“Online marketing can be easy.”
This is the motto of SEMrush. Online marketing is a broad subject, and to tell you the truth, getting really good at it is far from easy. Having said that, it can obviously be made easier with the right tools, and SEMrush is certainly one of those tools that can do that for you, in more than one way. In this post we will be reviewing SEMrush, so you can decide for yourself whether it is the right tool for you to trust in your digital marketing operations or not.
So, here is all you need to know about SEMrush…
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What is SEMrush?
SEMrush is a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform for online visibility management and content marketing. To elaborate on that, it is an all-in-one digital marketing tool that marketers use to improve online visibility and discover marketing insights. It is designed to help digital marketers mainly in the following areas:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- PPC (Pay per click advertising)
- SMM (Social Media Management)
- Keyword Research
- Competitive Research
- Content Marketing
- Marketing Insights
- Campaign Management
Operating since 2008, SEMrush is among the most popular digital marketing tools today, preferred by brands of different scales from all around the globe to grow their online visibility and increase their traffic.
How Does SEMrush Work?
In the broadest sense, as an all-around digital marketing tool, SEMrush works by providing its users with all kinds of data so they can find out:
- What people search for on search engines, and what specific terms they use,
- What type of content will most likely to generate more organic traffic,
- How to improve their link-building strategies,
- What are their competitors up to,
- What technical aspects of their website can be -or more importantly, needs to be- improved, so they can get better search rankings.
And how does SEMrush do it? With an array of SEO, content, research, advertising, and social media tools (more info on these in the following sections). Basically, it analyses your website, as well as your competitors’ websites, and tells you what to do to get more organic views, as well as better results from your ad campaigns.
SEMrush Features
SEMrush has a very broad range of features, in 5 main areas: SEO, content, market research, advertising, SMM & SRM. Here are its main features in these areas:
- SEO – Keyword research, on-page SEO, local SEO, rank tracking, link building, competitor analysis.
- Content – Content marketing, content creation & distribution, content optimization, content marketing analytics
- Market Research – Competitor analysis, market analysis, paid advertising, competitor PR monitoring
- Advertising – PPC keyword research, website monetization
- SMM & SERM – Social media management
SEMrush Pricing & Plans
SEMrush has three main paid plans for different budgets & website needs: Pro, Guru, and Business. Now let’s take a quick look at them, their main features, and prices:
SEMrush Pro plan
“For marketing newbies and small in-house teams”, SEMrush Pro is the tool’s most basic plan with $119.95/mo and these key features:
- 5 projects
- 500 keywords to track with daily updates
- Keyword, domain, and backlink analytics
SEMrush Guru Plan
“For SMEs, growing agencies and marketing consultants”, SEMrush Guru plan is $229.95/mo. Its main features are as follows:
- 15 projects
- 1500 keywords to track with daily updates
- Keyword, domain, and backlink analytics
- Historical data,
- Content marketing platform,
- Google Data Studio integration
SEMrush Business Plan
“For large agencies and enterprises,” SEMrush Business plan is $449.95/mo. Here are its key features:
- 40 projects
- 5000 keywords to track with daily updates
- Keyword, domain, and backlink analytics
- Historical data,
- Content marketing platform,
- Google Data Studio integration
- Share of Voice metric
- API access
Pro and Guru plans offer free trials, but you have to subscribe for a business plan. Also, it might be helpful to know that by paying annually, users get 17% discount on all plans. And, for your custom needs, you can always contact the company and get custom offers.
And, with all of these plans, you can get these additional features of SEMrush by paying extra (given prices are for Pro, Guru, and Business plans in that order):
- Additional Users (+ $45/$80/$100/mo) – Adds additional users to your SEMrush account
- SEMrush Trends (+ 200$/mo for all) – Gives users access to Traffic Analytics and Market Explorer tools, so you can unveil your competitors’ strategies!
