How to monitor brand mentions and alerts on Semrush

beginner 8 min read Updated 2026-03-30

Quick Answer

Monitor brand mentions on Semrush by setting up Brand Monitoring campaigns with your target keywords, configuring alert preferences, and analyzing mention data through the dashboard. You can track mentions across social media, news, blogs, and forums while receiving real-time notifications.

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Prerequisites

Active Semrush account
Brand name or keywords to monitor
Access to Brand Monitoring tool in your plan
Basic understanding of social media monitoring

Step-by-Step Instructions

Access the Brand Monitoring tool

Log into your Semrush account and navigate to Brand Monitoring from the left sidebar under the Social Media Toolkit section. If you don't see this option, ensure your subscription plan includes Brand Monitoring features.

Brand Monitoring is available on Guru and Business plans, not on the Pro plan.

Create a new monitoring campaign

Click the Create Campaign button or + Set up monitoring. Enter your Campaign name (e.g., "My Brand Monitoring") and add your primary brand name in the Keywords field. You can add multiple variations and misspellings of your brand name separated by commas.

Include common misspellings and abbreviations of your brand to capture all mentions.

Configure monitoring sources

Select the sources you want to monitor from the available options: News, Blogs, Forums, Social Networks, and Web. Check the boxes for your preferred sources. For comprehensive monitoring, select all sources unless you have specific requirements.

Social Networks and News typically provide the most actionable brand mentions for most businesses.

Set up language and location filters

Choose your target Languages from the dropdown menu (English, Spanish, French, etc.). Select specific Countries or regions where you want to monitor mentions. You can choose multiple countries if your brand operates internationally.

Configure negative keywords

In the Negative Keywords section, add terms that should exclude mentions from your results. For example, if your brand name is a common word, add context that isn't relevant to your business. Use the format -keyword or simply type words separated by commas.

Negative keywords help reduce false positives and focus on relevant brand mentions only.

Set up email alerts

Enable Email notifications by checking the box and entering your email address. Choose your alert frequency: Real-time, Daily, or Weekly. Select the types of mentions you want to be alerted about using the Alert conditions dropdown.

Start with daily alerts to avoid email overload while still staying informed about brand mentions.

Launch and monitor your campaign

Click Start Monitoring to launch your campaign. Semrush will begin collecting mentions within a few hours. Access your results by clicking on your campaign name in the Brand Monitoring dashboard. Review the Overview, Mentions, Authors, and Comparison tabs for comprehensive insights.

Check your campaign regularly during the first week to fine-tune keywords and negative keywords based on initial results.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Not receiving any brand mentions despite having an active campaign

Check if your brand name is too specific or if negative keywords are too broad. Try adding keyword variations and common misspellings in the campaign settings. Also verify that your selected sources are appropriate for your industry.

Getting too many irrelevant mentions

Add more specific negative keywords to filter out unrelated content. Go to your campaign settings and include terms like competitor names, unrelated contexts, or common words that create false positives in the Negative Keywords field.

Email alerts are not being delivered

Check your spam folder and add noreply@semrush.com to your email whitelist. Verify your email address in the campaign settings under Email notifications and ensure the alert frequency isn't set to a very low threshold.

Brand Monitoring tool is not available in account

Brand Monitoring requires a Guru or Business plan. If you're on a Pro plan, you'll need to upgrade your subscription. Contact Semrush support or upgrade through Settings > Subscription to access this feature.

Prices mentioned in this guide are pulled from current plan data and may change. Always verify on the official Semrush website before purchasing.

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