6 Highly effective Methods to Use Semrush Historic Information

website positioning historic knowledge makes it potential to research key phrase rankings, spot site visitors modifications, and monitor competitor exercise.

Semrush gives dependable estimates of previous rating positions, search volumes, and extra, providing you with the context you could make extra strategic selections.

Let’s have a look at six methods to leverage historic knowledge in Semrush that may profit you.

6 Methods to Use Semrush Historic Information

Be aware: Entry to historic knowledge is on the market solely with a Guru subscription or greater. Should you don’t have a Guru plan, you possibly can attempt it free for seven days. 

1. Diagnosing website positioning Visitors Drops 

Should you expertise a drop in natural site visitors, historic knowledge might help you determine what occurred (and why). 

Among the most typical causes embody Google algorithm updates, website migrations or redesigns, and modifications to the SERP structure (like new AI Overviews or added advertisements that push natural outcomes down).

In Semrush, you possibly can examine estimated natural site visitors to any area over time to see the way it’s modified.

Begin your investigation in Natural Analysis. 

Go to the “Overview” report, click on on the “Visitors” tab, and choose the specified months to see estimated site visitors over time. So you possibly can pinpoint when the drop started.

Look alongside the timeline for small “G” icons. These point out recognized algorithm updates. 

Click on on any “G” for particulars concerning the replace kind and date. 

It’s also possible to search for notes left by your staff, which can clarify issues like website modifications, launches, or migrations.

Then, you possibly can determine the key phrases related to the shift. 

To do that, head to the “Place Modifications” tab and ensure your chosen time vary contains the important thing months with drops. 

Scroll right down to the key phrases desk and click on the “Modifications on SERP” filter to isolate drops in key phrase rankings.

This view reveals you which ones key phrases misplaced visibility resulting from modifications on the search outcomes web page.

Have a look at the “Modifications on SERP” column for clues about what pushed your content material down.

If not one of the above components appear to elucidate the decline, it might be an indication that your content material is outdated. In that case, contemplate updating and optimizing the web page to regain misplaced floor.

2. Figuring out Beforehand Excessive-Performing Content material 

Historic knowledge helps you notice content material that when carried out effectively, so you possibly can revive it earlier than issues worsen.

Semrush enables you to determine the key phrases your content material used to rank extremely and provides you concepts on the right way to greatest refresh your web page. 

• Open the Natural Analysis software and enter your area
• Click on on the “Place Modifications” tab
• Use the date selector to set a date vary
• Filter for “Declined” key phrases
• Search for numbers which have considerably dipped within the “Diff.” column—these are seemingly tied to pages which have misplaced traction

Click on on any key phrase that stands out to open it in Key phrase Overview.

This reveals historic key phrase knowledge for that time period, together with search quantity and issue. Which can make it easier to perceive what might have shifted.

Scroll right down to the “SERP Evaluation” part to see what’s presently rating for that time period.

Go to a couple of of the highest outcomes and have a look at how they’re structured—what subtopics they embody, how they set up the web page, and the way up-to-date the knowledge is. 

You should utilize these insights to information your content material replace.

3. Creating Reviews with Context

website positioning reporting is all about exhibiting enchancment over time, and website positioning historic knowledge offers you a strategy to examine your present outcomes to previous efficiency. 

Particularly, historic knowledge helps you:

• Uncover seasonal developments 
• Measure year-over-year development
• Hyperlink previous actions to long-term outcomes
• Evaluate towards rivals throughout prolonged timeframes

Proof of long-term progress helps to justify continued funding.

Earlier than placing collectively a report, determine what important metrics you’re reporting on and what your time vary must be. 

For instance, let’s say you shifted your technique in October 2023 to focus extra on product opinions and shopping for guides. 

A 12 months later, you wish to measure the affect of that change by evaluating page-level website positioning efficiency between October 2023 and October 2024.

Open Natural Analysis and click on on the “Pages” report.

Use the date selector to toggle between timeframes and examine which URLs gained or misplaced site visitors.

Right here’s October 2023:

And right here’s October 2024:

These views spotlight that the adjustment in technique was efficient. One of many information pages now brings in additional than 60K visits. And the 12 months prior, no web page had even 1K visits. 

After figuring out your top-performing pages, go to the “Place Modifications” tab to know what key phrase actions fueled the expansion.

