How Search Navigators Develops Winning SEO Strategies with SEMrush

Every business that wants to grow online needs more than just a website — it needs a strategy built on real data, not guesswork. At Search Navigators, our technical SEO engineers rely on SEMrush as a central part of our toolkit to research, plan, execute, and measure SEO campaigns that deliver measurable growth. Having worked with businesses across industries like legal, real estate, retail, and healthcare, we’ve refined a process that consistently turns raw data into ranking improvements our clients can see in their traffic and revenue.

This page walks you through exactly how our team uses SEMrush to develop SEO strategies that help businesses gain visibility, attract qualified traffic, and outperform competitors in organic search.

Why Does SEMrush Matter for SEO Strategy Development?

Building an effective SEO strategy without reliable data is like navigating without a map. SEMrush gives our engineers the ability to see exactly what’s happening with your website, your competitors, and your target market — all in real time. Instead of relying on surface-level metrics, we dig into granular data points that reveal where real opportunities exist.

Here’s what makes SEMrush an essential part of our process:

• It consolidates keyword data, technical health metrics, and competitive intelligence into one platform
• It tracks ranking positions daily across devices, locations, and search engines — including newer channels like Google AI Mode
• It identifies technical issues that silently hold websites back from ranking
• It provides historical data, so we can spot trends and make proactive decisions rather than reactive ones

When our team sits down to map out your SEO roadmap, SEMrush is one of the first tools we open — and one of the last we close. It’s not uncommon for a single audit to uncover 200+ technical issues that a business had no idea were holding them back.

How Do Search Navigators Engineers Use SEMrush to Build SEO Strategies?

Our approach isn’t about running a quick scan and handing you a generic report. We use SEMrush across every stage of the SEO process — from the initial discovery call to ongoing monthly optimization. Below is a breakdown of how our technical SEO engineers put this platform to work for every client.

1. Comprehensive Technical Site Audits

Before we write a single piece of content or build a single link, we need to know exactly what shape your website is in. SEMrush’s Site Audit tool crawls your entire website and identifies technical issues that could be preventing search engines from properly indexing and ranking your pages.

Our engineers use this tool to uncover:

• Crawlability problems — broken links, redirect chains, and orphan pages that search engines struggle to find
• Indexing issues — pages blocked by robots.txt, incorrect canonical tags, or duplicate content
• Site speed bottlenecks — slow-loading pages that hurt both user experience and rankings
• Mobile usability gaps — elements that don’t render properly on smartphones and tablets
• Security vulnerabilities — mixed content warnings, missing HTTPS implementation, and expired certificates
• Structured data errors — schema markup issues that prevent your pages from earning rich results in search

Once the audit is complete, we prioritize every issue by severity and business impact. Critical errors that directly affect your rankings get addressed first, followed by warnings and recommendations that improve overall site health over time.

2. Strategic Keyword Research and Opportunity Mapping

Keyword research is where strategy really starts to take shape. Our team uses SEMrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and Keyword Gap analysis to identify exactly which search terms your business should be targeting — and which ones your competitors are already winning.

This isn’t just about finding high-volume keywords. We look at:

• Search intent alignment — understanding whether users are looking for information, comparing options, or ready to buy
• Keyword difficulty scores — evaluating how competitive a keyword is and whether your site can realistically rank for it
• Long-tail opportunities — discovering specific, lower-competition phrases that attract highly qualified traffic
• Trending topics — identifying rising search queries in your industry before competitors catch on
• Content gaps — finding topics your competitors rank for that you haven’t covered yet

The result is a prioritized keyword map that guides everything from page creation and content planning to on-page optimization and internal linking. We’ve seen clients unlock entire content verticals they hadn’t considered — simply because the data pointed to demand they weren’t aware of.

3. Competitive Intelligence and Market Analysis

Understanding your competitors isn’t about copying what they do — it’s about finding where they’re vulnerable and where you can do better. SEMrush’s competitive analysis tools allow our engineers to benchmark your website against your top organic rivals.

