Item: Ahrefs
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use the Ahrefs Site Explorer as part of our Link Building services. It provides a great way to track how many backlinks we've built over time and how much Domain Rating has changed. It also allows us to look at what sites are linking to our clients' competitors and see if there are any that we can potentially reach out to.

Pros and Cons

The platform is easily navigable with tabs on the side to look at different reports. It also provides Info links that you can hover over, which explain specific terms that the system uses. This greatly helps prevent any confusion.
Great for competitor analysis to see what websites are linking to your competitors. The fact that it lets you look at multiple competitors at the same time to see if they share any links that you don't have is also excellent.

I wish there were a shorter path from seeing competitor backlinks to seeing what page on those sites is linking to the competitor. If there were a way to do this all from the Link Intersect tool, it would be much easier.
Organic Keywords report could let you more easily see how rankings change over time.

Return on Investment

Link Building is an integral part of the Premium SEO Services package that my agency offers, and we couldn't do it without Ahrefs Site Explorer. The tool allows us to provide a better service, which brings in more revenue for our clients and us.

Alternatives Considered

SEMRush

As a backlink management tool, Ahrefs Site Explorer is the best out there. Being able to look into backlinks and check for any that may be harming our sites is a process that the Ahrefs Site Explorer makes possible. While it does offer keyword tracking as well, I've found the SEMRush is much better fitted for this.

Support Rating

Fortunately, I haven't had any problems with Ahrefs Site Explorer that would make me go to customer support. I think this is a testament to how well the system is built out.

Key Insights

Do you think Ahrefs delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Ahrefs's feature set?

Yes

Did Ahrefs live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Ahrefs go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Ahrefs again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Google Tag Manager, Google Ads (formerly AdWords), Facebook for Business

Likelihood to Recommend

Ahrefs Site Explorer is essential for any marketing team that does SEO. Link building is a huge part of ranking for targeted keywords, and Ahrefs Site Explorer is the best tool I've used to keep track of all that. It is less appropriate as a keyword tracking tool. I've found that SEMRush is much better for doing a site audit and tracking how keyword rankings have changed over time.

Ahrefs Makes Link Building Less Terrible and That is Why You Need It

Overall Satisfaction with Ahrefs Site Explorer