Semrush SEO API - Keyword Research, Domain & Backlinks

Semrush API Scraper - Keyword Research, Domain & Backlinks

Semrush data without a Semrush subscription. One actor, four modes: keyword research (search volume, keyword difficulty, CPC, intent, related keyword ideas), domain overview (authority score, traffic trend, top keywords), competitor analysis (organic competitors) and a backlink checker (authority-scored backlinks, anchors, referring domains).

PNDA · SEO & Google suite • Semrush, Google Search, Google Maps

Semrush Scraper ➤ You are here Google SERP API SERP, People Also Ask, ads & rank checks Google Maps Scraper Places, reviews, emails & local leads Email Extractor Emails, phones & socials from any website

No login, no API key, no cookies to manage. Pick a mode, type a keyword or a domain, choose one of 47 country databases, click Run. Results land in a clean Apify dataset you can export to JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or pull from the Apify API, n8n, Make, Zapier or your own code.

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What can this Semrush scraper do?

Mode	Input	What you get
🔍 keyword - Keyword research	a seed keyword	Keyword ideas with search volume, keyword difficulty (KD), CPC, competition, intent, SERP features, 12-month trend. Up to 10,000 keywords per run.
🌐 domain - Domain overview	a domain	Authority score, number of backlinks, organic traffic trend, top organic keywords, main competitors, referring domains.
🥊 competitors - Competitor analysis	a domain	Organic competitors with competition level, shared keywords, ranking keywords, traffic, traffic value, paid keywords.
🔗 backlinks - Backlink checker	a domain or URL	Authority-scored backlinks: page authority score, source URL and title, anchor text, target URL, first and last seen.

Every mode accepts a batch of up to 100 keywords or domains in a single run (queries). Each output row carries a query field, so you can split the batch apart again.

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Why use it

• ✅ Semrush keyword research for the price of the rows - no $139+/month plan, no seat, no export limits.
• ✅ Keyword difficulty, search volume and CPC in one row - ready for content planning and PPC bid lists.
• ✅ Keyword ideas at scale - phrase, exact, broad and related match, up to 10,000 keywords per run.
• ✅ 47 countries - US, UK, CA, AU, FR, DE, IT, ES, BR, NL, JP, IN, MX, AE and 33 more.
• ✅ SEO + competitor analysis + backlinks in one actor - one input, one dataset, one bill.
• ✅ Pay per result - empty results are never charged.
• ✅ API-first - call it from the Apify API, Python/JS clients, n8n, Make, Zapier, or schedule it.

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How to use it

1. Click Try for free.
2. Choose a Mode (keyword, domain, competitors or backlinks).
3. Enter a keyword (keyword mode) or a domain (other modes) in Query, or paste up to 100 in Queries.
4. Pick a Database / country (default us).
5. Click Run, then export the dataset.

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Input

Field	Type	Modes	Description
mode	string	all	keyword (default), domain, competitors, backlinks
q	string	all	One keyword (keyword mode) or one domain (other modes)
queries	array	all	Batch of up to 100 keywords or domains. Takes precedence over q
db	string	keyword, domain, competitors	Country database: us, uk, fr, de, … (default us)
type	string	keyword	Match type: phrase (default), exact, broad, related
pages	integer	keyword	Pages of keyword ideas, 100 keywords per page (default 1, max 100)
sort_by	string	competitors	competition_level (default), common_keywords, traffic
target	string	backlinks	Specific URL for the backlink report (single query only)
target_type	string	backlinks	root_domain (default), domain, url

Keyword match types

Match type	Returns
phrase	Keywords containing the phrase
exact	Keywords containing the exact phrase as-is
broad	Broad variations, synonyms included
related	Semantically related keywords - ideal for topic clusters

Example input - keyword research

{
  "mode": "keyword",
  "q": "running shoes",
  "db": "us",
  "type": "phrase",
  "pages": 2
}

Example input - batch competitor analysis

{
  "mode": "competitors",
  "queries": ["nike.com", "adidas.com", "newbalance.com"],
  "db": "uk",
  "sort_by": "common_keywords"
}

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Output

Keyword mode (one row per keyword)

