Have you noticed how some websites are always in your face on page one for the keyword you are targeting?
It doesn’t feel good. Especially when your post is on page 21 and going down every week!
It’s highly likely that these ‘A list’ bloggers are using an SEO writing tool.
As a Semrush affiliate, I was invited to use their SEO writing tool free for 2 weeks and share my findings.
Given that I have recently become obsessed with watching reviews for writing tools (such as Surfer) on YouTube, this was a golden opportunity to test one out!
If you would like to compete on a more level playing field, why not try it for yourself?
Is it cheating? Good question. Let’s just say it’s another weapon in your arsenal in the war of SEO!
Table of Contents
Get your free 7-day trial here!
What does Semrush SEO writing assistant do?
Semrush SEO writing assistant (or SWA) analyzes your post for:
- Tone of voice – If some sentences are too formal or casual for the overall tone, it highlights what they are.
- Keyword – This is huge. Put in your keyword and you will get many semantic keyword recommendations. You can change your keyword as you go or add another and it will change the suggestions shown accordingly.
- Length of post – This is a great time-saver if you are already checking out the top 10 SERPs to find how long your post should be. Or if you normally just write super-long posts as standard, it could also save you a ton of time.
- Readability – Is your post easy to understand? SWA will let you know if sentences or paragraphs are too long, if you have forgotten to put a headline etc. It even suggests headlines if you are stuck! It shows the average readability score of your competition that you will want to match at least.
If that wasn’t enough, you then get some backlink suggestions!
The results are produced by analyzing the top 10 SERPs. As well as saving time, it finds much more information than you ever could by doing the research yourself.
How do you use the Semrush SEO writing tool?
There are 3 ways to use the Semrush writing tool.
- Use the WP plugin
- Use it as a Google docs add-on
- Use the SEO writing assistant ‘quick checker’ actually on the Semrush platform (perfect if you don’t want any more WP plugins and don’t like Google Docs)
I tried both the WP plugin and the Google docs. There are 2 reasons I am excited about this:
1. I can take my best-performing posts, add the recommended keywords, make them the right length, make them easier to read if necessary. (I am doing this using the WP plugin.) Chances are that some of them will start going up the rankings.
2. In addition to this blog, I write on a freelance basis. Can you imagine how much more valuable my content could be? I am often just given a keyword and number of words and left to get on with it. (I am doing this using Google docs so my client can edit if required.)
This tool could potentially supercharge the results my client would get! And make me the ‘go to’ writer of choice!
What is the Semrush SEO content template?
If starting to write a post from scratch, this is the best tool to kick off with. All you have to do is put in your keyword and it will pull up the top 10 SERPs results.
This is great for planning your post before you start. Again, it will show the number of words you should be aiming for, semantic keywords to include, and backlink sources.
Some of the recommended keywords can even give you ideas for whole
sections of your post – perfect for creating an outline to get your
creative juices flowing.
Once you have done this, you switch over to the SEO writing assistant and you are off!
Here is an example of a post of mine and the recommended keywords to add. (Those in green are already in the post.)
This is sooooooo exciting! Can anyone guess what I’m going to be doing over the next 2 weeks?
Yep – updating my old posts!
This image below (using the Google docs add-on) shows the tone of voice and a few occasions where it is overly casual or formal. The score is pretty good so I didn’t spend any time making extra amends.
Can you share Semrush SEO Writing Assistant?
Yes, you can share a post you have already created in Google docs. The person you are sharing it with does not have to have a Semrush account. This would be a useful feature if you hire writers.
You could simply create an outline and let them get on with it. All you have to do is download SWA from Google Workspace Marketplace.
How much does Semrush writing assistant cost?
You can get started with a free Semrush account which will give you access to one template.
This essentially gives you recommendations for a particular keyword forever (as does a Pro Semrush account).
However, if you want to use it for all your posts, you need a Semrush Guru account which costs $229.95 per month.
If you are just starting out, that may be on the steep side. If so, you can get the 7-day free trial and go flat out to get as many recommendations as you can.
Top tips after signing up:
Your trial will fly past. (Confession – I ran out of time and didn’t use the SWA to write this post. Doh!)
So as soon as you have signed up do this:
- Get a list of your best posts that are ranking and update each of them using the SEO Writing Assistant.
- Get a list of the next few keywords you want to target and get those posts written (or at least make a note of all the recommended keywords)!
Top tip if using Google Docs
I was getting different scores when (out of curiosity) I put the same post into the WordPress plugin and Google Docs. I emailed the Semrush team who advised that I needed to change the title in the Google Docs version to H1 instead of using the title text.
Sure enough, when I changed it I got the same result, so just make sure to use the H1 heading.
Conclusion
This trial has got me even more excited about the prospect of SEO writing tools. Any SEO tool that offers so much guidance has to be an absolute winner.
Have you used SWO or any other SEO writing tool? If so, I would love to learn about it in the comments below.
If you are new to writing content and not ready to go all-in with SEO writing tools, check out my post Content Writing For Beginners.