TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Ahrefs

    Score8.8 out of 10
    N/AAhrefs is an SEO tool providers. Ahrefs Site Explorer provides a suite of tools including a component for backlink & on-page SEO analysis, online brand mentions tracking, and domain comparison tool for competitor analysis, etc. They refer to themselves as “the largest index of live backlinks.”

    $127

    per month

    Google Search Console

    Score9 out of 10
    N/AGoogle Search Console is a search engine optimization software solution offered by Google.N/A
    Pricing
    AhrefsGoogle Search Console
    Editions & Modules
    Lite
    $129.00
    per month
    Standard
    $249.00
    per month
    Advanced
    $449.00
    per month
    Enterprise
    $1499.00
    per month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    AhrefsGoogle Search Console
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsDiscount available for annual billing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    AhrefsGoogle Search Console
    Considered Both Products
    Ahrefs
    Chose Ahrefs
    Screaming Frog is a handy tool when it comes to performing technical SEO audits and improving technical aspects of SEO. But Ahrefs on the contrary is a strategic SEO tool that can help you do holistic SEO. This includes features like performing keyword research, building links, …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ahrefs
    Ahrefs is the most comprehensive tool we've used for providing SEO and performance analysis for our website clients. It's an essential part of our analytics stack, along with Google products. It doesn't require downloading and installing software, and it's more robust and user …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ahrefs
    Ahrefs has more features and more accurate data than its competitors. While both Moz and Majestic are great tools and can be used as complimentary to Ahrefs, if you have to choose one tool, definitely choose Ahrefs. It has the biggest database of links and better stats for …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ahrefs
    I like Ahrefs because its index of backlinks is fresher than SEMRush and the way of presenting information is a lot more convenient and versatile than Majestic. Also, I like the fact that it's mostly focused on SEO vs. the broader approach that SEMRush takes.
    Incentivized
    Google
    Chose Google Search Console
    All of these other tools have positives and negatives. We use Google Search Console along with Semrush in the past and are using it with Ahrefs right now. Search Console is like the foundation of monitoring our search presence and these other tools are what lets us do the heavy …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    Google uniquely provides specific data that is important for optimizing SEO and performance for websites. While it doesn't provide as comprehensive an analysis as other tools like Ahrefs and Moz, it provides Google performance-specific data that can't be found elsewhere. When …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    We are using Ahrefs and SEMRush along with the search console. Ahrefs helps in creating our backlink strategy while SEMRush for content gaps and opportunities. Search console is more preferred as it is completely free and data comes straight from Google. But you cannot see …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    Usually, I use multiple tools and GSC is the first on my list along with Google Analytics since both of these tools are free and are sufficient for monitoring, analyzing and managing digital marketing for a small business. However, there are some limitations to these tools like …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    I think these tools are a lot better than GSC, to be honest, because they bring everything together in one place and offer better keyword analysis capabilities. However, I would select GSC over these tools because it is Google's proprietary data, and ultimately, I am optimizing …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    It's a product from the same team as the no. 1 search engine. It's free, so there's no burden, and you can use it for as long as you want and for as big a company as possible. Others are very expensive, and data can be inaccurate sometimes. Google Analytics serves a different …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    The data is more accurate in Google Search Console and you can communicate back with Google using this tool.
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    If you need advanced SEO information, then of course you need to use expensive tools. Google console will give basic information, but most importantly, it will give promptly and free of charge. So do not ignore the possibilities of this great free tool, because all webmasters …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    I wouldn't really call Google Search Console a competitor of these major SEO software that has backlink management, competitive research, keyword research, PPC research, and so much more a part of them. It's just a bare-bones SEO tool and sitemap submission specifically for …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    Google is the dominant search engine so its a dead-given that you want to be using their platform for optimizing and managing your website presence on Google. No other platform compares to Google Search Console when it comes to accessing raw data on how google is viewing your …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    For me, the biggest asset of Search Console is that it's a free product! You don't need to pay extra to obtain data that other tools will give you. If you want to know which keywords your visitors are using to find you, then look no further.
    Google Search Console is also a …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Search Console
    Again, Google Search Console is mandatory if you're a search marketer or developer. It is a free tool and it links directly to Google, so it's hard to not recommend. Although, if you want more actionable (and often cleaner) data, then using one of the above tools is necessary. …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    95%
    Would buy again
    38 Answers
    96%
    Would buy again
    26 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    34 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    27 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    39 Answers
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    26 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    33 Answers
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    22 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    36 Answers
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    24 Answers
    Features
    AhrefsGoogle Search Console
    SEO
    Comparison of SEO features of Ahrefs and Google Search Console
    Feature
    Ahrefs
    8.3
    72 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Google Search Console
    4.7
    56 Ratings
    48% below category average
    Keyword analysis9.869 Ratings7.548 Ratings
    Backlink management9.470 Ratings6.244 Ratings
    SERP ranking tracking8.668 Ratings6.446 Ratings
    Page grader7.362 Ratings2.933 Ratings
    Competitive analysis9.270 Ratings1.218 Ratings
    Site audit / diagnostics7.465 Ratings7.848 Ratings
    Site recommendations7.461 Ratings4.744 Ratings
    Task management7.033 Ratings1.019 Ratings
    SEO Channels
    Comparison of SEO Channels features of Ahrefs and Google Search Console
    Feature
    Ahrefs
    6.5
    63 Ratings
    16% below category average
    Google Search Console
    7.2
    53 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Local SEO6.751 Ratings6.237 Ratings
    Social SEO6.048 Ratings8.019 Ratings
    Mobile SEO6.047 Ratings7.349 Ratings
    Global SEO7.157 Ratings7.543 Ratings
    SEO Platform & Account Management
    Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Ahrefs and Google Search Console
    Feature
    Ahrefs
    7.4
    60 Ratings
    13% below category average
    Google Search Console
    8.0
