Semrush

  • Semrush — Brand-Visibility OS (SEO + PPC + Content + AI/LLM Citations), Adobe-Owned Acquired-Kept, $117.33 Floor

    Semrush (2008 origin, Boston, NYSE:SEMR) was acquired by Adobe Apr 28 2026 for $1.9B all-cash, now an Adobe subsidiary inside Digital Experience/CX — per your Roam Around→Layla rule this is acquired-kept​ (brand survives, product sold at semrush.com, no shutdown/rebrand of the SKU, roadmap folded toward “Brand Visibility” + Adobe Brand Visibility/GEO partnership). Active 2026-08. Category ai-productivity-data; pipeline_stage none. Killer differentiator = largest proprietary index (28B keywords / 43T backlinks / 808M domains / 142 geo DBs) + Oct 2025 “Semrush One” bundles AI Visibility (ChatGPT/Gemini/Perplexity/Copilot/AI Overviews citation tracking) into the same login as Keyword Magic/Position Tracking/Site Audit/Backlink Analytics; not Ahrefs (backlink+keyword depth, weaker content/GEO/social), not Frase/Surfer (page-level content only, no competitive index), not HubSpot AI (CRM-native, no SERP intelligence), not Similarweb (traffic-estimate only, no publish/optimize loop). 2026 trap: Pro $139.95/mo ($117.33 annual) is a floor not a working price — real content+history+AI Visibility needs Guru $249.95 ($208.33), seats are +$45/$80/$100 each, add-ons (Local/Social/Content/Trends/Agency Kit) stack fast, Trustpilot 2.1 billing-cancel anger, AI drafts (ContentShake/SWA) still first-pass.

    1. One-line positioning

    Semrush = all-in-one brand-visibility platform: Keyword Magic (28B) → Keyword Gap / Domain Overview / Traffic Analytics (competitor intel) → Position Tracking (500/1,500/5,000 daily) + AI Overview citation tracking → Site Audit (100K/300K/1M pages/mo) → Backlink Analytics (43T index) → Content Marketing Toolkit (Topic Research → SEO Content Template → SEO Writing Assistant + ContentShake AI draft → Content Audit) → Semrush Copilot (cross-tool prioritized briefing) → Advertising (PPC spy) + Social (post/schedule/mention) + Local + AI Visibility Toolkit (prompt-level brand citation across 5 LLMs, 317M+ prompt DB) → My Reports with AI Narratives. Fits ai-productivity-data; pipeline_stage none (research→audit→track→draft→optimize→publish→monitor→AI-citation). For agencies / in-house SEO+content+PPC teams / mid-market competing on both Google and ChatGPT answers, it’s the data-depth default; for a solo blogger doing 1 site, SE Ranking/Mangools 5× cheaper.

    2. Core features

    Layer Capability Notes
    Keyword research Keyword Magic (28B, 142 geo), Keyword Overview, Gap, Strategy Builder (AI intent clustering) Best-in-class on G2
    Competitive intel Domain Overview, Traffic Analytics, Organic/Paid Gap, Top Pages, .Trends (add-on) 808M domain profiles
    Rank tracking Position Tracking 500/1,500/5,000 daily updates, AI Overview presence+citation rate, device/location Pro 1 target/site, Guru 10, Business ∞
    Technical Site Audit 100K/300K/1M pages/mo, prioritized by ML impact, Core Web Vitals, internal-link fixes
    Backlinks Backlink Analytics, Audit, Gap, Lost/New, Toxic score, 43T index
    Content Topic Research → SEO Content Template → SEO Writing Assistant (readability/SEO/originality/tone + AI rewrite/draft, Smart Writer Words meter) → ContentShake AI (full draft from brief) → Content Audit (GA/GSC decay) Content Toolkit Guru+ only
    Copilot Dashboard AI: crosses Position/Site Audit/Backlink/Competitor, surfaces “lost 12 positions + CWV drop + rival gained links” briefing Late-2024 launch, matured 2025
    AI Visibility (GEO) Brand mentions/citations across ChatGPT/Gemini/Perplexity/Copilot/AI Overviews, AI Share of Voice, prompt research, sentiment — in Semrush One (Starter $199) or AI Visibility add-on $99/mo Oct 2025 flagship
    Advertising PPC keyword/ads spy (Google/Meta), PLA, ad history
    Social Post creator/scheduler, brand mentions, influencer finder (Social $20/mo add-on or in One) Not a Hootsuite replacement for community
    Local GBP + directory sync + review (Local $30/mo add-on)
    Reporting My Reports, AI Narratives, white-label (Business+), Looker Studio, PDF schedules
    Extras MCP server (2026), API (Business+), 7-day trial Pro/Guru, add-ons: Trends $200, Agency Growth Kit $90, Lead Gen $90, Extra users $45/$80/$100

    3. Pricing (2026-08, USD)

    Two buying paths: SEO Classic​ (Pro/Guru/Business) or Semrush One​ (SEO + AI Visibility bundled).

