In search engine optimization, two of the heaviest SEO tools are Ahrefs and Semrush. Let's compare Ahrefs vs Semrush so you can figure out the best tool for you.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a crucial aspect of digital marketing that simply cannot be ignored if you want to establish robust brand awareness and boost your sales through online or search engine channels.
There are many SEO tools available on the market that can help businesses achieve their desired SEO outcomes; among them, two of the most popular and widely used tools are Ahrefs and SEMrush.
However, deciding whether to use Semrush or Ahrefs can be challenging because both of these search engine optimization tools are rich-in features and considered all-in-one SEO solutions for individuals and businesses.
In this article, we will explore their features and capabilities in detail to provide you with a complete comparison of these two SEO tools so that you can figure out which tool is the best fit for you and help you reach your SEO objectives.
Ahrefs Vs. Semrush: What Are The Main Features
Ahrefs and Semrush offer numerous features for search engine optimization, advertisement, and social media marketing. Let's take a closer look at the main features of both Ahrefs and Semrush to help you decide which tool is right for you.
# KEYWORD
Keywords are the most important element of search engine optimization. In order to rank in search engine result pages (SERP) and compete with similar industries, it's mandatory to select tools that have strong and detailed keyword features.
And in terms of keywords, both Ahrefs and Semrush offer in-detail information.
Let's see what information you'll get while researching keywords with Ahrefs and Semrush.
First, let's talk about Ahrefs.
Ahrefs keyword research tool is known as "Keyword Explorer." With keyword explorer, we'll be able to know about keyword difficulty of specific keywords, traffic potential, click per cost, global volume, position history, terms match, also rank for, matching terms, and many more.
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Here's a picture of Ahrefs keyword explorer interface.
Semrush, on the other hand, offers almost the same feature as Ahrefs, but they also offer additional metrics such as keyword Intent, SERP features, Keyword Variations, SERP Analysis, Ad History, and more.
Here's an image of the Semrush keyword overview.
# Site Audit
Conducting site audits for search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial because it allows you to identify areas of your website that may be hampering your search engine rankings and website visibility.
By regularly or periodically performing SEO audits, you can see which factor is affecting your SEO strategies and how to solve them.
For site audits, accurate and informative data is most vital, and both ahrefs and semrush are well known for exact and accurate site audits.
Here are the metrics that semrush provides for site audits.
- Site health
- Errors
- Warnings
- Notices
- Crawlability
- Site performance and more.
Ahrefs site audit also gives you insight on:
- Website health score
- Number of URL crawled
- URL with errors
- Page performance
As for site audit reports, Ahrefs will be the winner as it offers more detailed metrics/data compared to semrush. For example, in the performance feature, you can learn about time to first byte, load time, load time by depth, and more information.
Find out how to get a discount on your Semrush monthly and annual plans!
# Competitive Analysis
Competitive analysis enables you to evaluate your website with your competitors' websites in terms of SEO performance and strategy. By using tools such as Ahrefs and SemRush, which offer competitive analysis features, you can gain valuable insights into how well your website is performing compared to others within your industry.
This information can help you identify areas for improvement, such as keywords they are targeting, and you can optimize your website for better search engine visibility and ranking.
With semrush's competitive analysis tool, which is known as Market Explorer, you can see total market traffic, estimated traffic cost, traffic growth of yours and your competitors, top competitor, and top and trending keywords.
Ahrefs competitive analysis tool is called Content Explorer; it might sound more like content analysis than competitive analysis, but this is an extensive tool for competitive analysis.
With ahrefs content explorer, you can explore keywords and competitors at the same time, competitors' monthly traffic, domain rating, what are the ranking keywords of your competitors, and more. Here's a cropped photo of Ahrefs competitive analysis for "Meditation" keyword
# Rank-Tracking
Rank tracking tools allow you to monitor your website's ranking for specific keywords. Both Ahrefs and SEMrush offer rank-tracking tools that allow you to track your website's ranking for particular keywords over time. Ahrefs has a more comprehensive rank-tracking tool that provides more data on your website's ranking.
On the other hand, SEMrush's rank-tracking tool is more user-friendly and offers more actionable insights.
Semrush's keyword rank-tracking feature is known as position tracking. With this feature, you'll be able to track how your targeted keywords are ranking on search engine result pages, market traffic vs. selected domain trends, improved and declined keyword position, competitor database, and more.
Here's a photo of what Semrush position tracking looks like.
Alternatively, Ahrefs rank tracker provides more detailed information; by just giving your website's name, you'll get entire data of what keywords on your web page are ranking on search engines.
Not only that, you can see google rankings on desktop and mobile in more than 170 countries, visualize your SEO progress (by average position and distribution), and more than 13 SERP features!
Here's a picture of Ahrefs rank tracker.
Which SEO Tool Is Best For User Experience and Ease of Use
When it comes to user experience and ease of use, Ahrefs appears to have a user-friendly and easy-to-use interface over SEMrush. According to many user reviews, both SEMrush and Ahrefs have the best user interfaces, which anyone without prior SEO knowledge can understand.
However, some users say that semrush's interfaces are bulky compared to Ahrefs. For instance, Semrush has all the information you need, but you might have to keep an eye out to see where the information is as they have tons of options within a single interface.
So, why do Ahrefs win over Semrush in terms of user experience? One of the main reasons for this is Ahrefs' clean and straightforward interface. The dashboard and all the tools are easy to navigate and understand as they are not cramped into one place; also, the menus and options are apparent.
Which SEO Tool Is Also Best For Social Media Marketing?
Social media has also become an integral part of digital and search engine marketing as social media can also bring customers and visitors to the webpage.
