Semrush: Fix Content Performance Mistakes Now

Content performance is the lifeblood of any successful marketing campaign. Are you making these common mistakes that are silently killing your results?

Crafting compelling content is only half the battle. Without careful monitoring and analysis, even the most brilliant pieces can fall flat. I’ve seen countless campaigns stumble because marketers overlook critical content performance metrics and make easily avoidable mistakes. Fortunately, tools like Semrush offer robust solutions to help us track, analyze, and improve our content.

## Step 1: Setting Up Your Semrush Project for Content Tracking

The foundation of effective content performance analysis in Semrush Semrush starts with creating a dedicated project. Think of it as your central hub for all things related to a specific website or campaign.

### Creating a New Project

1. Navigate to “Projects”: On the left-hand sidebar of your Semrush dashboard, click on “Projects”.
2. Click “Create Project”: You’ll find a prominent button labeled “Create Project” at the top right of the page. Click it.
3. Enter Domain Name: Enter the domain name of the website you want to track. For example, if you’re working on a project for Smith & Jones Law Firm in downtown Atlanta, you’d enter their website, smithandjoneslaw.com.
4. Name Your Project: Give your project a descriptive name. Something like “Smith & Jones – Content Audit” works well.
5. Click “Create”: Semrush will then generate a new project dashboard for you.

Pro Tip: I recommend creating separate projects for different clients or major campaigns. This keeps your data organized and prevents confusion.

### Configuring Site Audit

The Site Audit tool is crucial for identifying technical SEO issues that can impact content performance.

1. Find the “Site Audit” Tool: Within your newly created project dashboard, locate the “Site Audit” tool. It’s usually under the “SEO” section.
2. Configure Audit Settings: Click “Setup Site Audit”. Here, you’ll configure the audit’s parameters.

• Crawling Scope: Choose the number of pages to crawl. For smaller sites (under 500 pages), crawl all pages. For larger sites, you might start with a sample.
• Crawler Source: Leave this as “Semrush Bot” unless you have a specific reason to use a different crawler.
• User-Agent: Keep the default user-agent.
• Schedule: Set up a recurring schedule (e.g., weekly) to automatically run the audit.

1. Run the Audit: Click “Start Site Audit”. Semrush will begin crawling your website and identifying issues.

Common Mistake: Failing to set up a recurring Site Audit. Technical issues can creep up over time, so regular audits are essential.

Expected Outcome: After the audit completes, you’ll receive a report highlighting technical SEO issues like broken links, slow page load speeds, and crawl errors. Addressing these issues can significantly improve your content’s visibility in search results.

## Step 2: Keyword Research and Content Gap Analysis

Keyword research is the cornerstone of any successful content strategy. You need to know what your audience is searching for and how your competitors are ranking.

### Identifying Target Keywords

1. Navigate to “Keyword Research” > “Keyword Magic Tool”: In the Semrush menu, go to “Keyword Research” and select “Keyword Magic Tool”.
2. Enter a Seed Keyword: Enter a broad keyword related to your industry. For Smith & Jones Law Firm, you might enter “personal injury lawyer Atlanta.”
3. Analyze Keyword Variations: The Keyword Magic Tool will generate a list of related keywords, along with their search volume, keyword difficulty, and other metrics.
4. Filter and Sort: Use the filters to narrow down the list. For example, you can filter by “Questions” to find question-based keywords. Sort by “Volume” to prioritize keywords with high search volume.
5. Create a Keyword List: Add relevant keywords to a list. This list will serve as your target keyword list for content creation.

Pro Tip: Pay attention to keyword intent. Are users searching for information, looking to buy something, or trying to find a specific website? Tailor your content to match the user’s intent.

### Performing a Content Gap Analysis

This feature is a game-changer. It reveals keywords your competitors are ranking for, but you’re not.

1. Navigate to “SEO” > “Content Gap”: In the Semrush menu, go to “SEO” and select “Content Gap”.
2. Enter Competitor Domains: Enter the domains of your top competitors. You can find these by searching for your target keywords on Google and identifying the websites that consistently rank high.
3. Enter Your Domain: Enter your own domain in the “Your Website” field.
4. Click “Find Keywords”: Semrush will analyze the keyword rankings of your competitors and identify opportunities for your website.

