SEJ Exclusive: Surfer SEO Unveils New Semrush Integration

Surfer SEO has a new growth management tool that includes backlink data provided by industry leader, Semrush.

Here’s what the integration means for users.

Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO is a machine learning tool used by SEOs to conduct keyword research, create content strategies, and generate AI outlines.

Companies such as Square, ClickUp, and Shopify use the tool, in addition to over 15,000 other brands and agencies.

Semrush

Semrush is an enterprise SEO tool marketers use to audit websites, conduct competitor analysis and develop content strategies.

IBM, TESLA, and Amazon are just a few companies using it, in addition to more than 10 million marketing professionals.

Starting today, Surfer SEO will use Semrush’s backlink data to expand Grow Flow task recommendations.

Grow Flow

Grow Flow is like your friendly SEO AI assistant.

Described on the Surfer website as an “AI growth management platform,” the tool provides a few SEO tasks each week to help you stay on track — and not get lost in the overwhelming amount of information that comes with learning SEO.

For example, it may recommend adding keywords (GSC) that a website is ranking for but not explicitly speaking to in an article.

Or, the tool may recommend where to add internal links.

Screenshot from Grow Flow, June 2022

It can also recommend new content topics that users can open in a content editor at the push of a button.

Screenshot from Grow Flow, June 2022

The integration with Semrush comes into play in the Grow Flow recommendations.

Once you connect Surfer to the freemium Semrush account, you unlock new tasks.

Screenshot from Grow Flow, June 2022

Voila – a list of referring domains every week pulled from your competitors!

Screenshot from Grow Flow, June 2022

Manually researching a competitor’s backlinks is a considerable drain on internal resources. Thanks to this integration, you’ll discover new opportunities automatically.

An Industry First

Until now, Semrush has not integrated with an SEO company.

Historically, Semrush has only integrated with Google Products like Search Console and Analytics, and social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.

It’s also worked with task management tools like Trello and Monday.com – but never a direct SEO competitor.

Semrush’s “SEO writing assistant” feature is a direct competitor to Surfer’s “SEO Content Editor”: one of its most popular features.

So, why partner and offer this fantastic AI assistant to search marketers – for free?

I asked Tomasz Niezgoda, Surfer SEO’s Marketing Executive and Partner, how this partnership came to be.

“Pretty straightforward,” he said. “Semrush reached out to us with a proposition to integrate Surfer inside their marketplace [and] After some time, we decided to give it a shot and started working on this integration.”

From the beginning, Semrush felt like this would be a successful integration because it was applying its backlink data in a customer-oriented way.

“For Semrush, it’s a very meaningful integration. It allows Surfer SEO users to gain valuable link building insights and knowledge, which is crucial for ranking their content,” said Eugene Levin, President, Semrush.

What This Means

Two major SEO competitors are working together to create a free tool for small business owners and entry-level marketers to develop weekly best practices.

Matt Diggity, CEO and Founder at Diggity Marketing, calls the tool “Simple. Efficient. Automated.”

“You get the list every week and gain immediate insights [into] which referrals your competition is getting. Then, you can start working on your own link-building strategy straight away.”

The two giants hint that combining Semrush’s backlink data with the machine learning power of Surfer is only the beginning.

“We like each other,” said Niezgoda. “Maybe it’s just the first integration that’s coming.”

Featured Image: Screenshot from Grow Flow, June 2022