How to Connect SEMrush to Looker Studio

Building a marketing dashboard in Looker Studio is a fantastic way to see all your key performance indicators in one place, but it's not always obvious how to pull in data from platforms like SEMrush. You have valuable SEO and competitive analysis data sitting in SEMrush, and you want to visualize it alongside your other marketing efforts. This guide breaks down the methods for connecting SEMrush to Looker Studio so you can build the comprehensive SEO report you need.

Why Connect SEMrush to Looker Studio Anyway?

Before jumping into the "how," let's quickly touch on the "why." While SEMrush has great built-in reporting, pulling its data into Looker Studio opens up a new level of analysis. You can:

• Create a single source of truth: Combine your SEMrush SEO data with data from Google Analytics, Google Ads, and your CRM. This allows you to track the entire customer journey, from keyword rank to conversion, all in one dashboard.
• Build fully custom visualizations: Looker Studio gives you an incredible amount of flexibility. You can create brand-specific charts, tables, and scorecards that present the exact metrics you care about in the way you want to see them.
• Automate your reporting: Once set up (especially with the right method), your dashboards can update automatically. This means an end to manually downloading CSV files every Monday morning to update your weekly reports.
• Share insights easily: Looker Studio reports are simple to share with stakeholders, clients, or team members, providing them with a live, interactive look at SEO performance.

Understanding Your Connection Options

Here's the first thing you need to know: SEMrush doesn’t have a direct, official connector for Looker Studio. This might seem like a roadblock, but it's actually a common situation. To get your data from point A to point B, you need to use an intermediary. There are two primary methods to do this, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

1. Using a third-party connector: This is the easiest and most robust method. You use a specialized tool (like Supermetrics, Funnel.io, or Power My Analytics) that is built to pipe data from sources like SEMrush directly into Looker Studio.
2. Using Google Sheets as a bridge: This is the free, manual method. You export data from SEMrush into a CSV file, import that file into a Google Sheet, and then connect that Google Sheet to Looker Studio.

Let's break down how to execute each of these methods, step by step.

Method 1: Use a Third-Party Connector (Easy & Automated)

Third-party connectors are SaaS products designed to solve this exact problem. They act as data pipelines, authenticating with countless marketing platforms (like SEMrush) on one end and data destinations (like Looker Studio) on the other. This is the recommended route if you need your data to be fresh, accurate, and automatically updated without manual work.

While specific steps vary slightly between providers, the general workflow is very consistent.

Step-by-Step Guide for Using a Connector

1. Choose and Subscribe to a Connector: First, you’ll need to select a connector service. Supermetrics is one of the most popular and reliable options for this specific task. Visit their website, review their plans (they often have free trials), and sign up.
2. Add the Connector to Looker Studio:
3. Authorize Your Accounts: You'll be prompted to authorize two connections.
4. Configure Your SEMrush Data Query: This is where you tell the connector exactly what data you want to pull. This interface is what makes these connectors so powerful. You'll typically configure a few key options:
5. Add Data to Your Report: After configuring your query, click the "Add" or "Connect" button in the top right. Your SEMrush data source is now available in your Looker Studio report, ready to be used in charts and tables.

Pros: This method is fast, reliable, and completely automated. The data in your dashboard will refresh automatically at an interval you set. You can pull many different types of reports without leaving Looker Studio.

Cons: These connectors are paid services. The cost can be a barrier for small businesses or freelancers, but the time savings often provide a strong return on investment.

Method 2: Use Google Sheets as a Bridge (Free & Manual)

If you're on a tight budget or only need to create a static, one-time report, using Google Sheets is a perfectly viable option. The process involves manually exporting a report from SEMrush and using Google Sheets as the "database" that Looker Studio will read from.

Step-by-Step Guide for Using Google Sheets

This is a three-part process: getting the data out of SEMrush, getting it into Google Sheets, and connecting Sheets to Looker Studio.

Part 1: Export Your Data from SEMrush

1. Log into your SEMrush account.
2. Navigate to the exact report you need. For this example, let's say you want to visualize keyword rankings. You would go to Project > Position Tracking.
3. Configure the date range and any filters you want to apply within the SEMrush interface.
4. Find the "Export" or "PDF Export" button (usually in the top-right corner). Choose to export your data as a CSV or Excel file. A CSV (Comma-separated values) file is generally the easiest to work with.
5. Save the file to your computer.

Part 2: Import and Clean Your Data in Google Sheets

1. Open Google Drive and create a new Google Sheet.
2. In the top menu, go to File > Import.
3. Select the "Upload" tab and drag-and-drop your CSV file from SEMrush into the window.
4. An import settings window will appear. It's usually safe to select "Replace spreadsheet" and "Detect automatically" for the separator character, then click "Import data."
5. Very Important: Take a moment to review and clean your data. Ensure the headers are in the very first row and are clearly named (e.g., 'Keyword', 'Position', 'Monthly Volume'). Make sure dates and numbers are formatted correctly. This prep work is essential for Looker Studio to understand your data properly.

Part 3: Connect Google Sheets to Looker Studio

1. Go back to your Looker Studio report and click Add data.
2. Select the native Google Sheets connector.
3. You’ll be shown a list of all the Google Sheets in your Drive. Select the one you just created.
4. Choose the specific worksheet containing your data. Make sure "Use first row as headers" and "Include hidden and filtered cells" are checked on.
5. Click the "Add" button in the bottom-right corner.

That's it! Your manually exported SEMrush data is now a data source in Looker Studio. You can now build charts summarizing your top 10 keywords, trend your position changes over time (if you regularly add new data), and more.

Pros: This method is completely free to use. It's also great for creating historical snapshots or one-off reports.

Cons: The process is entirely manual. The data is static - it will not update unless you repeat the entire export/import process. This can become incredibly tedious for daily or weekly reporting and is more susceptible to human error.

What SEMrush Data Should You Visualize?

Once you’re connected, the next question is what to actually put in your dashboard. Here are a few ideas for valuable SEMrush metrics to track in Looker Studio:

• Position Tracking: Visualize your top keywords, average position, share of voice, and position changes over time.
• Site Audit: Create scorecards for your overall Site Health score and track the number of errors, warnings, and notices over time.
• Backlinks: Report on new and lost backlinks, referring domains, and monitor your Authority Score.
• Domain Overview: Create a high-level summary that shows organic search traffic, the total number of ranking keywords, and traffic cost.

Final Thoughts

Bringing your SEMrush data into Looker Studio transforms how you analyze and present your SEO performance. Your choice between a third-party connector and the manual Google Sheets method comes down to your need for automation versus your budget. For regular, ongoing analysis, investing in a connector saves countless hours, while the Google Sheets method is a solid starting point for occasional reporting.

Figuring out these kinds of connections is precisely what we built to simplify. While you can use connectors or spreadsheets for specific sources, Graphed allows you to connect all your marketing and sales data - from Shopify and Google Analytics to Facebook Ads - in one click. You can then ask questions in simple language like, "Show me my top organic landing pages and their conversion rates," and we build the dashboard for you instantly, with live, updating data. Instead of wrangling individual connections, you get immediate answers from all your data in one place.