{
  "query": "running shoes",
  "phrase": "running shoes",
  "database": "us",
  "volume": 246000,
  "cpc": 0.88,
  "competition_level": 1,
  "difficulty": 71,
  "intents": [2],
  "results": 238,
  "serp_features": [3, 6, 9, 13, 25, 28, 41, 43, 50],
  "trend": [81, 44, 66, 66, 54, 66, 44, 54, 44, 81, 100, 81],
  "snapshot_date": "20260801"
}

Field	Meaning
phrase	The keyword idea
volume	Average monthly search volume
cpc	Cost per click in USD
competition_level	Paid competition (0 → 1)
difficulty	Keyword difficulty, KD (0 → 100)
results	Number of SERP results, as reported by Semrush
intents	Search intent codes (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional)
serp_features	SERP feature codes (featured snippet, People Also Ask, local pack, video…)
trend	12-month relative search trend (100 = peak month)
snapshot_date	Date of the Semrush data snapshot (YYYYMMDD)

Domain mode (one report per domain)

{
  "query": "example.com",
  "authority_score": 62,
  "number_of_backlinks": 1840233,
  "search_traffic": { "2026-07-01": 412000, "2026-08-01": 438500 },
  "competitors": [{ "domain": "competitor.com", "level": 0.31, "common_keywords": 5120, "positions": 48210 }],
  "top_keywords": [{ "phrase": "example product", "intents": [3], "cpc": 0.9, "position": 1, "traffic_percent": 4.2, "volume": 27100, "url": "https://example.com/product" }],
  "referring_domains": []
}

Competitors mode (one row per organic competitor)

{
  "query": "example.com",
  "domain": "competitor.com",
  "competition_level": 0.31,
  "common_keywords": 5120,
  "se_keywords": 48210,
  "traffic": 351000,
  "traffic_cost": 210400,
  "paid_keywords": 120
}

Backlinks mode (one row per backlink)

{
  "query": "example.com",
  "page_ascore": 54,
  "source_title": "The 10 best tools of the year",
  "source_url": "https://blog.example.org/best-tools",
  "external_link_num": 37,
  "internal_link_num": 112,
  "target_anchor": "Example",
  "target_url": "https://example.com/",
  "first_seen": 1718236800,
  "last_seen": 1727222400
}

The keyword row is a real result (October 2026, us). The other examples use illustrative values; field names match the real output.

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Use cases

• Keyword research for SEO content - turn one seed into hundreds of keyword ideas, sort by volume and keyword difficulty, build your content calendar.
• Topic clusters - use related match to group keywords into pillars and supporting articles.
• PPC and Google Ads - pull search volume, CPC and competition before you bid.
• Competitor analysis - find who you compete with organically, how many keywords you share and what their traffic is worth.
• Domain authority checks - score a list of domains by authority score and backlinks (link building, partnerships, acquisitions).
• Backlink audits and link prospecting - list a competitor's best backlinks with anchors and authority, then pitch the same sites.
• International SEO - compare the same keywords across 47 country databases.
• Agencies and SaaS - feed Semrush metrics into dashboards, Google Sheets, BigQuery or an AI writing pipeline.

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Pricing

Pay per result, billed per mode. Empty results are not charged.

Mode	Unit	Free plan	Paid Apify plans (Bronze)
keyword	per keyword	$0.006	$0.002
competitors	per competitor	$0.0075	$0.002
backlinks	per backlink	$0.0075	$0.002
domain	per domain report	$0.02	$0.01

Examples on a paid plan: 1,000 keywords ≈ $2, 100 domain reports ≈ $1. Compare with a monthly Semrush subscription.

Store discounts: Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond Apify plans pay up to 20 % less than the Bronze price. The Pricing tab of the Store page shows the exact price for each plan.

Works with a free Apify account too, billed at the Free plan price above from your monthly Apify credit. A query that was fetched recently may be answered from stored data (same price).

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Daily limits

The Semrush data behind this actor is shared by all its users, so every Apify account has a daily allowance of Semrush requests. It is large enough for normal use (95 % of accounts use far less), and it keeps one very big batch from blocking everybody else.

