What is SEMrush? – A Hands-On Review

Let’s explore what makes SEMrush such an amazing SEO tool and a favorite among millions of users.

SEMrush makes it really easy to find what keyword your site (or any other site) is ranking for. In short, it makes keyword research a piece of cake.

Once you are done doing your keyword research, you can add in keywords and track their positions in all major search engines based on geographical location.

I emphasize the geographical location feature as it’s important for those who target specific countries like Spain, the U.K, Australia, India, the U.S., etc. For a global blogger, you can also use this feature to see how your site ranks in specific countries’ search engines.

It is an essential SEM (search engine marketing) tool that I believe every serious blogger and internet marketer should have in their SEO tool arsenal.

SEMrush is a product from the maker of SEOQuake, a popular SEO addon for Firefox.

At the time of this writing, SEMrush has:

• more than 130,000,000 domains and
• more than 800,000,000 keywords in their database.

SEMrush will allow you to find all of the keywords for which any existing web page on the internet is ranking. You can also find more statistical details regarding specific keywords and related keywords which you can rank for.

Sound a little confusing?

Here is a screenshot which will justify my statement that SEMrush is essential for all bloggers and serious internet marketers:

Let me walk you through the process…

• Note: You can use it for any site. Serious internet marketers are encouraged to try it with their competitors’ sites.

Let me explain a few of the fields on this report page…

• Keyword: The keyword for that specific ranked page.
• Pos: The keyword’s position in the specified search engine. In this example, I have selected Google’s US database (default), but you can change it to other locations and search engines too. You can also use the Free Keyword Monitor for verification.
• Volume: Number of exact match queries for that keyword in the local search. In this example, I have once again used Google’s US database. (This data was taken using the Google Keyword planner tool which I have also verified the accuracy of myself.)
• CPC: Average cost per click for the keyword.
• URL: Corresponding URL to which that keyword is driving traffic.
• Com: This shows the competition of advertisers for that keyword. A lower number means little competition and a higher number means greater competition for that term. (How can a search engine marketing tool be complete without a competition check?)
• Results: Number of search engine results.  (A lower number here is better.)
• Trend: This is one column which I find very interesting. In order to find profitable keywords, we need to make sure the traffic trend for that keyword is not dying. This column pulls up the search trend for that keyword over the last 12 months.

In addition to all of the information resulting from our search, there are two columns that, as a blogger, interest me the most.

It’s here that you will find the top 200 organic keywords for that domain and also receive a detailed backlink report for any domain along with the link’s anchor text.

For me, the most interesting factor here is the ability to find the top keywords driving traffic to any domain. For a serious marketer or company, knowing a top competitor’s keywords is the holy grail.

SEMRush features: A complete walkthrough

As I mentioned earlier, SEMRush is full of features and to make it easier for you to navigate, below I’m sharing about major features of SEMRush that you should know of.

Keyword Magic tool:

Apart from the Keyword research technique, I shared above, you can always use the conventional way of researching keywords using SEMRush keyword magic tool.

You will quickly get metrics like search volume, keyword difficulty, competitive density, SERP features, cost-per-click data. Do try the related feature of Keyword magic tool, which helps you discover keywords that you might have missed otherwise.

Once you have selected the keywords you want to work with, you can then move these keywords to Keyword analyzer tool. The automatic grouping and seed keyword feature will help you group the cluster of keywords that you picked in stage 1.

Do pay attention to click potential column, as it helps you to understand how many clicks you can expect for your target keyword after ranking for #1. This step saves a lot of overhead as you move ahead with content production.

Site audit: 

This is another popular feature of SEMRush which is idle for your own sites or if you are an SEO agency, you can run and create a white label report for your clients. For improving the technical SEO of your website, a single site audit could potentially reveal a plethora of SEO changes you could make on the target site to improve the rank significantly.

You have the option to run an SEO site audit for desktop or for mobile separately.  Every report can be exported in .pdf or excel format for your SEO team to take action on.

Position tracking mobile app:

SEMRush also has a mobile app which will let you view your keyword position from the comfort of your mobile app. This is another feature which I haven’t found in any other SEO suite yet.

The app is currently available for Android and iOS version coming out soon.

So back to the original question:

• “Should I start using SEMrush?”

My answer:

• YES!!!

Why should you start using the SEMrush tool right away?

As bloggers, we work day and night to write posts hoping to increase the amount of traffic coming into our blog. But we often don’t focus enough on how we’re generating that traffic. If you check your analytics, you will realize that only a couple of your blog posts are contributing all of the traffic to your blog.

But when using the SEMrush SEO tool, you can find keywords which are driving traffic to your competitor’s website and you can write quality content based around those keywords. This will help you get a better position for certain target keywords in your niche.

If you want to try it out and see how well it can work for you, they offer a free 14-day trial.

