Can you trust the numbers in Semrush?
Semrush is an online platform for growing and measuring how visible a brand is across search, AI answers, ads and social. Its own help pages give 3 reasons its numbers can look different from what you expect. The first to rule out: Two Semrush tools can give two different traffic numbers for the same site, as its help pages say.
Is it broken, or just counted differently?
A number can look wrong because the business changed, or because of how Semrush counts it. Below is what Semrush keeps, where its help pages say the numbers can differ, and how to check them yourself.
What does Semrush keep track of?
Semrush keeps estimated search traffic and keyword figures for a domain.
In Semrush's own words:
The Overview report gives a brief summary of the estimated traffic, keywords, top position changes
Organic Rankings Overview, read 2026-11-12.Semrush holds day by day ranking history for two months, then weekly points.
In Semrush's own words:
We track daily results in Position Tracking for 60 days.
How often does Semrush update its Position Tracking data?, read 2026-11-12.
What can make Semrush's numbers look wrong?
Two Semrush tools can give two different traffic numbers for the same site, as its help pages say.
In Semrush's own words:
Therefore, Traffic Analytics and Domain Analytics will almost always report different estimations of traffic.
Semrush: Traffic Analytics vs Domain Analytics, read 2026-11-12.A ranking seen by searching yourself can differ from the one Semrush reports, as its help pages say.
In Semrush's own words:
Position Tracking shows unbiased SERP results, while Google shows personalized SERP results.
Why are the results you show in Position Tracking different than what I see when I search my keyword in Google?, read 2026-11-12.Ranking figures can be a day or two old, as Semrush's help pages say.
In Semrush's own words:
Information in Position Tracking is generally updated daily within 24-48 hours.
How often does Semrush update its Position Tracking data?, read 2026-11-12.
How do I check Semrush's numbers myself?
For an owner's own visit counts, Semrush's help pages point to Google Analytics rather than its estimates.
In Semrush's own words:
You should always use Google Analytics for your own website.
Semrush: Traffic Analytics vs Domain Analytics, read 2026-11-12.Before comparing a Semrush ranking with a Google search, an owner can see which location the Position Tracking campaign is set to at the top of the screen.
In Semrush's own words:
In Position Tracking, you can check the location of your campaign at the top of the interface.
Why are the results you show in Position Tracking different than what I see when I search my keyword in Google?, read 2026-11-12.
How does Semrush work with Feder?
Connect Semrush to Feder and it joins your Reach apps. Feder only reads. It never changes anything in Semrush.
When you connect Semrush, Feder checks the connection straight away and shows Connected only when that check passes. If a reading cannot be taken later, Feder shows it as not read, never as zero.
Other apps that feed Reach
- Google Search Consoleclicks and impressions in Google Search
- YouTubechannel views
- Mailchimpcampaign emails sent
- ActiveCampaignactive contacts
- Brevocampaign emails sent
- Intercomcontacts
Questions owners ask about Semrush
- Why did my Authority Score drop in Semrush?Authority Score can go down when other sites in your niche outperform yours; the vendor lists this among the reasons a score falls.
- Why did my estimated traffic drop in Semrush?Search traffic estimates are worked out from where a site ranks, so a small move in rankings can move the estimate even if real visits hold steady.
- Why did my visibility drop in Semrush Position Tracking?Visibility goes down as your ranking pages slip further from the top of Google's results.
Where do these answers come from?
Everything this page says about Semrush comes from Semrush's own pages, quoted above with the date we read them. Last reviewed 2026-11-12. We read them again by 2027-11-12. If one changes, this page changes or comes down.
Know the day a number breaks, not the month after.
Some numbers are too quiet to judge daily, such as a form filled in a few times a week. Until there is enough of your own history to judge a change, Feder says it is still learning and scores nothing, rather than guessing.