We compare the top two SEO tools
Whether you’re a small business just starting out or an established corporation, search engine optimization (SEO) is essential to your success. In order to compete in today’s online marketplace, your website needs to rank high on search engine results pages (SERPs). But how can you know which SEO tool is the best for your business?
What are Ahrefs and Semrush?
Semrush and Ahrefs are two of the most popular options available, but which one is right for you? In this article, we’ll compare and contrast Semrush and Ahrefs to help you decide which one is the best fit for your business.
Both Semrush and Ahrefs are powerful SEO tools that can help you improve your website’s search engine ranking. They both provide keyword suggestions that can inspire new blog posts, and they’ll tell you how difficult it will be to rank for specific phrases. In addition, they both allow you to perform an SEO audit of your website to find out if there are any technical improvements you can make. Ultimately, using either tool will give you a better chance of achieving better search engine results.
Domain analysis is a feature provided by both Ahrefs and Semrush that gives you insights into the health of your website. This includes things like your website’s total number of backlinks, the number of referring domains, the spam score of your website and more.
This information is valuable because it gives you an idea of where your website stands in terms of search engine optimization (SEO). If your website has a lot of backlinks and a low spam score, then it’s likely in good shape. However, if your website has few backlinks and a high spam score, then it’s likely that you need to improve your SEO.
In addition to domain analysis, both Ahrefs and Semrush provide keyword research tools. These tools allow you to enter a seed keyword and generate a list of related keywords. This is valuable because it allows you to find keywords that you may not have thought of before. Additionally, the data provided by these tools can help you to better understand how difficult it would be to rank for certain keywords. Ahrefs and Semrush provide competitive analysis tools. These tools allow you to see how your website stacks up against other websites in terms of SEO.
Domain analysis
one of the most useful things you can do with either tool is basic domain analysis. This simply means getting a general overview of how a website is performing from an SEO point of view. You typically perform domain analysis either on your own website – to see where SEO improvements could be made to it – or on a competitor’s, to see how hard it will be to outrank them in search results.
Both Ahrefs and Semrush offer similar features for domain analysis, including the ability to see things like link profiles, organic traffic levels, and keyword rankings. As part of their domain analysis features, both platforms provide users with monthly traffic reports. However, it’s important to note that the figures provided in these reports are estimates. The actual traffic figures may be higher or lower than the estimates provided by Ahrefs and Semrush. Nevertheless, these reports can still be useful for getting an idea of the relative traffic levels of different websites.
Keyword research features
Keyword research is generally about four things:
- How many people are searching for a particular keyword
- how difficult it is to rank for that keyword
- who is already ranking for that keyword
- suggesting other keywords
Both Ahrefs and Semrush make it very easy for you to find this information. Simply enter a keyword into the respective search bar on either site and you will be given detailed results. For instance, both sites will give you an approximate monthly search volume for the keyword, as well as the difficulty of ranking for that keyword. In addition, you will be able to see a list of websites that are currently ranking for that keyword. Based on this information, you can then decide whether or not it is worth targeting that keyword. If you are looking for other keywords to target, both Ahrefs and Semrush also have helpful suggestion tools. These tools use data from actual searches to provide you with a list of related keywords that you may want to consider targeting.
Search data
Interestingly Semrush only provides data for Google searches, whereas Ahrefs lets you perform keyword research for 10 search engines, including important sites like YouTube and Amazon. This is a significant advantage, as it allows you to get a more comprehensive view of the keyword landscape. However if you’re more focused on advertising and PPC Semrush takes the lead as it hold more detailed information about Google and advertising daa, such as search volume, clicks, and CPC. This allows you to get a better understanding of how each keyword performs.
Backlink analysis
Backlinks are links from external websites that point to your site. They act as a vote of confidence, telling search engines that your site is relevant and trustworthy. As a result, sites with more backlinks tend to rank higher in search results.
Tools like Ahrefs and Semrush can both be used to find backlinks that already exist and then try to improve them. There are a few ways to get backlinks. One is to reach out to other website owners and ask them to link to your site. Another is to create high-quality content that others will want to link to.
Backlink database size
Although Semrush’s database of domains is considerably bigger than Ahrefs’, containing 800 million domains to Ahrefs’ 213 million (figures correct at time of writing), this does not necessarily mean that Semrush is able to provide more comprehensive domain and backlink analysis. As both companies use different methods to crawl and index the web, the coverage and accuracy of their data sets may vary. Furthermore, as Ahrefs is updated more frequently than Semrush (Ahrefs crawls the web every 15 minutes, while Semrush only crawls it once a day), Ahrefs’ data is likely to be more up-to-date. Therefore, when choosing a tool for domain and backlink analysis, it is important to consider factors such as coverage, accuracy, and frequency of updates.
