The realistic way to make money with Semrush is to sell keyword research and a simple content plan to small local businesses, delivered as your own written report. For a solo freelancer that kind of project usually sells for about $200 to $500, according to Lilach Bullock’s keyword research pricing guide (updated 25 October 2026, checked 2 November 2026). It is steady, skilled work with a monthly tool bill of $139, not something that pays you while you sleep.
These figures are examples, not income claims, and nothing here is legal advice. I don’t earn a commission from Semrush and every Semrush link in this guide is plain.
At a glance
The Semrush side job in numbers
| Line | Detail |
|---|---|
| Method | Keyword research plus a three-month content plan for a local business |
| Startup cost | $0 on the free plan to practise; $139 for a month of the SEO plan once a client pays |
| Your cost per unit | $46.33 of Semrush per project at three projects a month on monthly billing |
| What clients pay | $200 to $500 per small-business project (Lilach Bullock, Oct 2026); $300 to $3,000+ for keyword research generally (Hire in South) |
| Income | Not guaranteed |
Before paying for anything, read my Semrush review. It explains why only yearly plans can be refunded and why one login can’t be shared.
Which Semrush services do clients actually pay for?
Research they can act on. Local owners rarely want a 40-page audit; they want to know which searches to show up for and what to write next.
| Method | Typical price | Semrush tools used | Good first project? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keyword research and content plan | $200 to $500 per project | Keyword Magic Tool, competitor domains, SERP checks | Yes |
| One-off SEO audit | $100 to $2,500 (Clutch figures via SeoProfy) | Site Audit, backlink analysis | Yes, for small sites |
| Monthly rank and traffic report | Retainers of £300 to £800 a month (Lilach Bullock) | Position Tracking, Looker Studio | After a first project |
| Affiliate content | $200 to $300 per sale, $10 per trial | None needed | Only with an existing audience |
How does a keyword research project for a local business work?
It is a short, fixed-scope job you can deliver in about a week. Here is the version I’d sell:
- Start with a 20-minute call: services, towns served, the jobs they most want and their three main competitors.
- Pull the client’s current rankings and the competitors’ top pages in Semrush, then build a list of 40 to 80 keywords grouped by service and location.
- Mark each group by intent (ready to book, comparing, just learning) and pick the 10 to 15 terms worth a page.
- Turn those into a three-month plan: which existing pages to improve, which new pages to write, and one sentence on what each page must answer.
- Deliver a short PDF or Google Sheet in your own words, plus a 15-minute walkthrough call.
Where do you find the first clients?
Close to home. Pick one trade you understand, such as dentists, cafes or plumbers, and look for local sites with thin service pages or no blog. A short email that names two searches they don’t rank for, found with the free plan, is more convincing than a pitch about SEO in general. Web designers and copywriters are good referral partners too; they often need research before they build or write.
If you already sell other work to local firms, keyword research fits alongside it. My guides to social graphics with Canva and landing pages with Bolt.new serve the same kind of client.
What could one month look like?
Worked example: three local projects
Three keyword research projects at $350 each, sold directly rather than through a marketplace, bring in $1,050. Take off one month of the Semrush SEO plan on monthly billing ($139) and $911 is left.
At about 7 hours per project plus 4 hours of prospecting, that is 25 hours, or $36.44 an hour before tax and other software. At yearly billing the tool cost falls to $117.33 a month, but you commit to $1,407.96 up front.
These are assumptions I picked to show the maths, not results anyone has reported.
Can you sell SEO audits or monthly reports instead?
Yes, though each has its own trap. An audit is easy to sell and easy to make useless: Site Audit flags hundreds of minor warnings, and the value is in picking the five that matter and explaining them. SeoProfy quotes Clutch figures of roughly $100 to $5,000 for technical audits, with most below $2,500; a small local site sits at the low end.
Monthly reporting is the natural follow-on. Position Tracking and the Looker Studio connector let you send a dashboard the client can open any time, and Lilach Bullock puts keyword retainers at £300 to £800 a month. Keep each report to what changed, why, and what you’ll do next.
Is the Semrush affiliate program worth joining?
Only if you already have readers who buy SEO tools. Semrush’s affiliate page lists $200 per SEO Toolkit sale and $300 per Semrush One sale at the base tier, rising to $350 and $450 for 50 or more sales a quarter, plus $10 per trial. The cookie lasts 120 days on last click, and payment goes through Impact. The rules ban bidding on Semrush brand terms, presenting the free trial as a discount and promoting without disclosure.
What rules apply to SEO work for clients?
Four sets matter more than any ranking tip:
- Semrush’s own Terms. Section 4.1 bans sharing one user’s account between people, and section 3.2 limits use to your own internal business purposes. Give clients your analysis, not your login, and if your service depends on wider access, ask Semrush in writing.
- Google’s spam policies (updated 28 August 2026) cover scaled content abuse, meaning many pages made mainly to manipulate rankings, and buying or selling links for ranking. Don’t build a content plan on either.
- Google Maps reviews. Google’s contribution policy bans reviews that are paid for directly or in kind, and reviews from staff or anyone with a contractual relationship. Never offer to “boost” a client’s reviews.
- The FTC rule on fake reviews, announced on 14 August 2024, bans buying or creating fake reviews, including AI-written ones, and buying fake followers or views. US clients can face civil penalties.
Mistakes that sink small SEO projects
- Promising rankings or traffic numbers. You control the research, not Google.
- Pasting raw exports. A client paying $350 wants decisions, not 3,000 rows.
- Taking the 7-day trial for a client job and forgetting it; monthly plans can’t be refunded.
- Missing the cancellation confirmation email, which expires after 24 hours.
- Copying search volumes as facts. Tools disagree, so present them as estimates.
Good match, poor match
Good match if you like digging through data, can explain it in plain sentences to a busy owner, and already know one local trade well enough to spot what its customers search for.
Poor match if you want passive income, dislike sales calls, or would need the paid plan for months before landing a first client. Practise on the free plan until someone has agreed to pay.
Questions about earning with Semrush
Can you make money with Semrush?
Yes, by selling the research it produces rather than the tool itself. The most realistic route for a beginner is keyword research and a content plan for small local businesses, which one 2026 pricing guide puts at about $200 to $500 a project.
How much should I charge for keyword research?
About $200 to $500 for a small local business, according to Lilach Bullock’s October 2026 pricing guide, and $650 to $1,500 for a growing service business or small SaaS. Start near the bottom until you have results to show.
Can I share my Semrush login with a client?
No. Semrush’s Terms say two or more people may not share one user’s account, so send clients your report or a Looker Studio dashboard, or have them pay for their own seat.
How much does the Semrush affiliate program pay?
$200 per SEO Toolkit sale and $300 per Semrush One sale at the base tier, plus $10 per trial, with a 120-day cookie, according to Semrush’s affiliate page on 2 November 2026.
Do I need the paid Semrush plan to start?
Not for your first project. The free plan allows 10 reports a day, which is enough to practise on your own site, but one paid client project at $139 for a month’s SEO plan is the realistic point to subscribe.
Update log: 2 November 2026: first published, with prices checked that day.
Sources
- Lilach Bullock: how much to charge for keyword research (updated 25 October 2026)
- Hire in South: freelance SEO pricing 2026
- SeoProfy: SEO audit pricing (updated 26 October 2026, vendor)
- Semrush pricing
- Semrush Terms of Service (last updated 25 August 2026)
- Semrush cancellation and refund policy
- Semrush help: cancelling your account
- Semrush help: integrations
- Semrush affiliate program
- Google Search Central: spam policies
- Google Maps user contributed content policy
- FTC: final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (14 August 2024)
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