Ahrefs and Semrush are two of the biggest giants in the SEO world. Both websites are fantastic, providing many tools for users to improve their marketing campaigns. In this article, I’ll put Semrush and Ahrefs to the test.
I will compare Ahrefs vs. Semrush in terms of keyword research, backlink analysis, pricing, features, writing tools and many other things.
Let’s start!

What is Semrush

Semrush is an online software tool that helps people do market research and improve their websites. You can find what keywords people are searching across top search engines, how many people are visiting a website or specific page. What is the organic performance of a website or a single page along with many other things. Using Semrush can help website owners understand their website visitors better and make changes to attract more visitors.
Semrush was launched by a small group of SEO and IT specialists in 2008 and since then it has come a long way. It has evolved from just a new startup to a marketing giant. In 2022, Semrush made an astonishing revenue of $254.3 million.

Features of Semrush

Semrush has a lot of tools for writers, marketers and business professionals. Some top semrush features are:

• Keyword research
• Competitor analysis
• Backlink analysis
• Rank tracking
• Site audits
• Position tracking
• Organic traffic insights
• Paid search analysis
• SEM benchmarking
• Content marketing toolkit
• Link building tools
• Exportable reports
• Website crawler
• Keyword difficulty scores

Now, I will discuss some of the main features in detail.

1. Keyword Research with Semrush

The keyword research tool by Semrush helps users find untapped keywords. While keywords forecasting, the tool provides:

• Keyword Overview
• Organic Research
• Keyword Gap
• Organic Traffic Insights
• Difficulty Level

And other key things. These factors help content writers or SEO professionals to optimize these keywords in a better way, which increase chances of ranking higher.

2. Backlinks Analysis with Semrush

Outbound links are extremely crucial for a website to perform and attract organic visitors. Backlinks help websites and specific pages to get more visibility on the search engine.
While backlinks are crucial, it's not always a numbers game. A backlink has to be relevant and quality to help those are linked to. Backlink analysis is often a technical work and SEO professionals try their best by not leaving a footprint for Google.
Semrush helps its users to analyze backlinks to better perform marketing tactics. Here are some key things Semrush helps with backlink analysis:

• Authority score of a URL
• Authority score trend
• Page’s organic traffic
• Website’s organic traffic
• Network graph
• Top Anchors
• New and lost backlinks
• Categories of referring domains
• Backlink type
• TLD distribution

And many other things which determine if a backlink has quality and relevancy.

3. Competitor Analysis

Marketing efforts can never be successful without competitor analysis. When it comes to websites, we have online tools like Google search console and Google analytics which provide metrics and analytics of a website.
But, these tools are only accessible by those who have the authority of accessing. Means that a random person can’t check the key metrics of a website. Semrush helps users with competitor analysis.
Here are some main things one can do using Semrush for competitor analysis:

• Traffic Analytics
• Organic Research
• Keywords forecasting
• Paid Research
• Backlinks data
• Historical overview

And many other things which are useful for understanding competitors and things they are doing for success.

Issues with Semrush

Semrush is really useful for a lot of people as they use it regularly for getting organic success on search engines. Besides Semrush is helpful, here are some common issues people face while using semrush.

• Steep learning curve
• Complex interface especially for new users
• Too many features and tools
• Difficulty tracking progress
• Lack of customer support
• Inaccurate keyword data
• Limited keyword research filters
• Restrictions on small plans
• Frequent upselling
• Confusing reports
• Slow site audit crawler
• Integration with other tools can be tricky

Now that we’ve discussed Semrush, its key features and common issues, let’s take a look at Ahrefs.

What Is Ahrefs?

Ahrefs is an online software suite used for SEO and content marketing. You can discover the most valuable keywords to target, see the content that's ranking for those terms, find link building opportunities, analyze your competitors' sites. The advanced application tracking system lets its users track search engine rankings and positions.

