semrush-research

Q: How do I install semrush-research?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/openclaudia/openclaudia-skills --skill semrush-research in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/semrush-research/ (personal) or .claude/skills/semrush-research/ (project).

by openclaudiaProductivity & Automation

SEO and competitive intelligence via the SemRush API. Use when asked to research competitors, analyze domains, find keyword opportunities, check backlinks, or estimate traffic. Trigger phrases: "competitor analysis", "domain overview", "keyword research", "backlink check", "traffic estimate", "SEO intelligence", "semrush", "competitive research".

Installs: 490
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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/openclaudia/openclaudia-skills --skill semrush-research

01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads semrush-research automatically when relevant.
03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

SemRush Research

Pull live SEO and competitive intelligence data from the SemRush API.

Prerequisites

Requires SEMRUSH_API_KEY set in .env, .env.local, or ~/.claude/.env.global.

# Verify the key is available
echo "SEMRUSH_API_KEY is ${SEMRUSH_API_KEY:+set}"

If the key is not set, instruct the user:

You need a SemRush API key. Get one at https://www.semrush.com/api/ Then add SEMRUSH_API_KEY=your_key to your .env file.

API Base

All requests go to https://api.semrush.com/ with the API key passed as &key={SEMRUSH_API_KEY}.

Responses are semicolon-delimited CSV. The first line is the header row. Parse accordingly.

1. Domain Overview

Get a high-level snapshot of any domain's organic and paid search performance.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_ranks&key={KEY}&export_columns=Dn,Rk,Or,Ot,Oc,Ad,At,Ac&domain={domain}

Export Columns

Column	Meaning
`Dn`	Domain
`Rk`	SemRush Rank
`Or`	Organic keywords count
`Ot`	Organic traffic estimate
`Oc`	Organic traffic cost ($)
`Ad`	Paid keywords count
`At`	Paid traffic estimate
`Ac`	Paid traffic cost ($)

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_ranks&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&export_columns=Dn,Rk,Or,Ot,Oc,Ad,At,Ac&domain=example.com"

Parsing the Response

# Response format (semicolon-delimited):
# Dn;Rk;Or;Ot;Oc;Ad;At;Ac
# example.com;12345;8234;145000;234500;120;3400;5600

# Parse with awk
curl -s "..." | awk -F';' 'NR==2 {
  printf "Domain: %s\nSemRush Rank: %s\nOrganic Keywords: %s\nOrganic Traffic: %s\nOrganic Traffic Cost: $%s\nPaid Keywords: %s\nPaid Traffic: %s\nPaid Traffic Cost: $%s\n",
  $1,$2,$3,$4,$5,$6,$7,$8
}'

2. Keyword Overview

Get search volume, CPC, competition, and SERP features for a keyword.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=phrase_all&key={KEY}&phrase={keyword}&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Nq,Cp,Co,Nr,Td

Export Columns

Column	Meaning
`Ph`	Keyword phrase
`Nq`	Search volume (monthly)
`Cp`	CPC (USD)
`Co`	Competition (0-1)
`Nr`	Number of results
`Td`	Trend (12 months, comma-separated)

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=phrase_all&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&phrase=content+marketing&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Nq,Cp,Co,Nr,Td"

Supported Databases

Use &database=XX where XX is: us, uk, ca, au, de, fr, es, it, br, in, jp.

3. Related Keywords

Find semantically related keywords for content planning and gap analysis.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=phrase_related&key={KEY}&phrase={keyword}&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Nq,Cp,Co,Nr,Td&display_limit=20

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=phrase_related&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&phrase=project+management&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Nq,Cp,Co,Nr,Td&display_limit=20"

Parsing Multiple Rows

curl -s "..." | awk -F';' 'NR>1 { printf "%-40s Vol: %-8s CPC: $%-6s Comp: %s\n", $1, $2, $3, $4 }'

4. Keyword Difficulty

Estimate how hard it is to rank for a keyword.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=phrase_kdi&key={KEY}&phrase={keyword}&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Kd

Column	Meaning
`Ph`	Keyword
`Kd`	Keyword difficulty (0-100)

Interpretation:

0-29: Easy - achievable with quality content
30-49: Moderate - needs solid content + some backlinks
50-69: Hard - needs strong domain authority + backlinks
70-84: Very hard - requires established authority
85-100: Extremely hard - dominated by top-tier domains

