Semrush Skill — Advanced Keyword and Competitive Intelligence

LocalSEOData’s keyword endpoints handle targeted local keyword research well: search volume, keyword suggestions, related keywords for specific service and location combinations. That covers the keyword needs of most local SEO workflows.

Semrush becomes necessary when keyword analysis requires domain-level competitive depth. Full keyword gap analysis comparing your site against multiple competitors. Keyword difficulty scores that tell you which terms are worth targeting and which are too competitive. Content gap identification showing which topics competitors cover that you do not. The semrush-tool skill connects Claude to this extended capability when the local-keyword-research strategy skill needs more than LocalSEOData provides.

What This Skill Does

The semrush-tool skill enables Claude to pull competitive keyword data from Semrush: keyword gap analysis (keywords competitors rank for that you do not), position tracking history, keyword difficulty scoring, content gap identification, and domain-level competitive intelligence.

Prompt: "Run a keyword gap analysis: what local keywords are our top 3
competitors ranking for that we're missing? Focus on
plumbing services in Phoenix."

Skills fired: dispatch → local-keyword-research + semrush-tool
Data pulled: Keyword gap report, competitor keyword profiles

Output:
Keyword Gap Analysis — Plumbing, Phoenix

Competitors analyzed:
  phoenixplumbingpros.com: 142 local keywords ranking
  arizonaplumbingmasters.com: 118 local keywords ranking
  desertpipeline.com: 96 local keywords ranking
  Your site (valleyplumbing.com): 67 local keywords ranking

Keywords all 3 competitors rank for that you don't (top 10 by volume):
  1. "water heater repair Phoenix" — 480/mo, KD 34
  2. "slab leak repair Phoenix" — 260/mo, KD 38
  3. "emergency plumber Phoenix 24 hour" — 210/mo, KD 31
  4. "Phoenix plumbing inspection" — 170/mo, KD 28
  ...

Quick wins (low difficulty, high volume, competitors rank but you don't):
  1. "plumber 85016" — 140/mo, KD 18 — create location page
  2. "plumbing cost Phoenix" — 120/mo, KD 22 — create pricing FAQ
  3. "licensed plumber Phoenix" — 110/mo, KD 15 — add to GBP attributes

When Dispatch Routes Here vs LocalSEOData

Dispatch routes to semrush-tool when:

The prompt requests keyword gap analysis or competitive keyword comparison at the domain level
The prompt asks for keyword difficulty scores
The prompt requests content gap analysis
The prompt mentions Semrush by name
The local-keyword-research skill determines that the research question requires competitive depth beyond what LocalSEOData’s keyword endpoints provide

For standard keyword research — “what keywords should we target for a dentist in Portland?” — dispatch uses localseodata-tool. The keyword_suggestions, search_volume, and related_keywords endpoints handle that. Semrush activates when the question becomes “what keywords are our competitors ranking for that we are missing?”

Competitive Keyword Research at Scale

Semrush excels at comparative keyword analysis. The local-keyword-research strategy skill knows how to interpret keyword data for local SEO context — which keywords signal local intent, how to prioritize by business impact, how to map keywords to pages. Semrush provides the raw competitive data at a scale that LocalSEOData’s keyword endpoints were not designed for.

The keyword gap workflow is the most common use case. You identify the keywords your competitors rank for that you do not, filtered by local relevance and sorted by opportunity. This directly feeds content strategy and GBP optimization — every missing keyword represents either a page you have not created or a GBP attribute you have not completed.

Running a Local Keyword Gap

Prompt: "Compare our keyword footprint against Mountain Dental and Rose City Dental
for the Portland dental market. Focus on service-related keywords."

Skills fired: dispatch → local-keyword-research + semrush-tool

Output:
KEYWORD GAP: mountainviewdental.com vs competitors

YOUR EXCLUSIVE KEYWORDS (you rank, they don't): 23
- "holistic dentist Portland" — #3, 110/mo
- "mercury-free dentist Portland" — #2, 70/mo
(Your differentiator content is working)

SHARED KEYWORDS (you all rank): 67
- "dentist Portland" — You: #8, Mountain: #3, Rose City: #5
- "teeth cleaning Portland" — You: #6, Mountain: #4, Rose City: #7
(Room for improvement on shared terms)

THEIR KEYWORDS, NOT YOURS: 148
Top gaps by volume:
- "emergency dentist Portland" — 590/mo, KD 41
  Mountain: #4, Rose City: #6, You: Not ranking
- "dental implants Portland" — 390/mo, KD 52
  Mountain: #3, You: Not ranking
- "pediatric dentist Portland" — 320/mo, KD 35
  Rose City: #5, You: Not ranking

CONTENT STRATEGY RECOMMENDATION:
Priority 1: Emergency dental page (high volume, moderate difficulty)
Priority 2: Dental implants page (high volume, requires authority content)
Priority 3: Pediatric services page (if offered — validates service expansion)

The three-way comparison (your keywords, shared keywords, their keywords) immediately shows where your content strategy has gaps and where it has strengths worth maintaining.