    53 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Multi-domain support6.457 Ratings7.947 Ratings
    Integration with web analytics tools8.429 Ratings8.150 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    AhrefsGoogle Search Console
    Small Businesses
    Serpstat
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Serpstat
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Yoast
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Yoast
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Google Trends
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Google Trends
    Score8.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    AhrefsGoogle Search Console
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (77 ratings)
    9.4
    (56 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (5 ratings)
    8.8
    (8 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.8
    (14 ratings)
    6.1
    (8 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    AhrefsGoogle Search Console
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Ahrefs
    Ahrefs is a must have in the SEO toolbox. It is one of the leading tools in the industry for serious SEO research. It can do almost everything you need on the non-technical side of SEO. In my opinion, it is not great if you need a detailed technical tool that identifies errors and helps with fix suggestions. In that instance, I think there are better tools on the market. But - for content and keyword related tasks, I think it's must have.
    Incentivized
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    Google
    It's suited for all use cases, but for big companies, the data might be crippling, so an add-on tool to analyse the data would be a good companion for GSC to solve this issue. Therefore, I think it's suited for any use case with some add-ons and companions needed for analysis.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Ahrefs
    • I have been using this platform in my organization to develop several SEO tools to help to grow our website much.
    • It has all the main features which include competitor research, keyword research, website audit, content research, and rank tracking.
    • I have been using all these functions in the organization for several purposes. It provides complete information and complete performance details of the SEO.
    • It provides us the detailed keyword research with volume, CPC, and other information.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    • Google Search Console insights is a great feature which provides an overview of my top content, how my new content is performing, etc.
    • It gives detailed information around backlinks - who is linking to us, how many backlinks do we have, how is the internal linking within the website, etc.
    • I like the graph feature that shows how the website is performing overall in one month, three months etc. Seeing the graph can help us understand whether it is trending upward or downward and we can shift strategies accordingly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Ahrefs
    • Can't export graphs: some graphs within the tool would be useful as an export. Unfortunately, exporting them is not an option.
    • No "blanket" reporting options: though Ahrefs is excellent for gathering and exporting intel/data, there are no blanket SEO reports provided. Exporting data is great, but simple report exporting would make it better.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    • It can be a little difficult to navigate
    • More training resources would be an asset. A beginner is given the power to completely destroy a sites search results at the push of a button. Likewise it is a powerful tool to enhance search results also.
    • An option to take care of multiple versions of the same site simultaneously would be helpful. An option to use the same validation script across all versions and administer them simultaneously would be a time save (i.e. non-www, www, http://, and https:// versions of the same site).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Ahrefs
    Their index is too vast to ignore when looking at a complete backlink profile. We find links in Ahrefs that do not appear in any other link detection tool. For this reason, it's a must for our agency to use for the foreseeable future. Plus, it's very affordable considering the data you get
    Read full review
    Google
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Ahrefs
    Ahrefs is very easy to use - you can jump right in and understand most of the assets. Overall, the dashboard snapshots give a very good picture of inbound link activity. For deeper analysis of historical trends, the system can become cumbersome, making it hard to do full work without exporting and reformatting the data.
    Read full review
    Google
    It's easy to use, but some features are lacking a clear explanation. Somethings don't always match up. For example, the Core Web Vitals often doesn't match what you would see in the Chrome Lighthouse report or the Google Page Speed Insights tool. The tool itself is a little too basic and has to be used alongside other SEO tools and other Google properties such as Analytics
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Ahrefs
    Ahrefs has always been responsive when there's been a technical issue with the site. There are usually very little problems, but if there are, they announce it on their social media accounts which keeps its customers informed. Email support is prompt and the customer service people are very helpful, knowledgable and friendly.
    Incentivized
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    Google
    As it is a free tool, you mainly have to rely on their knowledge base and forums. Google has provided in-depth guides and KB for every function of the search console. So, you can refer to it in case of any problem. You can also ask questions on their forums but direct support is not available.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Ahrefs
    Majestic and Ahrefs are really close in terms of tool. Ahrefs does offer competitive comparison and they do have a more up to date data base. Majestic however has a more comprehensive historical view of sites which is also extremely valuable. Majestic also offers a link velocity chart that is missing on Ahrefs. Ahrefs makes up for this with their links gained/lost calendar which Majestic is missing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    SEMRush is a supplementary tool we use to provide competitive analysis. While it does, or should, provide the same data that Search Console does, but I only fully trust Search Console when it comes to basic performance in Google for the sites we develop and own. SEMRush, and other products like it, does provide much more in-depth insights that can help drive business decisions, including site performance on other search engines, along putting organic and paid search performance in one spot. However, SEMRush costs money while Search Console is free.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Ahrefs
    • Ahrefs Site Explorer has helped with any comprehensive backlink analysis and backlink profile management we've had.
    • Ahrefs Site Explorer has helped tremendously in getting manual penalties lifted for certain sites.
    • Aherfs Site Explorer has been helpful in identifying 404 error pages.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    • Given that this is a free tool, the return on investment has been particularly high - we've identified and addressed a few site issues that could have meant a reduction in search traffic.
    • Our organic search traffic has been on the rise in part due to the insights gained from the search traffic analytics provided within the console.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Ahrefs Screenshots

    Screenshot of Analyze backlinks and keywords of any website to find opportunities for your organic traffic growthScreenshot of Check your website for 100+ pre-defined SEO issuesScreenshot of Get relevant keyword ideas supported by accurate SEO metricsScreenshot of Find the most shared and linked-to content on any topicScreenshot of Track your and your competitors' search rankings