SEMrush: Russian SEO firm’s Trevose offices build keyword software

As optimizing website discovery for search engines has become more science than art, SEO firms are searching for their strengths with software tools.

That’s likely one strategy for SEMrush, a search firm that was founded in Saint Petersburg, Russia in August 2008 and launched its North American offices in Trevose in August 2011. SEMrush has put considerable effort into building keyword research tools, said company spokeswoman and content director Kathleen Garvin.

The company doesn’t do SEO consulting but instead focuses on its software build, a SaaS model with 300,000 active users, said Garvin, a 2009 Temple alumna. Put simply, the software has two most popular portions:

• Domain vs. Domain allows users to compare keyword strength of up to five domains simultaneously, sizing up your relative position in a given market. “A customer might [use this] to look at keywords shared by several of his competitors that he is lacking,” said Sean Malseed, director of strategic development for the company. “These are holes in his advertising.”
• Position tracking allows you to see where you and your competitors rank for the same keywords on a daily basis, giving insight into what’s impacting the chance. “A customer might use Position tracking to monitor their PPC and organic  rankings against competitors on a day-to-day basis, and quickly learn of any market   changes and new trends,” said Garvin.

The company also has tools for back-links and advertising research and an overview report service which gives you a sampling of everything.

The company is 50 employees strong in Russia and has a 10-person team working out of a Bucks County business park office off Route One. SEMRush picked the Philadelphia area for its North America launch because most of its core launch team here already lived near Trevose, said Malseed.