If you care about SEO and digital marketing, you’ve probably heard of Semrush. But what’s all the fuss about? Why is it the tool everyone seems to recommend?

Well, Semrush isn’t just a tool; it’s more like a fully-stocked workshop. Semrush has a paid and free version. The good news is that the free version can be very powerful too and offer a lot of things to offer. 

In this guide, we explore ten features you can access on Semrush without spending a dime.

Who and Why You Should Use Semrush

Semrush can be a valuable asset for anyone involved in growing a business online. You should consider using a Semrush account if you are a: 

1: Business Owner: Get a bird’s-eye view of your website’s performance, identify areas for improvement, and spy on your competition.

2: Marketing Manager: Uncover keyword opportunities, track your rankings, and fine-tune your content strategy.

3: Content Creator: Find out what topics are trending in your niche, optimize your articles for search engines, and analyze your competitors’ content.

4: Anyone New to SEO: Semrush is user-friendly and makes complex SEO concepts easy to understand.

If you want to understand how your website is performing, where you’re losing out to competitors, and what you can do to improve, Semrush is the tool for you.

10 Things You Can Do With a Free SemRush Account 

1. Keyword Research: Discover keyword opportunities

Keywords are the foundation of SEO. They’re the words and phrases people type into search engines to find information,products, or services. Semrush’s keyword research tools can help you discover the right keywords to target.

• Keyword Overview: Get a quick snapshot of a keyword’s search volume (how often it’s searched), difficulty (how hard it is to rank for), and other essential metrics.
• Keyword Magic Tool: This tool is like a keyword idea generator on steroids. Enter a seed keyword, and Semrush will spit out a massive list of related keywords, complete with search volume and difficulty data.

With this information, you can identify high-volume, low-competition keywords that are easier to rank for, giving you a leg up in search results.

2. Site Audit: Improve your Website’s Health 

Imagine you could have a doctor examine your website, diagnose any problems, and prescribe a course of treatment.That’s essentially what Semrush’s Site Audit tool does. It crawls your website, looking for issues like:

• Broken links: These are links that lead to nowhere and can frustrate users.
• Missing meta descriptions: These are short snippets of text that appear in search results and can influence whether someone clicks on your link.
• Duplicate content: This can confuse search engines and hurt your rankings.

Semrush will not only identify these issues but also provide clear instructions on how to fix them, helping you improve your website’s health and performance.

3. Position Tracking: Track Your Progress

Imagine you’re running a race, but you can’t see the other runners. You wouldn’t know how you’re doing, right? Semrush’s Position Tracking tool is like having a scoreboard for your SEO race. It shows you:

• Your Rankings: Where your website ranks for specific keywords in search results.
• Competitor Rankings: Where your competitors rank for the same keywords.
• Ranking History: How your rankings have changed over time.

This information is invaluable for understanding your progress, identifying areas where you’re losing ground, and adjusting your strategy to stay ahead of the competition.

4. Backlink Analytics: Build High-quality Backlinks

Backlinks are like votes of confidence from other websites. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the more authoritative your website appears to search engines, which can boost your rankings. Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool allows you to:

• See Your Backlinks: Get a complete list of all the websites that link to yours.
• Analyze Backlink Quality: Assess the authority and relevance of your backlinks.
• Spy on Competitors’ Backlinks: See who’s linking to your competitors and try to get similar links for your site.

This information can help you identify opportunities for building new backlinks, disavow spammy links that could hurt your rankings, and develop a link-building strategy that supports your SEO goals.

5. Organic Traffic Insights: Understand Your Audience

Who’s visiting your website? Where are they coming from? What are they interested in? Semrush’s Organic Traffic Insights tool provides valuable data about your website’s audience, including:

• Top Pages: The most popular pages on your website.
• Traffic Sources: How people are finding your website (e.g., search engines, social media, other websites).
• Keywords: The keywords people are using to find your site.

This information can help you tailor your content to your audience’s interests, identify new traffic sources, and optimize your website to attract more visitors.

6. Competitor Analysis: Learn from your Competitors 

The best way to get ahead is to learn from those who are already there. Semrush’s competitor analysis tools allow you to:

• Identify Competitors: See who’s ranking for the same keywords as you.
• Analyze Traffic: See how much traffic your competitors are getting and where it’s coming from.
• Backlink Gap: Find out which websites are linking to your competitors but not to you.
• Keyword Gap: Discover keywords your competitors are ranking for that you aren’t.

This information is important to understand your competitive landscape, identify areas where you can improve, and develop strategies to outperform your rivals.

7. On-Page SEO Checker: Optimize Your Content

Creating great content is one thing, but making sure search engines can find it and understand it is another. Semrush’s On-Page SEO Checker analyzes your content and provides actionable recommendations for optimizing it, including:

• Keyword Usage: Suggests keywords to include in your content to improve its relevance.
• Meta Tags: Helps you craft compelling title tags and meta descriptions that will attract clicks in search results.
• Readability: Evaluates the readability of your content and suggests ways to make it more engaging.

By following these recommendations, you can ensure that your content is not only well-written but also optimized for search engines, increasing its visibility and reach.

8. Social Media Tracker: Monitor Your Social Media 

Social media is a powerful tool for connecting with your audience, but it can be challenging to track your performance across different platforms. Semrush’s Social Media Tracker allows you to:

• Track Your Followers: See how your follower count is growing on different social media platforms.
• Analyze Engagement: Measure likes, shares, comments, and other interactions with your content.
• Compare with Competitors: See how your social media performance stacks up against your rivals.

This information can help you identify which platforms are working best for you, understand what type of content resonates with your audience, and develop a social media strategy that drives results.

9. Listing Management Tool: Boost Your Local Presence

For businesses targeting local customers, appearing in local search results is crucial. Semrush’s Listing Management tool helps you:

• Manage Listings: Ensure your business information is accurate and consistent across major directories like Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook.
• Track Performance: Monitor how your listings are performing in search results and get insights on how to improve them.
• Respond to Reviews: Easily manage and respond to customer reviews, which can influence your local search rankings and reputation.

By optimizing your local listings, you can attract more local customers and increase foot traffic to your business.

10. The Semrush App Center: Discover Other Free Tools

Semrush doesn’t stop at its core features. It also offers a vast App Center filled with additional tools and integrations,many of which are free to use, including:

• SEO Writing Assistant: Helps you create SEO-friendly content that ranks well in search engines.
• Content Audit: Evaluates the performance of your content and suggests ways to improve it.
• Brand Monitoring: Tracks mentions of your brand online so you can stay on top of your reputation.
• Social Media Poster: Schedules and publishes posts across multiple social media platforms.
• PPC Keyword Tool: Helps you find profitable keywords for pay-per-click advertising campaigns.

These are just a few examples of the many free tools available in the App Center. You will discover additional features that can enhance your marketing efforts once you start exploring this tool. 

Conclusion

You don’t need a big budget to use Semrush. Even with a free account, you can gain valuable insights into your website’s performance, your competitors’ strategies, and the overall landscape of your industry.

Sign up for a free Semrush account today and start exploring the possibilities!