Semrush vs Ahrefs: Which is Better

In digital marketing, where search engine optimization (SEO) reigns supreme, tools like Ahrefs and Semrush have become indispensable resources for businesses and marketers striving to enhance their online visibility. These platforms offer a plethora of features designed to elevate SEO strategies and propel websites to the forefront of search engine results.

Read the article to delve into the intricacies of these platforms to unravel the question: which is better: Ahrefs vs Semrush?

Is Ahrefs Worth the Money?

Ahrefs is a useful SEO tool. In more details, this platform operates by scanning search engines and web pages to gather information, providing users with tools to:

• Discover popular search queries on Google and other search engines;
• Develop website content that can attract visitors;
• Spot potential for building links;
• Optimize technical elements of website content to enhance its search engine ranking.

By analyzing the phrases you enter, Ahrefs can offer keyword recommendations to serve as a foundation for creating content likely to excel in search results.

Furthermore, it can indicate the level of difficulty in ranking for specific search terms.

Ahrefs can propose websites that may be valuable for acquiring backlinks.

Additionally, it enables you to conduct a technical SEO assessment of your website to identify potential improvements that could enhance your search performance.

Ahrefs Pricing

To use all the features of Ahrefs, you need to take out a paid subscription. The cost starts from $199 per month — depending on the selected plan.

Is Semrush Worth the Money?

Semrush is a well-known SEO tool used for keyword exploration, competitor analysis, and enhancing Google Ad performance. Semrush offers features to run SEO, PPC, social media, and content marketing campaigns.

Using Semrush, you get an access to the following tools:

• Keyword Magic Tool makes a thorough keyword research, identifying the key terms;
• Keyword Overview shows a detailed insight into selected keywords, which provides additional data such as related keywords, traffic metrics, and search intent;
• Keyword Manager keeps track of and organizes the chosen keywords efficiently;
• Position Tracking monitors the performance of the primary keywords your website currently ranks for;
• Domain Overview analyzes competitors’ keywords and website pages to assess their performance and unearth potential new keywords;
• Backlinks tool aids  in identifying valuable backlink opportunities to enhance the website’s authority and ranking;
• Site Audit evaluates the website’s health, as it effectively detects and highlights any errors or issues that need attention.

Moreover, the platform offers a wealth of educational resources such as webinars, blog posts, and video tutorials, catering to beginners who are looking to solidify their understanding of digital marketing concepts.

Semrush Pricing

Semrush also requires a subscription to use all its features. On the Pricing page, you will find three subscription tiers: Pro, Guru, and Business. If you choose to start a Semrush trial, you can access Pro and Guru levels for trial purposes.

Semrush or Ahrefs: Best Tools

Now, let’s compare Ahrefs and Semrush as well as examine what functions each platform has. We will consider such options as:

• Keyword research;
• Domain Analytic tools;
• SEO audit;
• Rank tracking;
• Link Building tools.

Keyword Research

Semrush

Using Semrush’s Keyword Research tools, you can delve into a vast keyword repository to pinpoint the ideal target keywords for your website. Keyword Overview allows you to gain comprehensive insights through a complete keyword analysis that provides a detailed overview of a keyword’s metrics such as search volume, competition level, CPC, intent, and trends on local, national, and global levels.

This feature gives you effective targeting of the most valuable keywords by quickly understanding keyword search volume and user intent. You can estimate keyword difficulty to determine the level of effort required to rank for each keyword. In addition, you can determine the keyword’s CPC, competition density and top ads to effectively strategize your SEO campaigns.

You can research keywords and their variations to improve your keyword strategy by studying clusters and variations. You also have the option to identify frequently asked questions related to your keyword to better answer user queries. 

Another distinguishing factor of Semrush’s keyword research tool is the inclusion of data derived from Google’s PPC campaigns.

An excellent metric to consider is the Personal Keyword Difficulty (PKD %), offering tailored keyword difficulty scores based on your domain, thus ensuring relevance to your unique circumstances. This enables you to identify domain-specific keyword possibilities that are more achievable in terms of ranking.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs has a feature called Keywords Explorer. This tool provides you with keyword ideas 24/7 with access to six distinct reports that extract the most pertinent search queries from our extensive database. For each seed keyword, you will receive reports tailored to provide the following insights:

Leverage Keyword Difficulty (KD) to gauge the level of effort required to secure a spot in the top 10 organic search results for a keyword. The KD score is derived exclusively from the average volume of backlinks pointing to the top-ranking pages. A lower score indicates a higher likelihood of ranking successfully.

Furthermore, Ahrefs provides insights into the potential click volume you could receive by ranking for a specific keyword. Considering Google’s increasing inclusion of features that divert clicks away from organic results within the SERPs, Keyword Explorer factors this aspect into its analysis.

