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SEO & Analytics

Semrush

Keyword, competitor and ad research with a bigger toolbox and a bigger bill.

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What is it?

Semrush does everything Ahrefs does and adds paid search research, social scheduling, content writing tools and local listings. If you want to see which Google Ads keywords a competitor is bidding on, this is the one.

Performance marketers tend to use it for the advertising research and keyword gap reports, then live in Ahrefs for links. It also has an official connection for Claude on its paid plans.

The sheer number of tools makes it cluttered, and every extra seat costs. Pick it if you need the ads research; otherwise Ahrefs is simpler.

Who it's for

Agencies and marketers who do both search ads and SEO and want one subscription for both.

Best for

  • Competitor Google Ads research
  • Keyword gap reports
  • Content briefs
  • Local listings management

Why it made the list

Nobody else combines organic and paid search competitor research this thoroughly.

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