Semrush 2020 Improvements Roundup – The Best Just Got Better!

Having the very best SEO tool is the equivalent of sharpening your axe – you might eventually get a result without it, but how quickly and efficiently will ultimately depend on your tools. In the super-competitive world of SEO, if you’re not fast you’re last!

Do you have experience with Semrush? If so, you will know that it is quite possibly the most comprehensive digital marketing tool available. In this Semrush 2020 Improvements Roundup, you will see the updates at a glance and what they mean for your business.

A brief Semrush history

Semrush (pronounced Semrush – not S-E-M.rush by the way) started in 2008 with only 2 tools! Twelve years on, continuous additions and improvements have put them at the top of their game with an astonishing 7 million monthly users worldwide.

Semrush stats and facts
                                                               Astonishing growth in 12 years by anyone’s standards

Semrush rebranding

Given the colossal success in only 12 years, it was definitely time for a refresh on the branding front. Semrush has just completed a total rebrand to convey the ‘energy that powers your marketing’! Check out the video that showcases the rebrand below (turn up the volume).

           Click on the video above to get the full impact of the Semrush rebrand

 

This site includes some affiliate links – if you buy through my link I may get paid a commission but the price remains the same for you. Thank you for your support.

Semrush Improvements & New Tools 2020

SEO Tools

Keyword overview

Keywords are where it all starts when creating content that ranks. The Keyword Magic Tool now contains more than 20 billion keywords and 20 million ideas for a single keyword.

Global volume feature – When you search for a keyword, you will now receive an estimate for the global volume. Don’t worry if that’s too broad for you as there is also a list of what countries are popular for your chosen keyword.

Bulk analysis – This feature allows you to analyze up to 100 keywords at the same time. Can you imagine the time-saving if you are working on several projects?

SERP analysis – Shows the 100 top SERP results in Google complete with referring domains, backlinks, keywords, search traffic etc. for each URL.

SERP features and questions – This is a brand new feature to give you more ideas for optimization and inspiration.

 

Stuck with organic research? Sign-up for a free Semrush Course by clicking the video below.

Organic Research Lesson 1 image

Keyword Gap

As the name suggests, this brand new tool offers the crucial opportunity to find which keywords you are missing. Using the ‘Top Opportunities’ widget you will find not only what keywords are missing but also which are weak, strong, or unique.

As with the other keyword tools, you can use the Keyword Manager to track exactly what you are doing and export it to an XLSX or CSV file.

Find your competitor’s broken links and use them to increase your backlink profile by contacting the owner of the referral site with a suitable replacement. To find out more about this technique and transform your efforts, check out How To Find Broken Backlinks And Replace Competitor Links.

 

Semrush Broken Linkbuilder tool
    Possibly my favorite Semrush feature – the Backlinks Checker

This tool quickly shows your backlink profile and helps you to easily spot toxic links on your site so you can quickly disavow or remove them and limit damage to your status with Google. (This is an existing feature that has been honed to provide an accurate toxicity score.)

Position Tracking

This is a super-sophisticated tool that not only tracks your rankings daily for a variety of different keywords but can also provide results (including volume and device type) down to a hyper-local level. It also offers:

  • Measurement of Share of Voice (SoV – a measurement of how visible your brand is against its competitors)
  • A Cannibalization report to check for competing keywords within your posts that could be harming each other.

Domain Overview

One of the most requested features Semrush had from subscribers was to have a Domain Overview from a global standpoint that enabled them to compare their site metrics and trends with their competitors.

This tool provides the opportunity to compare up to 5 sites at once and also offers the opportunity to zone in on sub-domains and sub-folder levels.

Site Audit

The Site Audit offers some easy SEO fixes by prioritizing the site issues that need attention, however, the new Markup’s report uniquely shows how successful or otherwise your mark-up implementation has been.

Local SEO Listing Management Tool

This feature has been given a significant overhaul in recognition of the unique needs of local businesses. The Listing Management tool offers:

  • Automatic Distribution to all relevant local directories including voice search optimization
  • Local Ranking Heatmap not only tracks overall ranking in Google maps but also tracks up to 5 keywords with rankings shared on a heatmap in the target area
  • Review Management allows the business to respond to Google reviews on both Google and Facebook on one platform
  • Local Rankings Report – check your ranking any time in Google Local Finder

    Semrush local listing tool
    With the Listing Management tool, you can check your performance on a local level

 

Competitive Research Tools

The Competitive Research Tools are designed with agencies and larger organizations in mind and cost an extra $200 per month.

Now, I am not someone who gets too excited about traffic analytics tools but the first two here, I believe, are absolute game-changers. Check them out:

  • Audience Insights Report – this tool allows you to compare audiences from competitor websites with your audience. You could use this to create audience lookalike profiles for Facebook ads or even collaborate on joint ventures
  • Traffic Journey Report – this tool tracks what websites your visitors have just visited and where they go onto next! You can use this data for your remarketing efforts and for greater insight into what your audience is looking for
  • Sub-domain level reporting is now enhanced thanks to a traffic algorithm enhancement applicable to a variety of reports

This is a high-level overview of the movers and shakers in your space along with insights into audience attributes in up to 190 markets!

  • Benchmarking Report – this is a brand new report that enables the comparison of a domain against 5 competitor sites in terms of volume, traffic source and audience traits
  • Growth Quadrant – shows the position of the top players and charts their position in the market over time
  • Custom Market – as the name suggests, allows you to analyze competitor domains (up to 20 at one time)
Custom Market example
    Check your position against the competition with Market Explorer

Content Marketing Toolkit

Content Marketplace

This is an existing resource that had a refresh in 2020. It is the perfect place to order content from professional writers (in English or American English) with a focus on SEO.

