Ben introduces his beloved Semrush

In our second Tools of the Trade article, content lead Ben introduces us to his favourite professional software platform SEMRush, founded in the US in 2008.

TL;DR – SEMRush is the tool of choice for professionals, it provides a wealth of information on search engine optimisation, paid advertising, and social media along with insights on your competitor’s organic search performance, which can be very useful in creating a successful SEO strategy. Overall, SEMrush is a must-have for any digital marketer looking to improve their search engine visibility.

SEMrush is different from other tools in a few key ways. One of the main differences is the breadth of features that it offers. While other tools may focus on a specific aspect of digital marketing, such as keyword research or link building, SEMrush provides a comprehensive suite of tools for SEO, PPC, content marketing, and social media.

Another difference is the level of detail that SEMrush provides. The tool offers a deep dive into search engine rankings, keywords, and backlinks, as well as detailed information on your competitors’ strategies and performance. This allows you to get a complete picture of your own digital marketing performance and make data-driven decisions.

Ben says, “I first came across SEMrush in 2016 at Brighton SEO. I met founder Olga Andrienko, VP of Brand Marketing, during one of the breaks between talks and she quickly walked me through what the tool could do. Needless to say I was very impressed, now not a day goes by that I don’t use it in one way or another.

SEMrush’s tools allow me to analyse and optimise client websites, track their ranking in search engine results, and monitor their competitors’ online marketing strategies. Offering a suite of tools for managing paid search ad campaigns, as well as help tracking our social media marketing efforts, for me as Content Lead here at Granite 5 it is their content marketing tools that I find most helpful!

SEMrush provides a variety of tools that can help with content marketing efforts. Some of the ways that SEMrush help me with content include:

Content Audit

SEMrush’s Content Audit tool helps  analyse the performance and SEO of our client’s website content. It provides a comprehensive overview of all of the content on a website, including information on the traffic and engagement each piece of content is receiving.

To use the Content Audit tool, you can enter your website’s URL and the tool will generate a report that includes details on each cornerstone content page and blog or news post on the website. The report includes information on the traffic figures and engagement levels, as well as suggestions for improving the SEO of the content.

It can be really useful for identifying underperforming content and for developing strategies for improving the performance of any given piece of content. It can also be helpful for identifying opportunities for updating or repurposing old content to improve its performance. It helps me add value to our client’s continuous improvement programmes every single month.

SEO Writing Assistant

SEMrush’s SEO Writing Assistant helps us create SEO-friendly content by providing real-time suggestions for optimising the content for search engines.

To use the SEO Writing Assistant you simply enter a set of target keywords or search phrases and the tool will generate a list of suggestions for optimising the content. The suggestions include recommendations for the use of the keyword in the title, headings, and body of the content, as well as suggestions for related keywords that may be useful to include but you might not have thought of yet. Many times we have found semantic keywords that have helped boost reach and awareness of posts by using this tool

In addition to providing suggestions for optimising the content, the SEO Writing Assistant also includes a plagiarism checker and a readability checker to help ensure that the content is original and easy to understand. We will never push a piece of content live onto a client’s website until it gets a perfect score in this tool.

Post Tracking

SEMrush’s Post Tracking feature is a tool that allows us to track the performance of our blog posts and news articles. It provides information on the traffic and engagement that a post is receiving, as well as insights into the sources of the traffic and the demographics of the audience.

The Post Tracking feature can be useful for understanding how well a particular post is performing and for identifying opportunities for improving its performance. It can also be helpful for identifying trends and patterns in the traffic and engagement of different types of content. In short, what is working for our audience, what is being ignored, and what opportunities are available for producing more meaningful content in the future. It’s invaluable to my daily client checks.”