SEMRush Alternative — Domain Overview, Keywords & Backlinks

Turn a domain or a seed keyword into Semrush-style SEO rows: domain overview, organic keywords, competitors, keyword overview, keyword ideas, and backlinks. You do not need a Semrush login or cookie. Built for SEO teams and agents that want structured competitor research on Apify with API, schedule, and MCP access.

Best fit for this Actor

• Score a competitor domain's organic traffic estimate, keyword count, and backlink summary in one row.
• Export the organic keywords a domain ranks for, with volume, CPC, difficulty, and rank.
• Expand a seed phrase into keyword ideas, then keep the ones with workable volume.

When you already have a finished keyword list and only need volume plus CPC, start with Keyword Search Volume API. After you pick phrases to watch, continue with Keyword Rank Tracker.

Practical scenario

An SEO lead pastes ahrefs.com, keeps mode on domain_overview, and runs the Actor. The dataset returns one row with organicTraffic, organicKeywordCount, backlinks, referringDomains, and rankScore. They then switch mode to organic_keywords with maxResults 5 to inspect the highest-volume ranking phrases before briefing content. Unknown or empty matches finish SUCCEEDED with VALID_EMPTY and no seo-record charge.

Quick start input

{
  "mode": "domain_overview",
  "target": "ahrefs.com",
  "locationName": "United States",
  "languageCode": "en",
  "maxResults": 5
}

target accepts a bare domain or a full URL. Keyword modes use keywords instead of target.

Input reference

Field	Type	What it controls
mode	enum	domain_overview, organic_keywords, competitors, keyword_overview, keyword_ideas, or backlinks. Default domain_overview.
target	string	Domain or URL for domain and backlink modes. Example: ahrefs.com.
keywords	array	Seed phrases for keyword_overview and keyword_ideas. Example: ["seo tools"].
locationName	string	Country name. Default United States.
languageCode	string	Language code such as en. Default en.
maxResults	integer	Row cap 1–100. Default 5. Domain overview still writes at most one row.

Owner API credentials are already configured for Store runs. This Actor does not accept user API keys.

What data you receive

One dataset item is one domain, keyword, competitor, or backlink row.

{
  "mode": "domain_overview",
  "target": "ahrefs.com",
  "domain": "ahrefs.com",
  "locationName": "United States",
  "languageCode": "en",
  "organicKeywordCount": 1200,
  "organicTraffic": 45000,
  "backlinks": 9000,
  "referringDomains": 1200,
  "rankScore": 450,
  "source": "semrush_alternative/domain_overview",
  "status": "OK",
  "fetchedAt": "2026-08-21T18:00:00.000Z"
}

Field	Meaning
organicTraffic / organicKeywordCount	Organic traffic estimate and ranking-keyword count
backlinks / referringDomains	Live backlink summary for the same domain
rankScore	Upstream SEO rank score, not Semrush Authority Score
source	Mode provenance label for the row

OUTPUT and RUN_SUMMARY in the default key-value store hold outcome, itemsPushed, chargedEventCounts, and providerCostUsd. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML.

Use through the API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/khadinakbar~semrush-alternative/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode":"domain_overview","target":"ahrefs.com","maxResults":5}'

Use with AI agents through Apify MCP

Run a Semrush-style domain overview for ahrefs.com in the United States. Return organicTraffic, organicKeywordCount, backlinks, referringDomains, rankScore, source, and fetchedAt. Read OUTPUT.outcome and itemsPushed. Do not treat rankScore as Semrush Authority Score.

Connect via https://mcp.apify.com. Cost signal: about $0.05 per successful SEO API request plus $0.01 per saved row.

Connect the workflow

• When you already have phrases and only need volume plus CPC, then use Keyword Search Volume API.
• After you choose phrases to monitor, continue with Keyword Rank Tracker.
• For broader SERP capture after keyword selection, continue with Google SERP All-in-One Scraper.

Pricing

This Actor uses Pay per event plus Apify platform usage. The live Pricing tab is the current source of truth for billing details.

• apify-actor-start: $0.00005 per run
• seo-api-request: $0.05 per successful upstream SEO API task
• seo-record: $0.012 per persisted row

A domain-overview prefill is two API tasks plus one row. Empty matches have no seo-record charge. Provider cost is recorded in RUN_SUMMARY.providerCostUsd.

How it works

1. Normalize the domain or keyword list for the selected mode.
2. Call the matching upstream SEO API endpoint for that mode.
3. Charge seo-api-request after each successful task.
4. Charge seo-record, then write each validated dataset row.

Best results

• Use a real hostname such as ahrefs.com rather than a Semrush app URL.
• Keep maxResults at 5 while you confirm the output shape, then raise it for exports.
• Treat traffic, volume, and rank as model estimates for public keywords and domains you are authorized to research.
• A valid query with no match finishes SUCCEEDED with VALID_EMPTY.

Builder's note

I found that Semrush Store scrapers depend on public Semrush pages that change and that our earlier semrush-api-scraper still asked users for their own key. Routing this SKU through owner-managed upstream SEO APIs keeps the Semrush-shaped modes (overview, organic keywords, competitors, ideas, backlinks) without claiming Semrush Authority Score, scraping Semrush, or asking buyers for API keys. Domain overview merges two provider tasks into one billed row so a first run stays forecastable.

Legal and responsible use

Use this Actor with public SEO research you are authorized to run. Metrics are independent of Semrush Inc. Follow applicable law and the upstream data provider terms, and keep the output in your own compliance workflow.

Issues and feature requests: use the Actor Issues tab on Apify.