitors, display ad revenue alone can bring $500-$1,500/month depending on niche RPMs. Frase makes the content production scalable without hiring writers.

4. Content Refresh Service ($200 - $500/month per client)

Content decay is real. Articles that ranked in 2023 may have dropped because competitors published fresher, better content. Offer a content refresh service: pull the client's underperforming URLs, run them through Frase against the current SERP, identify what new topics need to be added, and update the article. Charge a monthly fee for monitoring and refreshing a set number of pages.

5. Freelance Premium Writing ($50 - $150/article)

On platforms like Fiverr or Upwork, most writers charge $20-$50 per article and deliver generic AI-generated content. You can position yourself as a "data-driven SEO writer" who delivers Frase-optimized content with a content brief included. Clients who understand SEO will pay the premium because they can see the research behind the writing. At $100/article and 10 articles per week, that is $4,000/month as a solo operator.

What Frase Does Well

The content brief generator is the standout feature. Type a keyword, wait about 30 seconds, and you get a structured brief that includes:

• Suggested word count based on the average of top-ranking pages
• Topic clusters extracted from competitor headings and body text
• Questions from Google's People Also Ask box, Reddit threads, and Quora
• Key statistics and data points the top pages reference

This alone replaces 2-3 hours of manual SERP research. If you have ever opened the top 10 Google results for a keyword and manually copied their headings into a spreadsheet, you know how much time this saves.

The content scoring system is also useful, though not perfect. As you write, Frase tracks which topics from your brief you have covered and shows a coverage percentage. The heatmap visualization makes gaps obvious — you can literally see which sections of your article are light on content compared to competitors. I have caught missing topics I would have completely overlooked without this visual feedback.

Google Search Console integration is a nice bonus. You can see which of your published articles are gaining or losing impressions and clicks, then jump directly into optimizing the ones that are close to page one but not quite there.

What Frase Does Not Do Well

Let me be blunt about the weaknesses, because the marketing page will not tell you this.

The AI writer still produces content that sounds like a high school textbook. It is technically correct, covers all the right topics, and reads like a robot wrote it. If you publish Frase AI output directly, your bounce rate will suffer. You need to rewrite the draft in your own voice — add anecdotes, change sentence rhythm, cut the filler. Frase gives you the skeleton and the muscle; you still need to add the skin.

SERP data freshness is inconsistent. I have checked rankings in Frase against live Google results and found discrepancies of 2-3 weeks, especially for volatile keywords where rankings change daily. This matters if you are in a news-adjacent niche or doing time-sensitive content. For most evergreen content, 2-week-old SERP data is fine — the topics that rank do not change that fast. But you should be aware of it.

The pricing tiers are designed to push you toward the Team plan at $115/month. The Solo plan ($15/month) limits you to one user and strips out some of the best features. The Basic plan ($45/month) is the workable entry point, but even that lacks AI content analytics and custom templates, which are genuinely useful for agency work. For a solo freelancer, $45/month is fine. For a team of two, you are looking at $230/month, which stings.

There is no built-in plagiarism checker. Most SEO content tools include this, and Frase's omission is odd given how much of the workflow involves analyzing competitor content. You will need a separate Copyscape or Grammarly Business subscription.

Frase vs Other SEO Tools

Frase vs Surfer SEO: Surfer is better at the optimization phase — its content editor gives you a tighter, more actionable score with keyword density targets. Frase is better at the research and planning phase — the content brief is more comprehensive and the question research is years ahead. If you do client work, Frase wins because the brief is client-ready. If you optimize your own content, Surfer might be slightly better for pure writing efficiency.

Frase vs Semrush: Semrush is a full SEO suite with keyword research, backlink analysis, rank tracking, and a dozen other tools. Frase is a content optimization tool. They do different things. The Semrush content assistant is a weaker version of Frase's content scoring. If you need keyword data and competitor backlink analysis, get Semrush. If you need content briefs and topic optimization, get Frase. Many agencies use both.

Frase vs Clearscope: Clearscope is the premium option ($170/month minimum) and is generally considered better for enterprise teams with complex content operations. It has a cleaner UI and better integrations with enterprise CMS platforms. Frase does 85% of what Clearscope does at roughly one-quarter the price. For small to mid-size teams, Frase is the better value.

Getting Started Tips

If you decide to try Frase, here is what I wish someone told me when I started:

• Do not use the AI writer as your final draft. Treat it as a research dump and rewrite from scratch. The topic coverage data is useful; the AI prose is not.

• Start with content briefs for existing articles first. Pick three articles on your site that are ranking on page 2 or 3. Run them through Frase, see what topics you missed, update them. This is the fastest path to results and proves the tool's value to yourself.

• The question research is underrated. Most people focus on the content score and ignore the question tab. The questions Frase pulls from Reddit and Quora are often not targeted by competitors. Answering them in your article is a low-effort way to capture featured snippet positions.

• Set up GSC integration on day one. Without it, you are flying blind after publishing. The ability to see which articles are gaining impressions and which are flatlining tells you where to spend your optimization time.

• Use the 14-day trial wisely. Line up 5-10 keywords you want to write about before starting the trial. Maximize the free period by creating briefs for all of them. Even if you cancel, you keep the briefs.

Bottom Line

Frase is not magic. It will not write ranking content for you without effort. But it solves the single most time-consuming part of SEO writing — figuring out what to actually put in the article — better than any tool I have used at this price point.

For freelancers and small agencies building a content-based business, the subscription pays for itself with the first client. Everything after that is margin.

If you are a solo blogger writing one article a week, start with the $15/month Solo plan and upgrade if business picks up. If you are already managing client content, the $45/month Basic plan is the minimum viable tier.