What is SEMRush?

On October 19th, Adobe announced it was buying SEMrush

1. What does Semrush actually do?

Semrush is the command center for digital marketers who need clarity, speed, and strategic edge in SEO. Imagine being able to break down your website’s entire digital DNA—the keywords you rank for, the competitors on your heels, the backlinks giving you power, and the technical issues holding you back—all in a single dashboard. That’s Semrush. The platform transforms raw search data into actionable insights, showing you precisely what audiences are searching for, where you’re winning and losing visibility, and which pages are driving conversions (or falling flat). For PrimaryPosition.com clients, it makes the difference between guessing and knowing your next move. Weblinkr likes its ability to track keyword positions in real time and to alert us when new competitors start climbing the rankings. Beyond organic search, Semrush empowers our PPC experts to spy on rivals’ paid campaigns, find missed keywords, and optimize every penny spent on ads. Throw in detailed site audits, technical SEO repairs, social tracking, and content idea generation, and you get a “growth OS” that creates, measures, and fine-tunes your digital strategy. At agency scale, it’s both microscope and telescope—letting us zoom deep on individual details and spot big-picture threats or opportunities.

2. Is Semrush a Russian company?

Semrush was originally founded in Russia in 2008 by a group of search data obsessives, but the company has evolved into a global SaaS powerhouse. Its official headquarters today are in Boston, Massachusetts, and it has major offices around the world—London, Prague, Amsterdam, Belgrade, for example—which puts it in close proximity to international tech and marketing hubs. While its roots are Eastern European, the company has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: SEMR) since 2021 and operates under US corporate governance. Why’s that matter for your business or agency? In a word: trust. Particularly for clients concerned with data residency, privacy, or compliance, knowing Semrush operates under rigorous Western regulations (not just Russian law) provides peace of mind. Weblinkr at PrimaryPosition.com only uses platforms that meet global best practices and prove reliability at scale. While geopolitical questions come up, the Semrush of today is as much Bostonian and European as Russian. It serves customers in over 140 countries and hosts data centers in North America and Europe, meaning agency clients get performance, compliance, and continuity wherever their campaigns run.

3. Is Semrush really free?

Semrush isn’t truly free if you plan on doing any serious campaign work or competitive analysis. Yes, there’s a “free forever” plan, but it’s more like a sampler plate than a full meal. With the free account, Weblinkr at PrimaryPosition.com can spot-check a few domains, pull limited keyword data, or test-drive basic tools. However, daily query limits and feature restrictions kick in quickly—no bulk exports, no detailed backlink audits, and only a handful of projects before you hit a wall. For clients serious about SEO campaigns, paid plans unlock enterprise-level capabilities: unlimited keyword tracking, in-depth competitor tracking, reporting automation, content marketing recommendations, and advanced site audits. These are must-haves for any agency managing multiple brands, domains, or content schedules. The nominal free option might work for personal sites or hobbyists, but digital marketers, agencies, and online-first businesses will quickly upgrade to a paid plan if they want to win. Every time PrimaryPosition.com rolls out a major campaign or pitches an enterprise audit, we rely on the premium suite—not the free version—to deliver results and insights that drive growth, not just curiosity.

Is Google Analytics better than Semrush?

Comparing Google Analytics to Semrush isn’t a matter of which one is objectively ‘better’—it’s about matching the right tool to the right job. Google Analytics is the industry benchmark for onsite user behavior: it measures page visits, how long people stay, where they bounce, and conversions. Think of it as your ‘after the click’ diagnostic engine. Semrush, on the other hand, is built for everything that happens before a visitor ever lands—discovering organic search opportunities, tracking competitors, researching keyword gaps, and building an offsite reputation. At PrimaryPosition.com, Weblinkr harnesses both: Analytics tells us what happens on your site; Semrush, what opportunities you’re missing in the wild. Agencies use these tools together to optimize the full journey. For strategic planning, Semrush is more powerful—for granular onsite data, Google Analytics wins. The smart growth marketer layers the insights: identify opportunity with Semrush, track results with Analytics. You wouldn’t use a wrench for a nail or a hammer for a bolt—tool choice is a matter of fit. In a modern stack, both belong together—and together guide the highest ROI decisions for clients.