5. Domain Organic Keywords

See which keywords a domain ranks for organically.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_organic&key={KEY}&domain={domain}&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Po,Nq,Cp,Url,Tr,Tc&display_limit=50&display_sort=tr_desc

Column	Meaning
`Ph`	Keyword
`Po`	Position
`Nq`	Search volume
`Cp`	CPC
`Url`	Ranking URL
`Tr`	Traffic (%)
`Tc`	Traffic cost

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_organic&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&domain=hubspot.com&database=us&export_columns=Ph,Po,Nq,Cp,Url,Tr,Tc&display_limit=20&display_sort=tr_desc"

6. Backlink Overview

Get a summary of a domain's backlink profile.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/analytics/v1/?key={KEY}&type=backlinks_overview&target={domain}&target_type=root_domain&export_columns=total,domains_num,urls_num,ips_num,follows_num,nofollows_num,texts_num,images_num

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/analytics/v1/?key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&type=backlinks_overview&target=example.com&target_type=root_domain&export_columns=total,domains_num,urls_num,ips_num,follows_num,nofollows_num,texts_num,images_num"

7. Competitor Discovery

Find domains competing for the same organic keywords.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_organic_organic&key={KEY}&domain={domain}&database=us&export_columns=Dn,Cr,Np,Or,Ot,Oc,Ad&display_limit=10

Column	Meaning
`Dn`	Competitor domain
`Cr`	Competition level
`Np`	Common keywords
`Or`	Organic keywords
`Ot`	Organic traffic
`Oc`	Organic traffic cost
`Ad`	Paid keywords

Example curl

curl -s "https://api.semrush.com/?type=domain_organic_organic&key=${SEMRUSH_API_KEY}&domain=notion.so&database=us&export_columns=Dn,Cr,Np,Or,Ot,Oc,Ad&display_limit=10"

8. Traffic Analytics (Estimates)

Estimate a domain's overall traffic sources and engagement.

Endpoint

https://api.semrush.com/analytics/ta/api/v3/summary?key={KEY}&targets={domain}&display_date=2024-01-01&country=us&export_columns=target,visits,users,bounce_rate,pages_per_visit,avg_visit_duration

Workflow: Full Competitive Analysis

When the user asks for a full competitive analysis, run these steps in order:

Domain Overview - Get the target domain's metrics
Competitor Discovery - Find top 5-10 competitors
Domain Overview for each competitor - Compare metrics
Top Keywords for each domain - Find keyword gaps
Backlink Overview for each domain - Compare link profiles

Output Format

Present results as a comparison table:

| Metric              | target.com | competitor1.com | competitor2.com |
|---------------------|-----------|-----------------|-----------------|
| SemRush Rank        | ...       | ...             | ...             |
| Organic Keywords    | ...       | ...             | ...             |
| Organic Traffic     | ...       | ...             | ...             |
| Traffic Cost        | ...       | ...             | ...             |
| Backlinks           | ...       | ...             | ...             |
| Referring Domains   | ...       | ...             | ...             |

Then highlight:

Keyword gaps: Keywords competitors rank for but target does not
Quick wins: Keywords where target ranks positions 5-20 (improvement opportunities)
Content gaps: Topics competitors cover but target does not
Backlink opportunities: Sites linking to competitors but not target

Rate Limits and Costs

Each API call costs API units (check your plan)
Use &display_limit= to control result count (default varies by endpoint)
Cache results locally when doing multi-step analysis to avoid redundant calls
Domain overview calls are cheapest; backlink and traffic analytics cost more

Error Handling

Error	Meaning
`ERROR 50 :: NOTHING FOUND`	No data for this query
`ERROR 120 :: WRONG KEY`	Invalid API key
`ERROR 130 :: LIMIT EXCEEDED`	API unit limit reached
Empty response	Usually means no data available for the query parameters

When you get "NOTHING FOUND", try:

Different database (e.g., uk instead of us)
Root domain instead of subdomain
Broader keyword phrase

FAQ

What does the semrush-research skill do?

How do I install semrush-research?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/openclaudia/openclaudia-skills --skill semrush-research in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/semrush-research/ (personal) or .claude/skills/semrush-research/ (project).

Which AI agents can use semrush-research?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is semrush-research safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains semrush-research?

It is published by openclaudia in openclaudia/openclaudia-skills. It has 490 recorded installs.