How Accurate Is Semrush? (2024 Data)

I am an avid fan of Semrush because it has helped me revamp my SEO strategy, make my content crisp, and outrank my competitors.

But for someone new to the platform, a question may arise about the data accuracy of Semrush. Well, it’s a crucial element because data accuracy is a compass for your online strategy. Accurate SEO data ensures that all your efforts are in the right direction. It facilitates decision-making and leads to better online visibility and more website traffic.

So, how accurate is Semrush?

Let’s find out with a detailed analysis of its various features.

Semrush Data Accuracy – Quick Verdict

Semrush is quite accurate regarding the data it provides. Its internal algorithms, machine learning approach and extensive partnership with data providers ensure that the data is up-to-date and relevant. However, its overreliance on third-party providers means you don’t always have real-time data. Still, in any case, Semrush has always pointed me in the right direction when crafting effective digital marketing strategies.

Semrush – A Quick Overview?

Semrush is a premium, all-in-one SEO tool that helps you unlock a treasure trove of data. Think of it as a Swiss army knife for digital marketing that lets you conquer SERPs. We have also done a detailed review of Semrush for you to check out.

It packs enough features to give you unprecedented insights into your website’s SEO. It equips you with tools to optimize your website, outdo your rivals, boost online visibility, and reach new heights in SERP.

Its toolkit includes the following;

• Organic Research
• Keyword Research
• Link Building
• On-Page and Tech SEO
• Site Audits
• Local SEO
• Content Marketing
• Paid Advertising
• Social Media Marketing

And to offer you reliable insights, Semrush relies on massive databases that include billions of keywords and trillions of domains. The data that Semrush provides is too comprehensive, that’s why it’s crucial to ensure that it’s precise too. Otherwise, all your efforts to dominate search ranking will go in vain.

Let’s first learn about Semrush’s data collection methodologies.

Semrush Data Collection Methodologies?

Semrush has an extensive data reservoir, employing several methodologies to gather information related to organic, local, and social paid campaigns.

• Semrush manages its machine learning algorithms to acquire its data which is then analyzed for discrepancies and relevance before it’s presented to the users.
• Semrush has partnered with third-party data providers that collect data on popular keywords and top-ranking pages.
• Similarly, Semrush employs clickstream data providers for its website traffic analytics that record billions of events happening across the internet per month.
• Also, Semrush has its own web crawlers that continuously scan the internet and add new links to the backlinks database.

How Accurate is Semrush Data?

Let’s analyze different aspects of Semrush and see where they stand in terms of data accuracy;

Organic Search Data

Organic search data in Semrush is quite detailed. When you run a domain analysis, for example, Semrush returns a ton of data – you get an authority score, estimated traffic, total backlinks, ranking keywords, anchor text competitor’s domains, and more.

Semrush collects relevant details from about 500 million keywords to provide accurate keyword data. It even goes one step further and collects data from the top hundred website rankings in SERPs.

On top of that, Semrush employs several factors to calculate specific matrices to ensure kya accuracy. For example, to calculate its authority score, Semrush factors in site traffic estimates, total backlinks to the domain, and span factor.

To give you a context, Ahrefs, another elite SEO tool, calculates its domain rating score (equivalent matrix as Semrush’s authority score) purely based on backlinks pointing to the domain.

This makes Semrush’s authority score more precise than Ahrefs and boosts the overall data accuracy of Semrush too.

Semrush Keyword Difficulty

Keyword Difficulty directly correlates to efforts you must put in to rank in the SERPs. Therefore it is critical that KD is as accurate as it can be – this way, you can target the right keywords, better allocate resources, and effectively execute SEO strategies.

Semrush tries to make its keyword difficulty score as accurate as possible. Semrush first analyzes the quality (authority score, number of backlinks, etc.) of the top 10 ranking pages to calculate its KD score.

Next, it analyzes key characteristics of the keywords like their volume, total number of words, SERP Features, branded or not etc. And lastly, the keyword is tested for volatility and patterns in SERP. Incidentally, Semrush weighs in 100 parameters to analyze SERP patterns and comes up with an accurate keyword difficulty score.

Overall, Smerush’s KD score is quite accurate because it takes into account way more factors and parameters than any other tool.