Backlink reports and tools
When it comes to backlink analysis, both Ahrefs and Semrush offer a wealth of useful information. Both tools allow you to see the number of dofollow and nofollow links pointing to a domain, as well as the country of origin for those links. You can also see what anchor text is being used, which can be helpful in understanding the link building strategy of a competitor. Additionally, both tools show you new and lost domains, so you can track how a site’s backlink profile is changing over time. Finally, both Ahrefs and Semrush offer insights into the types of linking domains (e.g., government, education, etc.), which can be helpful in understanding the quality of a site’s backlinks. Ultimately, both Ahrefs and Semrush provide valuable information about a website’s backlink profile, making them essential tools for any SEO professional.
Backlink auditing and building
Semrush offers a number of features related to backlinks that are not available in Ahrefs. The ‘backlink auditing’ tool allows users to identify potentially harmful links (i.e., links from spammy websites that could result in a search engine penalty). Once identified, these links can be exported to a file and uploaded to Google as a “disavow” file (this tells Google to ignore the links). This is a valuable tool for website owners who are concerned about their backlink profile and want to ensure that they are not at risk of being penalized by Google. In addition, Semrush also offers a “backlink gap” analysis tool, which can be used to compare the backlink profiles of two competitor websites. This can be helpful in identifying opportunities to build new links and improve your website’s SEO.
When it comes to SEO tools, there are two that always seem to be at the top of the list: Semrush and Ahrefs. Both tools offer a wealth of features and benefits that can help any business improve their search engine ranking.
There is no easy answer when it comes to choosing between Semrush and Ahrefs. Both tools have their pros and cons, and the best choice for your business will ultimately depend on your specific needs and goals. However, we can take a closer look at both tools to help you decide which one is right for you.
A bit about Semrush the company
Semrush is a software company that provides online visibility and marketing tools. It was founded in 2008 by Oleg Shchegolev and Sergey Galitsky, who are also the co-founders of the Russian search engine Yandex. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with offices in Philadelphia, New York City, San Francisco, London, Munich, Berlin, Moscow, and Kiev.
Semrush is an online marketing toolkit that provides users with a suite of tools to help them improve their online visibility and organic search ranking. The platform includes tools for keyword research, website audits, and rank tracking, among other things. Semrush is used by both small businesses and enterprise companies alike. The platform is particularly popular among SEO professionals and digital marketing agencies.
and about Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a software company that provides web-based tools for SEO and marketing purposes. The company was founded in 2011 by Dmitry Gerasimenko and Alexander Rafikov. Ahrefs’ products include a backlink checker, a keyword research tool, and an SEO analysis tool. The company’s flagship product is its Site Explorer, which allows users to see detailed information about their website’s backlinks, including the anchor text and target URL. Ahrefs also offers a paid service called Ahrefs Site Audit, which provides an in-depth analysis of a website’s SEO health. Ahrefs has been used by some of the world’s top SEO professionals, including Rand Fishkin, Neil Patel, and Garrett French.
In September of 2019, Ahrefs launched a new product called Content Explorer. Content Explorer is a content discovery tool that helps users find the most popular and shared content on the web. The tool allows users to search for topics, keywords, or phrases, and then see the most popular content on that topic. Content Explorer also includes a number of features that help users optimize their content for SEO, including a keyword density checker and a backlink checker. In November of 2019, Ahrefs launched Ahrefs Academy, a training program that provides video lessons and tutorials on SEO and marketing topics. Ahrefs Academy is available to all Ahrefs users, and the course material is updated regularly.
As of January 2020, Ahrefs has over 2 million users in 190 countries. The company has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc., and The Huffington Post. Ahrefs has raised over $15 million in funding from investors, including Sequoia Capital, Manhattan Ventures, and angel investor Richard Branson.
Semrush vs Ahrefs – conclusion
So, which tool is the best? That really depends on what you need and how much you’re willing to spend. If you’re looking for a comprehensive SEO tool with a wide range of features, Semrush is a great option. If you’re willing to pay more for an advanced tool with a more robust data set, Ahrefs is the better choice.
No matter which tool you choose, both Semrush and Ahrefs can help you improve your search engine ranking and get more traffic to your website. So, if you’re serious about SEO, these are two tools that you need to have in your toolkit.
Trying out Ahrefs and Semrush before you buy
If you’re thinking about investing in a paid SEO tool like Ahrefs or Semrush, it’s definitely worth trying out each platform before you commit to a purchase. Ahrefs doesn’t offer a free trial, but its ‘Site Explorer’ and ‘Site Audit’ tools are available for free here. Semrush, on the other hand, offers a free trial that typically lasts 7 days but is currently being extended to 30 days. You can access the extended trial using this link. Ultimately, the best way to decide which tool is right for you is to try it out for yourself and see which one provides the features and functionality that best meets your needs.