Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO and marketing platform for keyword research, competitor analysis, backlink analysis, site auditing, and search-performance research.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Open the Ahrefs Website
- Open Chrome or another browser.
- Go to the official Ahrefs website.
- Click Sign up or Get Started.
- Ahrefs currently offers a free account with limited access to several tools.
Step 2: Create Your Ahrefs Account
- Click Sign up.
- Choose the available registration method.
- You can use your Google account or email, depending on the options shown.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
- Complete the registration process.
Step 3: Verify Your Email and Log In
- Check your email inbox if Ahrefs asks you to verify your email.
- Open the verification message.
- Follow the verification link.
- Return to Ahrefs.
- Click Log in and enter your account details.
Step 4: Open Your Ahrefs Dashboard
After logging in:
- You will reach your Ahrefs dashboard.
- Explore the available tools from the navigation menu.
- Depending on your account, you may see tools such as Site Explorer, Site Audit, Keywords Explorer, Rank Tracker, and others.
- Free-account access is more limited than paid plans
Step 5: Add and Verify Your Website
To use Ahrefs with your own website:
- Open Site Audit or the project setup area.
- Enter your website domain.
- Follow Ahrefs’ verification instructions.
- Verify that you own the website.
- Once verified, Ahrefs can provide additional SEO data for your website.
Ahrefs Free provides Site Explorer and Site Audit for websites whose ownership you can verify.
Step 6: Run a Site Audit
Use Site Audit to find technical SEO problems.
- Open Site Audit.
- Select your verified website.
- Start a crawl.
- Wait for Ahrefs to analyze your pages.
- Review the Health Score.
- Check errors, warnings, and notices.
Ahrefs says Site Audit checks for 170+ common technical and on-page SEO issues.
Step 7: Research Keywords
Use Keywords Explorer to find keywords for your content.
- Open Keywords Explorer.
- Enter a keyword such as
AI SEO tools. - Select your target country.
- Review search volume.
- Check Keyword Difficulty.
- Look at keyword ideas and related terms.
- Select keywords relevant to your website.
Keywords Explorer provides keyword metrics and keyword ideas for SEO research.
Step 8: Analyze Your Competitors
Ahrefs can help you discover what competitors are ranking for.
- Open Site Explorer.
- Enter a competitor’s website.
- Open Organic Keywords.
- Review the keywords they rank for.
- Look at their top-performing pages.
- Identify relevant topics that you could target.
Site Explorer provides information about organic traffic, keywords, backlinks, and website performance.
Step 9: Check Backlinks
Use Ahrefs to investigate backlinks pointing to a website.
- Open Site Explorer.
- Enter your website or a competitor’s website.
- Select Backlinks.
- Review referring websites.
- Check the linking pages.
- Use relevant backlink opportunities for your SEO strategy.
Ahrefs Free allows verified websites to view backlink information through Site Explorer, with account limits on how much data can be displayed at once.
Step 10: Create Your SEO Strategy
Now combine the information you’ve collected.
- Use Keywords Explorer for keyword research.
- Use Site Audit to fix technical SEO issues.
- Use Site Explorer to analyze competitors.
- Check backlinks to understand your link profile.
- Create content around relevant keywords.
- Continue checking your website’s SEO performance.
Ahrefs includes tools for SEO, content, website performance, and other marketing activities.
Quick workflow
Create account → Verify website → Site Audit → Keyword Research → Competitor Analysis → Backlink Analysis → Create SEO Strategy