How to Connect Semrush API to Claude: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you’re doing keyword research, competitor audits, or backlink analysis every week, you already know how repetitive it gets — open Semrush, pull a report, export a CSV, copy numbers into a doc, then start writing. Connecting your Semrush API to Claude lets you skip most of that. You ask Claude a question in plain English, it calls the Semrush API in the background, and you get a formatted answer — keyword lists, difficulty scores, backlink profiles — right inside the chat.

The best part: you don’t need an expensive plan to try this. Semrush gives every account a small pool of free API units, so anyone with a Semrush login can test this workflow before deciding whether to scale it up.

What Is the Semrush API (and Why Connect It to Claude)?

The Semrush API is a way to pull Semrush’s data — keyword volume, keyword difficulty, backlinks, organic positions, domain overviews — directly into another tool, instead of manually browsing the Semrush dashboard. Normally that means writing code or using a connector. Claude removes that barrier: once it has your API key, you can just type a research request in normal language and get structured output back.

For an agency or an in-house SEO team, this turns Claude into a research assistant that can run keyword gap analysis, backlink audits, and competitor breakdowns on demand — without you touching a spreadsheet formula.

Semrush API Credits: Free vs. Paid

Semrush API access is metered using API units (credits). Every request — a keyword lookup, a backlink pull, a domain overview — consumes a certain number of units depending on how much data it returns. Here’s how the free and paid tiers compare:

Step 1: Get Your Semrush API Key

Before Claude can talk to Semrush, you need your personal API key from your Semrush account. It takes under two minutes:

1. Log in to your Semrush account and click your Profile icon (top right corner).
2. Go to Subscription Info.
3. Open the API Units tab — this is where Semrush displays your unique API key along with your remaining unit balance.
4. Copy the API key. Treat it like a password — anyone with this key can consume your API units.

Step 2: Connect the Key to Claude

Once you have the key, start a new conversation with Claude and give it the key along with the Semrush base URL so it knows how to make requests on your behalf:

My Semrush API key is: Your_Semrush_API_KEY
 
Use this key to call the Semrush API whenever I ask any SEO-related
question. The base URL is: https://api.semrush.com/

Step 3: Use the Prompt Library

Once Claude has your key, you don’t need to repeat the setup step again in that conversation. From here, every SEO task becomes a one-line prompt. Below is a ready-to-use library covering the most common research tasks.

Keyword Research

Using my Semrush API key, find the top 10 keywords that "competitor.com"
ranks for in the US. Show me: keyword, position, search volume, and
keyword difficulty. Then suggest 5 content ideas based on the gaps.

Using my Semrush API key, find long-tail keyword variations (4+ words)
related to "[seed topic]" in the US with monthly search volume above 50.
Group them by search intent.

Using my Semrush API key, find the highest search-volume keywords for
"[seed topic]" in the US, sorted from highest to lowest volume. Limit to 20 results.

Using my Semrush API key, find keywords related to "[seed topic]" with a
keyword difficulty score under 30 and search volume above 100. Sort by
difficulty, lowest first.

Backlink Analysis

Using my Semrush API key, pull the top 15 backlinks for "competitor.com".
Show me: referring domain, anchor text, follow/nofollow status, and
domain authority.

Using my Semrush API key, analyze the backlink profile of "competitor.com"
and give me the percentage split of do-follow vs no-follow links, plus
the top 5 do-follow referring domains by authority.

Competitor & Domain Analysis

Using my Semrush API key, list the top 10 organic keywords driving
traffic to "competitor.com" in the US, with position, volume, and
estimated traffic share.

Using my Semrush API key, find the top 5 organic competitors for
"mydomain.com" based on keyword overlap. Show competition level and
number of common keywords for each.

Using my Semrush API key, give me a complete domain overview for
"competitor.com": organic traffic, number of organic keywords, paid
keywords, and total backlinks.

Using my Semrush API key, compare the organic keywords of "mydomain.com"
and "competitor.com". Identify keywords the competitor ranks for that I
don't, and turn the top 10 gaps into blog post title ideas.

How Much Time This Actually Saves

The value here isn’t the novelty — it’s the hours it removes from a recurring workflow. A typical manual keyword-gap audit (open Semrush, run 3-4 reports, export, clean up in a spreadsheet, and summarize) usually takes an analyst 45–60 minutes. Run through Claude with the prompts above, the same output takes a few minutes of prompt time plus API processing.

For a content or SEO team, this doesn’t replace deep audits inside Semrush itself — but it removes the friction from the everyday, repeatable questions: “what’s this competitor ranking for,” “where are our content gaps,” “which backlinks are worth chasing.” That’s where most of the manual hours go.

Frequently Asked Questions