Semrush Sensor (SERP Volatility & Score Explained) – How To Learn SEO

What is SEMrush Sensor? And how does it work?

This guide will teach you everything you need to know about the Semrush Sensor developed by the Semrush company, including the full details behind the Semrush SERP volatility categories, how sensor scores are measured, and more.

Consider this your ultimate guide to SEMrush sensors to track Google algorithmic updates.

What is SEMrush Sensor?

SEMrush tracks the volatility in Google’s search engine algorithms by measuring the millions of keywords in the sensor index. Semrush Sensor scores are based on daily changes in the SERP rankings and are reported on a scale of 0-10 to indicate how much is changing each day.

You can do Check out the SEMrush sensor here Or keep reading below to understand how this tool works to track Google ranking algorithm updates and SERP volatility, and what method it uses to calculate scores.

SEMrush SERP volatility

Semrush SERP volatility is measured across 25 categories and reports changes in the global position for websites ranking in Google’s search results on a daily basis and over the past 30 days. Semrush SERP volatility also tracks the percentage of SERPS where specific features appear in the top 20 results.

The higher the Semrush SERP volatility score, the more likely Google is to introduce an algorithm update.

SERP Volatility Categories

• Arts & Entertainment
• autos and vehicles
• beauty and health
• Books and Literature
• business and industrial
• computer and electronics
• finance
• food and drink
• game
• health
• hobbies and leisure
• home and Garden
• Internet and Telecommunications
• Jobs & Education
• law and government
• news
• online community
• people and society
• Pet
• real estate
• reference
• Science
• shopping
• game
• travel

Semrush is one of the best SEO tools for serious website owners who want an all-in-one platform for SEO, content marketing, competitor research, PPC, and social media marketing. It’s one of the few software I promote as an affiliate because it’s so cool. I invite you to visit my affiliate link here to check out SEMrush for free to see what it can do for you.

SERP Features Event

Semrush’s sensor also tracks day-to-day changes in specific SERP characteristics. Volatility is reported as a percentage of SERPs where the specific characteristics visible in the top 20 results are changing.

• featured snippet
• local pack
• purchase results
• knowledge panel
• top stories
• urgent reply
• top ad
• ad below
• carousel
• Featured Video
• people also ask
• site link
• Images
• No SERP Features

Semrush sensor score

The SEMrush sensor score is based on a 10-point scale:

• 0-2 is considered low
• 2-5 is normal
• 5-8 is high
• 8-10 is too much

For example, a SEMrush sensor score between 0 and 4 means it’s a normal day with the Google SERPs. While some websites may experience a change in ranking, this is most likely because these sites are being updated or the backlink profile is changing in a positive or negative way.

If the Semrush Sensor score is 5 or higher, the tool is detecting a significant change in Google’s search results pages. The ranking position for several sites in the index has changed and may be a sign of an algorithmic change.

How is the SEMrush sensor score calculated?

The SEMrush sensor score is calculated with a proprietary formula that checks for changes in search results for a certain set of keywords on a daily basis. According to Semarusho, “For each keyword, we do a per-item comparison of ‘today’s’ results versus ‘yesterday’s’ results. We measure how much has changed in a day using Levenshtein distance (as a basis) and normalization.”

The aggregate value of the SEMrush sensor score reflects the total SERP volatility for the day. If the score is high (5-8) or very high (9-10), a lot of ranking position changes are taking place in the Google SERPs. This indicates that an algorithm is being updated or that a set of penalties have been imposed for abusive websites.

Therefore, you may notice a significant change in the ranking of your website in Google’s search engine; either positive or negative. However, it is not always guaranteed that your site will be affected by this change in volatility.

Checking Your Website With SEMrush Sensors

If you have a Semrush account, you can check your website’s Semrush Censor score by clicking the “Personal Score” tab that appears on the main Censor Dashboard. If you don’t have an account set up yet, you can enter your domain in the tracking field and click the “Try” button to register.

I invite you to visit my affiliate link here to try SEMrush for free to test out all the features. The individual SEMrush sensor score allows you to calculate volatility for a set of keywords that you set in the “Position Tracking” section. To get the most accurate data, you’ll want to have a large set of keywords in these campaigns.

Semrush sensor deviation

In the SEMrush sensor dashboard there is a tab called “Deviation”. The divergence is calculated as the difference between the volatility and the average monthly volatility for a given day. This feature shows you which tracked categories were unstable (i.e., deviated) from the average volatility score for the category.

SEMrush censors winners and losers

Another tab on the SEMrush sensor dashboard reports the “winners and losers” for the day. This data comes from domains that are tracked by censors and you can use it to research which domains suffer the most during Google algorithmic updates.

Receiving sensor notifications

If you would like to receive censored notifications without visiting the Semrush website, you can click the “Subscribe to Notifications” button at the top of the dashboard to sign up for these alerts. (See picture below.)

There are two options for sensor notifications:

• E-mail
• browser push notifications

After choosing your preferred notification method, SEMrush will notify you of any significant fluctuations in the ranking based on sensor data. As mentioned earlier, I invite you to my affiliate link here to try SEMrush for free to find out how this tool can help you grow your business online.

SEMrush Sensor Summary

I hope you have enjoyed this guide on SEMrush Sensors.

As you found out, Semrush SERP volatility changes are measured across 25 categories and 14 SERP features to give you the best guess on possible Google algorithm updates. The SEMrush sensor score is also an important metric to check each day to determine whether changes in global ranking position are high or low for specific industries or across the Internet.