Using Ahrefs tools like Keyword Explorer, Content Explorer, and Site Audit can help digital marketers research their industry, identify opportunities, benchmark their performance, and execute data-driven strategies to boost organic growth.
Ahrefs was founded in 2011 by Dmitry Gerasimenko to provide all-in-one SEO tools for professionals. Since launching, it has become an essential platform for agencies and businesses worldwide. In 2022, Ahrefs reached $120 million in annual recurring revenue, cementing its place as a leader in the SEO software space with over 100,000 subscribers.

Features of Ahrefs

Ahrefs is extremely useful for content writers, webmasters and SEO professionals. Here are some key features Ahrefs provide:
Keyword research

• Competitive analysis
• Backlink checking
• Site explorer
• Rank tracking
• Site audit
• Organic traffic analysis
• Content gap analysis
• Link intersection
• Keyword difficulty scores
• Bulk backlink analysis
• Alerts for rankings
• API for data exports
• Link building toolkit

These features enable SEO professionals to understand better while improving their strategies for ultimate success.

1. Keyword Research with Ahrefs

With Ahrefs, you can find untapped keywords which have high search volume and low competition. Content writers use such keywords in their content which increases chances for their pages to rank higher on Google or other search engines.
Let’s say you wanted to get the metrics for the term “.net developers”, Here are some key things Ahrefs keyword research tool will show you:

• Keyword volume In the USA - 250 per month
• Keyword volume in other countries - 2100 per month
• Keyword Difficulty - 24
• Cost per Click - $5.00
• Traffic potential - 300 visitors
• Top ranking websites against a keyword

And many other things which help SEO professionals to better understand a keyword.

2. Backlink Analysis with Ahrefs

Many SEO professionals believe Ahrefs backlink analysis is stronger and more useful as compared to other competitors. Here are some key things you get while analyzing a backlink using
Ahrefs:

• Domain Rating
• URL Rating
• Referring Pages
• Referring Domains
• Organic Keywords
• Paid Keywords
• Search Traffic
• Other linking domains
• Good backlinks in terms of different metrics
• Top Languages

These features can help you determine the type of outbound links your competitors have and what you need to outclass them.

3. Competitor Analysis with Ahrefs

Ahrefs help its users with competitor analysis. Here are some key things you get while using Ahrefs for competitor analysis:

• Keyword overlap
• Competitor’s keywords
• Common keywords
• Target keywords
• Domain rating
• Traffic percentage
• Change value
• Total pages
• Top pages by keywords
• Top pages by backlinks
• Total backlinks
• TLD distribution

And many things. These set of features help SEO professionals to better understand the competition and what their competitors are doing. It eventually leads to wise decisions and better SEO strategy to increase chances of getting more SERP visibility.

Issues with Ahrefs

Ahrefs is extremely useful. I as a content writer and SEO specialist use both tools regularly. While Ahrefs is great tool to have, here are some common issues:

• Slow like a snail
• Really expensive
• Credits consume quickly
• Slow feedback response time
• Confusing metric terminology
• Lack of beginner tutorials
• Technical errors/bugs
• Backlinks appear after many days
• Inaccurate backlink data

Ahrefs is notorious for its overpricing. They’ve made an exceptional tool in many ways. I find it extremely useful and helpful but whenever there’s an issue, I won’t get a response to my feedback quickly. Furthermore, the credits consume very quickly. You’ll add a new filter while doing keyword research, it will consume credits.

Final Thoughts

Ahrefs and Semrush are both great for people who work on websites and want to improve how they show up on search engines. Ahrefs is really good at looking at where links come from and checking how healthy a website is. On the other hand, Semrush is easier to use and has a lot of different tools.
Choosing between the two depends on what you like and what you need. Ahrefs is awesome for checking links, while Semrush is good for many things and is easier to understand. It's like picking between two flavors of ice cream—it's about what you prefer and what works best for your website goals. No matter which one you go for, both Ahrefs and Semrush are super helpful for making your website perform better online.

External Resource: Ahrefs vs Semrush: Which SEO Tool Should You Use
External Resource: Keyword Research for SEO: What It Is & How to Do It
External Resource: Semrush vs. Ahrefs (2024): Which Is The Better Tool?
External Resource: Ahrefs vs SEMrush 2024: Clash of SEO Titans
External Resource: Ahrefs vs SEMrush | Which One is Better