Domain Analytics Tool

Evaluating the visibility of your website’s domain, along with that of your competitors, is crucial for enhancing your performance and shaping your SEO strategies effectively.

This analysis not only informs your SEO approach but also illuminates strategies to outperform your competition. Semrush offers three tools dedicated to examining domain visibility: the Domain Overview tool, the Organic Research tool, and the Keyword Gap tool. These tools provide search data for the top 10 pages (top 100 positions) of Google search engine results pages (SERPs).

On the other hand, Ahrefs offers a comparable tool called Site Explorer. Users are required to upgrade from a Lite account to access data beyond the first 20 positions in search results.

Both Semrush and Ahrefs feature tools for identifying keyword gaps, highlighting keywords that your rivals are ranking for but you are missing out on. Ahrefs’ tool, known as the Content Gap tool, emphasizes topical information over SEO-specific suggestions.

For users conducting daily analyses on multiple websites, Semrush excels in offering significantly higher limits compared to Ahrefs. Their premium subscriptions, Semrush’s Business and Ahrefs’ Enterprise, provide 10,000 and 1,000 daily reports, respectively.

Moreover, historical access to organic data is a valuable feature. Semrush grants full access starting at the Guru level ($249.95 per month), while Ahrefs offers this feature to Enterprise users at $999 per month.

Semrush vs Ahrefs: Best SEO Audit Feature

The next feature that needs to be considered is technical SEO audit. In simpler terms, this tool excels at uncovering technical SEO issues and potential advantages.

Semrush

Semrush boasts a highly effective website audit feature. You receive an overall health score that offers a general overview of your site’s SEO-friendliness.

Additionally, Semrush identifies SEO problems on your site such as:

• Broken links;
• HTTP status code errors;
• Crawl errors;
• Robots.txt issues.

Moreover, the platform provides a list of actionable items to address promptly.

Semrush presents an intriguing “internal link distribution” report. This report dissects the efficacy of your internal linking structure for SEO. Typically, you should internally link from high-authority pages to pages that require a higher authority score. This report gauges whether your site’s link authority is flowing in the desired direction.

Ahrefs

Recently, Ahrefs introduced a new feature called “Structure Explorer.” True to its name, this feature illustrates the hierarchical depth of various pages starting from your homepage.

In general, a preferable site architecture is “flat.” Therefore, this tool offers a straightforward way to assess if your site contains pages that are excessively distant from your homepage.

Regarding technical SEO capabilities, Semrush emerges as the leader. Its site audit functionalities are more comprehensive, and it excels at prioritizing actionable steps.

Ahrefs and Semrush: Tools for Rank Tracking

Semrush

Similar to other rank tracking tools, Semrush consistently monitors your Google rankings for a specified set of keywords provided by you.

However, Semrush offers additional features compared to Ahrefs in this aspect. One notable feature is its “Visibility” score.

Another standout aspect of Semrush is its frequent updates of tracked keywords, with updates occurring nearly every day. In contrast, Ahrefs updates tracked keywords only once or twice a week, depending on your subscription plan.

For users who require real-time monitoring of ranking fluctuations, a weekly update schedule may not suffice.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs boasts a highly precise rank tracking tool as well. After cross-referencing several keywords, you can find that the rankings aligned closely with Ahrefs’ reports, leaving little else to add on this front.

When it comes to rank tracking, Semrush surpasses Ahrefs. Both platforms fulfill the core function of rank tracking — monitoring your rankings. However, Semrush stands out by providing more frequent updates and offering a richer set of features.

Link Building Tools

Ahrefs and Semrush provide link building tools that assist in monitoring gained or lost backlinks, identifying broken links, and revealing websites linking to your competitors but not to your site. Nevertheless, Semrush goes beyond by offering supplementary link building functionalities like a backlink audit tool, backlink gap analysis, and a tool dedicated to facilitating outreach campaigns.

Semrush vs Ahrefs: Key Differences

Let’s look through key differences between Semrush and Ahrefs at the table below:

5 Alternatives to Semrush and Ahrefs in 2024

If Ahrefs and Semrush don’t impress you with their features, you may want to consider alternatives. Today, there are a number of platforms on the market that will help you promote sites in search engines, and no worse than the two popular analogs. Let’s take a look at some of them.

1. SE Ranking

SE Ranking is a platform with a variety of tools that facilitate essential SEO tasks such as keyword exploration, competitive analysis, rank monitoring, website evaluation, backlink assessment, and more. Catering to entrepreneurs, SMBs, and digital agencies, SE Ranking ensures swift and convenient operations regardless of the number of projects you handle.

