SEO
December 21, 2023
For those caught between the affordability of SE Ranking and the numerous features of Semrush, the dilemma often depends on this balance between budget constraints and the number of features.
Another factor that comes up when comparing SE Ranking vs Semrush is that SE Ranking is more beginner-friendly, whereas Semrush requires more Search Engine Optimization experience.
This article will give a detailed overview of both SE Ranking and Semrush to help you decide which one works best for you.Spoiler alert: you don’t have to choose between affordability and great features if you go for our third option, Serpple, which I will present below.
Let’s dive in!
We will cover these key categories: features, pricing, UI/UX, and user ratings. No matter which SEO tool you are comparing, those are the categories you should thoroughly research before investing your time and money.
SE Ranking’s keyword research tool does a good job of identifying optimal keywords for your SEO strategy. It provides key data such as search volume, CPC, and competition levels, while pinpointing quickly rankable keywords.
On the other hand, Semrush’s keyword research tool has a larger keyword database (exceeding 20 billion keywords) – probably the most popular aspect of this tool. Beyond basic data, I also believe it does a better job of analyzing search intent and trends.
Before we go on exploring their additional features beyond their keyword research tools, now let’s look at the same functionality in Serpple:
The first thing that immediately stands out is Serpple’s user-friendly dashboard and accurate metrics in the keyword explorer module. It analyzes chosen long-tail keywords with metrics like search volume, high CPC, and low CPC.
Serpple’s keyword suggestion tool covers every aspect when it comes to keyword suggestions, by including ideas sourced from Google Search Console and Related Search.
Additionally, Serpple’s keyword explorer is great for users who use data to optimize their SEO and content marketing strategy.
As far as other features go, SE Ranking on-page SEO checker is one of the tools I used the most.
It assigns an on-page performance score by evaluating your website’s optimization level, after which it offers tailored suggestions, drawing insights from the top 5 competitors on the SERP page you’re targeting.
Additionally, SE Ranking has a comprehensive website audit tool to assess the overall health of your site.
On the other hand, Semrush offers three distinct tools for on-page SEO.
Their site audit tool rapidly scans your website, giving actionable solutions for crucial issues. Then, the on-page SEO checker analyzes individual pages while you get a detailed report covering content lengths, readability, markups, and keyword usage.
The third tool is Semrush’s log file analyzer , which looks into error logs to reveal crawl errors during interactions with Google crawlers.
While both platforms share similar site auditing features, Semrush is better at offering more in-depth reports, with detailed insights into signals like loading speed, usability, and localization.
The log file analyzer also gives it an edge over SE Ranking.
However learning how to master Semrush’s extensive functionalities takes time and effort, so it may not be the best choice if you’re just starting out.
Since we are talking about a beginner-friendly tool, Serpple provides a more intuitive on-page SEO tool for a fraction of the cost of SE Ranking and Semrush.
By automatically organizing your business web pages based on ranked keywords and SERP outcomes, Serpple makes it easy to check all pages from a single dashboard to predict your SEO content score.
SE Ranking offers some basic local SEO features, its main tool being a local search rank tracker that assesses how your business is doing in local search results.
Semrush offers a more comprehensive local SEO toolkit, including:
SE Ranking’s competitive research functionality has an intuitive interface. The tool provides detailed results, including insights into your competitor’s backlinks, keywords, organic and paid traffic, estimated PPC earnings, and more.
The interface displays historical data on the same page – a good overview of your competitor’s strengths, particularly regarding organic keyword rankings.
Semrush also offers robust tools for competitor analysis, but at a higher price. You gain insights into traffic, backlinks, authority, and other relevant metrics by entering any domain.
Another perk of this tool is that you can access historical data since 2012, along with information about the targeted country of the domain. Semrush also offers a side-by-side comparison between keyword profiles of up to five competitors through its Keyword Gap analysis tool.
Serpple makes competitor analysis extremely simple and accurate through its Competitor AI tool.
Once you make a list of keywords you wish to check, Serpple’s AI bot provides a curated list of competitors, their domains, overall performances based on the matching keywords, and additional insights.
Don’t tell anyone but Serpple’s Competitor AI module can show you hidden competitors within the SERP listings.
A notable distinction between these two rank tracking tools lies in the range of supported search engines.
While Semrush focuses on Google and Baidu, SE Ranking covers Google, YouTube, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex. If those other websites are important to you, SE Ranking might be a better choice.
Apart from that, Semrush’s position tracker does a good job of deciphering keyword trends and visualizing the distribution of targeted keywords across different position ranges.
This particular feature has a more intuitive and user-friendly design than some other features.
SE Ranking’s rank tracker features a clean overview dashboard that allows users to categorize and organize keywords into folders for a more detailed view.
With color-coded dynamics and highlighting features you can do a quick assessment of ranking changes across your monitored keyword positions.
Semrush’s position tracker does a good job of deciphering keyword trends and visualizing the how your targeted keywords are distributed across different position ranges. This particular feature has a more intuitive and user-friendly design than others, for sure.
However, daily tracking updates for Semrush are only available as part of its Guru plan and above — Unfortunately Pro users do not get daily updates.
On the bright side, Serpple provides daily rank updates for your Google positions for as little as $19 a month.
SE Ranking provides a 3-tier pricing structure:
Tailored for bloggers and freelancers, the Essential plan is a good starting point, while the Pro plan suits small business owners and marketers with a solid online presence. For larger enterprises or agencies, the Business plan is the most logical choice.
Semrush also offers a three-plan pricing structure, though it’s more expensive on all counts:
Beginners and freelancers should find the Pro plan sufficient, while those with established online businesses may opt for the Guru plan. Similar to SE Ranking, the Business plan is great for those managing multiple websites or running an agency.
Semrush also offers a customizable Enterprise plan for specific needs with custom pricing on request.
