How to Use Semrush for Keyword Research (Walkthrough)

To use Semrush for keyword research, open the Keyword Magic Tool, type in one broad seed term, switch the country database to the United Kingdom, then filter the suggestions by keyword difficulty, search intent and question phrasing until only realistic targets remain. Export that shortlist, cluster it in Keyword Strategy Builder, and assign each cluster to a single page. That is the entire method in three sentences. The rest of this walkthrough shows every click, the exact filter settings we use for UK clients at Luckywebs (a London SEO and web agency), and an honest account of where the data stops being trustworthy. If you are brand new to the platform, start with our Semrush for beginners guide first.

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What does keyword research in Semrush actually involve?

Keyword research in Semrush means finding the search terms real people type into Google, qualifying each one by volume, difficulty and intent, then grouping the survivors into page-sized clusters. That is the same five-stage process behind any answer to how to do keyword research: seed, expand, qualify, group, map. Semrush compresses the middle three stages into one screen. Its keyword database held more than 27 billion terms as of July 2026 (per Semrush’s own published figures), and every term carries a monthly search volume, a Keyword Difficulty score from 0 to 100, one of four intent labels and a cost-per-click figure. Three tools do the heavy lifting: Keyword Overview for checking a single term, the Keyword Magic Tool for expanding a seed into thousands of suggestions, and Keyword Strategy Builder for clustering the output. This Semrush keyword research tutorial concentrates on the Keyword Magic Tool because that is where the real work happens.

How do you set up Semrush for UK keyword research?

Setting up Semrush for UK keyword research means changing one default before anything else: the country database. Semrush opens on the US database, and US search volumes are typically several times higher than their UK equivalents (the US has roughly five times the UK’s population), so a keyword plan built on the wrong database overpromises from day one. The database selector sits directly beside the search box in the Keyword Magic Tool; set it to United Kingdom and it stays put for the session. The table below shows the baseline settings we apply on UK client campaigns before touching any filters.

Setting	Our UK baseline	Why
Country database	United Kingdom	Volumes, difficulty and CPC all change per country
Match type tab	Broad Match	Widest net first; narrow later
Volume filter	Leave open initially	UK niches often live below 100 searches a month
Keyword Difficulty	0 to 49 for newer sites	Matches Semrush’s Very easy to Possible bands
Intent	Depends on the page type	Commercial or transactional for money pages
Questions toggle	On for blog research	Surfaces FAQ and guide topics

How do you use Semrush for keyword research step by step?

Using Semrush for keyword research comes down to one repeatable Keyword Magic Tool workflow. Here is the sequence we run for every new topic:

1. Open the Keyword Magic Tool from the left-hand SEO menu.
2. Enter one broad seed term of one or two words, for example “roller garage doors” rather than “cheap roller garage doors Norwich”.
3. Set the country database to United Kingdom and run the search.
4. Scan the Broad Match tab first, then check Phrase Match, Exact Match and Related for variants and synonyms.
5. Use the include and exclude boxes to remove subtopics you do not serve (brands you do not stock, locations you do not cover).
6. Filter Keyword Difficulty to a band your site can genuinely compete in (more on the bands below).
7. Filter by intent to match the page you plan to build.
8. Toggle Questions on and harvest the best ones for FAQ sections and supporting blog posts.
9. Tick the survivors and send them to Keyword Strategy Builder, or export them.

Which Keyword Magic Tool filters matter most?

Three Keyword Magic Tool filters do most of the qualifying work: Keyword Difficulty, intent and Questions. Keyword Difficulty (KD) estimates how hard a term is to rank for on a 0 to 100 scale, and Semrush splits that scale into six named bands (as of July 2026, per the Semrush knowledge base):

KD range	Semrush label	What it means in practice
0 to 14	Very easy	Realistic for new sites with few links
15 to 29	Easy	Winnable with solid content alone
30 to 49	Possible	Needs well-structured, optimised pages
50 to 69	Difficult	Needs quality backlinks as well
70 to 84	Hard	Significant link building required
85 to 100	Very hard	Established authorities only

The intent filter tags every keyword as informational, navigational, commercial or transactional, which tells you whether the term deserves a blog post or a service page. The Questions toggle strips the list back to question phrasings only: ready-made headings for guides and FAQ blocks.

How do you export and cluster keywords in Semrush?

Exporting and clustering in Semrush happens in two moves. First the export: the Keyword Magic Tool downloads your filtered list as XLSX, CSV or semicolon-separated CSV, which is what we hand to spreadsheets for keyword mapping. Second, and usually better, send keywords straight to Keyword Strategy Builder instead. As of July 2026 a regular or clustered list holds up to 2,000 keywords, a structured list can analyse up to 10,000, and the tool groups them into topics, pillar pages and subpages based on what actually ranks together. You can also start a structured list from up to 5 seed keywords and let it propose the whole cluster map itself. Before exporting anything, run this pre-flight check:

• Database still set to United Kingdom
• Competitor brand terms excluded
• Locations you do not serve excluded
• KD band matches your site’s real authority
• Intent filter matches the page type you are planning
• Duplicated singular/plural variants deselected

How do you turn a keyword list into pages?

