Semrush has evolved from a keyword research tool into a comprehensive digital marketing platform spanning SEO, paid advertising, content marketing, and competitive research. For SEO professionals, Semrush provides keyword research, site auditing, position tracking, backlink analysis, and competitive intelligence in an integrated environment.
Understanding Semrush’s full capabilities transforms scattered tool usage into systematic workflows. The platform’s breadth means most users only scratch the surface of available features. Mastering core functionality across SEO modules provides significant competitive advantage.
Domain Analytics Overview
Domain Analytics provides comprehensive domain intelligence for competitive research and benchmarking.
Domain Overview displays key metrics summarizing any domain’s digital presence: authority score, organic traffic, paid traffic, backlinks, and traffic distribution by country.
Authority Score measures overall domain strength on a 0-100 scale, combining link profile, organic traffic, and other signals. Use for competitive comparison rather than as a direct ranking indicator.
Organic research reveals which keywords a domain ranks for, top pages by traffic, and position changes over time. This data powers competitive gap analysis and content strategy.
Traffic analytics estimates actual site traffic beyond organic search when available. Combined with organic data, this provides fuller picture of competitor performance.
| Metric | Meaning | Primary Use |
|---|---|---|
| Authority Score | Domain strength composite | Competitive benchmarking |
| Organic Traffic | Estimated search visits | Opportunity sizing |
| Organic Keywords | Ranking keyword count | Visibility assessment |
| Backlinks | Link profile size | Authority context |
| Referring Domains | Unique linkers | Link profile breadth |
Nashville businesses can use Domain Analytics to understand local competitor digital presence before developing competitive strategy.
Keyword Research
Semrush’s keyword research suite provides multiple tools for discovering and analyzing keyword opportunities.
Keyword Overview displays metrics for any keyword: volume, difficulty, CPC, competitive density, and SERP features. Quick analysis for evaluating individual terms.
Keyword Magic Tool expands seed keywords into comprehensive keyword lists. Grouping functionality organizes related keywords automatically. Questions filter reveals question-format keywords for content ideation.
Keyword difficulty (KD%) estimates ranking difficulty based on current SERP composition. Higher percentages indicate more competitive keywords. Semrush provides both percentage scores and reference page authorities for context.
Keyword gap compares keyword portfolios across domains. Identify keywords competitors rank for that you don’t, revealing content opportunities.
Intent classification categorizes keywords by user intent: informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional. Intent data guides content strategy and page type decisions.
| Research Tool | Best For |
|---|---|
| Keyword Overview | Quick single keyword analysis |
| Keyword Magic | Extensive keyword expansion |
| Keyword Gap | Competitive opportunity finding |
| Topic Research | Content ideation |
| Organic Research | Competitor keyword analysis |
Position Tracking
Position Tracking monitors keyword rankings with geographic precision and competitor comparison.
Project setup configures keywords to track, target location down to city level, and competitors for comparison. Accurate location targeting matters for local businesses.
Position monitoring shows daily ranking changes with historical trending. Understand both current positions and directional movement.
Visibility metric aggregates rankings into single visibility score. Track overall visibility trends alongside individual keyword positions.
SERP features tracking shows which features appear and whether you capture them. Featured snippet tracking indicates content optimization opportunities.
Competitor comparison benchmarks your rankings against tracked competitors for the same keywords. Understand competitive dynamics beyond isolated position numbers.
Cannibalization detection identifies when multiple pages compete for the same keywords. Resolving cannibalization focuses ranking signals on intended pages.
Site Audit
Site Audit crawls your website to identify technical SEO issues systematically.
Crawl settings configure audit scope, crawl limits, and specific checks to include. Proper configuration ensures audits examine what matters for your site.
Issue categorization groups findings by severity: errors (site-breaking), warnings (affecting performance), and notices (improvement opportunities). Prioritize accordingly.
Thematic reports organize issues by category: crawlability, HTTPS, Core Web Vitals, internal linking, and markup. Thematic organization helps assign issues to appropriate team members.
