Hello, {{ first name | my friend}}!
Since I first published this post, I've been using the Semrush + Claude setup almost daily for my own site, Behind Rankings.
Tasks that used to require a lot of manual work, like keyword research, site audits, and content clustering, can now be automated with AI. That’s a huge shift.
Now, keyword research is no longer a separate task. In my opinion, it should be part of a larger prompt, with the ultimate goal of building a comprehensive SEO content strategy tailored to your business goals.
Below, I’m sharing what the Claude + Semrush connection helped me do and achieve on my website.
Here's my strategy workflow with Claude + Google Search Console connector + Semrush MCP:
Step 1: Technical website audit
Step 2: Competitor analysis
Step 3: Keyword research
Step 4: The 12-month SEO content plan
Step 5: Content production
This workflow works because Claude no longer needs to guess.
Every keyword recommendation comes from Semrush's Keyword Magic Tool, every technical fix comes from Semrush Site Audit, and every indexing insight comes from GSC.
I don't ask Claude to guess what I need. Instead, I ask Claude to interpret my data and build a custom strategy based on the data.
The final strategy was detailed, structured, and it even ended with a clear action plan I can actually follow.
If you haven’t tried connecting SEO tools to Claude yet, I highly recommend testing it with a Semrush One trial.
Here are a few more tasks this integration works really well for:
Analyzing website performance and prioritizing tasks based on impact
Analyzing posts that dropped in rankings and figuring out how to recover them
Understanding why competitors outrank you
Finding keywords and related terms with real search volume
Creating SEO strategies for local businesses
Improving CTR on existing pages
Generating and optimizing content
And more
I’m still a little skeptical. Hallucinations can happen. But so far, the output has been solid.
It’s honestly a bit scary how powerful AI becomes when you connect it to real data sources.
How to connect Semrush to Claude via MCP
The connection works through MCP (Model Context Protocol), an open standard introduced by Anthropic in late 2024. It lets AI models like Claude connect directly to external tools and data sources, including Semrush.
What you need before you start:
A Claude Pro, Team, or Enterprise plan (custom connectors aren't available on the free tier). If you’re on a paid plan, you can create multiple projects and connect different tools.
An active Semrush subscription on Semrush One (SEO + AI visibility tools), as well as SEO Pro, Guru, or a Trends API plan.
A Semrush API key (you'll generate this in your Semrush account settings).
How to create a Semrush Claude connector
Recently, Semrush launched a built-in connector for Claude. This means you can now find the Semrush app directly inside Claude’s Connectors Directory. 🙌
To connect Semrush MCP to Claude, do the following:
Open Claude
Navigate to Customize → Connect your apps
Search for Semrush
Select the app and click Connect
You may notice two connectors in my screenshot below. That’s because I was using a custom Semrush MCP connector before Semrush released the official built-in version.
Once connected, Claude will redirect you to a permissions page. This is where you decide which Semrush tools Claude can access automatically and which ones will require your approval first.
In my case, I only allowed access to:
Keyword research
Organic research
Domain overview tools
If Claude wants to use any other Semrush tools, I have to manually approve the request first.
I’d recommend starting with manual approvals, especially because Semrush uses API units from your subscription whenever Claude performs tasks.
By default, you get 50,000 API units per month for LLM connections like Claude, ChatGPT, and others. Every time you connect to your Semrush account and perform a certain task, it consumes API units.
After conducting keyword research using Claude and the Semrush connector, Claude consumed 2,440 credits, leaving my account with 47,560 API units.
Then I used the Claude + Semrush integration to build a full SEO content strategy for my website, including:
Competitor analysis
Technical SEO audit
A 12-month content plan
Those tasks consumed another 7,190 API units pretty quickly. 😅
The good thing is that API credits reset every month. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on your usage because daily SEO research can burn through credits faster than expected.
You can find more information about Semrush MCP and how to connect the Semrush app to various LLMs in the official Semrush MCP guide.
If you haven’t tried connecting SEO tools to Claude yet, I highly recommend testing it with a Semrush One trial.
My in-depth guide on topical authority and how to build it is finally live. 🙌
I asked my audience on LinkedIn about how they build topical authority for their own websites and their clients. It’s always so interesting to learn about what other SEO experts are doing.
To my surprise, I got quite a few comments under my post and DMs with super detailed responses.
If you’re curious about how to actually build topical authority (not just talk about it), here’s my post:👇
That’s all for now! Thanks for reading and being part of this journey — your support means the world. 💙
Victoria
Victoria Kurichenko