Semrush Programmatic SEO Topical Authority Issue?

Adobe Is Buying Semrush for $1.9 Billion. Here's What Its Traffic Really Looks Like.

March 27, 2026

Expanded update to last month's post, to include new findings on Semrush's programmatic traffic sources after somehow escaping Google's March 2026 spam update.

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In November 2025, I started looking into Semrush's traffic composition after noticing visibility drops on a site I follow. I was also intrigued by the huge purchase of Backlinko (subject of the previous article), and the far bigger purchase of Semrush by Adobe. 

Using Ahrefs' free traffic checker looking at semrush.com, something unexpected showed up in the data: a meaningful chunk of Semrush's organic traffic was coming from programmatic scaled content: "alternatives and competitors" pages targeting some of the most toxic domains on the internet. 

I checked Spyfu's free traffic estimator which showed similar sites. The specific domains are visible in the results but too problematic to name on this platform. They got this post banned before I even clicked published and the blog now seems demoted.

https://ahrefs.com/traffic-checker/?input=semrush.com&mode=subdomains

https://www.spyfu.com/overview/domain?query=semrush.com

In February 2026, Lily Ray's research independently confirmed that Google was cracking down on self-promotional listicles. A tactic Backlinko has been using for years. The first case studies were of sites doing self promotional listicles, written by AI on a huge scale. 

That prompted me to publish my original findings when it seemed like Backlinko may have been caught up in the actions. This update adds what I've since discovered. Which may be brand safety risk for Adobe partners.

The "Alternatives" Pages Nobody Talks About

Semrush runs programmatic "Top Alternatives & Competitors" pages for virtually any domain you can think of. Most of these are harmless, comparing SEO tools or SaaS products. But the system doesn't discriminate.

Semrush currently hosts live competitor/alternative pages for multiple anonymous imageboard sites that have been seized by law enforcement on more than one occasion. These sites are associated with the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, a criminal offence in most jurisdictions. Plus many adult sites including the biggest one I can think of. 

Each of these pages is a fully indexed, ranking URL on semrush.com. Each one generates organic traffic. Each one contributes to Semrush's overall traffic numbers — the same numbers that underpin a $1.9 billion acquisition by Adobe. 

They appear to be accounting for over half the traffic going to the SEO tool. Google gives leeway to authority sites and doesn't demote sites that have the wrong type of traffic, but surely a site full of SEO content should be getting traffic to match it? Apparently not. Topical authority doesn't work that way it seems.As long as the pages match the searcher intent and SEMrush provides those alternative sites for sharing your ex, all is well it seems. 

To be clear: these aren't pages SEMrush manually created. They're generated programmatically as part of a system that creates competitor pages for any domain with sufficient data. But that's precisely the problem. Nobody at SEMrush appears to have implemented a filter to exclude domains associated with illegal content or sites that have been subject to law enforcement action.

The result is that a publicly traded company, just weeks away from completing an acquisition by Adobe, is estimated to be receiving organic traffic from pages that effectively serve as a directory for sites hosting illegal intimate imagery. 

How I Found This

I was investigating traffic patterns for a client's site and ran semrush.com through Ahrefs' free traffic checker. Among the top traffic-driving pages were these alternative/competitor listings. The data is publicly verifiable by anyone with access to the free tier of Ahrefs.

According to Ahrefs' estimates, the largest of these imageboard sites receives approximately 380,000 monthly visits. Semrush's programmatic page targeting it ranks for related search terms, capturing a slice of that search demand. One tool's estimates suggest this single page accounts for roughly 5% of Semrush's organic traffic from Google.

According to Ahrefs free traffic estimator Semrush has seen a huge boost since the Adobe announcement

Backlinko's Listicle Problem (February 2026)

This sits alongside the issues I originally documented with Backlinko, the SEO blog Semrush acquired in January 2022 for approximately $5 million.

Backlinko has been:

• Hiding original publish dates and showing only "updated" dates - a widely known freshness manipulation tactic
• Mass-refreshing old content: 88% of Backlinko's 447 posts were updated in 2025 and 2026, with 29% updated in just the first five weeks of 2026
• Running self-promotional listicles — "best of" lists that consistently feature SEMrush products in 1st position, with minimal content changes between "updates"

In February 2026, Lily Ray (VP of SEO Strategy at Amsive) published research showing that Google had begun targeting listicles. SaaS brands relying on self-promotional listicles saw 30–50% visibility drops concentrated in their blog subfolders. The timing aligned with unconfirmed Google ranking adjustments late January and early February 2026.

Ahrefs publicly called out SEMrush multiple times for editing Brian Dean's original Backlinko content to replace Ahrefs recommendations with SEMrush ones... without disclosure that Semrush owned the site. Search Engine Land (itself now owned by Semrush) covered the controversy, with Ahrefs suggesting it could violate FTC Endorsement Guides.

The Adobe Acquisition Context

Adobe announced its acquisition of Semrush for $1.9 billion in November 2025. Stockholders approved the merger in February 2026 with overwhelming support. The German competition authority cleared it on March 20, 2026. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Adobe is paying a premium for Semrush's market position, brand authority, and organic visibility infrastructure. The question is whether Adobe's due diligence accounted for how that visibility was built. Plus, whether traffic propped up by programmatic pages targeting illegal content sites and freshness-manipulated listicles represents a sustainable asset. These pages are thin by any reasonable standard. 

A basic search in Google for site:semrush.com "alternatives" brought up "About 270,000 results (0.21s)" 

Google released its March 2026 spam update on March 24th. It's too early to assess the impact, but the direction of travel is clear: the tactics Semrush and Backlinko have relied on are increasingly in Google's crosshairs.

What This Means for E-E-A-T

Backlinko once represented the gold standard of white-hat SEO education. It built its reputation on depth, originality, and earning links through genuine value. That legacy is now being questioned after Brian Dean left and Semrush took over.

For anyone working in EEAT, which is what I do, this is a case study in how acquired trust can be spent. The credentials are still there. The domain authority is still there. But the substance has been hollowed out and replaced with volume plays and freshness hacks.

True expertise and trust can't be faked indefinitely. Google's systems are catching up, and the brands that built on shortcuts are starting to feel it. Monetizing non-consensual keyword traffic is not going to get by Google for too long, even withthe extra leeway given to authority websites. 

Forbes were warned in advance and it took over 15 years after the first warning for them to receive the "Google slap", it will be interesting to see if Semrush takes down these pages and if not what happens.

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Previously published: "Backlinko Isn't What It Used to Be" (February 7, 2026), renamed today as I used a very cautious title. The current title is Backlinko Could Be Demoted in January Google Update Targeting Listicles https://www.mayerintegrity.com/2026/02/intent-is-questionable-for-backlinko.html

Related sources:

• Lily Ray, "Is Google Finally Cracking Down on Self-Promotional Listicles?" (February 3, 2026)
• Lily Ray, "Your GEO Strategy Might Be Destroying Your SEO" (March 2026)
• Search Engine Land, "Ahrefs again calls out Semrush for 'unethical practices'" (October 2023)
• Search Engine Roundtable, "Google Self-Promotional Listicles Update" (February 4, 2026)
• Search Engine Land, "Google releases March 2026 spam update" (March 26, 2026)

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The author is an SEO consultant specializing in EEAT compliance and recovery for YMYL websites. Or you can get a second opinion on your SEO agency's proposal from a consultant with 19 years' experience.

This article was written with the help of AI, mainly Claude Opus 4.6. Also, Google AI Mode helped me get over the initial doubts. The next article will turn to YMYL date manipulation by big sites. Perplexity and NotebookLM will be called up for deeper research.