Comparison over time tracks issue counts across audits. Verify fixes and monitor for regression.
Pages crawled data shows what the audit examined. Review to ensure important sections received coverage.
| Issue Category | Focus Area |
|---|---|
| Crawlability | Access and indexing |
| HTTPS | Security implementation |
| Site Performance | Speed and Core Web Vitals |
| Internal Linking | Link structure health |
| Markup | Schema and metadata |
Backlink Analytics
Backlink Analytics examines link profiles for any domain.
Backlink overview displays total backlinks, referring domains, authority score, and follow/nofollow distribution. Quick assessment of link profile scale and quality.
Backlinks report lists individual links with source page metrics, anchor text, and link attributes. Filter and sort to analyze specific link segments.
Referring domains shows unique domains linking to the target. Domain diversity matters more than raw link count for most sites.
Anchors analysis reveals anchor text distribution patterns. Evaluate for natural diversity versus potentially manipulative patterns.
Backlink gap compares link profiles across domains, identifying sites linking to competitors but not to you. These represent outreach opportunities.
Toxic score attempts to identify potentially harmful links. Use as a starting point for investigation rather than definitive toxicity assessment. Human judgment remains necessary.
Content Marketing Tools
Semrush includes content marketing capabilities beyond traditional SEO tools.
Topic Research generates content ideas around seed topics. Provides subtopics, questions, and headlines for content planning.
SEO Content Template creates optimization briefs for target keywords, showing recommended length, related keywords to include, and competitive benchmarks.
SEO Writing Assistant provides real-time optimization feedback while writing. Integrates with Google Docs and WordPress.
Content Audit analyzes existing content performance, identifying pieces needing updates, consolidation, or removal.
Post Tracking monitors content performance after publication, tracking rankings and backlinks earned.
Competitive Research
Competitive intelligence features reveal competitor strategies across channels.
Traffic Analytics estimates website traffic from multiple sources, not just organic search. Understand competitor traffic composition and trends.
Market Explorer identifies competitors within market categories and benchmarks performance across the competitive set.
Gap analysis tools compare keywords, backlinks, and content across domains to reveal competitive opportunities.
Advertising research shows competitor paid search keywords and ad copy. While focused on PPC, this data informs organic strategy by revealing competitor focus areas.
Workflow Integration
Semrush tools combine into integrated workflows.
Keyword research workflow: Start with Topic Research for ideas. Use Keyword Magic Tool to expand. Evaluate with Keyword Overview. Check competitor coverage with Gap analysis.
Technical audit workflow: Run Site Audit. Prioritize issues by severity. Track fixes through subsequent audits. Monitor for regression.
Content optimization workflow: Use SEO Content Template for briefs. Write with SEO Writing Assistant feedback. Track with Post Tracking after publication.
Link building workflow: Use Backlink Gap to find opportunities. Analyze competitor backlinks for prospect patterns. Track new link acquisition.
Reporting
Semrush reporting capabilities communicate findings to stakeholders.
My Reports creates custom PDF reports combining data from multiple tools. Schedule automated delivery on defined cadences.
Templates provide starting points for common report types. Customize templates to match stakeholder needs.
White labeling on higher plans removes Semrush branding for client-facing reports.
Limitations and Considerations
Understanding Semrush limitations enables appropriate use.
Data accuracy varies. Traffic estimates derive from models rather than actual data. Use directionally rather than as precise measurements.
Toxic score requires judgment. Automated toxicity assessment produces false positives and misses some genuinely problematic links. Human review remains essential.
Feature depth varies. Some tools provide robust capability while others offer more basic functionality. Evaluate specific tools against specialized alternatives.
Learning curve exists. Feature breadth creates complexity. Invest in learning to extract full value from subscription cost.
Semrush provides comprehensive SEO capability when fully utilized. Most users benefit from focusing on core functionality before exploring advanced features. Mastering fundamental workflows delivers the majority of available value.
Sources
- Semrush Knowledge Base
- Semrush Academy
https://www.semrush.com/academy/
- Semrush Blog