How to Do SEO with Semrush (Without Losing Your Mind)

Quick Verdict

Semrush is the Swiss Army knife of SEO – it does everything, but you’ll bleed trying to carry it around. The data is solid, the tools are massive, but the learning curve is a vertical cliff. I’ve used it for three years and still discover tabs I’ve never opened. If you have the patience and the budget (not cheap), it works. Just don’t expect to master it in a weekend.

Overall: **** (4/5) – best all-in-one if you can stomach the UI and the price tag.

Okay, so you want to do SEO with Semrush. Why? Because you’re tired of guessing what keywords to target, or you’ve got a site that’s bleeding traffic, or you just want to spy on competitors without getting caught. Semrush is the tool that does all of that. But here’s the thing — it’s a beast. My first time opening the dashboard, I stared for 20 minutes like a deer in headlights. Don’t be me.

Let me walk you through the actual steps. Not the marketing fluff. The stuff that works.

Step 1: Keyword Research – Find What People Actually Search For

Go to Keyword Magic Tool in the left menu. Type in a broad term related to your niche (like "dog food" if you run a pet blog). Hit search. You’ll see a table with thousands of keywords, volume, difficulty, and CPC.

What you do: Filter by "Intent" – select "Informational" if you want blog content, "Transactional" if you want to sell something. Then sort by "Difficulty" ascending. Look for keywords with difficulty under 30 and volume above 100. Those are your low-hanging fruit.

What can go wrong: You’ll get tempted by high-volume keywords with difficulty 90+. Don’t. You’ll waste months chasing nothing. I did that with "best SEO tools" – still ranking on page 7.

Here’s what nobody tells you: Use the Questions filter. It shows actual queries people type into Google. "how to choose dog food for allergies" – that’s a perfect blog post title. And the volume is often decent.

Shortcut: Click any keyword to see "Also Rank For" – it shows what other terms the top-ranking pages are using. Steal those. It’s not cheating. It’s competitive analysis.

Step 2: Site Audit – Stop the Bleeding

Click Site Audit in the left menu. Set up your project (domain, crawl settings, etc.). Run the crawl. Wait a few minutes.

What you do: Look at the "Errors" tab first. Fix 404s, broken links, missing meta descriptions. Those are the things Google actively penalizes.

What can go wrong: You’ll panic seeing 500+ errors. Most are "low priority" warnings about image alt text or duplicate content. Ignore the noise. Focus on the red ones.

Nasty personal failure: I once ran a site audit on my client’s staging site by accident. Sent them a PDF with 200 "404 errors" that didn’t exist. Client thought their site was on fire. I had to email "oops, that was the test environment" – felt like an idiot.

Shortcut: Set up weekly automated audits. Don’t check them daily – you’ll go crazy. Also, use the "Move to Trash" button for any error you’ve already addressed. Keeps the list clean.

Step 3: Competitor Analysis – Copycat with a Twist

Go to Domain Overview. Enter your biggest competitor’s URL. Hit search. You’ll see their top organic keywords, estimated traffic, and backlinks.

What you do: Scroll to "Main Organic Competitors" section. See who’s ranking for the same terms. Then click "View Details" to see their exact keywords.

What can go wrong: You’ll be tempted to target their exact keywords with the same content. Bad idea. They have authority, you don’t. Instead, find keywords where they’re ranking on page 2 or 3 – those are easier to steal.

Nobody tells you: Sort competitor keywords by "Cost per Click" (CPC). High CPC means commercial intent. Those terms are gold for e-commerce sites. Even if the volume is low, the traffic converts.

Shortcut: Use the Keyword Gap tool (under Domain Analytics). Enter your domain and two competitors. It’ll show you keywords all three rank for, or only you rank for, etc. The true magic is the "Untapped" tab – keywords your competitors rank for but you don’t. That’s your content roadmap.

Step 4: Backlink Audit – Clean Up Your Mess

Go to Backlink Audit (under Link Building). Add your domain. Wait for scan.

What you do: Look at "Toxic Score" in the top-right. If it’s over 60, you’ve got spammy links. Click "Toxic" filter. Look at the domains – are they from Russian gaming sites? Adult content? Those need disavowing.

What can go wrong: Semrush’s toxicity score is aggressive. It flagged a legitimate .edu link once. Check manually before disavowing. I disavowed a link from a university professor’s blog… dumb move.

Shortcut: Export the toxic links list, but only disavow the ones where the domain has less than 10 referring domains AND low trust flow. The rest are probably fine.

Step 5: Content Optimization – Writing for Humans and Robots

Use SEO Content Template (under Content Marketing). Enter the keyword you want to rank for. It’ll generate a list of recommended terms to include, readability score, and semantic analysis.

What you do: Write your article. Then paste it into the template. It’ll highlight missing keywords and overused ones. Adjust accordingly.

What can go wrong: If you follow every recommendation, your text will read like a robot. "In today’s fast-paced digital world…" – avoid that. Use the suggestions as a guide, not a bible.

Shortcut: Ignore the "readability score" if you’re writing for a technical audience. It’ll tell you to use shorter sentences. Screw that. Engineers don’t care about Flesch-Kincaid.

And that’s it. Five steps. You’re not an SEO expert now, but you can stop guessing. Semrush is a tool, not a magic wand. Use it wrong and you’ll chase wrong metrics. Use it right and you’ll see movement in 3-6 months. But don’t trust the "estimated traffic" numbers – Semrush’s traffic estimates are often way off. They’re good for trends, not exact counts.

Anyway, go run a site audit. And for the love of God, double-check the domain before you hit start.

Pros & Cons

Semrush

• Massive database of keywords and backlinks – unmatched in breadth
• Site audit tool catches technical issues quickly
• Competitor analysis is the best in the industry

• UI is a cluttered nightmare – too many tabs, too little intuitive flow
• Pricing is steep for solo bloggers or small businesses ($129+ monthly)
• Keyword difficulty score is often off by 10-20 points – trust your gut

Pricing at a Glance

| Plan | Starting Price | What You Actually Get | |——|—————|———————-| | Pro | $129.95/mo | 5 projects, 500 keywords tracked, limited reports – fine for a single site | | Guru | $249.95/mo | 15 projects, 1500 keywords, historical data – overkill unless you’re an agency | | Business | $499.95/mo | Custom reporting, API access, white label – for people who expense everything | | Free | $0 | 10 requests/day – basically a teaser, good for checking one keyword |

FAQ

Q: Is Semrush worth it for a small blog? A: Probably not. You’ll spend more on the subscription than you’ll make from traffic for the first year. Use free tools like Google Search Console and Ubersuggest until you’re making at least $500/month.

Q: Can I use Semrush for local SEO? A: Yes, there’s a Local SEO toolkit under the "Social" section. It tracks Google Business Profile rankings and reviews. But