We analyze:

• Which keywords your competitors rank for that you don’t
• Where their backlinks come from and which of those sources you could also earn links from
• How their content is structured and what topics generate the most engagement for them
• Which of their pages drive the most organic traffic — and what you can learn from that
• Seasonal trends in their performance that might reveal timing opportunities for your campaigns

This intelligence feeds directly into your strategy. It’s one thing to guess what your competitors are doing — it’s another to see their top traffic pages, their strongest backlinks, and the exact keywords they rank for. That’s the level of clarity SEMrush gives us, and it’s what allows our team to build smarter campaigns from the start.

4. Position Tracking and Rank Monitoring

Rankings fluctuate — that’s normal. What matters is whether you’re trending in the right direction over time. SEMrush’s Position Tracking tool gives our team daily visibility into where your website ranks for every target keyword, segmented by device type, geographic location, and search engine.

Here’s what we monitor on an ongoing basis:

• Daily rank changes — spotting shifts early so we can respond before they become larger problems
• Visibility percentage — a weighted metric that accounts for click-through rates and position, giving us a clearer picture than raw ranking numbers alone
• Local vs. national performance — understanding how your business performs in specific cities or regions compared to broader searches
• Competitor movement — tracking when competitors gain or lose positions on the same keywords you’re targeting
• Featured snippet tracking — identifying opportunities where your content could earn the top position in search results

Our team reviews this data weekly and uses it to fine-tune your strategy. If a keyword starts slipping, we investigate and act on it quickly. If a new opportunity appears, we adjust the plan to capture it.

5. Backlink Analysis and Link Building Strategy

Backlinks remain one of the most influential ranking factors. SEMrush’s Backlink Analytics and Backlink Audit tools help our engineers evaluate the strength and quality of your backlink profile — and develop a plan to grow it strategically.

We use these tools to:

• Assess your current backlink profile for toxic or low-quality links that could trigger penalties
• Identify your competitors’ best backlink sources and determine which are worth pursuing
• Discover new link building opportunities through broken link analysis and unlinked brand mentions
• Track new and lost backlinks over time to measure the impact of outreach efforts
• Monitor your domain authority trend and compare it against competitors

Link building at Search Navigators is always white-hat. We don’t buy links or use private blog networks — we earn placements from relevant, authoritative sources that genuinely strengthen your site’s reputation and long-term ranking potential.

6. Content Optimization and Topic Research

Great content doesn’t happen by accident. SEMrush’s Content Marketing toolkit — including the SEO Content Template and SEO Writing Assistant — helps our team create pages that are optimized for both search engines and real readers.

Here’s how we use these features:

• Generating content briefs based on what’s currently ranking for your target keywords
• Analyzing the structure, length, and readability of top-performing pages in your niche
• Identifying semantically related keywords to include naturally throughout the content
• Checking content scores in real time to ensure each page meets on-page SEO benchmarks before publishing
• Refreshing existing content based on updated keyword data and ranking performance

This data-informed approach to content means every page we publish or optimize has a clear purpose and a measurable target.

7. Reporting, Insights, and Data-Driven Decisions

Transparency matters. You should always know what’s being done, why it’s being done, and what results it’s producing. SEMrush’s reporting features allow our team to build clear, customized reports that show exactly how your SEO campaign is performing.

Our monthly reports typically include:

• Keyword ranking progress across all tracked terms
• Organic traffic trends and changes in visibility
• Technical health score improvements from resolved audit issues
• Backlink profile growth and quality metrics
• Competitor benchmarking data to show how you’re gaining ground
• Actionable next steps for the coming month

Your dedicated account manager walks through every report with you, explains what the numbers actually mean, and answers your questions directly. We’ve found that clients who understand their own data make better business decisions — so we make transparency a priority, not an afterthought.

Which SEMrush Tools Do Search Navigators Use for SEO Strategy?

