By Sumon Bhattacharya | Local SEO Specialist | Last Updated: June 2026
If you have been doing Local SEO for any amount of time, you have probably heard of Semrush. It is the tool I use every day for keyword research, competitor analysis, site audits, and rank tracking for my home service clients in the USA.
But when I first started using it, I had no idea where to begin. The dashboard looked overwhelming and I was not sure which features actually mattered for Local SEO specifically.
This guide walks you through everything -- from signing up for a free account to running your first local keyword research and site audit. No fluff, no theory. Just what to click and what to look at.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you sign up through my link I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I use Semrush personally in my client work. Full disclosure here.
What is Semrush and Why Do Local SEO Specialists Use It?
Semrush is an all-in-one SEO and marketing platform used by over 10 million marketers worldwide. For Local SEO specifically, it is valuable because it shows you:
- Which keywords your target customers are searching for in specific cities
- What your competitors are ranking for that you are not
- Technical issues on your website that are hurting your rankings
- How your rankings change over time across different locations
- Where your backlink profile is weak compared to competitors
I used Semrush to identify the keyword "Sell My House Fast in Yakima" had a keyword difficulty of 54.52% - competitive but winnable. That research was part of the strategy that ranked Sweet Property Solutions LLC from position 20 to number 1 on Google Maps in 28 days. The right tool gave me the right data to make the right decision.
Step 1 - Sign Up for a Free Semrush Account
Semrush has a free plan that gives you 10 keyword searches per day and limited access to the site audit tool. It is enough to follow this entire guide and decide if the paid plan is worth it for you.
Go to the Semrush website and click the sign up button:
Start Your Free Semrush Account
No credit card required for the free plan. Upgrade only if you need more searches.
Try Semrush FreeOnce you land on the Semrush homepage click Start for free or Get free trial and create your account with your email address.
After signing up you will land on the main Semrush dashboard. It looks like this:
Do not worry about all the options yet. We are going to focus on the three tools that matter most for Local SEO: Keyword Magic Tool, Site Audit, and Position Tracking.
Step 2 - Find Local Keywords with the Keyword Magic Tool
This is the most important tool for Local SEO. The Keyword Magic Tool helps you find exactly what your target customers are searching for in your city.
In the left sidebar click Keyword Research then Keyword Magic Tool.
Type your main service keyword in the search box. For example if you are doing SEO for a plumber in Nashville Tennessee type:plumber Nashville Tennessee
Make sure the country is set to United States then click Search.
You will see a list of keywords with the following columns that matter for Local SEO:
| Column | What It Means | What to Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | Monthly searches for this keyword | 100-1000 is ideal for local keywords |
| KD% | Keyword Difficulty - how hard to rank | Under 50% is winnable for most sites |
| Intent | Why someone is searching this | Look for Commercial and Transactional |
| CPC | Cost per click for paid ads | High CPC means high commercial value |
For local service businesses you want keywords that are:
- Transactional or Commercial intent -- someone ready to hire
- Include the city name or "near me"
- Have a KD% under 60%
- Have at least 50 monthly searches
Pro tip: Filter by clicking the Questions tab to find question-based keywords like "how much does a plumber cost in Nashville" -- these are perfect for blog posts and AEO optimization.
Step 3 - Spy on Your Competitors with Domain Overview
One of the fastest ways to find winning local keywords is to look at what your top competitors are already ranking for. Semrush makes this very easy.
In the left sidebar click Competitive Research then Domain Overview.
Type in the website of a competitor who is ranking above you on Google Maps. For example if a competing plumber in Nashville has the website nashvilleplumbing.com, type that in and click Search.
Scroll down to Top Organic Keywords and click View all organic keywords. You will see every keyword that competitor ranks for.
Sort by Position to see their highest ranking keywords. Any keyword they rank for that you do not is a gap you can close. These are your highest priority target keywords.
Step 4 - Run a Site Audit to Find Technical SEO Issues
Before you optimize for keywords, you need to make sure Google can actually crawl and index your site properly. The Semrush Site Audit tool finds every technical issue that might be holding your rankings back.
In the left sidebar click On Page and Tech SEO then Site Audit.
Click Create Project, enter your website URL, and give the project a name. Set the crawl limit to 100 pages for a small local business site.
Click Start Site Audit and wait 2-5 minutes for the crawl to complete.
The audit gives you a Site Health Score out of 100. For a local business website anything below 80 means there are significant issues to fix.
The issues are split into three categories:
- Errors - fix these first, they actively hurt your rankings
- Warnings - fix these second, they are limiting your potential
- Notices - optional improvements
The most common errors I find on local business websites are:
- Broken internal links returning 404 errors
- Missing meta descriptions on service pages
- Duplicate title tags across multiple pages
- Images without alt text
- Slow page speed affecting Core Web Vitals
- Missing or incorrect schema markup
Click on any error to see exactly which pages are affected and what to fix. Semrush gives you a plain English explanation of each issue and how to resolve it.
Step 5 - Track Your Local Rankings with Position Tracking
Once you start optimizing you need to know if it is working. Semrush Position Tracking lets you monitor your keyword rankings in a specific city on a daily basis.
In the left sidebar click Rank Tracking then Position Tracking.
Click Set up and enter your website, your target city (be specific - "Nashville, Tennessee, United States"), and the keywords you want to track.
Add the 10 to 15 most important local keywords for your business. Click Start Tracking.
Within 24 hours you will see your current rankings for each keyword. Check this weekly to see if your optimizations are working. When a keyword moves from position 15 to position 8 you know your strategy is working -- keep going. When rankings drop you know something changed and you need to investigate.
Step 6 - Check Your Backlink Profile
For Local SEO, backlinks from local websites and directories carry significant weight. Semrush Backlink Analytics shows you every website that links to yours and every website that links to your competitors.
In the left sidebar click Link Building then Backlink Analytics.
Enter your website URL and click Analyze.
The number that matters most for local SEO is Referring Domains - the number of unique websites linking to yours. Compare this to your top competitor. If they have 150 referring domains and you have 30, that is a gap you need to close through local link building, citation building, and guest posting.Free Plan vs Paid Plan - What Do You Actually Need?
| Feature | Free Plan | Pro Plan ($139.95/mo) |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword searches per day | 10 | Unlimited |
| Site Audit pages | 100 | 100,000 |
| Position Tracking keywords | 10 | 500 |
| Competitor analysis | Limited | Full access |
| Backlink data | Limited | Full access |
| Local SEO toolkit | No | Yes |
My recommendation: Start with the free plan to follow this guide and get familiar with the interface. If you are doing SEO for clients or your own business seriously, the Pro plan pays for itself after one or two ranking improvements. A single new client from better Google Maps rankings is worth more than a year of Semrush.
Final Thoughts
Semrush is not a magic button. It is a data tool. The value is in knowing what data to look at, what questions to ask, and what actions to take based on the answers. That is what this guide is designed to help you do.
Start with the free account, run your first keyword search for your city and service, audit your site, and set up position tracking for your top 10 keywords. That alone will give you a clearer picture of your local SEO situation than most business owners ever have.
If you have questions about any step in this guide or how to apply what you find to your specific business -- drop a comment below or reach out directly. I read every message.
Ready to Try Semrush?
Start with the free plan - no credit card required. Upgrade when you are ready.
Start Semrush Free TodaySumon Bhattacharya is a Local SEO specialist with 12+ years of experience helping home service businesses in the USA rank on Google Maps and in AI search. Connect on LinkedIn.
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