Below are key tools and features provided by SE Ranking:

1. Keyword Rank Tracker: This tool monitors your keyword rankings across Google, Bing, and Yahoo, considering various parameters like location, language, and device;
   
   
2. Competitor Research: Delve into competitor keyword tactics for SEO and PPC, along with insights into their Google Ads history;
   
   
3. Website Audit: Conduct a thorough assessment of all your pages and subdomains against crucial SEO technical standards. The tool not only identifies errors but also provides recommendations on urgency levels and potential fixes;
   
   
4. Backlink Checker: Streamline your link-building priorities and scrutinize the backlink strategies adopted by your competitors.
   

SE Ranking operates on a subscription-based pricing structure and offers adaptable plans suitable for businesses of all sizes. Prior to committing to a subscription, take advantage of a 14-day free trial to explore the platform’s capabilities. Additionally, upon subscribing, you will gain access to the SE Ranking mobile application for seamless on-the-go management.

2. SimilarWeb

SimilarWeb is a tool that approximates the overall traffic received by various websites, offering insights into competitors’ primary traffic origins across six key categories like referring sites, social traffic, and top search keywords.

This platform provides the valuable capability to scrutinize competitors’ traffic roots, a crucial asset for individuals engaged in SEO or content marketing endeavors.

It serves as a swift method to identify prominent entities within your industry and gauge their relative magnitudes.

Moreover, SimilarWeb enables users to delve into detailed specifics, such as the most influential referral sources among competitors or within a specific industry.

By upgrading to SimilarWeb Pro, users gain access to a plethora of advanced features, including device distribution insights, audience demographics, and traffic distribution from various social media platforms.

3. Backlinko

Backlinko is a company specializing in SEO training and blogging, dedicated to offering valuable insights and resources for individuals and businesses aiming to enhance their SEO strategies. With a focus on simplicity and effectiveness, Backlinko delivers comprehensive courses and informative blog posts designed to assist users in boosting their website’s visibility and rankings on search engine results pages.

The core principle at Backlinko revolves around providing practical and actionable techniques that are easy to implement, catering to individuals of all experience levels and technical backgrounds. Their training programs encompass a broad spectrum of SEO subjects, such as keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and technical SEO. The blog section complements these programs by presenting current industry trends, case studies, and expert guidance to help users stay competitive in the online arena.

Backlinko serves both novices and seasoned SEO professionals, equipping them with valuable resources and strategies to achieve organic traffic growth and enhance online presence. By integrating proven tactics and staying abreast of the latest SEO advancements, Backlinko empowers individuals and businesses to unlock the full potential of their online platforms.

4. SERPStat

SERPStat emerges as a top choice due to its exceptional balance of data quality, features, and pricing. Few other SEO tools offer such a robust toolkit at such a budget-friendly rate, making SERPStat a standout option, particularly for comprehensive keyword research capabilities.

Key Capabilities of SERPStat:

1. Keyword Research: Identifying and monitoring prime SEO prospects;
2. Page Audits: Providing detailed suggestions for keyword enhancements;
3. SERP Crawler: Enhancing competitor insights for strategic planning.

While SERPStat excels in these areas, its data quality falls slightly below that of Ahrefs or Semrush. It lacks the depth and breadth of data filters that these leading tools offer, making it more challenging to unearth easily accessible SEO opportunities.

However, SERPStat remains beneficial for tasks like SERP analysis and basic backlink data assessment.

In comparison to Ahrefs, SERPStat holds a pricing advantage. Yet, beyond affordability, Ahrefs outshines SERPStat in various aspects. Ahrefs boasts superior interface design, data filters, data quality, and a wider array of features, setting it apart as the more comprehensive tool.

Notably, SERPStat’s interface can feel cluttered and may present challenges in navigating its functionalities, unlike the user-friendly experience offered by Ahrefs.

5. Moz Pro

Moz Pro stands out as a cost-effective option and a reliable alternative to Ahrefs, offering great value for your investment. This platform proves to be a valuable choice due to its informative features and accessible nature.

Moz Pro presents a classic interface that presents a wealth of essential information, facilitating SEO strategy improvements through tools like backlink research and the Keyword Explorer. Notably, the Page Authority feature enhances user understanding by illustrating the authority of specific pages or domains, aiding in strategic decision-making.

One of the standout features of Moz Pro is its frequent rank-tracking updates, enabling users to monitor website rankings with exceptional precision. Additionally, Moz Pro offers a unique 30-day free trial period.

Priced reasonably, Moz Pro offers scalability based on user needs. Notably, its page-crawling capabilities excel, with the most affordable plan allowing for crawling more pages than Semrush, making it a suitable choice for users with specific requirements in this area.

Veranika Minina

Veranika Minina is a fan of affiliate marketing. Veranika's articles are carefully crafted to simplify complex concepts, making them accessible to beginners while also offering fresh perspectives about CPA-networks for experienced marketers. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned marketer, Veranika's writings are sure to inspire, educate, and motivate, guiding you towards a profitable affiliate marketing journey.