Content Gap Identification

Beyond individual keywords, Semrush reveals topical gaps — entire content areas where competitors have built out pages and you have not. This feeds directly into the local-landing-pages strategy skill for creating location-specific content.

Prompt: "What content pages do our top 2 HVAC competitors have that we don't?
Focus on service-specific and location-specific pages."

Skills fired: dispatch → local-keyword-research + local-landing-pages + semrush-tool

Output:
Content Gap Analysis — Denver HVAC Market

Pages competitors have that you don't:

Service-specific (missing 6):
  - /emergency-hvac-repair (Competitor A ranks #2, ~340 visits/mo)
  - /commercial-hvac-services (Competitor B ranks #4, ~210 visits/mo)
  - /heat-pump-installation-denver (Both rank, ~180 visits/mo)
  - /hvac-repair-vs-replacement (Competitor A ranks #5, ~150 visits/mo)
  - /indoor-air-quality-services (Competitor B ranks #3, ~130 visits/mo)
  - /ductless-mini-split-denver (Both rank, ~95 visits/mo)

Location-specific (missing 8):
  - /hvac-aurora-co (Competitor A ranks #1, ~120 visits/mo)
  - /hvac-lakewood-co (Competitor B ranks #3, ~95 visits/mo)
  - /hvac-littleton-co (Competitor A ranks #2, ~85 visits/mo)
  ...

CONTENT ROADMAP (by estimated traffic opportunity):
Month 1: Emergency HVAC page + heat pump page (530 combined potential visits/mo)
Month 2: Commercial HVAC section + indoor air quality page
Month 3: Location pages for top 3 surrounding cities

This analysis reveals not just keyword gaps but structural content gaps — entire sections of a website that competitors have built and you have not.

Position Tracking Over Time

Semrush position tracking monitors organic keyword rankings from a specific location over time. This complements Local Falcon’s geographic geogrid tracking — Local Falcon shows how rankings vary across geography, while Semrush shows how rankings for specific keywords change over weeks and months.

Prompt: "Show me our keyword position trends for the top 20 Portland dental
keywords over the last 6 months."

Skills fired: dispatch → local-keyword-research + semrush-tool

Output:
POSITION TRACKING: mountainviewdental.com
Location: Portland, OR | Period: October 2025 - March 2026

MOVERS (improved 5+ positions):
- "cosmetic dentist Portland": #18 → #7 (new page launched Nov)
- "teeth whitening Portland": #22 → #11 (approaching page 1)

IMPROVED (1-4 positions):
- "dentist Portland": #10 → #8
- "dental cleaning Portland": #9 → #6

DECLINED:
- "dental crowns Portland": #5 → #9 (competitor published comprehensive guide)
- "root canal Portland": #7 → #11 (content needs refresh)

STABLE (within +/- 1):
- 14 keywords held position

TREND: New service pages driving measurable gains. Two older pages
need content refresh to stop decline. Overall keyword footprint is
expanding.

When to Use Semrush vs LocalSEOData for Keywords

Scenario	Use This
Keyword suggestions for a topic	localseodata-tool (`keyword_suggestions`)
Search volume for a keyword list	localseodata-tool (`search_volume`)
Related keywords for content	localseodata-tool (`related_keywords`)
Keywords a site currently ranks for	localseodata-tool (`keywords_for_site`)
Seasonal keyword trends	localseodata-tool (`keyword_trends`)
Full domain keyword gap vs competitors	semrush-tool
Keyword difficulty scoring	semrush-tool
Content gap analysis by topic cluster	semrush-tool
Organic position tracking over time	semrush-tool
Domain-level competitive keyword intelligence	semrush-tool

The distinction is targeted vs. comparative. LocalSEOData answers “what keywords matter for this service in this location?” Semrush answers “what keywords are our competitors winning that we are not?” Most local SEO practitioners will use LocalSEOData for day-to-day keyword work and bring in Semrush when competitive analysis or content planning requires it.

Connecting Semrush to LocalSEOSkills

Semrush account with API access (Business plan or higher at semrush.com)
API key from Semrush account settings
In Claude Code, add the MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "semrush": {
      "url": "https://api.semrush.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Code
Verify connection:

Run a Semrush domain overview for [your domain] and show me the top 10 keywords.

API unit consumption: Keyword gap analysis across 3-4 domains consumes more units than a single keyword lookup. Check your Semrush API unit balance before running large competitive analyses.

Get Started

Run a keyword gap analysis between [your domain] and [competitor domain]
for keywords containing [city name]. Show me the top 20 opportunities
by search volume with difficulty scores.

This fires the local-keyword-research strategy skill with semrush-tool providing the competitive data. The output shows every keyword gap, prioritized by volume and difficulty, with content recommendations for closing each gap.

Learn More

To learn what this skill can do for your local SEO workflow, see the skill overview.