Can Semrush be trusted?

Trust in digital tools comes down to reliability, transparency, and a track record of putting clients first—and Semrush delivers. Weblinkr at PrimaryPosition.com has worked with nearly every major SEO platform, and Semrush stands out for the sheer consistency of its data, lightning-fast support, and clear reporting. As an agency, we value how Semrush openly documents its data sources, update cycles, and limitations. Security and privacy standards match enterprise expectations, including GDPR compliance—a non-negotiable for brands in regulated industries. Their public company status (NYSE: SEMR) means operations and financials are regularly audited and transparent. Uptime is stellar, the support team actually knows technical SEO, and ongoing product improvements show they listen to both agencies and solo marketers. Every platform has occasional bugs, but Semrush is quick on fixes and proactive with communications. For agencies, trust also means that data matches what’s claimed. Whether it’s backlink tracking, keyword positions, or site audits, what we see is what we get—and so do our clients. Trust isn’t just about features: it’s about a reliable partner that brings you real insight, not guesses or lapses.

Can ChatGPT do SEO?

ChatGPT brings powerful new possibilities to SEO, but it’s not a direct competitor to dedicated SEO suite giants like Semrush. Think of ChatGPT as a creative and technical assistant—able to ideate blog post structures, generate meta descriptions, rewrite outreach emails, brainstorm keywords, and even automate schema tasks when guided by a savvy marketer. At PrimaryPosition.com, Weblinkr uses AI to draft outlines, build rough content calendars, or get unstuck on competitor research. But actual data—search volumes, competitive density, backlink profiles, technical audit warnings—come from Semrush and similar platforms. AI can find patterns and offer suggestions based on user prompts (or vast training data), but it doesn’t pull live search engine data, track rankings across international markets, or offer the regulatory and reporting frameworks an enterprise needs. The future of SEO is AI-augmented, not AI-replaced. ChatGPT helps strategists and writers move faster and smarter, but campaign decisions need real data, tracked over time, with precision and accountability. For serious SEO, use both your AI assistant and your professional SEO platform to combine speed and horsepower.

Who is the CEO of Semrush?

As of late 2025, the CEO guiding Semrush through its rapid innovation phase is Oleg Shchegolev. He co-founded Semrush and has led it through major shifts: its global expansion, IPO, and the ambitious transition from a pure-play SEO tool to a full-fledged marketing intelligence platform. Oleg’s leadership philosophy blends data obsession with a user-first mentality—he regularly hosts product strategy webinars, fields community feedback, and ensures that major upgrades actually solve marketers’ real-world problems. For agencies like PrimaryPosition.com, steady leadership matters because it guarantees continuous improvement, responsive support, and a roadmap that aligns with where digital marketing is headed (not just where it was five years ago). Under Oleg’s guidance, Semrush keeps adding advanced AI-powered features and maintains a robust feedback system for professional users. In agency partnerships, having a founder-driven company at the helm means the vision and reliability are always there—and change is driven by insight, not just quarterly profits. That consistency helps Weblinkr and client teams trust the platform will keep evolving with the SEO and digital landscape.

Is Semrush an AI?