Our engineers use a broad range of SEMrush tools depending on the phase of your campaign. Here’s a quick overview of the key tools and how each one fits into the process.

How Does SEMrush-Powered SEO Compare to Traditional Manual SEO?

Many businesses still approach SEO with manual processes and fragmented tools. While that can work to a degree, there’s a significant difference when a professional team leverages a platform like SEMrush. Here’s a side-by-side look at the impact.

What Does the SEO Strategy Development Process Look Like at Search Navigators?

We believe in a structured, repeatable process that still leaves room for the kind of creative thinking and expert judgment that drives real results. Here’s how a typical engagement unfolds when we use SEMrush to build your strategy.

Phase 1 — Discovery and Baseline Assessment

Everything starts with understanding your business. We learn about your goals, your audience, your competitors, and any previous SEO work that’s been done. At the same time, we run a full SEMrush Site Audit and pull baseline data on your current keyword rankings, backlink profile, and organic traffic levels.

This gives us a clear picture of where you stand today — and where the biggest opportunities lie.

Phase 2 — Research and Strategy Design

With your baseline in hand, our engineers dive into keyword research, competitor analysis, and content gap identification using SEMrush’s suite of tools. We map out a prioritized action plan that covers technical fixes, content opportunities, link building targets, and on-page optimizations.

This strategy is tailored specifically to your business — not pulled from a template.

Phase 3 — Execution and Implementation

Our team gets to work implementing the strategy. Technical fixes are rolled out first to make sure your website is in the best possible shape for search engines. Content is then created or optimized, internal linking structures are improved, and outreach for backlinks begins.

Throughout this phase, we use SEMrush to track progress and ensure every change is having the intended effect.

Phase 4 — Monitoring, Optimization, and Growth

SEO isn’t a one-time project. Once the initial strategy is in place, we shift into ongoing monitoring and optimization. SEMrush’s Position Tracking and Site Audit tools run continuously, alerting us to new opportunities or emerging issues.

We adjust your strategy month over month based on what the data tells us — not what we assume. In our experience, the businesses that see compounding SEO growth are the ones that commit to this iterative process rather than treating SEO as a one-and-done task.

What Are the Key Benefits of SEMrush for SEO Strategy?

Who Benefits Most from SEMrush-Driven SEO?

While nearly every business can benefit from a well-executed SEO strategy, SEMrush-driven SEO is especially impactful for:

• Small and mid-sized businesses looking to compete with larger competitors by finding untapped keyword opportunities and building visibility in specific markets
• E-commerce stores that need to optimize hundreds or thousands of product pages, manage technical SEO at scale, and track rankings across a wide keyword set
• Service-based businesses that rely on local search visibility and want to ensure they appear when potential customers search for services in their area
• Franchises and multi-location businesses that need position tracking segmented by location and a strategy that accounts for regional differences in search behavior
• Businesses recovering from penalties or past SEO mistakes that need a thorough backlink audit and a clean, strategic path forward

At Search Navigators, we’ve worked with businesses across a range of industries — from legal and real estate to retail and healthcare — and SEMrush has been a consistent part of the results we’ve achieved for them.

Frequently Asked Questions About SEMrush and SEO Strategy

How does SEMrush help improve my website’s search engine rankings?

SEMrush provides detailed data on keyword opportunities, technical issues, competitor strategies, and backlink profiles. Our engineers at Search Navigators use this data to build a strategy that targets the most impactful areas for your website. By addressing technical problems, optimizing content for the right keywords, and building a stronger backlink profile, we systematically improve your site’s ability to rank higher in organic search results.

Is SEMrush the only tool Search Navigators uses for SEO?

No. While SEMrush is a core part of our workflow, we also use Google Search Console, Google Analytics 4, and other specialized tools depending on the needs of your campaign. SEMrush serves as our primary platform for keyword research, site auditing, competitive analysis, and rank tracking, but we layer in additional data sources to get the fullest possible picture of your website’s performance.