Use the “Improved” filter to rapidly determine phrases the place your rankings have improved. And phrases that you simply’re newly rating for. 

On this case, there are prime rankings for queries like “greatest espresso machine” and “espresso machine for house.” 

Right here’s an instance report that reveals the way you may current year-over-year modifications in site visitors and key phrase positions.

You possibly can develop on it by including a couple of traces of commentary to assist stakeholders join the dots:

• What actions had been taken?
• What efficiency modifications had been most noticeable?
• What’s the plan for the subsequent quarter?

4. Learning Competitor Efficiency Over Time

If a competitor’s been gaining floor and even outperforming you for months (or years), historic website positioning knowledge offers you a strategy to learn how they obtained there.

You’ll be able to drill right down to see:

• What key phrases they had been rating for throughout every month
• Which pages gained visibility first
• How their rankings and estimated site visitors modified over time

This could reveal alternatives on your personal technique, whether or not it’s concentrating on comparable key phrases or studying from their web page construction and consolidation techniques.

To trace a competitor’s long-term natural site visitors trajectory:

• Open the Natural Analysis software and enter a competitor’s area. 
• Use the site visitors chart on the prime to set the vary (e.g., “1M,” “6M,” or “All time”)
• Search for intervals of development and decline, after which examine what modified. Discover seasonal patterns as effectively.

When you’ve noticed an fascinating time interval, use the date selector to set that month.

Then, go to the “Pages” tab to see which URLs had been driving site visitors at the moment.

Repeat for a second date—months and even years later—and examine.

For instance, a web site had over 9,000 natural pages in Could 2021 however comparatively low site visitors.

By September 2024, site visitors had greater than doubled, whereas the variety of pages had dropped considerably.

What can we draw from this? 

Given the lowered variety of URLs and elevated site visitors, it’s seemingly the corporate determined to take away skinny or outdated pages, consolidate comparable content material, and concentrate on fewer, higher-quality property.

That’s a helpful perception you may have the ability to apply to your individual website if it’s grown bloated over time.

Tip: You should utilize the Wayback Machine to see what the content material on a web site regarded like at completely different closing dates. 

5. Understanding Key phrase Patterns

Historic knowledge on key phrases helps you make selections on what phrases to pursue primarily based on greater than a single snapshot.

Use the Key phrase Overview software to see how a time period has modified over time:

• Open the software and enter a key phrase you’re evaluating
• Use the date selector close to the highest to alter time intervals
• Evaluate completely different months throughout the identical 12 months (e.g., February versus October)

February 2023 

October 2023

Look ahead to:

• Search quantity modifications (e.g., sharp improve)
• Search intent variations (e.g., altering from transactional to industrial)
• Key phrase Issue will increase (e.g., having greater competitors)

This info might help you perceive whether or not a key phrase is value pursuing, whether or not it’s the suitable match for the content material you keep in mind, and whether or not you’re prone to rank for the time period.

6. Recovering Misplaced website positioning Information

Semrush’s historic knowledge helps you recuperate previous website positioning insights—like site visitors developments, key phrase rankings, and top-performing pages—even in the event you not have entry to beforehand used website positioning platforms or monitoring instruments.

To get began, open the Area Overview software and enter your area.

Use the date selector to view site visitors and key phrase knowledge from earlier months. 

Above the site visitors chart, set the view to “All time” to know the larger image.

You’ll see details about estimated natural site visitors and complete rating key phrases over time. 

Scroll right down to see prime key phrases, look in SERP options, key phrase rankings by intent, and the way rankings are distributed throughout varied positions.

Repeat this course of for every month you could rebuild your website positioning timeline.

That is particularly helpful while you’re documenting older website positioning efforts or evaluating long-term developments throughout a number of years.

Semrush Historic Information FAQs

How Far Again Does Semrush’s website positioning Historic Information Go?

Right here’s the breakdown of historic knowledge entry throughout some Semrush instruments:

Can You Import Historic Information from Different website positioning Platforms?

Sure! Should you’re transitioning to Semrush on the annual Guru plan or greater, you possibly can import historic knowledge from a number of different platforms, together with Moz, Superior Internet Rating, Rank Ranger, BrightEdge, SE Rating, RankWatch, and Linkdex.

Can You Check Historic Information Earlier than Subscribing to a Plan?

Completely! Begin a free seven-day trial of the Guru plan to see what’s potential.