The Referral dashboard is part of the Semrush Traffic & Market Toolkit, designed to reveal how competitors generate website traffic from external links.
Use this dashboard to identify which websites direct visitors to your competitors, helping you discover untapped referral opportunities for your own site.
Getting started with the Referral dashboard
The Get Started menu is your entry point into the Semrush Traffic & Market Toolkit. It’s designed to help you quickly enter domains and move into your analysis of their traffic and marketing performance.
You’ll use this page to kick off your analysis—it’s your launchpad into the entire Traffic & Market experience.
If you haven’t created any projects yet, you’ll see a search panel where you can:
- Type in a domain — Start by entering the main domain you’d like to analyze
- Add additional competitors — Use the “+ Add more competitors” link to compare multiple sites at once
- Click the “Analyze” button — This will pull up dashboards with data and charts, starting with the Traffic Overview dashboard
If you’ve already entered domains into the toolkit, you’ll see them saved as “Folders” and you can access them anytime.
In this case, you’ll see your saved folders listed on the Get Started screen. Click any one of them to jump straight into your dashboards and pick up right where you left off.
Use the “Create Folder” button to start a new project whenever you're analyzing a new domain or market.
Note: At any time inside any dashboard, you can select the Competitor list drop-down in the upper left to edit your current list or create a different one without losing your place.
How to use the Referral dashboard
The Referral dashboard is interactive and customizable. Use the filters at the top of the page to tailor your analysis and explore traffic flows in detail. Start by selecting your date range, location, and device type preferences.
At the top of the dashboard, you'll find the Traffic Trend graph showing your competitor's overall referral traffic performance over time.
The graph displays the number of visitors (y-axis) over your selected period (x-axis), giving you a visual representation of how their referral traffic has performed.
How to use this section:
- Hover on any point on the graph line to see the exact visitor count for that date
- Note if traffic surges coincide with specific events, product launches, or content releases
- Compare seasonal trends against your own traffic to identify timing opportunities
- Identify days of the week when referral traffic consistently peaks
Use this data to schedule your own content releases and outreach initiatives during high-activity periods to maximize visibility and reach. If competitors consistently receive less weekend traffic, this might present an opportunity for you to capture attention when competition is lower.
Below the main Traffic Trend graph, you'll find two separate graphs that break down your competitor's referral traffic by device type:
- This Desktop Trend graph displays referral traffic coming specifically from desktop devices
- The Mobile Trend graph shows traffic coming directly from mobile devices
Just like the Traffic Trend graph, the y-axis displays the number of visitors over your selected time period (x-axis).
To use each section effectively, hover over any point on the graph lines to view exact visitor numbers. Compare the shapes of desktop and mobile traffic patterns to identify usage differences—for instance, mobile traffic may spike on weekends when users are away from their desks.
If a competitor shows strong mobile traffic, it may signal the need to improve your own mobile experience to stay competitive.
The Trending Pages section displays the specific pages on your competitor’s website that are receiving the most referral traffic.
Use the domain filters at the top to toggle between competitors, each marked with a color-coded indicator for easy identification.
Trend indicators and percentages highlight key performance patterns:
- Spikes signal sudden surges—often tied to promotions or viral content
- Trending up reflects steady, sustained growth
Below, trending URLs show which pages are gaining traction. Click the up arrow next to any URL to view the page directly. Traffic metrics display exact visitor counts, along with arrows indicating upward or downward trends. Finally, trend lines offer a clear visual of traffic patterns over your selected time period.
This data enables you to identify which content types perform well in your industry, discover emerging topics, and make informed decisions for your own content strategy based on proven success patterns.
The Top Sources section shows which referral domains are driving traffic to your competitors’ sites, using a flow diagram to visualize how traffic moves from each source to the analyzed domain.
Key elements include:
- Domain filters to toggle between competitors
- A list of referring domains, ranked by the volume of traffic they send
- Trend indicators with arrows and percentages showing whether each source is growing (green) or declining (red)
- Share percentages indicating each source’s contribution to total referral traffic
- Flow visualization, where wider lines represent higher referral volumes
This data allows you to identify potential partnership opportunities, monitor competitor relationships, and discover valuable referral sources that might benefit your own traffic acquisition strategy.
How can I act on the insights found in the Referral dashboard?
The Referral dashboard reveals how competitors generate website traffic from external sources—helping you uncover key referral partnerships, content opportunities, and traffic patterns to inform your own strategy.
Here's how you can use the data to take meaningful action:
- Discover potential partners: Identify the top referral sources sending traffic to competitors and develop outreach strategies to build similar relationships for your own site
- Optimize for device preferences: If the Desktop and Mobile Trend graphs show significant disparity, ensure your site is fully optimized for the device type that drives the most referral traffic in your industry
- Create high-performing content: Study the Trending Pages to understand what types of content attract referral links, then develop similar resources with your unique perspective or added value
- Time your campaigns effectively: Use the Traffic Trend data to identify when referral traffic peaks, and schedule your outreach or content launches during these high-activity periods
- Target competitive gaps: Identify declining pages or underutilized referral sources that could present opportunities for your site to capitalize on
- Track performance changes: Monitor how referral patterns shift over time to stay ahead of emerging trends and adapt your strategy accordingly
By regularly analyzing the Referral dashboard, you can develop a data-driven approach to building valuable referral relationships that drive qualified traffic to your site.
What related Traffic & Market dashboards should I use?
To get a complete picture alongside your Referral insights, explore these related dashboards:
- Traffic Overview – For a high-level view of total visits, engagement metrics, and traffic sources across all channels over time
- Sources & Destinations – To understand the broader user journey, including what sites send traffic to competitors, and where those users go afterwards
- Organic Search – To analyze search engine traffic patterns and identify keyword opportunities that complement your referral strategy
- Top Pages – To analyze a site’s content structure and identify which pages attract the most visits
- Daily Trends – To track short-term changes in traffic, engagement, and specific channels on a daily level
- Market Overview – To benchmark domain performance against competitors and view overall market trends and share
These dashboards complement the Referral dashboard by offering deeper insights into traffic patterns, content performance, audience behavior, and competitive positioning.
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