Picking the right SEO tool could mean the difference between surging up the search engine results pages (SERPs) and increasing rankings or plummeting to pages where no one will see what you have to offer. Today we will showcase Semrush and MarketMuse, two of the top SEO tools, to see what they bring to the table in terms of features, pros and cons, and pricing.
Read: SEMRush vs Ahrefs SEO Tool Comparison
What is Semrush?
Up first in our SEO Tool comparison is Semrush, an SEO and digital marketing tool used by nearly half of the Fortune 500 companies and seven million-plus professionals worldwide. What makes Semrush so popular? It could be the fact that it offers so much under one roof, such as SEO analysis, competitive research, PPC advertising, social media marketing, content marketing, campaign management, and more. Despite its hefty price tag, which we will reveal in a bit, Semrush still snags customers willing to pay for its extensive features. Let us take a look at some of those now.
Semrush Features
While we do not have enough space to list every single feature under the Semrush umbrella, here are some of the highlights from this search engine optimization tool.
Interface
Those new to SEO tools may feel a bit taken aback by Semrush at first glance. It is not that the tool is poorly designed, but it instead puts a ton of features at your disposal. With a bit of practice, you will find that Semrush is very easy to use, and you can feel your way around the dashboard by simply putting your mouse cursor over its different features to learn what each can do.
From the intuitive dashboard, Semrush lets you input keywords for tracking, analyzing domains, viewing traffic, contact support, and more.
Competitive Research
Out of all of its features, competitive research may be Semrush’s top offering. One of the best ways to boost your rankings is to see what your competitors are doing and mimic them instead of wasting time reinventing the wheel. With Semrush, spying on competitors could not be easier. Use the Market Explorer to quickly find sites just like yours. Then dive deeper by seeing what your competitors are doing to generate traffic so you can do the same via search, social media, and referrals.
You can also pinpoint competitors by inputting keywords to generate a list of others in your arena and their top-ranked keywords. Instead of wasting time, Semrush will tell you which keywords you can rank for to gain a competitive edge.
Another way to get a leg up on your competition is through Semrush’s Topic Research feature. It generates comprehensive mindmaps according to whatever keywords you enter so you can see what your competitors have been producing on those specific topics. Beyond gaining that valuable insight, Topic Research will also make it easier to generate topics and headlines for your articles without having to brainstorm.
Position Tracking
Want to see where you stand? Semrush can help via its position tracking tool that offers a ranking analysis based on keywords. And if you do not like what you see, use the On-Page SEO Checker tool that will quickly analyze your content and tell you how to improve it to move up the SERPs.
Semrush also has a social media tracking tool to help you stand out from the crowd on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms.
Keyword Research
Semrush lets you input up to 100 keywords at a time to view trends and search volume. To avoid wasting your time with keywords that are nearly impossible to rank for, Semrush will pick the best of the bunch that you should focus on.
Other Semrush Features
While the features listed above are Semrush’s top offerings, the tool also excels in terms of:
- Content analysis
- Ad monitoring
- Social media
- Custom reporting
- Local SEO
Semrush Pricing
Semrush is priced in three tiers:
- Pro – $119.95 monthly
- Guru – $229.95 monthly
- Business – $449.95 monthly
Pro is geared toward those new to SEO, Guru is for consultants and growing agencies, and the Business plan is built for enterprises and large agencies.
Semrush Pros And Cons
Semrush is user-friendly, has excellent support, and offers a bevy of features like keyword research, site audit, PPC data, social media analysis, and more to help you generate a well-rounded SEO strategy.
Where it falls short is that it focuses solely on Google, so if you want to boost your rankings on other search engines, you will be out of luck. Some say Semrush is iffy on mobile devices, and its high starting price point may be out of reach for some budgets.
Want to learn even more about SEMRush? Read our SEMRush Review.
What is MarketMuse
MarketMuse is an SEO software tool that cloud-based and heavily focused on content. According to its creators, the tool was developed so users could easily execute the research, creation, and optimization of content with the help of AI. While creating an ideal piece of content could take 18 hours on your own, MarketMuse’s creators claim that their tool can help you churn out something even better in just eight hours or less.
MarketMuse Features
MarketMuse has many features to take your content and rankings to the next level. Here are the highlights.
Interface
MarketMuse is very easy to use, even for beginners who have never toyed with an SEO tool before. The lack of a learning curve is a plus for those who want to jump headfirst into SEO to boost their rankings without complication. Through the intuitive dashboard, you can connect to most of the following features.
Questions
Enter a keyword into the Questions tool, and you can instantly see what users want to know about a specific topic so you can create the content they want and need.
Compete
Content and market research are at your fingertips via the Compete feature. Enter a keyword, and you will not only see the top 20 Google articles for it, but you will also get user-friendly visuals to help you spot any content gaps you can fill.
Research
Enter a topic in the search bar under this feature, and you will see the top-ranked articles so you can tell what is hot and what you can mimic on your own site. MarketMuse’s Research tool makes pinpointing ideal keywords a breeze and even gives you variants that you can inject into your content to optimize it without looking spammy.
Optimize
Is your content all it can be in terms of SEO? You can find that out quickly by pasting it into the Optimize editor that will generate a score and suggestions on how to improve.
The Optimize feature makes it super simple to ensure all of your content is SEO-friendly to maximize your rankings. Whether you need a higher word count or more keywords, Optimize will let you know without guessing.
Connect
Internal and external linking is an essential part of any SEO strategy. The Connect feature simplifies linking by auditing your site and offering suggestions on the best internal and external links for each piece of content.
MarketMuse Pricing
MarketMuse offers pricing in three tiers:
- Free
- Standard – $7,200 annually
- Premium – $12,000 annually
Free allows for one user, 10 projects, and 15 monthly queries. Standard also allows for one user but unlimited projects, all features, and 100 monthly queries. Premium allows for 25 team members, all features, and unlimited projects and queries.
MarketMuse Pros And Cons
To say that MarketMuse makes it a breeze to produce SEO-friendly content is an understatement. With this tool, you will know what to write and how to write it to give customers what they want and gain an advantage over your competition.
Where does MarketMuse fall short? Unless the free plan fits your needs, you are looking at quite the hefty investment. And if the sticker shock does not get you, MarketMuse’s frustrating mobile performance and clunky data sharing might.
Want to learn even more about MarketMuse? Read our MarketMuse SEO Software Review.
Semrush vs. MarketMuse: The Final Verdict
Is Semrush or MarketMuse the better SEO tool? That depends on your needs. While Semrush is more of an SEO jack of all trades, MarketMuse is geared more towards content. Both are easy to use and full of high-quality features, but before investing a nice chunk of change in either, you will have to determine what you are truly looking for from an SEO tool.
Read more search engine optimization tutorials and SEO tool reviews.