Common Mistake: Neglecting long-tail keywords. These are longer, more specific phrases that often have lower search volume but higher conversion rates. Focus on answering specific questions or addressing niche topics.

Expected Outcome: You’ll receive a list of keywords that your competitors are ranking for but you’re not. This list represents potential content opportunities. Create content that targets these keywords to improve your website’s visibility.

## Step 3: Tracking Content Performance with Position Tracking and Analytics

Once you’ve created and published your content, it’s crucial to track its performance. Semrush offers several tools for monitoring your content’s success.

### Setting Up Position Tracking

Position Tracking allows you to monitor your website’s ranking for specific keywords over time.

1. Navigate to “SEO” > “Position Tracking”: In the Semrush menu, go to “SEO” and select “Position Tracking”.
2. Add Target Keywords: Enter the keywords you identified in Step 2.
3. Select Target Location: Specify the geographic location you want to track rankings in. For Smith & Jones Law Firm, you’d select “Atlanta, GA”.
4. Add Competitors: Add your top competitors to track their rankings alongside yours.
5. Run Position Tracking: Semrush will begin tracking your website’s ranking for the specified keywords.

Pro Tip: Regularly monitor your position tracking report to identify any drops in rankings. Investigate the cause of the drop and take corrective action. I had a client last year who saw a sudden drop in rankings after a website redesign. We discovered that the new website had inadvertently blocked Google from crawling certain pages.

### Integrating Google Analytics 5 (GA5)

Connecting your GA5 account to Semrush provides valuable insights into user behavior on your website.

1. Navigate to “My Profile” > “Integrations”: In the Semrush menu, click on your profile icon and select “Integrations”.
2. Connect Google Analytics 5: Click the “Connect” button next to Google Analytics 5.
3. Authorize Semrush Access: Follow the prompts to authorize Semrush to access your GA5 data.

Common Mistake: Forgetting to set up conversion tracking in GA5. Conversion tracking allows you to measure the effectiveness of your content in driving leads, sales, or other desired actions. For more on this, check out our article on how to measure content marketing ROI.

Expected Outcome: Once you’ve connected GA5, you’ll be able to see key metrics like pageviews, bounce rate, time on page, and conversion rates directly within your Semrush dashboard. This data will help you understand how users are interacting with your content and identify areas for improvement.

## Step 4: Analyzing On-Page SEO and Content Optimization

Semrush’s On-Page SEO Checker helps you identify opportunities to optimize your content for better search engine rankings.

### Running the On-Page SEO Checker

1. Navigate to “SEO” > “On-Page SEO Checker”: In the Semrush menu, go to “SEO” and select “On-Page SEO Checker”.
2. Enter Target Pages and Keywords: Enter the URLs of the pages you want to analyze, along with the target keywords for those pages.
3. Click “Get Ideas”: Semrush will analyze your pages and provide recommendations for improving their on-page SEO.

### Implementing Optimization Recommendations

The On-Page SEO Checker provides a variety of recommendations, including:

• Keyword Usage: Ensuring that your target keywords are used in the title tag, meta description, headings, and body text.
• Content Length: Recommending optimal content length based on competitor analysis.
• Readability: Suggesting improvements to readability to make your content more engaging.
• Internal Linking: Identifying opportunities to add internal links to related pages.
• Backlinks: Recommending potential backlinks opportunities.

Pro Tip: Don’t blindly follow all of the On-Page SEO Checker’s recommendations. Use your judgment and prioritize the recommendations that are most relevant to your audience and your business goals. Here’s what nobody tells you: sometimes, focusing too much on keyword density can make your content sound unnatural and less engaging.

Common Mistake: Ignoring mobile optimization. With the majority of internet traffic coming from mobile devices, it’s essential to ensure that your content is mobile-friendly. You can review on-page SEO to ensure all best practices are in place.

Expected Outcome: By implementing the On-Page SEO Checker’s recommendations, you can improve your content’s relevance and readability, making it more appealing to both search engines and users. This can lead to higher rankings and increased traffic.

By diligently using Semrush and avoiding these common pitfalls, you can unlock the true potential of your content and drive meaningful results for your business.

The key takeaway here is to remember that content performance is an ongoing process. It requires continuous monitoring, analysis, and optimization. Don’t just create content and forget about it. Track its performance, identify areas for improvement, and make adjustments as needed. Also, content optimization is essential for success.