Volume Data

Semrush uses sophisticated algorithms to come up with accurate keyword volume data. Semrush collects data from third-party data providers and then combines it with historical clickstream data. Then the resultant data is fed to a computational model powered by machine learning algorithms.

Besides, Semrush has recently boosted its keywords database size by 19%, which again assists it in coming up with accurate keyword volume data. On top of that, Semrush volume data is also found to be 32.39% closer to Google Search Console numbers compared to other SEO tools.

But the biggest advantage that Smerush has over other tools is its ultra-massive keyword database (22.3 billion). It ensures that Smerush consistently churns up accurate keyword volume information plus reveals significantly more keyword ideas than other tools. 

Backlinks Data Accuracy

SEO might have evolved, but backlinks still remain a solid ranking factor. Therefore, accurate backlinks analysis is crucial for any impactful SEO strategy. To gather and sort backlinks, Semrush employs its own web crawler.

But it’s the number of backlinks and the speed of the crawler that deserves mention. Semrush Backlinks crawler scans 25 billion links daily, adding new links to the database whenever it comes across any. Incidentally, the Semrush Backlinks database is updated each hour.

Likewise, Semrush refreshes the backlinks data it displays on the interface every 15 minutes. And if you count on the backlinks database for its accuracy, know that Smerush has 43 trillion URLs under its links database – one of the most comprehensive in the industry. This way, you always have the latest backlink data about your competitors.

Online Advertising and Paid Search Data Accuracy

Semrush stands out for its PPC and online advertising tools – you can extract tons of valuable data on PPC ads and paid keywords. I have found the paid traffic estimates of Semrush reasonably accurate. To give you an overview of paid traffic estimates, Semrush analyzes the average click-through rate and compares the position of a domain for the top 8 paid positions against a keyword. On top of that, the amount of paid ads data that Semrush provides also speaks about its reliability. Compared to similar tools, Semrush comes up with more matrices like CPC competition, distribution data, ads history and more.

Social Media Data Accuracy

One unique aspect of Semrush is that it offers a complete module to track and analyze social media campaigns. Similar tools either don’t have features like this or offer them in a minimal capacity.

To acquire social media data, Semrush relies on the public APIs of these networks. With the help of APIs, Semrush, gather information on hashtags, retweets, number of followers, likes, comments and more.

This data is then sorted and presented on the dashboard for tracking. Although Semrush provides a relatively clear picture of social media engagement, its reliance on public APIs could result in inaccurate data reporting.

How often does Semrush update its data?

Per the official website, Semrush heavily emphasizes data relevance and is committed to providing its users with the latest data. Semrush has developed proprietary algorithms optimized over the years to gather effectively and segment data.

Its keywords database is scheduled to refresh every month. This way, you always have up-to-date keyword ranking data according to their actual latest positions in SERP. Similarly, through its partnership with hundreds of clickstream data providers, Semrush records millions of events on the internet each day.

Likewise, Semrush crawlers scan billions of web pages for each data and add new backlinks to the database whenever they find any. Overall, Semrush data is updated on a regular basis and perfectly aligns with the actual status of SERPs.

Database Comparison – Semrush vs Ahrefs vs Moz vs SpyFu

Semrush is a giant regarding its database when compared to other SEO tools. It’s the strength of its humongous databases that enable Semrush to churn highly accurate data.

Here’s a comparison of Semrush with Ahrefs, Moz and Spy regarding their databases;

The above table displays the superiority of Semrush in terms of the comprehensiveness of SEO data. It ultimately translates to higher data accuracy and better insights about SEO and paid campaigns.

Here Are Few Semrush Showdowns:

Conclusion: Is Semrush Data Accurate?

In conclusion, Semrush comes out as a winner regarding data accuracy. Its traffic, volume and backlinks estimates are top-notch and very close to actual figures in GSC.

On top of that, regular updates ensure that users always get the latest figures on SEO matrices. Similarly, its use of the Neural network to reference different data sources, analyze patterns and present information in an easily digestible format also ensures top-notch data accuracy in Semrush.

The only caveat is Semrush’s reliance on third-party data providers. There’s always a slight chance of inaccuracies and data discrepancies, although Semrush tries to nullify it with its proprietary machine learning algorithms and neural network.

Therefore it’s prudent to take SEO estimates as a benchmark and not an absolute truth, validate the information from multiple sources and then draft the final SEO strategy.