Semrush review: a strong second tool, or enough on its own?

Semrush is the tool I use as a second source alongside Ahrefs, not as my primary tool. That is an important distinction, because the two are often framed as direct competitors, where the answer is closer to them being good at slightly different things.

What Semrush is best at

Position tracking. Semrush’s feature for following how specific keywords move in the rankings over time is, in my experience, stronger and easier to read than the Ahrefs equivalent. For ongoing reporting to a client it is often what I pull up.

On-page and content optimization. Semrush has some strong built-in tools for judging whether a specific page is optimized well enough for a given keyword, with concrete suggestions for improvement. It is more action-oriented than Ahrefs on that front.

Breadth beyond SEO. Semrush also covers PPC, social media and content marketing in the same platform, which can be valuable if you want several disciplines gathered in one place instead of subscribing to multiple separate tools.

What Ahrefs still does better

The backlink database. In my experience Ahrefs’ backlink index is still more comprehensive and updates faster, which means more precise competitor analysis on authority and link building. For in-depth technical site audits I also prefer the Ahrefs version.

Do you need both?

For an established agency or a consultant working with many different clients, having access to both often makes sense, because they fill each other’s gaps. For a single site on a tight budget it is rarely necessary to pay for both at once. Choose based on what drives the most value for your task: backlink-heavy competitor work points to Ahrefs, ongoing content optimization and reporting point to Semrush.

My conclusion

I land on Ahrefs as my primary tool, but use Semrush actively alongside it, especially for position tracking and content optimization. It is not an either-or answer, it is a question of which task is in front of you right now.

If you want help choosing the right tool setup for your own situation, or with the SEO work itself regardless of tool, book a no-strings meeting and we will look at what makes the most sense for you.