Semrush vs AHREFS

Both are part of the select group of the most indispensable SEO tools in 2021, with all the necessary skills for any project related to SEO and Keywords.

Want to know which one is better in this competition between Semrush vs Ahrefs? 

Ahrefs

Let's talk about the contenders: what is Ahrefs?

All that's left is to introduce each of the contenders, so we'll start with a sketch of both before we see them face to face.

If you're familiar with SEO or your work is related to SEO and optimization, then Ahrefs will be familiar to you.

What is Ahrefs? They define themselves as an "all-in-one SEO tool", setting the bar pretty high. And they have what it takes, performing analysis and permanent monitoring of the inbound links of a web project.

If you're wondering where its name comes from, <a href...> is the HTML tag with which you insert a link. 

More than a tag, it has become one of the best options on the market, not only for the accuracy of its data but also for its ability to extract backlinks.

What are the features of Ahrefs?

If we are going to talk about Semrush vs Ahrefs, we have to mention the details that make Ahrefs what it is today.

Let's find out the features of Ahrefs:

Site Explorer

With this option, you have the possibility to get a more specific view of the organic search traffic, as well as the backlink profile of the website or URL you want.

Alerts 

They allow you to receive notifications related to new backlinks, as well as keyword rankings and web mentions.

Content Explorer

Ahrefs offers you the opportunity to get the most popular material related to any topic of your choice. By backlink or by resources on social networks and also by organic traffic.

Domain comparison

This tool can compare the backlink profiles of up to 5 different domains. 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Ahrefs?

Why is Ahrefs considered one of the best options on the market? 

Let's take a look at the advantages of Ahrefs over its competition:

As demonstrated in the features, its backlinks analysis is top on the market. 

It has a ranking tracker that is quite reliable and accurate.

The process of tracking new and lost backlinks is complemented by email alerts.

Disadvantages 

Ahrefs price can become expensive if we compare it with other similar tools. The platform offers you different plans, with the cheapest one costing around $100 USD (with a trial period at $7 USD, at least). 

Semrush

What is Semrush?

This platform is a "keyword research" service (that's how they define themselves) that has become one of the most recognized in the entire online marketing industry.

Its popularity does not come for free. Semrush groups different functionalities that not only cover keyword research but also backlink analysis or evaluating (spying is also useful) the SEO and PPC strategies of rivals in the sector.

What are the features of Semrush?

It is one of the most complete tools related to SEO. 

On-Page SEO Checker

With this function, you will have a list of actions you should carry out to optimize your keyword ranking. You will get tips for semantically related keywords and recommendations on readability and content length.

Keyword Magic Tool

This tool is a marvel as it supports you in choosing the most profitable keyword in your industry while covering more than 2 million keyword ideas, for the Keywords head (or seed keyword).

Site Audit

This function of Semrush allows you to recognize those errors and positioning alerts on a website, in addition to providing a list of recommendations that will improve the SEO of this portal.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of Semrush?

Let's see what Semrush has to offer us:

Keyword search engine with various purposes

If you want long tails, backlinks analysis, competitor keywords then Semrush offers you the ideal search tool.

Attentive to the competition

We all want a Semrush in our team, as it is constantly discovering new competitors, as well as their advertising strategies and even their budget.

Generate reports

All the data and information you need will be at your fingertips through a customized report, in PDF format.

Domain Watcher

Not only does it study the competition, but Semrush also keeps an eye on domain position changes, while making comparisons between them. 

The downside:

If you are just starting to use the tool, it may cost you to learn how to handle it effectively.

Its word analysis is limited, so it requires additional volume payout.

Semrush vs Ahrefs: head to head

The real question about this confrontation between Semrush vs Ahrefs is: which is the right keyword tool for our project?

Before thinking about which one we might need, let's first think about the type of strategies we want to carry out. Let's compare Semrush vs Ahrefs based on several factors:

Analysis of a domain

How does each one show the most important data of a domain? 

Does it have a friendly interface or do we need an SEO translator to understand what we are seeing? 

Speaking of the dashboard and the user's interaction with it, there is no room for doubt Semrush wins.

On its dashboard, this tool offers everything the user needs to know at a glance. If you are a specialist in SEO tools, you will feel quite comfortable with the platform's broad view of a web service.

Ahrefs' summary of options is a bit more humble in terms of indicators of interest and offers a more limited overview than its rival.

Competitor analysis

One rather interesting option that Semrush and Ahrefs offer you is the possibility for you to do a competitor analysis. One of the platforms is slightly superior to the other in this section (but we assure you, not by much).

Again, in the Semrush vs Ahrefs head-to-head, the winner is Semrush. This application detects, in a simple way, websites that are close to us, based only on SEO, so it offers multiple indicators to the user in relation to the quality of a page. All without the need for keys!

On the other hand, Ahrefs does not allow us to know which websites rank for keywords similar to ours, so it is very difficult to detect new competition using this tool.

Although it offers an individual analysis of each website, the report is a bit more basic than Semrush.

Backlink Analysis

The virtues of Ahrefs in terms of backlink analysis include its individual link recognition and unique research, as well as providing a fairly comprehensive view in terms of link volume and link quality.

Its backlink index is larger than that of its rival, one of the most important features for an SEO tool. Although Semrush has that option, it doesn't come close to what its opponent offers.

Trends for generating content

If your strategy includes the generation of articles, you have to create a publication calendar. You will have to base your content on user content, so you need an SEO tool to make your job easier.

Although both platforms have the option of locating trends, the Semrush version falls a bit short compared to Ahrefs.

In Semrush you will be able to collect the queries with the highest volumes of searches that are related to the term, which is very good, but compared to Ahrefs, this option is somewhat limited.

Ahrefs offers us a list with the most relevant content, as well as the number of links or traffic. Even its time graph allows us to compare the performance of content.

Keyword Research

Keyword Research is probably the most important thing an SEO should do. So let's see what both have to offer.

In its Keyword Research section, Semrush offers a wealth of information on the keyword selected by us (in any country). In addition, we know the keywords that attack your competitors and have all the metrics updated in relation to those chosen.

On the other hand, Ahrefs offers 2 modules: "Keyword Explorer" and "Site Explorer Organic Keywords". With the first one, we have the information about any keyword in more than 10 different search engines, while the second one gives us keywords for the investigated website.

Who is the winner?

Both options allow us to conduct good Keyword Research but the winner is Semrush.

Why? 

Because it offers closer data in terms of keywords than Ahrefs, which sometimes offers volume data and traffic estimation somewhat distant from reality, unlike Semrush.

Both SEO tools are evenly matched in terms of benefits and drawbacks but it does not necessarily imply that one is better than the other, it depends on the project you decide to embark on, to choose the one you consider better. For example, if your project involves only external linking, go for the Ahrefs option without any doubt.