Furthermore, you can order copywriting for just about anything else you might need such as newsletters, emails, press releases etc. Perfect for when you need to be working on your business rather than in it.

Impact Hero

This is a brand new, stand-alone A.I. tool for content marketers that detects your most impactful content at every stage of the customer journey. It then goes on to suggest improvements to your content strategy.

When you know what is working, you can easily do more of it. The challenge is knowing what is working which is where Impact Hero comes into its own.

Sign up for a free trial of the Content Marketing Toolkit here.

Social Media Tools

These will be serious time-savers for those managing multiple accounts.

Social Media Analytics Tool

This is a brand new tool that enables internal monitoring of your Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts (e.g. Followers gained and lost, post reach and engagement rate/mentions etc.). All of this can be actioned on one platform.

Social Media Ads Tool

This is another brand new tool enabling users to create, launch and manage ads for the entire Facebook ‘family’ i.e. Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and the Audience Network platforms. Again, this would all be done directly from Semrush.

 

Instagram image

Sellerly (for Amazon)

It’s not exactly commonplace for SEO platforms to branch out into Amazon research tools, but it makes total sense and this is a comprehensive tool for Amazon FBA aficionados (currently only available in the U.S.)

  • Split Testing Tool – this tool is free!
  • Listing Protection – get instant alerts if your listing is hijacked
  • Listing Quality Check – get suggestions to improve your listing visibility and conversions
  • Traffic Insights – allows you to compare and analyze traffic sources

Hopefully this will be rolled out to other markets shortly. The cost is $50 per month. Learn more and get 2 months for £50 here.

Amazon FBA image

Semrush pricing plans 2021

Until now, pricing had remained static since 2017. The new pricing reflects the many improvements and new features. The table below shows pricing for those paying monthly – significant savings are available if you can pay annually. The full price comparison can be found here.

                                             Click here for a full plan comparison

Free Trial

You don’t have to take my word about Semrush offering the ‘sharpest axe’ for ensuring you remain competitive in the cut-throat world of SEO. Simply sign up for a 7-day free trial and find out for yourself!

Conclusion

As online ranking gets increasingly competitive, you need the very best tools to even be at the races, much less win! Semrush has its finger on the pulse and is constantly looking for new ways to keep your business ahead of the game.

Do you use Semrush or another cutting-edge keyword research tool? If so, I would love to hear about it in the comments below.

 

Semrush 2020 Improvements Update - The Best Just Got Better!
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Semrush 2020 Improvements Update - The Best Just Got Better!
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Having the very best SEO tool is the equivalent of sharpening your axe. Make sure your axe is super-sharp by making full use of the most up-to-date tools from Semrush. Check out your potential competitive advantage in this Semrush 2020 Improvements Roundup.
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9 thoughts on “Semrush 2020 Improvements Roundup – The Best Just Got Better!”

  1. Thanks for this review. When I first joined affiliate marketing, SEMrush was the biggest keyword finder online. I have watched it grow over the years. Still, even though I was a newbie I joined. Not knowing or understanding what I was doing, I wasted money. But now, 12 years later, I am good at affiliate marketing and I definitely can appreciate SEMrush. I have a subscription to Jaaxy, which comes with my platinum plus membership at Wealthy Affiliate, but SEM offers things that Jaaxy doesn’t. Such as Backlink Analytics, which
    helps me find my competitor’s broken links and use them to increase my backlink profile. Great post. I may just re-subscribe.

    Reply
    • Hi Shalisha

      Thanks for sharing your Semrush journey! It does take a bit of time to get your head around it – even more so now with such a huge number of features. I think this is why they introduced Semrush Academy – you could almost take a degree in it! I agree, for finding broken backlinks it’s the best.

      Kind regards,

      Jean

      Reply
  2. I just started using Semrush, and honestly, I’m pleasantly surprised. At first, I thought the price would be an issue, but the value outweighs the cost in this case.

    I love the new color scheme, btw. It makes it look way cooler!

    Gorjan,

    Reply
    • Hi Gorjan

      I am delighted to hear that you are enjoying using Semrush and find it offers good value. I agree, the new colors a way sexier!

      Kind regards,

      Jean

      Reply
  3. Thanks for this in-depth review of Semrush. I have been given some thought for some time now about using this tool, but the price has always turned me off.

    I have been using a different keyword tool and getting decent results from it but I have a fear I am missing out on some really great keywords.

    I also did not realize all that comes with Semrush. I really like the idea of the position tracking. I have been using googles search console but I find it difficult to really get a grasp on where I am at.

    Thanks again, you have me thinking!

    Robb

    Reply
    • Hi Rob

      Thanks for the great feedback. I think if you only have one site and are pre-monetization, unless you have a decent budget set aside for getting started, you can hang off signing up but keep it as something to aim for. Or you could sign up for the 7-day trial but have a massive list of what you want to achieve and make the very most of it.

      Kind regards,

      Jean

      Reply
  4. Semrush is definitely a gamechanger. When it comes to PPC marketing I prefer AHrefs but when it comes to SEO and finding broken links I like SEMrush more.

    I’m also glad they started getting more into content marketing on youtube. I didn’t realize how much you can do with it before seeing their videos.

    Reply
    • Hi Rogier

      Many thanks for this. Glad to hear you have found Semrush useful. There is SO much you can do with it – I even left some bits out of my post as I thought it could be just too much for folks to digest.

      Kind regards,

      Jean

      Reply
    • Hi Rogier

      Many thanks for this. Glad to hear you enjoy using Semrush. There is indeed SO much you can do with it. I didn’t include all of the updates in this post as it would have been just too much for folks to digest.

      Kind regards,

      Jean

      Reply

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