Google Ads vs. Semrush

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Ads
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's pay-per-click online advertising program. With Google Ads users set their budget and choose where their ads appear in search listings, and on partner websites. Google Ads uses cost-per-click (CPC) bidding.
$500
in Ads credit in the first 60 days
Semrush
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Semrush is a relatively popular search engine optimization tool set from the company of the same name based in Pennsylvania and founded in 2008. Largely the platforms relies on competitive intelligence, and features SEO staples like backlink checking, keyword analysis to refine SEO and PPC campaigning and locate low-cost / high-yield keywords, analysis of competitors who co-occupy desired ad and listing spaces, domain vs. domain analysis, as well as site audit and domain tracking. Semrush can…
$139.95
per month
Pricing
Google AdsSemrush
Editions & Modules
Offer A
$500
in Ads credit in the first 60 days
Offer B
$1500
in Ads credit in the first 60 days
Offer C
$3000
in Ads credit in the first 60 days
Pro
$139.95
per month
Guru
$249.95
per month
Business
$499.95
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google AdsSemrush
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details17% discount for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google AdsSemrush
Considered Both Products
Google Ads
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads is by far the best PPC advertising mechanism I've used especially when compared to the Microsoft/Bing platform. It's easier to navigate and the budgets are spent more effectively and efficiently. The display of the search results is easier to read and the quality of …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads remains at the top advertising channel within our business for both lead volume and revenue generation, whilst maintaining a reasonable cost per lead (CPL). Both Meta Ads and Microsoft Ads have a much lower CPL, those channels don't contribute as much revenue and …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads is one of the more advanced tools, all the above tools listed are great and provide very advanced features for advertising on those platforms. Usually a business would use multiple tools. Google Ads is great as it is very fined and established so you know what you …
Chose Google Ads
Google is a lot better at not just banning you for no reason. The platform is very intuitive and gets you in front of many people. Meta Ads is notorious for banning people and not giving them any reason. Google is very reasonable and has guidelines. Google clicks are also much …
Chose Google Ads
These are different channels, with different audiences and targeting options. It is important to first understand your objective, who you want to reach and at what stage of the journey.
Chose Google Ads
Well, I use Facebook/Meta pixels sometimes. But it is not as good as Google Ads. There are a lot of people searching on Google for good web development firms but how many are there finding the same sort of person on Facebook or Linkedin?
Thus, I like the abundance of users …
Chose Google Ads
It's gives me better results than the other platforms, cause by setting up keywords that are relevant to my business I can really target people who are actively searching for the topic. This really filters leads and brings better results.
Chose Google Ads
It is part of the Google suite of tools for content management for advertising and ads in the Google search engine.
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads is more robust and has more features as compared to Microsoft Advertising, aka Bing Ads. Google has better and more reach than other search engines in the market. Google stands well against all its competitors when it comes to media planning and buying. Go for it any …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads can be more useful than LinkedIn & Facebook Ads because it is reaching a larger pool of users. Both platforms have even better/more targeting options, but they limit the amount of reach you will receive. Google Ads catches users at the top of the sales funnel.
Chose Google Ads
Google ads provide no customer service.
Chose Google Ads
We had to stop using Bing as the results were all over the place and so we couldn't trust the service.
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads clearly has high potential as more users search for their product when compared to other channels hence getting the desired audience.
Chose Google Ads
Neither platform seems to perform in my opinion. Google Ads is much more complicated while Facebook Ads are simpler to implement and run. No positive ROI on either though!
Chose Google Ads
We would use Facebook advertising often to generate strong reactions online. The benefit of using Google Ads is that people are always searching on Google and it's quick to pull your name first in a search ranking, where a majority of people are likely to click on compared to …
Chose Google Ads
In most cases, it's better between features, usability, performance (though Bing can sometimes cost less). Google is also smarter about its keywords. Bing is more similar to how Google was five or more years ago (needing to add variations to those keywords). I will say, though, …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads is pretty strong when it comes to search and shopping campaigns. It's a great tool to target people who are ready to buy and actively looking for products we have to offer. On the other hand, Facebook has been a great tool for raising awareness, brand uplift, and …
Chose Google Ads
Other platforms like Facebook Business Manager or Twitter Ads do not allow the same level of optimization and control of targeting as Google Ads. In same cases it may have less reach, but being more precise is better to see a ROAS sooner.
Chose Google Ads
Google is the largest search engine with the most users so this is the first choice. Other advertising options can give results but not to the same degree that Google Ads does. They have a better platform than other types of platforms available. This makes it the best option …
Chose Google Ads
Google Ads has far more reach/audience capabilities than Microsoft Ads. More users use Google than Microsoft products.
Chose Google Ads
While it is still important to be present in those engines, Google Ads still offers the largest inventory, which helps reach more users and drive bigger volumes of conversions and achieve higher ROI.
Chose Google Ads
Facebook can be less expensive but everyone uses Google, so you have to run ads on Google. Other search engines also have similar features. The traffic on Google is significantly higher than its competition. Facebook ads can be an alternative but it doesn't quite work like a …
Chose Google Ads
I have used all forms of online ad platforms. In my experience, Google is by far the most expensive on a per-click and per-impression basis. None of these major players have much or any concern for small businesses.
