You have a great website but getting traffic from Google is a challenge. That is where Ahrefs comes in. It is a premium SEO platform that offers detailed insights into your site’s performance, keyword potentials, backlinks and competitor strategies. Whether you are a solopreneur, small business or seasoned blogger, learning how to use Ahrefs will help you work smarter, not harder.
In this guide, we will take you step by step through the features of Ahrefs, showing you how to:
- Set up and verify your site
- Run an in‑depth site audit
- Research valuable keywords
- Analyse competitor backlink profiles
- Track your rankings and monitor changes
- Use content explorer to spot trending topics
- Set alerts to stay ahead
- Translate analysis into action
We will finish by explaining when it makes sense to hire an SEO specialist to truly unlock the power of Ahrefs for your business.
What Is Ahrefs and Why Use It?
Ahrefs is a web-based platform that gives you tools for:
- Technical site auditing
- Keyword research and analysis
- Backlink monitoring and discovery
- Competitor analysis
- Rank tracking
- Content research
- Alerts for mentions, new backlinks or keyword ranking changes
It stands out for its extensive data index, intuitive interface and speed. While it is used by agencies and large businesses, even single users can benefit hugely from its insights.
Step 1: Set Up Your Site Dashboard
Once you sign up, you will be greeted by the Ahrefs dashboard. The first step is to set up your own site project:
- Search your domain in the Site Explorer bar
- Click Add as Project
- Choose verification method (HTML upload, Google Analytics, Tag Manager)
- Submit and allow Ahrefs to crawl your site
Verifying your site allows access to internal data like Google Search Console integration and accurate audit results.
Step 2: Perform a Site Audit
Visit the Site Audit tool and run a new crawl. Set it up with these parameters:
- Maximum pages to crawl (start with 5,000)
- Choose desktop and mobile
- Exclude unnecessary paths or subdomains
Once complete, you will see an overall health score and list of issues sorted by severity. Common issues include missing title tags, duplicate meta descriptions or slow page speed. Fixing these typically gives the best quick win in SEO.
Step 3: Explore Organic Traffic Opportunities
Next, head to Site Explorer and look at the Organic Keywords report. This shows the keywords your site currently ranks for. Pay attention to:
- Keywords in positions 4 to 10, close to ranking on page one
- Pages with impressions but low clicks, opportunities to improve meta data
- Ranking pages with little traffic, topics worth expanding
This report helps you refine existing content and guide new topics.
Step 4: Conduct Keyword Research
Keyword Explorer is one of Ahrefs’ most powerful tools. Type in a keyword related to your business and review:
- Keyword difficulty score
- Search volume
- Click potential
- Parent topic (for clusters)
- Related keywords and questions
Sort related terms by volume, clicks or keyword difficulty. Build a list of target terms that you can realistically rank for based on your site authority. A marketing strategist can help you align those keywords with long-term content themes and pillar pages to boost authority sitewide.
Step 5: Analyse Your Backlink Profile
Backlinks are essential to SEO. In Site Explorer, go to the Backlink profile and see:
- Total number of referring domains
- Pages linking to you most often
- Anchor text usage
- Recently acquired or lost links
Compare your profile with competitors to find backlink opportunities. The Link Intersect tool is especially useful for finding websites linking to similar sites but not yet linking to yours.
Step 6: Track Your Rankings
Setup Rank Tracker to monitor how your site performs in searches over time. It lets you:
- Add up to 100 keywords on the entry plan
- See desktop and mobile ranking changes
- View SERP features you appear in
- Monitor ranking momentum by country or device
This tracking helps you understand when a change in content or backlinks pays off in rankings.
Step 7: Use Content Explorer for Ideas
Content Explorer shows the most shared or linked articles for a topic or keyword. Look for:
- Pages with thousands of social shares
- Popular formats (roundups, how-to, listicles)
- Content length and structure
- Quality backlinks earned
Use this insight to shape your own formats and angle your content in a way that audiences appreciate.
Step 8: Set Alerts and Stay Updated
Under Alerts, you can ask Ahrefs to monitor:
- New or lost backlinks
- Brand mentions
- Keyword ranking changes
- New referring domains
This feature ensures you stay informed about opportunities and threats without continuous monitoring.
Step 9: Translate Insights Into Actions
Data is only valuable when it leads to improvements. Based on your use of Ahrefs:
- Fix technical errors uncovered in audits
- Update pages ranking in positions 4 to 10 with better content
- Pursue backlink opportunities identified via competitor analysis
- Plan blog content based on keyword and content explorer research
- Track ranking changes and effect on traffic monthly
These steps establish a repeatable process you can follow or refine over time.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Avoid these pitfalls when using Ahrefs:
- Relying on site audit results but not using Search Console data
- Chasing high volume keywords that are too competitive
- Mistaking URL volume as total site size
- Ignoring context behind backlinks and mentions
- Forgetting to adjust your tracking when moving or redesigning the site
A balanced approach keeps your strategy grounded.
When to Hire an SEO Specialist
Ahrefs equips you with a wealth of information but interpreting and acting on it effectively takes expertise. A skilled SEO specialist can:
- Audit your site and prioritise fixes
- Use keyword research to craft topic clusters
- Build a backlink outreach plan
- Write optimised content that performs
- Monitor and report progress over time
They can connect all the dots so that your investment in Ahrefs tools and time pays off with more organic traffic and leads. If you need someone on a flexible basis, our freelance marketers can step in to execute link building, audits or keyword strategy without long-term commitment.
Ready to take your business to the next level?
We connect you with experienced SEO professionals who know how to harness tools like Ahrefs and turn insights into action. They will audit your website, identify your most promising opportunities and implement a data‑driven strategy aligned with your business goals.
Your specialist will guide you every step of the way, from technical improvements to content planning and link building, freeing you to focus on your audience and growth. Hire an SEO specialist through Cemoh today and make your website work harder for your business.