Choosing the right SEO tool for your business can be tricky.
Subscriptions to multiple tools would break the bank, so it’s essential to select one with all the features you need.
When it comes to finding the best SEO tools, the conversation inevitably turns to Ahrefs vs. SEMrush.
Tackling your SEO goals is possible with either tool, but if you’re looking for more data to make more informed decisions, SEMrush is a guaranteed win.
SEMrush is a top-ranking SEO tool that comes with a ton of unique features.
These features will give you a leg up on your business’s SEO strategy.
1. Mobile Keyword Rankings
Tracking daily mobile ranking performance is a must, especially as Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing.
SEMrush leads the way by offering daily ranking data for mobile to every account, even the SEMrush free trial.
Ahrefs only includes mobile rankings in its top-tier monthly package.
As more and more traffic comes from mobile searches, you need this data to get an accurate view of how your website performs.
SEMrush is known for having highly accurate data, because of it’s native integration Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Using SEMrush can give you robust keyword position data, even for local SEO.
2. Local Listings Management
Maintaining up-to-date business listings helps your customers to find and contact you more easily.
Consistent business listings across multiple directories can also help to improve your local SEO by helping Google to deliver correct contact information for your business.
The Listing Management Tool distributes your information to more than 70 top directories in the United States, and more than 40 international directories.
Once you set up your location – the information will update across all directories with a click of a button.
If your business is already listed in some directories, you can enter your company name to update your listings immediately.
If you have not yet set up any business listings, you can create one by providing the following information about your business:
- Country
- Business Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Postal Code
As soon as you set it – you can distribute it directly to all the major directories.
A Basic location will cost you $20 per month, per individual location. A Premium location costs $40 per month, per individual location.
3. Content Marketing Platform
An effective content plan is based on information about your audience’s interests.
SEMrush Content Platform allows you to conduct topic research by giving you the full picture of what your audience needs in just a couple of clicks.
Content is a vital part of an SEO strategy, but some SEOs may struggle with creating new content that people want to read.
SEMrush’s content marketing tools make it easier to create new optimized content directly in WordPress or Google Docs.
SEMrush also offers tools to improve the content already on your website.
The Content Audit tool is a great way to see how your content is currently performing and get insight into what content you should make next.
Then, use the On-Page SEO Checker to receive recommendations on how to improve your content.
4. Robust Reporting Tools
Whether you’re an in-house SEO or a consultant, reporting is the best way to showcase your SEO progress. Stop wasting time pulling data and creating your reports!
SEMrush can generate informative and useful reports at the click of a button.
The SEMrush reporting tools easily integrate with Google Analytics and Google Search Console to provide the most relevant data available.
Plus, you can customize your reports with your branding or white label reports for clients.
These reporting capabilities are vital for tracking the KPIs you care about.
5. Site Audit Tool for Fixing Penalties
Occasionally, you may work on a website that was issued a Google penalty.
Check for over 130 common website issues and get special reports about your site’s crawlability, use of markups, internal linking, speed/performance, HTTPS, and international SEO.
With most SEO tools, you’ll spend hours doing audits to find the toxic markers that may be causing your penalty.
SEMrush’s Backlink Audit specifically offers tools to help you get rid of penalties. It is detailed reporting on backlinks can indicate which links to disavow.
Removing harmful links is the first step to getting rid of a Google penalty, so this feature is a huge asset!
6. Largest Keyword Database on the Market
SEMrush is the place to be for the latest data on up to 20 billion keywords.
While SEMrush only covers Google keywords, it offers enough detailed information that you can easily rank in other search engines for the same terms.
While Ahrefs has keyword data for multiple search engines, it only offers 10.2 billion keywords across all search engines.
Use filters to sort question-based keywords, and organize keywords by word count, search volume, searcher intent, keyword difficulty, CPC, competitive density, and other metrics.
While most SEO tools use estimated keyword data, SEMrush has a click potential metric that uses the latest SERP features to determine how likely you are to get a click targeting a particular keyword.
This tool alone puts SEMrush leaps and bounds beyond most SEO tools.
7. Powerful Competitive Analysis Tools
Spying on your competition has never been easier!
Having knowledge about competitor’s’ website traffic, digital marketing strategies, and which trends to stay up with can be game-changing assets for optimizing your digital performance.
Get competitive insights with SEMrush’s Traffic Analytics tool and discover traffic metrics for any website.
Get user behavior insights by unwrapping audience activity on competitors’ sites.
The Market Explorer tool is a perfect way to see what your niche’s audience is interested in and what they’re likely to click on.
As you become more confident in your niche and branding, you can also track competitor traffic to find new linking and ranking opportunities.
8. Simplified Link Building
Ahrefs is known for being a strong link-building tool, but SEMrush is becoming a strong contender thanks to its outreach tool.
Discover hundreds of backlink opportunities in the Prospects tab.
Get the results that you need by filtering prospective links we’ve found for you and adding new ones by their source.
Not only does SEMrush help you audit links and find new linking opportunities; it also features an advanced workflow to assist in your outreach.
Outreach is one of the jobs that many SEOs are reluctant to take on, but SEMrush gives you the capabilities of a digital PR firm in one easy-to-use tool.
This tool is just one example of why using SEMrush is an excellent option for your entire marketing and development departments, not only your SEO team.
9. SEMrush Academy
SEMrush is always releasing new features, and they’re committed to ensuring SEOs have everything they need to increase their organic traffic.
SEMrush’s free learning academy is one of the best parts of SEMrush.
They offer tons of certifications and courses to help you become a better marketer and use SEMrush’s tools to their full capacity.
Whether you’re an SEO expert or just getting started, SEMrush has the right course for you.
These classes make learning to use a new tool simple, quick, and enjoyable—no more digging through FAQs or trudging through technical documentation.
SEMrush Is Built for Your Success
While there are plenty of tools that can give you the data you need, it’s much rarer to find a tool that’s committed to making you better at your job.
SEMrush has all the features to impress your team at a price that’s hard to beat.
When you compare SEMrush pricing and Ahref pricing, the choice becomes even more apparent.
Here’s what to expect from the pricing plans:
- Pro – $119 per month. Designed for smaller companies and startups.
- Guru – $229 per month. Decent for agencies and medium-sized businesses.
- Business – $449 per month. Best for agencies, large businesses, and eCommerce operations.
- Enterprise – Custom pricing that’s set when you configure your custom interface. This is for large, rapidly scaling brands.
Are you ready to get started?
Get a Free 7-Day Trial of SEMrush and take your SEO to the next level!