Apify plan	Semrush requests per day
Free	150 (free accounts also share a common daily capacity)
Paid (Bronze and above)	1,000

What one query uses:

Mode	Semrush requests per query	≈ queries per day on a paid plan
keyword	1 + 1 per page of 100 ideas (pages: 1 = 2)	500 seed keywords
domain	6	166 domain reports
competitors	1	1,000 domains
backlinks	2	500 domains

The day resets at 07:30 UTC (not at midnight).

What happens at the limit - no surprise, no charge:

• The run processes every query that fits, delivers and bills those results, then stops cleanly (status SUCCEEDED).
• The last dataset item explains it, for example:

{
  "status": "daily-limit-reached",
  "message": "Daily limit of your account reached: 1,000 Semrush requests per day (paid Apify plan), 998 used. 63 of 100 queries were processed and billed for their results; 37 queries were not processed and not charged (listed in \"notProcessedQueries\"). Your limit resets at 07:30 UTC (in 3 h 12 min): rerun them then, or split big batches over several days. ...",
  "dailyLimit": 1000,
  "usedToday": 998,
  "queriesServed": 63,
  "queriesNotServed": 37,
  "notProcessedQueries": ["example.com", "..."],
  "retryAfter": "2026-11-07T07:30:00Z",
  "charged": false
}

• Rerun exactly notProcessedQueries after retryAfter and you get the rest. Nothing is ever charged for a query that was not processed.

Rare maintenance window. If the shared Semrush capacity itself runs out, the run stops the same way with a service-unavailable item: "Service under maintenance - Semrush data is back at 07:30 UTC (in …)", with the same notProcessedQueries and retryAfter. A short refusal from Semrush (rate limit) is retried automatically before stopping.

Tip for big jobs: spread them over several days, or schedule the run daily on the remaining list.

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FAQ

Can I use it on the free Apify plan? Yes. It works with a free Apify account too, at the Free plan price per result, with 150 Semrush requests a day (see Daily limits). Free accounts also share a common daily capacity: when it is reached, the run ends with a free-plan-limit item and nothing is charged for the queries not processed. Paid Apify plans get 1,000 requests a day.

Is there a daily limit? Yes, per Apify account: 150 Semrush requests a day on the free plan, 1,000 on paid plans, reset at 07:30 UTC. At the limit the run delivers what fits, bills only that, and lists the queries to rerun (notProcessedQueries, retryAfter). See Daily limits.

Do I need a Semrush account or API key? No. The actor handles access for you. You only need an Apify account.

Is this the same data as the Semrush keyword research tool? Yes - volume, keyword difficulty, CPC, competition, intent and SERP features come from Semrush's own keyword database, for the country database you choose.

How many keywords can I get per run? Up to 10,000 for one seed keyword (pages: 100, 101 Semrush requests of your daily allowance). In a batch, the page budget is shared across queries (100 pages per run in total), so split very large batches across several runs.

Can I check many domains at once? Yes. Put up to 100 domains in queries. Each row has a query field telling you which domain it belongs to.

Which countries are supported? 47 databases: us, uk, ca, au, br, fr, de, it, es, nl, se, dk, be, no, ie, ar, mx, co, cl, pe, in, sg, id, ph, my, th, vn, jp, hk, cn, tr, za, il, sa, ae, pl, cz, ro, hu, at, ch, pt, fi, gr, nz, ru, ua. Backlinks mode is global.

Can I use it as a Semrush alternative or Ahrefs alternative for keyword research? If you need keyword volume, keyword difficulty, competitors and backlinks as data rather than a dashboard, yes: you pay per row instead of a monthly seat.

Can I call it from code or no-code tools? Yes. Use the Apify API, the Python or JavaScript client, or the Apify integrations for n8n, Make, Zapier and Google Sheets. You can also schedule runs.

What happens if one query in a batch fails? The run continues with the other queries. The failed query is logged and not charged.

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Related actors

• Google SERP API: Need the live Google results for your keywords? Rankings, ads and People Also Ask as JSON, any country.
• Email Extractor: Doing link building? Extract the contact emails of the referring domains or sites you want a link from.
• Email Finder: Need the editor or owner behind a site? Find a named person's email from the domain.

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Start now

Pick a mode, type a keyword or a domain, choose a country, click Run. Semrush keyword research, competitor analysis and backlinks, on tap.