How long does it take to see results from an SEMrush-powered SEO strategy?

SEO timelines vary based on factors like your industry’s competitiveness, the current health of your website, and the scope of work involved. That said, most clients begin seeing measurable improvements in rankings and traffic within three to six months. Technical fixes and quick-win optimizations often show results sooner, while broader keyword gains and authority building take longer to fully materialize.

Can SEMrush track my rankings in specific cities or regions?

Yes. SEMrush’s Position Tracking tool allows us to monitor your keyword rankings down to the city or even postal code level. This is particularly valuable for businesses that serve specific geographic areas and need to understand how they perform in local search results compared to competitors in those same markets.

What is the difference between a site audit and an SEO strategy?

A site audit is one component of an SEO strategy. It focuses on identifying technical issues with your website — things like broken links, slow page speed, crawl errors, and mobile usability problems. An SEO strategy, on the other hand, is the full plan that includes the audit findings along with keyword targeting, content development, link building, competitive positioning, and ongoing optimization. The audit tells us what needs fixing; the strategy tells us how to grow.

Does Search Navigators provide regular updates on campaign performance?

Absolutely. We provide detailed monthly reports built using SEMrush’s reporting tools, covering keyword rankings, organic traffic, technical health scores, backlink growth, and competitor benchmarking. Your dedicated account manager reviews these reports with you during scheduled check-ins and is available to answer questions between meetings as well.

How does competitive analysis with SEMrush benefit my business?

Competitive analysis reveals what your rivals are doing well and where they’re falling short. Using SEMrush, we can identify which keywords your competitors rank for that you don’t, where their backlinks come from, and which content topics drive the most traffic to their sites. This information helps us build a strategy that doesn’t just match your competition — it finds the openings they’ve missed.

Is SEMrush useful for local SEO campaigns?

Very much so. SEMrush allows us to run keyword research with local intent filters, track rankings by specific location, and analyze local competitors’ strategies. When combined with Google Business Profile optimization and localized content, SEMrush’s data gives us a clear view of how your business performs in local search and where we can improve visibility in the areas that matter most to you.

What happens if my website has toxic backlinks?

Toxic backlinks — links from spammy or low-quality websites — can hurt your search engine rankings and even lead to penalties. SEMrush’s Backlink Audit tool identifies these harmful links and assigns a toxicity score to each one. Our team reviews the flagged links, determines which ones pose a genuine risk, and either works to have them removed or submits a disavow file to Google. This cleanup process is a critical step in protecting your domain’s authority.

Can you help businesses that have never invested in SEO before?

Yes, and in many ways, starting fresh can be an advantage. There’s no technical debt from past missteps, no toxic backlinks to clean up, and a blank slate for keyword targeting. Our team uses SEMrush to assess your current standing, identify the lowest-hanging fruit, and build a strategy that delivers early wins while setting the foundation for long-term organic growth. Whether you’re brand new to SEO or looking to level up an existing campaign, Search Navigators has the experience and the tools to help.

Explore More from Search Navigators

Our SEMrush-driven approach is one part of a broader commitment to delivering results-focused SEO. If you’d like to learn more about what we offer, explore these related services:

• Full SEO Services — our complete range of organic and local SEO solutions
• SEO Audits — in-depth evaluations to uncover hidden optimization opportunities
• SEO Consulting — strategic guidance from our experienced founders
• Local SEO Services — targeted strategies to dominate local search results
• E-Commerce SEO — specialized optimization for online stores

Ready to Build a Smarter SEO Strategy?

If you’re looking for an SEO partner that combines hands-on technical expertise with the power of industry-leading tools like SEMrush, Search Navigators is here to help. Our team has been helping businesses improve their search visibility since 2005 — and we’d be happy to show you what a data-driven strategy looks like for your business specifically.

Book Your Free Consultation or call us at 905-431-9550 to get started.