For as long as the internet has existed, it has had users, trolls, and adult material. For as long as the internet has existed (in the civilian market anyway) there has also been online marketing. Towards the end of the 1990’s, small business realized that they need a website. This realization was made exponentially clear with the advent of high speed internet, consoles, smartphones, and tablets.

You have a business? You want to be seen? Want to remain relevant? To increase your share of the market, and leave your competitors in the proverbial dust? You need search engine optimization (SEO) in your life. SEO is essentially is the name given to an online marketing strategy geared towards humans and search engines. It helps to drive ranking, traffic, and goals/sales way up. It allows the user to make the most of the different data which SEO helps brings to light.

Online SEO Tools Explained

Online SEO Tools Can Help Google Rankings

Because SEO is such a significant part of any proper online marketing campaign, those with the skills and know how have created tools corresponding with different SEO needs. Those who wish to perform high quality analysis and implementation of accurate SEO practices will do well to become familiar and use at least one or two different tools in the course of the campaign, and the ongoing operation of the website.

SEO tools allow the user to have a lot more control over a website and its various features. Users can analyze and learn from the variety of metrics which SEO tools collect and display in graphs, spreadsheets, and other useful methods. Elements such as top keywords and phrases, ranking in Google, readability of text content, links and back-linking, time spent on a page, and running advertisements.

What is SEMRush?

SEMRush Logo

SEMRush is a tool for competitive research and analysis. It allows you to build your own custom reports and charts, and use the accompanying tools such as keyword tracking, website auditing, backlinking, and domain VS domain reports (up to five domains simultaneously). Essentially, SEMRush allows you to get a handle on what it is precisely which is getting traffic to your website, how you can leverage this to your benefit, and what new directions you could pursue in search of better numbers.

SEMRush began as a small group of SEO and IT specialists. It now boasts nearly a decade of operation, hundreds of employees in four countries, and four offices located in two continents. Slowly but surely, SEMRush has become a global phenomenon. Let’s go a little bit more in-depth.

SEMRush Keyword Tracking Tool Explained

Credit: MadLemmings

With this tool you can monitor search engine results on a regional, national, or global scale. Any keyword which you input into the search bar will reveal your position in relation to it, your competitors’ positions, ideas for group keywords and phrases which will be beneficial, search volumes, and ways of targeting different devices.

SEMRush Site Audit Tool Explained

This is a tool dedicated to boosting a web page’s performance. It brings over 50 SEO factors and features to the user’s attention, and provides ways and means of increasing the website’s friendliness to search engine algorithms, crawl bots, and humans alike.

Descriptions, main text and headers, tags and broken links, images, video, adaptability to mobile environments – it all appears in the Site Audit tool. This is a tool which is very robust yet highly flexible, providing the user with the power to control a multitude of settings and filters.

SEMRush Backlink Tool Explained

Credit: ShoutMeLoud

In SEO, links are a very good thing. However, there are several types of links which can be detrimental, and bad backlinks are one of them. Want to monitor your backlink profile, and weed out low quality or spammy links? SEMRush and its backlink tool are at your service.

This tool helps you to manage your backlinks quickly and efficiently, without wasting too much time and energy. Using over 40 signals and factors, the tool evaluates the toxicity of each backlink, and presents the user with an overall score which is indicative of the link’s position, and the recommended action related to it.

SEMRush Pricing Breakdown 2018

The price of SEMRush varies from individuals to businesses, with monthly and annual plans available. Depending on your needs, wants, and campaign goals, you will be able to choose the package which best suits you. Price for the basic package “Pro” is $99.95 per month (monthly plan), or $999.40 for an annual plan. The package includes 1 user account, and any additional user is $70 per month.

SEMRush Pricing

The packages “Guru” and “Business” are also available, with annual prices disclosed upon request. The monthly prices are $199.95 for Guru, and $399.95 for Business. For businesses and organizations in need of several accounts, there is also the option of multi-license plans. Custom packages and semi-annual plans are also available, with prices changing accordingly.

A free version of SEMRush is an option, but it is a limited. It allows a single user up to 10 searches a day, with 10 results per search. It provides the user with the ability to create, monitor, and manage a single project – a single website. For comparison, with the Pro version you get 5, with the Guru you get 50, and with Business you get access to an unlimited number of projects.

What Are Some Alternatives To SEMRush?

SEMRush represents the top tier tools. It is one of the most popular SEO suites around, and as of the end of 2016 it boasts over a million registered users worldwide. That number is growing every day.

However, you need to accept the fact that it is not perfect. And as such, there will always be competitors and users who are looking for something else. Here are the names of a few alternatives to SEMRush: Raven, Moz, SimilarWeb, Majestic SEO, and Ahrefs. We will be reviewing these in a separate article.

How To Get a Free SEMRush Trial Today

A 14-day trial of SEMRush Pro is available through the official website. The user submits credit card information, but the card won’t get a charge until after the 14 days. During the trial run, you will be able to evaluate the full Pro package, and see whether or not it is in tune with your needs, wants, and expectations.

How To Get A SEMRush Discount Today

The prices officially set forth by SEMRush may be written in code, but not in stone. Different websites offer promotions for SEMRush, with trial periods stretching from 14 days to 30 days.

How SEMRush Helped Save My Small Business: A 2018 Review

SEMRush Can Boost Your Business Google Rankings

I won’t bore you with a long anecdote, but will merely provide my opinion on this platform based on my experiences. First off, I am tech savvy and web savvy, but SEO was not my forte. I was a little apprehensive about using it. It looked a tad daunting at first, with all of its graphs, charts, and numbers.

Once I went through some of the tutorials on the SEMRush YouTube channel, I was able to begin using it tentatively. The first thing which I was acutely aware of was that my local competition was working on their own SEO, and this motivated me to continue researching and promoting my own relevant keywords and links.

SEMRush didn’t save my small business single-handed. It may do that for some businesses. It is not outside the realm of possibility. With me and my business, anyway, it was a combination of a few things, some of which were pure luck!

But alas, I don’t believe in luck or in coincidences. I believe that because I signed up for tools like SEMRush and had the desire to progress, I was positioned towards my goals and situated in the right direction. This, in turn, facilitated better webpage management on my part and higher awareness of my online situation. This is what enabled me and my business to grow, and get through a tough time we were facing in the first half of 2017.

SEMRush definitely played a part in this, and I am grateful for its existence. It is possible that I would have found another tool. As it happened, I registered for SEMRush, and I am very happy I did. Not sure if it’s for you? Try the trial version. You can accomplish a lot in 14 or 30 days. More than you may be aware of!

Conclusion

White Hat SEO can be difficult. Well, any SEO can be difficult, but white hat SEO takes more work, has higher standards, and is endowed with a sense of responsibility. It represents the desire to act ethically and properly, in an environment where everyone is looking to beat you, outrank you, backlink you to oblivion, and generally eat you alive. This is the nature of business.

Unless you live somewhere very specific (think Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow, Connecticut), you are going to have some competition. SEMRush empowers you, and provides you with the right tools for the right jobs. Whether you are an SEO manager for a large corporation or a one-man home-business entrepreneur – you need SEMRush in your life.

Get started by learning all about SEO here at EduMuch.