Semrush SEO Course Review 2026: 7 Best Courses Compared

Semrush is best known for its SEO platform, but its educational ecosystem is worth looking at on its own. Semrush Academy offers free courses covering SEO fundamentals, keyword research, technical SEO, on-page SEO, link building, local SEO, international SEO, and AI search.

But there is an important distinction that often gets lost when people search for a “Semrush SEO course.”

Some Semrush courses teach you SEO. Others mainly teach you how to use Semrush to do SEO.

That difference matters.

I reviewed the main Semrush Academy courses from an SEO practitioner’s perspective, looking at curriculum quality, practical usefulness, teaching quality, ease of learning, value for money, and career relevance. I also looked at feedback from SEO professionals and beginners on Reddit, including discussions about Semrush certifications, technical SEO training, and the difficulty of learning the Semrush platform.

My conclusion is fairly simple: Semrush Academy is one of the better free places to learn SEO fundamentals and Semrush workflows, but it should not be treated as a complete replacement for real-world SEO experience.

For a wider selection of SEO training from different instructors, take a look at our review of best Udemy SEO courses review.

All seven courses are free and provide a Semrush Academy certificate after successful completion. Semrush says its SEO courses are designed for marketers, website owners, content creators, small business owners, and people changing careers into SEO.

Are Semrush SEO Courses Actually Worth Taking?

Yes — but it depends on what you expect from them.

If you’re completely new to SEO, Semrush Academy can give you a surprisingly good foundation without asking you to buy an expensive course.

If you already work in SEO, the specialized courses can still be useful when you want to improve a particular skill or learn how Semrush approaches a workflow. Where I would lower my expectations is advanced professional training.

Watching a course about technical SEO is not the same thing as diagnosing hundreds of websites. Learning what a backlink is isn’t the same as building a link campaign. And knowing how Keyword Magic Tool works doesn’t automatically make you good at keyword strategy.

That distinction also appeared repeatedly in Reddit discussions. One of the more common opinions was essentially “the courses are useful; the certifications are much less important.” Several users also emphasized that learning SEO requires actually working with websites and data rather than simply collecting certificates.

That matches my own view: Semrush Academy is a learning resource, not a substitute for doing SEO.

What Is Semrush Academy?

Semrush Academy is Semrush’s free education platform. It includes structured courses, certifications, webinars, templates, and other learning resources.

The current SEO curriculum extends beyond the traditional “how to use Semrush” approach. Courses now cover topics such as SEO fundamentals, keyword research, technical SEO, on-page optimization, link building, local SEO, international SEO, and AI-powered search.

One thing I particularly like is that many of the newer courses combine strategy lessons with Semrush walkthroughs.

For example, the current Technical SEO course doesn’t simply explain what technical SEO is. It also walks through tools such as Site Audit, Google Search Console, and PageSpeed Insights and connects the concepts to actual workflows.

That makes Semrush Academy more useful than a collection of definitions.

What Do Other Learners Think About Semrush Courses?

Your experience matters too.

Our Expert Score reflects a professional SEO perspective, but every learner experiences a course differently. That’s why we also include a Community Score based on reader feedback.

Have you taken this Semrush Academy course?

You can vote for this course below and share your experience.

Your vote helps other learners make a better decision when choosing a course.

1. SEO Essentials with Semrush — Best Overall Semrush SEO Course

For someone looking for a Semrush SEO course for beginners, this is where I would start.

Semrush describes SEO Essentials with Semrush as a free beginner course covering SEO fundamentals alongside practical use of Semrush. The curriculum includes keyword research, technical SEO, content optimization, backlink identification, and an introduction to AI optimization. Semrush’s current onboarding materials also identify the course as Beginner SEO with Semrush and list a certificate of completion.

My Take

This is the Semrush course I would recommend to someone starting from zero.

What I like is the balance. Beginners aren’t simply shown where buttons are inside Semrush; they are also introduced to the reasoning behind SEO tasks such as keyword research, content optimization, technical checks, and backlink opportunities. The course worksheet also includes exercises around Site Audit, competitive analysis, keyword research, and backlink outreach.

The limitation is the same limitation you’ll find with almost every beginner SEO course: you can understand the concepts without necessarily being good at applying them.

SEO becomes much clearer when you take the next step and work on a real site. Run an audit. Choose keywords. Publish a page. Watch what happens. Investigate ranking changes. Fix problems that weren’t covered in the lesson.

So my verdict is: Excellent starting point. Not the finish line.

Who Is It Best For?

Complete beginners, career changers, marketers, business owners, and anyone who wants a structured introduction to SEO while learning how Semrush fits into the process.

2. Keyword Research Essentials with Semrush — Best for Keyword Research

Keyword research is one of the strongest reasons to learn Semrush, and this specialized course is much more focused than the beginner program.

The course is aimed at people who already understand basic SEO and want to improve keyword research across both traditional search and AI-powered search. Semrush covers keyword discovery, search intent, competition, competitor analysis, keyword mapping, and AI search prompts.

My Take

I like this course more than a lot of generic “keyword research” training because it doesn’t treat search volume as the entire strategy.

A keyword with 10,000 searches isn’t automatically a better target than a keyword with 500 searches.

You still need to understand intent, the SERP, competition, content type, business value, and whether the keyword deserves its own page at all.

That’s where the course is useful.

The included Semrush worksheet also takes learners from Keyword Magic Tool research toward building a keyword strategy and setting up Position Tracking.

The one thing I would add is that no keyword research course can completely teach intuition. That comes from repeatedly looking at SERPs and seeing which assumptions turn out to be wrong.

Who Is It Best For?

SEO beginners who have already learned the fundamentals and want to become better at keyword research, content planning, and competitor analysis.

