Is Ahrefs Really The Best Backlink Checker

It is considered to be one of the most comprehensive and accurate backlink checker tools available in the market today. There is no doubt it provides a wealth of information about backlinks, including the number, referring domains, anchor text, and more.

We know it has a large and constantly updated database of backlinks, which allows you to get real-time insights into your website’s backlink profile. The tool also offers various metrics, such as Domain Rating (DR) and URL Rating (UR), to help you evaluate the quality.

Additionally, Ahrefs has a user-friendly interface and provides in-depth analysis and reporting features that can help you track your backlink growth, identify new link-building opportunities, and analyze your competitors’ strategies.

However, it’s essential to note that there are other backlink checker tools available, such as Moz’s Link Explorer and SEMrush’s Backlink Analytics, which also offer comprehensive features and accuracy. The choice of the best backlink checker tool ultimately should depend on your specific needs and preferences. But in reality, most SEO professionals prefer Ahrefs, at least for the backlink check feature.

Potentially Largest Backlink Database Outside Of Google

Is this true? I am not sure anyone really knows. But we do know that Ahrefs is considered to have one of the largest databases among all the backlink checker tools available. They also claim to have the ability to crawl over 6 billion pages every day and index around 22 trillion backlinks from over 16 trillion URLs. That is impressive stuff.

Having such a vast backlink database allows Ahrefs to provide deep and comprehensive insights into detailed backlink profiles. Their extensive index enables users to analyze and monitor backlinks accurately and track everyone else’s backlink strategies.

While it’s important to note that the exact size of a database is not publicly disclosed by any tool, Ahrefs is widely regarded for having a large and continuously updated index of backlinks. This size and depth contribute to their reputation as one of the most powerful backlink checker tools available for SEO experts, digital marketers, SEO training and strategists.

Find More Backlink Opportunities with Ahrefs

A SEO Strategist would perform actions like this to establish backlinking opportunities for their clients on in house projects.:

1. Enter your website domain into Ahrefs’ Site Explorer tool.
2. In the left-hand sidebar, under the “Backlink profile” section, click on “Backlinks” to see the backlinks pointing to your website.
3. Analyze your existing backlink profile to understand the types of websites that are linking to you, the anchor text used, and the quality of those backlinks.
4. Look for websites or competitors in your industry that have a strong backlink profile.
5. Use the “Competing Domains” feature to identify your top competitors based on the number of referring domains.
6. Analyze the backlink profiles of your competitors to find websites that are linking to them but not to you.
7. Use Ahrefs’ “Content Gap” feature to identify websites that are linking to your competitors but not to you.
8. Consider running a “Broken Backlinks” report in Ahrefs to find websites that are linking to broken pages or resources and reach out to them with a suggestion to replace the broken link with a link to your relevant content.
9. Utilize the “Link Intersect” tool to find websites that are linking to multiple competitors but not to you.
10. Look for guest blogging opportunities by searching for websites in your industry accepting guest posts using the Content Explorer tool.
11. Monitor your competitors’ new backlinks using the”Newly Discovered” feature to find fresh link building opportunities.
12. Utilize the “Backlink Intersect” tool to find websites that are linking to multiple competitors but not to you

What Is Ahrefs Competing Domain Feature?

This feature is a tool that allows you to discover and analyze your top competitors based on the number of referring domains they have. Referring domains are websites that have at least one backlink pointing to a specific domain.

Using the Competing Domains feature, you can:

1. Identify Competitors: The tool shows you a list of domains that have a significant overlap of referring domains with your website. These domains are considered your top competitors.
2. Analyze Competitors’ Backlink Profiles: Once you identify your competitors, you can click on their domains to dive deeper into their backlink profiles. This allows you to understand the types of websites that are linking to them and the overall quality and quantity of their backlinks.
3. Compare Metrics: Ahrefs provides various metrics such as Domain Rating (DR), referring domains, organic traffic, and more, allowing you to compare your website’s performance with your competitors’.
4. Find Link Building Opportunities: By analyzing your competitors’ backlinks, you can uncover potential link building opportunities. You can see which websites are linking to your competitors but not to you, and reach out to them for backlinks or explore similar websites where you can aim to acquire backlinks.

By using Ahrefs’ Competing Domains feature, you can gain valuable insights into your competition’s backlink strategies, identify potential growth areas for your own website, and find new opportunities for link building and SEO improvement.

So Do I Use Ahrefs? Summary

The answer is yes, but not so much for backlink information. The reason is, that it is true that Ahrefs find more links than everyone else, but these extra links tend to be of a lower score value, so often are not even counted by Google. It is not about the quantity of links found but the quality. So other tools such as SEMrush, may find less links but still the important ones. The extra features are what I like with Ahrefs, such as the contant Gap feature, or broken link tool. These really can add value to finding linking opportunities.