Turning a keyword list into pages is where keyword research earns its keep, and the rule is one cluster, one page. Each cluster gets a single primary keyword (the highest-volume term that matches the page’s intent) plus a handful of supporting terms that belong on the same URL because Google already ranks the same pages for them. Before committing, search your primary term in an incognito window and check the pages actually ranking: if they are all retailers and you planned a blog post, the intent label misled you. Then check what competitors already rank for that you do not; our guide to SEO competitor analysis covers that gap analysis step by step. The same mapping discipline sits behind results like the 44% revenue growth at our client TWF Roller Garage Doors, where keyword research fed a wider redesign and SEO programme. Once pages are live, measure them properly: see how to track keyword rankings, and browse the full SEO tools hub for the rest of the stack.

Where does Semrush keyword data hit its ceiling?

Semrush keyword data has real limits, and pretending otherwise is how bad content plans get signed off. Search volumes are modelled averages, not live counts, so treat them as relative rankings between terms rather than traffic forecasts. UK long-tail and local terms frequently show zero volume yet convert well; a “0” in Semrush is not proof nobody searches it. Keyword Difficulty is weighted heavily towards backlink profiles and knows nothing about your site’s topical authority, so a KD 55 term can be reachable for a specialist and hopeless for a generalist. Intent labels are algorithmic and misfire on ambiguous terms. Once pages are live, Google Search Console is the ground truth. If the price of all this modelled data stings, read our SE Ranking review, the tool we use for client rank tracking, the Semrush alternatives comparison, and our head-to-head on SE Ranking vs Semrush.

What does Semrush cost for keyword research?

Semrush retired its Pro, Guru and Business plans in late 2025, so ignore older roundups still quoting those tiers ($139.95, $249.95 and $499.95 per month): those legacy plans no longer appear on the pricing page. As of July 2026 the current line-up is: SEO plan at $139/month (about £102) ($117.33/month, about £86, billed annually), Starter at $199/month (about £146) ($165.17, about £121, annually), Pro+ at $299/month (about £220) ($248.17, about £182, annually) and Advanced at $549/month (about £403) ($455.67, about £335, annually). All prices are in USD and exclude VAT, so UK buyers pay VAT on top at their card provider’s exchange rate. A free account exists but allows only 10 report requests per day, which is enough to follow this tutorial once, not to run a campaign. The pricing page also advertised a 7-day free trial (cancel anytime) as of July 2026; confirm the exact terms for your chosen plan at checkout. For the full tier-by-tier breakdown, see our Semrush pricing guide.

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FAQ: Semrush keyword research

Is the Keyword Magic Tool free to use?

Partly. A free Semrush account can open the Keyword Magic Tool, but as of July 2026 free users get only 10 report requests per day across Semrush’s analytics tools, and each report shows only the first 10 rows. That is enough to test the workflow on one topic; a paid plan or the 7-day trial is needed for a full mapping project.

How accurate are Semrush search volumes for the UK?

Semrush UK volumes are modelled estimates, useful for comparing terms against each other rather than predicting traffic. The ordering is usually sensible even when the absolute numbers are not, and low-volume local terms are routinely under-reported. Validate anything business-critical against Google Search Console impressions once a page is live.

What is a good keyword difficulty score to target?

It depends on your site’s authority. As a working rule for newer UK sites, we shortlist from the 0 to 49 range (Semrush’s Very easy, Easy and Possible bands) and only chase 50-plus terms where the site already has strong links and topical depth. A KD score is an estimate, so sanity-check the live SERP before committing a page.

Can Semrush cluster keywords automatically?

Yes. Keyword Strategy Builder groups keywords into topics, pillar pages and subpages based on shared ranking pages. As of July 2026 it accepts up to 5 seed keywords for a structured list, up to 2,000 keywords per manual upload, and stores up to 200,000 keywords across all lists on a subscription. A paid plan is needed to use it beyond the free tier’s daily report limits.

How do I find keywords in Semrush that competitors rank for?

Use the Keyword Gap tool rather than the Keyword Magic Tool: it compares up to five domains side by side, yours included, and shows the terms competitors rank for that you do not. Feed the winners back into the Keyword Magic Tool to expand them, then cluster as normal. Our SEO competitor analysis guide walks through the full process.

Do I need Semrush to do keyword research at all?

No. Google Search Console, Google Autocomplete and your own customer conversations are free and often sharper on intent than any tool. We tested both of those and six more in our round-up of free keyword research tools. Semrush earns its fee on speed and scale: expanding one seed into thousands of qualified UK suggestions in minutes. If the budget does not stretch, see our Semrush alternatives comparison for cheaper stacks that cover the same workflow.

Keyword research is the part of SEO where an hour of discipline saves months of writing pages nobody searches for. If you would rather we ran this process for your site, the first conversation costs nothing.

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