semrush-research

name	semrush-research
description	SEO and competitive intelligence via the SemRush API. Use when asked to research competitors, analyze domains, find keyword opportunities, check backlinks, or estimate traffic. Trigger phrases: "competitor analysis", "domain overview", "keyword research", "backlink check", "traffic estimate", "SEO intelligence", "semrush", "competitive research".

SemRush Research

Pull live SEO and competitive intelligence data from the SemRush API.

Prerequisites

Requires SEMRUSH_API_KEY set in .env, .env.local, or ~/.claude/.env.global.

# Verify the key is available
echo "SEMRUSH_API_KEY is ${SEMRUSH_API_KEY:+set}"

If the key is not set, instruct the user:

You need a SemRush API key. Get one at https://www.semrush.com/api/ Then add SEMRUSH_API_KEY=your_key to your .env file.

API Base

All requests go to https://api.semrush.com/ with the API key passed as &key={SEMRUSH_API_KEY}.

Responses are semicolon-delimited CSV. The first line is the header row. Parse accordingly.

---

1. Domain Overview

Get a high-level snapshot of any domain's organic and paid search performance.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_ranks&key={KEY}&export_columns=Dn,Rk,Or,Ot,Oc,Ad,At,Ac&domain={domain}

Export Columns

Column	Meaning
Dn	Domain
Rk	SemRush Rank
Or	Organic keywords count
Ot	Organic traffic estimate
Oc	Organic traffic cost ($)
Ad	Paid keywords count
At	Paid traffic estimate
Ac	Paid traffic cost ($)

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_ranks&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&export_columns=Dn,Rk,Or,Ot,Oc,Ad,At,Ac&domain=example.com"

Parsing the Response

# Response format (semicolon-delimited):
# Dn;Rk;Or;Ot;Oc;Ad;At;Ac
# example.com;12345;8234;145000;234500;120;3400;5600

# Parse with awk
curl -s "..." | awk -F';' 'NR==2 {
  printf "Domain: %s\nSemRush Rank: %s\nOrganic Keywords: %s\nOrganic Traffic: %s\nOrganic Traffic Cost: $%s\nPaid Keywords: %s\nPaid Traffic: %s\nPaid Traffic Cost: $%s\n",
  $1,$2,$3,$4,$5,$6,$7,$8
}'

---

2. Keyword Overview

Get search volume, CPC, competition, and SERP features for a keyword.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=phrase_all&key={KEY}&phrase={keyword}&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Nq,Cp,Co,Nr,Td

Export Columns

Column	Meaning
Ph	Keyword phrase
Nq	Search volume (monthly)
Cp	CPC (USD)
Co	Competition (0-1)
Nr	Number of results
Td	Trend (12 months, comma-separated)

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=phrase_all&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&phrase=content+marketing&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Nq,Cp,Co,Nr,Td"

Supported Databases

Use &database=XX where XX is: us, uk, ca, au, de, fr, es, it, br, in, jp.

---

3. Related Keywords

Find semantically related keywords for content planning and gap analysis.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=phrase_related&key={KEY}&phrase={keyword}&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Nq,Cp,Co,Nr,Td&display_limit=20

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=phrase_related&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&phrase=project+management&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Nq,Cp,Co,Nr,Td&display_limit=20"

Parsing Multiple Rows

curl -s "..." | awk -F';' 'NR>1 { printf "%-40s Vol: %-8s CPC: $%-6s Comp: %s\n", $1, $2, $3, $4 }'

---

4. Keyword Difficulty

Estimate how hard it is to rank for a keyword.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=phrase_kdi&key={KEY}&phrase={keyword}&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Kd

Column	Meaning
Ph	Keyword
Kd	Keyword difficulty (0-100)

Interpretation:

• 0-29: Easy - achievable with quality content
• 30-49: Moderate - needs solid content + some backlinks
• 50-69: Hard - needs strong domain authority + backlinks
• 70-84: Very hard - requires established authority
• 85-100: Extremely hard - dominated by top-tier domains