One of the standout features of SEMrush is its social media toolkit. This toolkit provides users with the ability to manage multiple social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google My Business.
Semrush social media marketing toolkit can track social media mentions and analyze social media performance. Users can also create and schedule social media posts, monitor their competitors' social media activity, and identify top-performing content in their industry.
As for social media monitoring, unfortunately, Ahrefs does not have a dedicated SMM tool. This is one of the major drawbacks for Ahrefs since if a user wants to monitor their social media growth, they have to subscribe to another application or tool.
Ahrefs Vs Semrush: How Much Does Each One Cost?
When choosing the right SEO tool for your business, pricing is often a crucial factor to consider. Both Ahrefs and Semrush have different pricing models.
Let's see their pricing range:
Ahrefs Pricing
Ahrefs offers four pricing plans: Lite, Standard, Advanced, and Agency. Here's a breakdown of the features and pricing for each plan:
Lite Plan - The Lite plan costs $99 per month and provides access to all of the basic Ahrefs' tools, including SEO dashboard, site explorer, keywords explorer, site audit, rank tracker, alerts, and backlink audit. However, the lite plan limits the number of projects, reports, and keywords you can track.
Standard Plan - The Standard plan costs $199 per month and includes all of the features of the Lite plan, as well as increased project and report limits and access to other features such as position history chart, SERP updates, site explorer, etc.
The standard plan is suitable for freelance SEO experts and marketing consultants.
Advanced Plan - The Advanced plan costs $399 per month and has all of the features of the Standard plan. Also, you'll enjoy other features like two years of history, Site Explorer, Site Structure, HTML source, HTTP authentication, Google Data Studio, Dashboard folders, and Ahrefs Search.
Agency Plan – If you're running an agency or need to do lots of SEO-related work, then the agency plan is best for you. The Agency plan costs $999 per month and includes all of the features of the Advanced plan; also, you'll get some agency plan-only features such as Unlimited history, Access management, Pay by invoice, Directory listing, Audit log, API, and SSO.
SEMrush Pricing
SEMrush offers three pricing plans: Pro, Guru, and Business. Here's a breakdown of the features and pricing for each plan
Pro Plan - The Pro plan costs $119.95 per month. You'll get access to limited SEMrush tools, including website audit, keyword research, backlink analysis, competitor analysis, advertising and social media tools, and more.
This plan limits the number of projects and reports you can create. For example, you'll be able to create five projects, track 500 keywords, and get a maximum of 10,000 results per report.
Guru Plan - The Guru plan costs $229.95 per month. You'll have access to Content Marketing Toolkit, historical data, multi-location and device tracking, Looker Studio integration, and more tools, along with all the features of the Pro plan.
The limitation for the guru plan is 15 projects/monthly, 1,500 keyword tracking/monthly, and 30,000 results per report.
Business Plan - The Business plan costs $449.95 per month; with all the features of the Guru plan, you'll also get features such as Share of Voice, extended limits, API access, PLA analytics, free migration from third-party tools, and more.
Semrush business plan lets you check 40 projects/monthly, track 5,000 keywords/monthly, and get up to 50,000 results per report.
SEMrush's pricing plans are slightly more expensive than Ahrefs, but they offer some features like social media marketing tools that Ahrefs doesn't.
Moreover, both Semrush and Ahrefs offer their user to purchase "ADDS-ON" For example, you can take ImpactHerom, Agency Growth Kit, and Semrush. Trends add-on from Semrush by paying $40 to $200 extra each month.
Conclusion
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush are top-notch SEO tools that provide a wealth of features to help boost your website's search engine rankings. Ahrefs stands out with its exceptional backlink analysis, multiple search engine results, and keyword research capabilities. Meanwhile, SEMrush shines with its up-to-date rank tracking data and pay-per-click features.
The best tool for you ultimately depends on your specific needs and objectives.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take a trial of Ahrefs and SEMrush before deciding which one to use?
Yes, SEMrush offers trial periods for their tools. SEMrush offers a 7-day free trial. You can use our semrush coupon to get 14 days of semrush trial for free!
Semrush trial allows you to test out the features and capabilities of the tool before deciding which one is the best fit for your needs.
As for ahrefs, unfortunately, ahrefs isn't offering any trials at this moment. You'll have to subscribe to test its features and tools.
Ahrefs or SEMrush, which tool is better for beginners?
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush are user-friendly and have easy-to-navigate interfaces that make it easy for beginners to get started with SEO. Additionally, both semrush and ahrefs offer various courses which will help you learn how to use their features and tools absolutely for free!
Ultimately, it depends on your personal preferences and needs.
Can I track my competitors' backlinks using both Ahrefs and SEMrush?
Yes, both Ahrefs and SEMrush allow you to track your competitors' so you can see where they're getting their links from and identify potential link-building opportunities for your own site.
Which tool has better keyword research capabilities?
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush have strong keyword research capabilities, but SEMrush has a larger keyword database which may make it a better choice for some users.
Ahrefs or semrush, which SEO tool is best for backlinks?
Ahrefs provides more in-depth backlink data for any website, whereas Semrush only shows the number of backlinks a website has. It does not show you an in-depth analysis of backlinks. However, both semrush and ahrefs have a more extensive backlink database and can find backlinks easily related to your niche.
Are there any other competitors of SEMrush besides Ahrefs?
Yes, there are many other SEO tools on the market that compete with SEMrush and Ahrefs. Some popular alternatives include Moz, Majestic, Serpstat, and SpyFu. Each tool has its own unique features and capabilities, so it's important to research and compare them to find the best fit for your needs.