    Plan Monthly Annual (eff/mo) Annual total Caps
    Free trial​ $0 / 7-day — — Pro/Guru full access, card required, auto-convert
    Pro​ (SEO Classic) $139.95​ $117.33​ $1,408 5 projects, 500 keywords, 100K pages audit, 10K results/report, 1 user (+$45/seat)
    Guru​ (SEO Classic) $249.95​ $208.33​ $2,499 15 projects, 1,500 kw, 300K pages, +Historical data +Content Toolkit, 3 users incl (+$80/seat)
    Business​ (SEO Classic) $499.95​ $416.66​ $4,999 40 projects, 5,000 kw, 1M pages, +API, Share of Voice, white-label, 5 users incl (+$100/seap)
    Semrush One Starter​ $199​ $165.17​ $1,982 SEO Classic Pro-level + AI Visibility (sample data, limited prompts)
    Semrush One Pro+​ $299​ $248.17​ $2,978 Guru-level + full AI Visibility, more prompts/brands
    Semrush One Advanced​ $549​ $455.67​ $5,468 Business-level + full AI Visibility
    Enterprise AIO / Enterprise SEO​ Custom Custom Custom SSO, custom crawl, prompt volumes, SLA

    Add-ons (stacked, not in base): AI Visibility $99/mo · Content $60 · Social $20 · Local $30 · Advertising $99 · AI PR $149 · Traffic & Market $289 · Trends $200 · Agency Growth Kit $90 · Extra users $45/$80/$100 · Lead Gen $90/1k credits.

    pricing_type = per-seat-project-metered-plus-addons; starting_price = $117.33 (Pro annual; monthly $139.95); free_tier = "no; 7-day trial Pro/Guru only, card required"; pricing_note = "apr-2026-adobe-acquired-1.9b-brand-kept-acquired-kept; oct-2025-semrush-one-bundled-ai-visibility-starter-199-proplus-299-advanced-549; guru-min-for-content-toolkit-historical; seats-45-80-100-each-stack-fast; addons-ai-visibility-99-content-60-social-20-local-30-trends-200-agencykit-90; annual-17-off-upfront; smart-writer-words-meter-on-swa-draft; mcp-server-2026; trustpilot-2.1-billing-cancel-complaints"

    4. Access Type

    access_type: web-dashboard-plus-mcp

    access_display: app.semrush.com · 🔌 GSC/GA/Looker Studio/WordPress/Google Docs add-on · 🤖 MCP server (2026) + Copilot in-console · 📱 mobile app (ranking/audit view)

    5. Reviews (2026)

    Source Score Signal
    G2 4.5/5 (3,434+) Keyword Magic/Site Audit/Copilot praised
    Capterra 4.6/5 (2,292+) Breadth, agency value; price dinged
    TrustRadius 8.6/10 B2B buyers positive
    Trustpilot 2.1/5​ Billing/auto-renew/cancel/refund anger, not feature gaps

     

    Praise: deepest keyword+backlink index at price, Copilot cross-tool synthesis saves 30 min/day, AI Visibility citation tracking is 2026-differentiated (few do ChatGPT/Gemini/Perplexity together), ContentShake+SWA decent first-draft, Site Audit ticket-quality fixes, 55+ tools one login replaces 4 subscriptions.

    Gripes: Pro $117 floor unusable for content (needs Guru $208), seats +$45–100 each silently double bill, add-on stack (Trends/Local/Social/Content) surprises, ContentShake drafts generic need expert pass, AI Narratives descriptive-not-diagnostic, Trustpilot billing-cancel rage, learning curve steep, Adobe acquisition may drift roadmap to enterprise CX, position-tracking keywords are total not monthly refill.

    6. Best for / Not for

    Best for Not for
    SEO agencies managing 10+ client sites (Guru+2 seats) Solo bloggers / hobby sites (SE Ranking/Mangools 5× cheaper)
    In-house content+SEO+PPC teams owning brand visibility on Google+LLMs Pure AI-copy buyers (Jasper/ChatGPT cheaper)
    Mid-market competing in AI Overviews/ChatGPT answers (Semrush One) Teams needing unified social inbox/community (Hootsuite/Sprout)
    Enterprises wanting keyword+backlink+technical+GEO in one procurement Beginners overwhelmed by 55 tools / no time to learn
    Ahrefs users wanting content+social+local+PPC in same login Budget LTD hunters (no lifetime)

    7. Competitors

    Tool Lane Starts
    Ahrefs Keyword+backlink depth, lighter content/GEO/social $129/mo
    SE Ranking Mid-market all-in-one, cheaper ~$59/mo
    Moz Pro Domain authority + moderate toolkit $99/mo
    SpyFu / Serpstat Budget keyword/PPC spy $39 / $59
    Similarweb Traffic-estimate/commercial intel Custom
    Frase / Surfer / Clearscope Page-level content optimization only $39–89
    HubSpot AI CRM-native marketing AI, no SERP index $0 + Pro $890
    BrightEdge / Conductor Enterprise SEO+GEO, sales-led Custom

     

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