---

5. Domain Organic Keywords

See which keywords a domain ranks for organically.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_organic&key={KEY}&domain={domain}&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Po,Nq,Cp,Url,Tr,Tc&display_limit=50&display_sort=tr_desc

Column	Meaning
Ph	Keyword
Po	Position
Nq	Search volume
Cp	CPC
Url	Ranking URL
Tr	Traffic (%)
Tc	Traffic cost

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_organic&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&domain=hubspot.com&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Po,Nq,Cp,Url,Tr,Tc&display_limit=20&display_sort=tr_desc"

---

6. Backlink Overview

Get a summary of a domain's backlink profile.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/analytics/v1/?key={KEY}&type=backlinks_overview&target={domain}&target_type=root_domain&export_columns=total,domains_num,urls_num,ips_num,follows_num,nofollows_num,texts_num,images_num

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/analytics/v1/?key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&type=backlinks_overview&target=example.com&target_type=root_domain&export_columns=total,domains_num,urls_num,ips_num,follows_num,nofollows_num,texts_num,images_num"

---

7. Competitor Discovery

Find domains competing for the same organic keywords.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_organic_organic&key={KEY}&domain={domain}&database=us&export_columns=Dn,Cr,Np,Or,Ot,Oc,Ad&display_limit=10

Column	Meaning
Dn	Competitor domain
Cr	Competition level
Np	Common keywords
Or	Organic keywords
Ot	Organic traffic
Oc	Organic traffic cost
Ad	Paid keywords

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_organic_organic&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&domain=notion.so&database=us&export_columns=Dn,Cr,Np,Or,Ot,Oc,Ad&display_limit=10"

---

8. Traffic Analytics (Estimates)

Estimate a domain's overall traffic sources and engagement.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/analytics/ta/api/v3/summary?key={KEY}&targets={domain}&display_date=2024-01-01&country=us&export_columns=target,visits,users,bounce_rate,pages_per_visit,avg_visit_duration

---

Workflow: Full Competitive Analysis

When the user asks for a full competitive analysis, run these steps in order:

1. Domain Overview - Get the target domain's metrics
2. Competitor Discovery - Find top 5-10 competitors
3. Domain Overview for each competitor - Compare metrics
4. Top Keywords for each domain - Find keyword gaps
5. Backlink Overview for each domain - Compare link profiles

Output Format

Present results as a comparison table:

| Metric              | target.com | competitor1.com | competitor2.com |
|---------------------|-----------|-----------------|-----------------|
| SemRush Rank        | ...       | ...             | ...             |
| Organic Keywords    | ...       | ...             | ...             |
| Organic Traffic     | ...       | ...             | ...             |
| Traffic Cost        | ...       | ...             | ...             |
| Backlinks           | ...       | ...             | ...             |
| Referring Domains   | ...       | ...             | ...             |

Then highlight:

• Keyword gaps: Keywords competitors rank for but target does not
• Quick wins: Keywords where target ranks positions 5-20 (improvement opportunities)
• Content gaps: Topics competitors cover but target does not
• Backlink opportunities: Sites linking to competitors but not target

Rate Limits and Costs

• Each API call costs API units (check your plan)
• Use &display_limit= to control result count (default varies by endpoint)
• Cache results locally when doing multi-step analysis to avoid redundant calls
• Domain overview calls are cheapest; backlink and traffic analytics cost more

Error Handling

Error	Meaning
ERROR 50 :: NOTHING FOUND	No data for this query
ERROR 120 :: WRONG KEY	Invalid API key
ERROR 130 :: LIMIT EXCEEDED	API unit limit reached
Empty response	Usually means no data available for the query parameters

When you get "NOTHING FOUND", try:

• Different database (e.g., uk instead of us)
• Root domain instead of subdomain
• Broader keyword phrase