SEMRush pricing: Which SEMrush plan is best for you?

SEMRush offers multiple plans for the different use cases, and you could pick the one you would like to get started with.

1. Pro plan
2. Guru plan
3. Business plan
4. Enterprise plan

SEMrush works best with the PRO account if you are an individual (as you will get a complete report), but for a beginnerwho is new to search engine marketing (SEM) research, you can always start with the free trial.

For Agencies, the Guru plan offers all bells and whistles like Branded PDF reports. 

Once you are accustomed to its various features, you can upgrade to the PRO account to get a complete, detailed analysis of any website (like yours and your competitor’s).

Sign up here: Free SEMrush trial account

 Note: You can anytime upgrade or downgrade a plan.

I hope this SEMrush review has helped you to understand the benefit of this awesome search engine marketing tool. Always remember, SEMrush (or any other SEM tool) is useful for research and analysis, but at the end of the day, it’s your hard, smart, and quality work which ultimately puts you at the top.

Apple TV Plus, the new video streaming service from Apple, launched in 2019 with a strong (but small) lineup of star-studded shows.

Apple certainly put the hard work in before its streaming service launched. It brought on board some of the best writers, actors and directors in Hollywood, including Steven Spielberg and Jennifer Aniston, to create new TV shows. Although some have fallen a little short on expectations and failed to rake in the viewers, like Jason Momoa’s See, others have landed well, like Aniston’s The Morning Show.

With this focus on new and original content, it certainly seems like Apple TV Plus could give Netflix a run for its money – a service that has a good back catalogue of movies and TV shows but really shines with its Originals.

So, how does the Apple TV Plus streaming service differ from Netflix? And could it truly pose a threat to the most popular streaming platform in the world? Read on for our take on Apple’s first foray into the world of TV and movie streaming.RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU…CLOSENew Dead Space Gameplay | Totally Rated Clip

Apple TV Plus vs Netflix: overview 

Aside from being the most popular streaming service in the world, Netflix has become something of a cultural icon, even inspiring its own lexicon – we all know what it means to ‘Netflix and chill’ (if you don’t, ask an appropriate adult), and most people have been on an uncontrollable ‘Netflix binge’.

With a wide-reaching mix of original and licensed shows and movies, Netflix’s huge variety of content, as well as its ease of use, has given birth to the cult of binge-watching.

Apple, on the other hand, will have some way to go if it’s to unseat Netflix from its throne with Apple TV Plus, its new ad-free subscription service.

However, with a host of exclusive programs with some very famous faces attached, Apple could potentially rival Netflix’s Originals – if it can match Netflix’s prodigious output that is. 

Apple has promised it will release “new additions every month”, but it hasn’t confirmed how much new content will be coming each month. Given the rather small lineup so far, we expect we may only see handful arrive each month. But that could all change in 2020.

Apple TV Plus vs Netflix: pricing

Apple TV Plus costs $4.99 per month / £4.99 ( AU$7), vastly undercutting Netflix – and a subscription can be shared by up to six family members.

What’s more, a one-year subscription to the service will come free with new iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs.

Having recently upped its prices, the cheapest Netflix plan is currently $9 / £5.99 / AU$9.99, while its HD Standard plan (the most popular) costs $13 / £7.99 / AU$13.99. For fans of Ultra HD streaming, the 4K Premium plan is available for $16 / £9.99 / AU$17.99. So both pretty competitive, but a little more than the Disney Plus price.

Apple TV Plus vs Netflix: availability

Apple TV Plus is merged with the new and improved Apple TV app, which in turn is coming to a wide range of smart TVs in May, as well as to set-top boxes and streaming sticks from rival companies like Roku and Amazon.

The Apple TV app is also available on a number of smart TVs – in ranges by Samsung, Sony, LG, and Vizio – in addition to Apple’s own set-top box and streaming player, the Apple TV.

This means Apple TV Plus isn’t restricted to Apple TV devices – and moving the app onto rival devices is a risky move by Apple, as it could reduce the number of consumers buying into Apple TV hardware. We’re wondering if Apple is looking to phase out this hardware in order to focus on the improved Apple TV app.Advertisement

You can also access it on iOS and Mac products, too – though not their Android or Windows equivalents (for now).

Given those restrictions so far, it’s difficult to see how it could prove a true rival to Netflix, which is available on a wider range of devices and operating systems.

Netflix is available to use on a huge range of devices, which will also synchronize with each other – this means you can start watching a show on your desktop browser, pause it, and pick up in the exact same place when logging back in on your big-screen TV. 

Depending on which subscription package you opt for, you can watch Netflix on up to four screens at one time. 

As well as your computer, gaming console, and built-in TV applications there are Android and iOS apps, as well as a whole suite of set-top streaming boxes that will give you access to Netflix’s video library.