Chose Google Ads
Everyone uses Google. They have and will always be the leader when it comes to search engines. Not only was Bing Ads more difficult to use, but the results didn't even come close to what we were (are) getting from Google Ads. It also seemed easier to get support from Google …
Semrush
Chose Semrush
all the tools are very good in each of their domain, but the tool Semrush is cheaper when you compare it with Ahref's but it comes in to the category of costly when you compare it with other tools like rank pro. The tool is good but also needs a good learning curve to …
Chose Semrush
Keywords Everywhere is my budget option, that I have used in place of Semrush, due to pricing...
Chose Semrush
Semrush provides a great amount of data to help with market and channel research while keeping current with changes in the search environment and how that impacts the competitive space for digital marketers. Other tools appear every week as things progress so quickly in search …
Chose Semrush
Semrush has better brand recognition and value compared to its competitors. It has a futuristic vision and has been growing consistently organically and inorganically. It has helped achieve ROI and better inbound strategy YoY and thus we chose to go with Semrush. Also, our …
Chose Semrush
Semrush is a good middle ground and it’s not a tool you are going to be disappointed with. I think it’s good at all aspects of SEO so if you don’t have a specific strategy in place it’s going to be your best option.
Chose Semrush
Ahrefs, Yoast Wordpress SEO Plugins and Moz Pro
Chose Semrush
For me, Semrush has a good UX and is a trustworthy source of organic traffic data. When compared to other tools, they sometimes could be pretty much off when I observe data in Google Search Console and Google Analytics. That's why I think Semrush does a pretty good job for any …
Chose Semrush
We use Yoast SEO from within WordPress sites to help with the effectiveness of individual pages and posts. It has great value due to being built-in to the website. Semrush provides us with a much more detailed analysis though to look at the overall health of the sites and has …
Chose Semrush
Honestly, Semrush is the only product like it that I've used extensively. Although I have used Moz free version before and didn't love it.
Chose Semrush
Semrush overall UI is much better than ahrefs and also more easier to use. Although both the tools have similar features, the reporting asp[etc if semrush is a lot better. Even the pricing of ahrefs is a bit more expensive then semrush in my opinion.
Chose Semrush
Though Google Analytics and Semrush are similar products, when comparing them, the question is not whether you should use one or the other. Rather, understanding what each tool does. Semrush is best for keyword research for content marketing and paid search campaigns, doing …
Chose Semrush
I have only really used Semrush and love it. I do not plan on looking at their competitors in the future because of my comfortability with Semrush.
Chose Semrush
Semrush is a little pricey; it works very well and is very useful.
Chose Semrush
Moz is not as in-depth and not the best for overall strategy. It has some great features but is not a complete system. Semrush has everything you need and is of great value.
Chose Semrush
I find the Semrush certification very useful for teaching.
Chose Semrush
We also use Ahrefs, but since upgrading our Semrush account, we have less and less need for it.
Chose Semrush
Semrush is amazing. Not only is it easy to use, it's better than Moz or Ahrefs combined. The Keyword Research tool and planner is incredible. it makes it easy to pull what keywords we want to rank for and add them to our keyword list. It's helped with productivity and workflow. …
Chose Semrush
Frankly, once I started using Semrush and found very quick success, I had no desire or reason to try others. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I did use some other SEO tools in the past, but it was so long ago I don't even recall the names anymore.
Features
Google AdsSemrush
Ad Campaigns
Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
3.9
Ratings
3% below category average
Semrush
-
Ratings
Ad campaign creation2.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad deployment2.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Display advertising9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad display and retargeting segmentation8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Sequence targeting1.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Contextual advertising2.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Social advertising1.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
6.4
Ratings
20% above category average
Semrush
-
Ratings
Ad dashboards2.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad performance reports9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad conversion tracking9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad attribution reporting9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad forecasting and optimization2.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad Auctions
Comparison of Ad Auctions features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
7.0
Ratings
3% above category average
Semrush
-
Ratings
Ad bidding7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
SEO
Comparison of SEO features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
-
Ratings
Semrush
7.9
Ratings
2% above category average
Keyword analysis00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Backlink management00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
SERP ranking tracking00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Page grader00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Competitive analysis00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Site audit / diagnostics00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Site recommendations00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Task management00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
SEO Channels
Comparison of SEO Channels features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
-
Ratings
Semrush
8.1
Ratings
6% above category average
Local SEO00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Social SEO00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Mobile SEO00 Ratings7.70 Ratings
Global SEO00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
SEO Platform & Account Management
Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
-
Ratings
Semrush
8.7
Ratings
3% above category average
Multi-domain support00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Integration with web analytics tools00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google AdsSemrush
Small Businesses
WordStream
WordStream
Score 6.9 out of 10
Nozzle
Nozzle
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
WordStream
WordStream
Score 6.9 out of 10
Advanced Web Ranking
Advanced Web Ranking
Score 8.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Score 8.6 out of 10
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google AdsSemrush
Likelihood to Recommend
5.7
(0 ratings)
8.8
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.6
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Usability
1.0
(0 ratings)
7.7
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
1.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google AdsSemrush
Likelihood to Recommend
Clients who are selling products such as dresses, clothes, jewelry, beauty products, etc., generally work well. Also, in some cases, it doesn't fetch a good ROAS for very small business owners. If a client is already doing well in SEO, the probability for it to perform well over Google Ads is always enhanced, and if it doesn't have a good organic reach, Google Ads also suffers.