If budget is a major factor for you or your business, SE Ranking is the more affordable choice.
However, although its paid plans come at a much lower price, they also do not offer the same range of features and integrations that Semrush does.
SE Ranking has a clear UI that presents all features in an accessible manner. The dashboard, featuring essential elements like keyword research and competitive analysis, with a left-side panel providing detailed project insights:
In contrast, Semrush categorizes its features into different toolkits.
While preventing clutter despite the number of tools, this segmentation can be more difficult to master if you’re new to SEO.
So, although the interface itself is polished, it may take days and dozens of tutorials to get the hang of it.
From my experience, SE Ranking is the more user-friendly choice for beginners because it ensures straightforward access to all features.
While Semrush’s interface is very detailed to match the extent of functionalities it provides, it might be overwhelming for new users.
Across different user reviews on G2, users are fond of SE Ranking for its cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and a good range of functionalities for the price.
However, users also report several shortfalls – SE Ranking’s backlink checker which is said to be on the less comprehensive side; limitations in the tracking capabilities of their lowest plan, and challenges with customer support, especially for users that do not live in a US timezone.
Data accuracy is also a major issue that should be improved in SE Ranking; Semrush simply has a bigger keyword database and more indexed backlinks.
SE Ranking’s average user score on G2 is 4.8 out of 5 stars.
© G2
Semrush is frequently praised for its comprehensive set of tools, unique functionalities like the keyword magic tool, and dedicated customer support.
But, as I’ve seen for myself, the main concerns revolve around the need for more training materials, clarity on subscription features, and a desire for more competitive pricing.
Overall, Semrush is certainly a powerful SEO platform with a broad feature set, but potential users (e.g. SEO freelancers and newbies) need to take into account the hours they need to spend on learning, as well as its high cost.
© G2
I also asked Jack Vivian, Chief Technology Officer and Increditools why he switched from Semrush to SE Ranking and he said:
“SE Ranking is a better and more affordable alternative to Semrush as an SEO and digital marketing tool. As a technology and business expert, personalizing our market content is one of my functions, and after using Semrush for a while, I recently moved to SE Ranking.
The decision to move to SE Ranking came about after one of my colleagues recommended the marketing tool. Unlike Semrush, SE Ranking has excellent accuracy in tracking the rankings of keywords. For example, the tool allows me to monitor the positions of my keywords across different search engines using any device. I also get daily updates based on my personalization to improve our marketing content and campaigns.
SE Ranking is user-friendly in terms of reviewing data from other competitors and their respective rankings.”
As we’ve seen above, both SE Ranking and Semrush are popular SEO tools for a reason. Both offer distinct value for money, but they also fall short in several areas.
So, how do you bridge this gap between an affordable tool with all the features you’ll need and a clean UI that does not come with a learning curve?
Take a look at Serpple!
Looking for a cost-effective solution that comes with advanced analytics, extensive keyword tracking, and improved local SEO capabilities?
Serpple is designed to address these exact needs, delivering great value for both individual SEO professionals and larger marketing teams.
What sets it apart? Its user-friendly design – Serpple’s intuitive dashboard simplifies search engine ranking tracking in just a few steps. Once your domain and keywords are set, the tool seamlessly takes charge.
Let’s look at Serpple’s features in greater detail:
Best of all, Serpple ensures excellence at an affordable starting price of $19 per month. Whether you run a small business or a thriving SEO agency, accessibility comes without compromising quality.
To sum up, Semrush outshines SE Ranking with its extensive features, competitive intelligence, and vast resources, making it a powerhouse for advanced users.
SE Ranking, on the other hand, stands out for its user-friendly interface, affordability, and accessibility for smaller businesses and beginners.
But you don’t have to settle for a more user-friendly and accessible tool that doesn’t come with all the features you need (SE Ranking), nor a vastly more expensive one that potentially has more features than you’ll ever use (Semrush).
Filled with all the necessary features that cater to both seasoned SEO professionals and newcomers, Serpple emerges as the ultimate keyword rank tracker and overall SEO tool.
Its integrations with platforms like Google Analytics, affordable price starting at just $19 per month, and impressive accuracy rate of 99.9% in daily Google ranking updates make it the most logical choice for your SEO needs.
So stop trying to decide between two less-than-ideal solutions and sign up for a 14-day free Serpple trial instead — your all-in-one tool for conquering the search engine landscape!
Choosing between Semrush and SE Ranking depends on your SEO experience level and budget considerations. Semrush is known for its comprehensive set of features, competitive intelligence, and vast keyword database, which makes it more suitable for advanced users and larger enterprises. On the other hand, SE Ranking is better known for its more user-friendly interface, affordability, and suitability for smaller businesses and beginners. A tool that bridges all these gaps is Serpple.
SE Ranking is generally considered accurate in providing SEO insights and analytics. However, like any tool, its accuracy may depend on various factors, including the data sources it utilizes and the frequency of updates. Some users report that their keyword database could definitely be improved.
SE Ranking is an SEO platform designed to assist users in optimizing their websites for search engines. It offers features like keyword research, competitor research, a backlink audit tool, a link building tool, and more. SE Ranking is used to gain insights into website performance, improve search engine rankings, and develop effective SEO strategies. It mainly caters to SMBs and SEO beginners.
Backlink checker limitations (fails at capturing everything, leading some users to supplement it with other tools for a more comprehensive view)
Limited tracking in lower plans (users have expressed dissatisfaction with the limitation on tracking the number of websites in the lower plans, suggesting that the jump to the next pricing tier is somewhat steep)
Automation report challenges (some users find the automated reports less user-friendly and lacking in customization options)
Support challenges (users outside the US have reported challenges with SE Ranking’s customer support, citing delays in responses and limited availability during non-US hours)