3. Technical SEO and AI Search Essentials with Semrush — Best for Technical SEO Fundamentals

This is one course where the current version matters a lot.

Older Reddit discussions about Semrush’s Technical SEO training were quite critical. In a 2022 discussion, experienced SEOs described the then-existing Semrush technical SEO course as weak for advanced learners, with one commenter saying it was more suitable as a basic foundation than advanced technical training.

That criticism is worth knowing about, but it shouldn’t automatically be applied to today’s course.

Semrush has significantly updated its current Technical SEO curriculum. The current version covers site architecture, crawlability, sitemaps, structured data, Core Web Vitals, mobile optimization, technical SEO tools, and AI crawlers.

My Take

I would recommend this course to someone who wants to understand how technical SEO works, not someone looking for the final step in becoming a senior Technical SEO specialist.

Semrush specifically positions the course toward non-technical marketers and business owners who want to understand technical SEO without needing coding expertise.

That positioning makes sense.

I would not expect this course to teach you everything about JavaScript rendering, large-scale international migrations, complex canonicalization systems, log-file analysis, advanced crawl budget analysis, or the countless strange technical problems you eventually encounter on large websites.

But that’s not really what it is trying to do.

For fundamentals, it is much more useful.

Who Is It Best For?

SEO beginners, marketers, business owners, and content-focused SEOs who want a stronger technical foundation.

4. SEO Toolkit Crash Course — Best for Learning Semrush

This is the course I would choose after you understand SEO basics and want to learn the actual Semrush platform.

Semrush explicitly says this course is designed for people who already understand SEO concepts and want hands-on walkthroughs of its SEO Toolkit. The curriculum covers visibility analysis, keyword research, Position Tracking, Site Audit, and backlink opportunities.

My Take

The name tells you what this course does well.

It teaches the toolkit.

Instead of spending a lot of time explaining SEO theory, the course gets into the interface and demonstrates how to use tools such as Keyword Overview, Keyword Magic Tool, Keyword Gap, Position Tracking, Site Audit, and backlink analysis.

That’s valuable because one of the recurring complaints around Semrush is that the platform can feel overwhelming for beginners.

A 2025 Reddit discussion from a complete SEO beginner described Semrush as too complicated and overwhelming, with the user considering moving to a simpler alternative.

I think that’s a fair criticism of the platform, but not necessarily of the Academy.

In fact, this is where the Toolkit Crash Course helps. It gives you a guided route through the interface instead of expecting you to understand dozens of reports on your own.

Who Is It Best For?

SEO learners who already understand basic SEO concepts and want to become comfortable using Semrush.

5. On-Page SEO and AI Search Essentials with Semrush — Best for On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is another area where Semrush’s training has become much broader than simply “add your keyword to the page.”

The current course covers meta tags, content optimization, internal linking, pillar pages, image optimization, keyword cannibalization, and structuring content for AI systems. It also uses Semrush’s Site Audit and On-Page SEO Checker in practical walkthroughs.

My Take

This is a good example of where Semrush is trying to keep its educational content aligned with the changing search landscape.

The course doesn’t stop at titles, meta descriptions, and keywords. It also covers E-E-A-T, content structure, internal linking, cannibalization, and ways to make content easier for AI systems to understand and potentially cite.

I would still be careful about treating AI optimization advice as a fixed rulebook. Search and AI systems are changing too quickly for any course to provide permanent formulas.

The fundamentals — satisfying intent, clear information architecture, useful content, internal linking, and good technical accessibility — are much more durable.

Who Is It Best For?

Content marketers, SEO beginners who understand keyword research, bloggers, and SEOs who want a focused introduction to on-page optimization.

6. Off-Page SEO and AI Search Essentials with Semrush — Best for Link Building

The final course in our main comparison focuses on off-page SEO and link building.

Semrush covers backlink analysis, competitor research, link-building opportunities, toxic links, and creating content capable of earning quality links. The course is taught in part by Brian Dean, founder of Backlinko.

My Take

What I like about this course is that it doesn’t reduce off-page SEO to “get as many backlinks as possible.”

The current curriculum emphasizes quality, competitor analysis, earning links, toxic-link monitoring, and even the relationship between backlinks and brand mentions in AI search.

That’s a much healthier way to approach link building.

But this is another area where real experience matters enormously. You can watch someone explain outreach, but that doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly know how to deal with poor prospects, low response rates, irrelevant sites, or a niche where nobody wants to link to you.

Who Is It Best For?

SEOs, content marketers, and website owners who understand SEO fundamentals and want to learn the basics of link building and backlink analysis.

7. Content Marketing Essentials for SEO and AI Search with Semrush — Best for SEO Content Strategy

Not every SEO learner needs another technical course or another backlink tutorial.

For many websites, the biggest challenge is creating and organizing content that actually serves a search strategy.

That’s where this course fits.

Semrush’s current content marketing curriculum covers areas such as content strategy, topic clusters, authority, E-E-A-T, content optimization, and AI-search considerations.

My Take

I included this course in the main seven because content strategy is too important to leave out of a modern SEO learning path.

A website can have perfect technical SEO and thousands of keywords in a spreadsheet, but if its content strategy is weak, rankings won’t magically follow.

The value here is in understanding content as a system, rather than a collection of individual blog posts.

Topic relationships, search intent, internal linking, authority, and content quality all matter.

This is also one of the areas where AI has changed the conversation. But, as with the other AI-search material in Semrush Academy, I would pay more attention to the fundamentals than to any specific prediction about how AI systems will behave in the future.

Who Is It Best For?

Content marketers, bloggers, SEO specialists, and website owners who want to build a more strategic SEO content process.