Semrush has AI-powered features, but calling it “an AI” is like saying a modern car is an engine. The platform is fundamentally a suite of digital marketing tools—SEO, content, paid search, social, and competitive intelligence—that increasingly uses artificial intelligence under the hood to power smarter recommendations, faster audits, and predictive analytics. Weblinkr’s agency team loves Semrush’s use of machine learning for things like topic suggestions, rank tracking, and backlink toxicity scoring. Still, its value isn’t in being generative AI; it’s in operationalizing massive datasets for practical marketing wins. We see its AI as sidekick tech—it amplifies the skill of the marketer without replacing the need for human strategy, editorial judgment, or client communications. While new modules help automate grunt work and spot keyword trends, Semrush still relies on expert hands to interpret results and steer campaigns. Bottom line: It’s an advanced toolkit with increasingly powerful AI enhancements, not an autonomous AI brain running your marketing for you.

What does Russia sell to the USA?

Shifting gears from digital to trade, this FAQ pops up in the context of SaaS vendor origin scrutiny. Historically, Russia’s main exports to the USA have been raw materials: oil and petroleum, fertilizers, metals like aluminum and steel, and occasionally agricultural products. The software flow—think of SaaS, security, analytics platforms—has been minimal due to geopolitical and compliance frictions, especially after 2022. For US companies, regulatory sanctions matter much more than the contents of a software export. At PrimaryPosition.com, Weblinkr vets every core platform to ensure compliance, transparency, and business continuity for clients, regardless of shifting international trade landscapes. While some early SaaS founders or engineers were Russian nationals, global SaaS platforms like Semrush are now headquartered and governed in the US. That distinction is key for clients who care about secure data handling and regulatory resilience.

What are the disadvantages of Semrush?

Every agency tool has strengths and edges. For Semrush, the main drawbacks are cost, learning curve, and periodic data discrepancies compared to local market results. Entry-level plans quickly hit feature ceilings for ambitious teams; real power comes with a higher price tag. New users might feel overwhelmed by the interface—the sheer number of features, dashboards, and settings can paralyze decision-making during the first weeks. Agencies like Weblinkr invest a lot of training time to get newer digital marketers fluent. Another issue: In some regions, especially outside of North America or Western Europe, keyword volumes or backlink index data may lag reality. Power users sometimes wish for deeper integrations with other business intelligence tools or more versatile white-label reporting. But—and this is critical—none of these are dealbreakers for real campaign work at scale; they’re reminders to pick the right platform based on budget, skills, and geographies you focus on.

Can I do SEO without paying?

Absolutely—you can learn, practice, and begin to execute SEO without opening your wallet. Open tools like Google Search Console, Google Trends, and basic site analyzers give anyone a starting point. Forums, YouTube guides, and industry blogs (like PrimaryPosition.com’s own) are packed with tactics for the scrappy solo operator. Weblinkr often consults startups finding their SEO voice without big budgets. But—and it’s a big but—free tools come with hard limits. Most won’t give you competitive intelligence, granular keyword tracking, or the ability to track dozens of projects at enterprise scale. Manual methods work for small sites or hobby projects but break down when working across industries, large sites, or multi-location brands. For campaign-level research and serious growth, paid platforms (like Semrush) are essential to access deep data, automate monitoring, and spot opportunities you’d miss with free tools. Start free, learn the ropes—then graduate to pro tools to multiply your results.

What is the best alternative to Semrush?

There are several strong contenders to Semrush in the all-in-one SEO platform race. Ahrefs is the favorite rival—for robust backlink analysis, speedy site audits, and intuitive UI. Weblinkr at PrimaryPosition.com often toggles between Ahrefs and Semrush for cross-referencing link data and content gaps. Moz Pro remains relevant with a reputation for beginners and agencies in North America, though it sometimes lacks the breadth of advanced features. For those focused sharply on content workflows, platforms like Surfer SEO or Clearscope specialize in content optimization rather than full-site audits. Sistrix, SEOmonitor, and Serpstat also command loyalty in European and Eastern markets. The best alternative depends on what your agency or brand values: backlink tracking, keyword research, reporting, or pricing. At PrimaryPosition.com, the typical stack includes two or more of these tools used in tandem; rarely does one size fit every use case. The key is agile switching and not locking into just one data perspective—real insight comes from triangulation and adaptation.