Read full review
This is suited to plan for keywords in a single market, but it struggles when you need to consolidate several markets. It is well-suited to discover new keywords directly related to the ones being used currently to expand the content the company is creating to get better results.
Read full review
Pros
  • Keyword Research - Google Ads has a handy built in tool that helps determine important keywords to target both for Ads & SEO
  • Intuitive Analytics Dashboad - Google Ads makes it fairly simple to see and analyze important metrics on how your ads are running week after week
  • Intuitive Setup - Google Ads makes it easy to figure out how to run ads with little to no training (although training is highly recommended to run effective ads), as their interface is clean and easy to figure out (unlike competing products).
Read full review
  • Great visuals for keyword position tracking, love that you can see the page that is ranking
  • Enjoyed the auto-generated reporting feature (specifically in the context of keyword position tracking)
  • Shows many different and useful views for competitive research
  • Great templated keyword research tools for those who are not as hands-on with SEO
  • I LOVE the Keyword Magic Tool for honing in on longtail, high-opportunity keywords
Read full review
Cons
  • Google's heavy dependence on AI makes many of the campaign behavior inscrutable and, often, it performs poorly as a result.
  • Their responsive ads, for example, which are heavily recommended by them, often perform significantly worse than normal text ads.
  • Their support, while relatively quick, becomes useless if you need any deep insight/help.
Read full review
  • Extra seats can be expensive, as [an] agency with multiple team members this can be frustrating
  • Backlink data is not great, misses out a lot of backlinks (better off using a specialist backlink tool like Link research tools LRT)
  • Tracking multiple keywords, across multiple clients can be costly
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
As of today Google AdWords leads approximately 90% of paid searches globally. There is practically is no other network that can offer such a relevant and engaging audience at the price. The PPC model is also unique in that no media dollars are wasted, since PPC models ensure brand interaction versus traditional media which has heavy ad avoidance and clutter but still charges a hefty amount for ads.
Read full review
I [previously] used Semrush for many years and I cannot find any other tool being so complete and easy to use.
Read full review
Usability
This is more of a subjective rating, because I think it can be increased with how much our ad spend is. The more of an ad spend, the more visibility we can get, and therefore all features can climb. With an overall larger presence the usability is that where we can get messages out quick, and that's the main thing we try to do with our campaigns.
Read full review
The interface is a little less intuitive than it could be. The data is often available but filtering and manipulating the data can be a little difficult at times. Expanded comparisons would be helpful since most of the time seeing more than a few competitors at a time allows for a better sense of how to forecast.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
Semrush available when you need it!
Read full review
Performance
No answers on this topic
SemRush performs well with few errors!
Read full review
Support Rating
We have not yet had an account rep who hasn't tried to bully me or other employees to raise our budgets. At the same time, several years ago, one attempted to help refine our ads and ended up changing the ads to be something we were not affiliated with
Read full review
I'm in a FB group for Semrush paid users and it amazing! They are fast to respond, take suggestions and help with questions. I have not felt alone in using this product at all. Highly recommend their support team. When I had an issue I can jump into the group and they will help get me the right person to help or even tag their programmers to look at something that is going on. Love the group!
Read full review
Online Training
Daily use with advanced account structures. Familiarity with reporting/api and complex setups.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
I did it by myself and do not have a comment!
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Google Ads remains at the top advertising channel within our business for both lead volume and revenue generation, whilst maintaining a reasonable cost per lead (CPL). Both Meta Ads and Microsoft Ads have a much lower CPL, those channels don't contribute as much revenue and lead generation.
Read full review
We have used both Ahrefs and Semrush extensively at our agency and Semrush remains the tool of choice. We find that Semrush has the largest selection of tools & features to use, with the highest accuracy, and provides top-tier analysis recommendations. It's really is the ultimate all-in-one tool when comparing other performance measurement tools in the digital marketing space.
Read full review
Scalability
No answers on this topic
Semrush is flexible and scalable software which can be deployed across multiple departments and sites as needed.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Once we got the hang of it and had everything setup, it was a great monthly expense that we could count on ROI from. Either by obtaining new customers or literally staying above our competition in search rankings.
  • We also started consulting on ads for customers and helping them set things up, which created a new revenue stream for us.
Read full review
  • Using Semrush on behalf of our clients, we have seen some impressive growth in organic visibility, traffic, conversion and revenue, across multiple industries.
  • The site checks available with Semrush have helped us to pitch and sell our services, securing new clients.
Read full review
ScreenShots