- Agency Growth Kit (+ 150$/mo for all) – Automate your agency workflows to boost your revenue growth
- ImpactHero (+ 200$/mo for all) – An AI tool that analyzes the content on your website by buyer journey stages, and finds the copy with the biggest impact, and then gives you some tips on improving your efforts.
SEMrush gives its subscribers the option to cancel their subscription anytime they wish.
SEMrush Pros & Cons
As with every other tool, there are pros and cons to using SEMrush, which might play an important role in digital marketers’ decision whether to use it or not. Here are the main pros and cons of SEMrush to give you an idea:
Pros
😊 Comprehensive keyword analysis – Keyword research is a must for proper SEO, and SEMrush does a great job at it. Using it you can perform a comprehensive keyword analysis, and pick just the right keywords for your business.
😊 Helps you catch spam – Spam is never good, and the sooner you get rid of it is better for your website. SEMrush is excellent at identifying toxic elements such as spammy backlinks that harm your website so that you can easily get rid of them.
😊 Provides a one-stop solution – SEMrush provides a one-stop solution to digital marketers for their digital marketing requirements, which makes things easier compared to using multiple tools.
😊 Plans suitable for everyone – SEMrush offers three different plans for different needs and budgets, and it also gives you the option to have a customized plan, tailored for your business needs.
Cons
☹ A bit expensive – SEMrush prices are a bit expensive compared to some of its competitors. So if you are on a budget, you might want to consider some other options.
☹ Might be complicated for beginners – Although SEMrush is a very helpful tool, it might be a tad overwhelming for the newly initiated.
SEMrush Support
Using complex SEO tools such as SEMrush can be challenging sometimes, so good customer support is a must for the best user experience, as well as getting the most out of the tool itself. SEMrush does very well in this department; with 3 main customer support channels: email, phone, and chat.
SEMrush also has a knowledge base with useful and easy-to-understand information on a number of important topics such as SEO, social media, advertising, content marketing, etc. In addition to that, people who wish to learn from experts can check out SEMrush Academy, which includes free courses from top experts, as well as certification programs!
SEMrush FAQ
Here are the frequently asked questions about SEMrush:
Q: Is SEMrush good for small businesses?
A: Yes! SEMrush offers three different plans: Pro, Guru, and Business. Pro plan is appropriate for small agencies/businesses, as it is the most affordable one of the three and it offers all the basic tools you will need to get started. More information on this in Pricing & Plans section.
Q: Is there a free version of SEMrush?
A: Yes! You certainly can have a free SEMrush account, which, although obviously not as functional as the paid version, can help you a great deal with keyword research, competitor analysis, technical site audits, and tracking rankings on certain keywords.
Q: Do I need technical knowledge to use SEMrush?
A: You better have at least basic SEO knowledge to get started SEMrush, as most of its features aim at improving your website’s search performance- auditing your website, keyword research, tracking rankings, etc.
Q: Does SEMrush offer Google Data Studio Integration?
A: Yes! SEMrush supports Google Data Studio on its Guru and Business plans. But Pro plan -the starter plan- unfortunately does not have Google Data Studio integration.
Q: Can SEMrush help me with my website’s content?
A: It certainly can! Its content audit feature will help you see how the content on your website’s performing, and whether you need to do any revisions to your existing content.
Q: What are the alternatives to SEMrush?
A: Of course, SEMrush is not the only SEO tool out there. Some of its powerful competitors are: SEO Powersuite, Moz Pro, SE Ranking, WASK, etc. Which one to choose? You should make your own research, consider the prices, features, pros & cons, and decide for yourself.
Conclusion
Digital marketing can be complicated. It is easy enough to start for sure, but once you get past a certain level, there is a lot to consider, and unless you are a digital marketing guru, you will more than likely have a hard time figuring out how to further improve your site for the best results. This is where SEMrush steps in. It is certainly one of the most powerful tools out there that will help you navigate the bottomless sea that we call digital marketing, and make sense of the data, making it considerably easier for you to optimize your website and manage your campaigns to the full potential. It has a free option, as well as free trials, so you should certainly give it a try.