Apple TV Plus vs Netflix: features and user interface

One of the best things about Netflix is how it tailors its content to you, with its recommendation algorithm learning your preferences as you watch. As a result, it’s then able to adjust how content is positioned on your home screen, recommending shows and movies you may like based on your watching habits.

Another reason for Netflix’s popularity is its intuitive user interface, which makes it easy to navigate shows and films you’ve saved to your ‘list’, as well as making it easy to search by genre, director, actor and more. 

The redesigned Apple TV app looks rather attractive and means Apple TV Plus works in a similar way to Netflix. 

Apple TV Plus essentially functions as a subset of this app, with a rolling banner on the Watch Now tab, beneath the rows for ‘Up Next’ and ‘What to Watch’. 

It certainly takes pride of place compared to the other media showcased on the platform – of course, Apple would rather you watch its own shows than the stuff it’s licensing – though we’d rather there was a dedicated tab at the top of the app for easy navigation. 

At the top of the screen there are categories like ‘Movies’ and ‘Sports’, where you can choose where you get your content, from a variety of ‘Apple Channels’.

You may want to watch drama shows via Hulu and get sports from your cable provider – these are part of Apple’s ‘Channels’, which exist separately from Apple TV Plus (i.e. you’ll need to buy a subscription to each provider or platform should you want to watch its content).

On the technological side of things, Netflix’s dynamically-scaling streams mean you don’t need to choose the quality level you want to watch at. If your bandwidth is low it will deliver just the standard definition versions, but if you’ve got the hardware and the capacity it will go all the way up to 4K Ultra HD resolutions if available.

Apple supports both 4K and HDR streaming, and helpfully lists that information on each show page – unlike Netflix, which waits until you’re watching an episode to tell you.

Beyond higher resolutions, Netflix also allows you to download selected shows and movies for offline viewing. Downloads stay in your library for 30 days at a time, and will automatically expire at that time – even if it’s on a device that isn’t connected to the internet. 

Apple TV Plus vs Netflix: content

Netflix has a huge range of exclusives, originals and classics to get stuck into, and is fast becoming a respected distributor of original movies and TV series, with Netflix Original Roma taking the award for Best Cinematography, Best Director, and Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in 2019 and The Irishman being nominated for even more in early 2020 awards season.

The best-known Netflix Originals series include Orange Is The New Black, Bojack Horseman, Stranger Things, Daredevil, Maniac, and House of Cards. But there are lots of new ones too, like Lost in Space and The Witcher.Advertisement

It’s these shows that Apple wants to rival with its own original programming through Apple TV Plus.

Notable titles include The Morning Show, Jason Momoa epic See, Sesame Street spin-off Helpsters, teen fantasy Ghostwriters, Hailee Steinfeld’s Emily Dickinson biopic, and NASA drama For All Mankind. There’s enough to flick through in a few evenings, but if only one of these shows takes your fancy, there’s not much else keeping your subscribed past the seven-day free trial.

Suffice to say that it’s a small launch offering, with Apple having focused in on a few titles rather than seek to get breadth of content while compromising on quality across the board. 

While these shows may sound great, it doesn’t look like Apple will be able to match the sheer volume of content on offer from Netflix at launch – and there’s a big, gaping film-shaped hole in the new streaming service. However, if Apple does release new content every month as it says it will, and gets some original or syndicated movies onto the platform, it could soon catch up.

Of course, it’s not only about original content; a huge part of Netflix’s success rides on the enormous variety of syndicated content it puts out, ranging from gritty thrillers like Breaking Bad to an extensive range of kids shows and movies. 

Apple TV Plus, on the other hand, won’t offer any licensed content at all. For now, you’ll still have to buy those shows a la carte through iTunes or via your terrestrial cable app in Apple TV Channels. 

Takeaway

Right now, Apple TV Plus doesn’t pose a real threat to Netflix. It lacks the syndicated content and (for now) has a sparse programming roster. Although this good change as more and more content is added to Apple Plus, it probably won’t be catching up any time soon. 

However, in the long-term Apple TV Plus could prove a problem for Netflix in terms of quality; Apple has a strong lineup of famous creatives behind its original programming, and a real focus on high-quality content.

Of course Netflix also puts an emphasis on quality, as its Oscar success with Roma shows, but we all know there are also some truly terrible films and shows on the platform, and we doubt Apple will want to follow suit in that respect. 

The cost is a huge point of differentiation between Apple TV Plus and Netflix, with Apple undercutting Netflix by nearly $4. But that would make sense given the lack of content available on Apple TV Plus in comparison.

It may still be early days for Apple TV Plus, but right now Netflix rules supreme. The usual Apple strategy, of bringing out the best version of a product after it’s had a chance to study the market and iterate in a stylish way, hasn’t quite translated to its content offering here, and it’s hard to recommend the service on the basis of any individual shows.