Skip to content

SEMrush: An Overview and How to Use It

The world of digital marketing is full of potential. There are many ways to improve online visibility, and this is imperative to get the best out of any business. However, the digital marketing world is also full of competition, and the best way to stay ahead is by investigating what exactly it is that a…
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Blog Post

The world of digital marketing is full of potential. There are many ways to improve online visibility, and this is imperative to get the best out of any business. However, the digital marketing world is also full of competition, and the best way to stay ahead is by investigating what exactly it is that a business’s competitors are doing, and how successful it is for them.

SEMrush provides any business with the opportunity to further explore the online world and how other businesses are being marketed.

Here, we explore this tool in depth.

What is SEMrush?

SEMrush is one easy, consolidated tool for improving the online visibility of a business. Online visibility optimisation is crucial in gaining new customers and making new sales. SEMrush provides tools, reports, and general overviews of the following digital marketing categories:

SEMrush covers the most imperative types of marketing for any business. Its function is to gather data on all the categories shown above and have that data ready and available for a user.

A business user can gain access to a report by entering a domain name or keyword into the search bar provided with SEMrush; the tool then creates several reports based on the information in its database. By viewing these reports, a user will, therefore, be able to see a competitor’s online strategy, along with finding keyword suggestions best suited for a business’s campaign, and many other useful marketing strategies.

SEMrush is also able to create a project. A SEMrush project is a detailed plan for any business, which includes helpful recommendations on how best to improve a business’s online visibility, and track progress over the duration of the project.

These projects include:

  • 12 marketing tools to better manage your online presence
  • Algorithms created to overshadow the competition
  • A complete analysis of third-party data, such as Google Analytics, social networks, and more.
  • An easy sharing feature which enables agencies and clients to better communicate and collaborate.

For further information on how to create a project, please see ‘Starting a Project’ below.

How To Use SEMrush Tool

SEMrush is a subscription service, and you’ll first need to subscribe to create an account. Once your subscription is active, here is how to get started with SEMrush.

You will have access to all the tools and data provided by SEMrush – but in time, you will work out which specific tools are best suited for your needs, as you may not require all of them.

Each toolkit is split into easy to use categories, which will be displayed on your dashboard. For example: ‘SEO Toolkit,’ ‘Social Media Toolkit’ and so forth. You can display all the tools at once and will have access to all the tools, but you can also click on the individual tool you wish to work on at that particular time.

Research your competitors

There is a search query box displayed at the top of the dashboard. This is what you will use to research all competitor data.

To start, the easiest data to gather is a domain overview report of your chosen competitor website. Simply enter the domain into the search box and process the report. SEMrush will then present all the relevant and gathered information about that particular site. This overview report will come with links which will enable you to study further, more specific reports, about certain categories, such as backlinks, traffic, and keywords.

To put it simply, this domain search will show you everything your competitor is doing in terms of their online marketing – and how well it’s working.

Research a keyword

The next step is to research a chosen keyword – or keywords – for a business. Enter the keyword into the same query box as was used for the domain search. This will result in SEMrush presenting a keyword overview report, which will show all the information SEMrush could gather on that keyword, including suitability and popularity, and will provide metrics for more in-depth reporting.

SEMrush also offers the Keyword Magic Tool, which provides millions of related and similar keywords to what a business is searching for, and organises them helpfully into individual categories for ease of use.

Starting a Project

As mentioned above, a project is a great tool within SEMrush, which enables the marketing information of a business to be tailored and tracked. Projects offer additional tools to the basic dashboard, which includes:

On the dashboard, in the same list as the aforementioned categories, you can select ‘Create a New Project.’ You can then enter the base domain of the business you wish to focus on, such as a client’s. This will then allow you to set up to 12 different tools you wish your project to focus on, such as a business’s social media presence or its advertising development.

This project will then gather data over time, and begin to display it using reports and graphs. SEMrush will present an overview and summary of a site’s progress regularly, which will enable you to best analyse what is working, and what is not.

The Benefits of SEMrush

If a business is not optimising their SEO, then they are failing. SEMrush allows for an easy to use overview of SEO tools and how to better an online presence. The following are just a few benefits of using SEMrush:

  • It’s the perfect competitor research tool
  • It gives you the detailed ins and outs of exactly what a competitor is doing
  • All site data is in one, easy-to-manage place
  • The analytics of absolutely any site’s traffic
  • It can create perfect SEO content templates
  • It’s completely affordable
  • It makes keyword research easy
  • It allows for simple site audits

In Summary

SEMrush is an easy to use, SEO-optimising tool which can not only help a person’s business, but also analyse the competition, too. With its ease of use and low subscription cost, it’s a useful investment for any online marketing.

James Owen, Co-Founder & Head Of Search

James has been involved in SEO and digital marketing projects since 2007. James has led many SEO projects for well-known brands in Travel, Gaming and Retail such as Jackpotjoy, Marriott, Intercontinental Hotels, Hotels.com, Expedia, Betway, Gumtree, 888, Ax Paris, Ebyuer, Ebay, Hotels combined, Smyths toys, love honey and Pearson to name a few. James has also been a speaker at SEO and digital marketing conferences and events such as Brighton SEO.

View all Downloads

Downloads

The cover image of our e-book titled 'Content Marketing How-To Guide', portraying an individual typing on a laptop.

Content Marketing – How-to Guide

What is Content Marketing? Download Our How-To Guide Today!

Download
A blue section and the text "eCommerce SEO Handbook." The image shows a person using a laptop to shop online.

eCommerce SEO Handbook

The essential eCommerce SEO Handbook, download your free copy today!

Download
eBook: What is PPC?

What Is SEO?

Ever wondered why certain websites appear at the top of Google’s results page when you search for something?  That’s no…

Download
View the Blog

You may also be interested in...

Google PageSpeed Insights Explained: What Every Score Means

If you've ever tested your website using Google PageSpeed Insights, you've probably been met with…

Google June 2026 Spam Update Complete: Here’s What It Means For Your SEO Strategy

On June 24, 2026, Google announced that it had started rolling out its latest spam…

All You Need to Know: Agentic Browsing Update for Google Lighthouse

As one of the top SEO agencies out there, our duties extend beyond creating SEO…

How to Optimise Service Pages for AI Search and LLM Recommendations

There’s no hiding from it. AI search and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and…

How to Create Answer-Ready Content for AI Search

Businesses no longer need to create content solely for traditional search engine results pages. AI-powered…

How to Make Your Brand Easier for AI Search Engines to Understand

While traditional SEO will always be important, brands are now also thinking about how they…

LLM Visibility for eCommerce Brands: How to Get Products, Categories and Brands Recommended

How people search and compare products online has changed. Just a few years ago, a…

What to Do Now That the Google May 2026 Core Update is Complete

Two weeks have passed since we first updated you about the Google May 2026 core…

View all Guides

Online Guides

Ultimate SEO & AI Search Strategy Guide for Care Homes
View guide
Franchise SEO & AI Search Strategy Guide
View guide
Ultimate SEO & AI Search Strategy Guide for Vets
View guide
University SEO & AI Search Strategy Guide
View guide
6 Best Search Marketing Agencies for 2026 — UK, US & Global
View guide
The Ultimate SEO Consulting Service Guide
View guide
The Ultimate SEO & AI Search Strategy Guide for Education
View guide
The Ultimate PR Link Building Strategy Guide
View guide
Back To Top