If you’re looking for a great SEO tool, you’ve probably come across Ahrefs.
It’s one of the most popular options out there and it’s packed with features to help you boost your website’s search engine rankings.
But is the paid version worth the investment? Or can you get by with the free version?
In this post, we’ll take a look at how good the free Ahrefs tool is compared to the paid version, and whether or not it’s worth upgrading.
What is Ahrefs?
- What is Ahrefs?
- What versions are available for Ahrefs?
- Is Ahrefs the best SEO tool?
- Can you use Ahrefs for free?
- What other free SEO tools are available?
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Google Data Studio
- Conclusion
Ahrefs is a popular SEO tool that people use to get higher Google rankings.
It has features like link building analysis, keyword research and competitor analysis which are designed for marketing professionals in the business of boosting their websites online presence.
Ahrefs is one of many SEO tools that you can use to monitor rankings, site audit data as well as a number of other great features to analyse the performance of your website.
Whilst Ahrefs is a great SEO tool that a lot of professionals use, I am often asked whether there is a free version of Ahrefs that you can use for SEO’s just getting started.
What versions are available for Ahrefs?
In terms of the versions that are available, there are four main pricing packages that you can buy from Ahrefs.
The basic “Lite” package starts from $99 per month and goes up to $999 per month depending on the number of users you need for the account.
There is actually a free version of Ahrefs that offers limited data. If you have sites connected in Google Search Console, you can import them into the free version and view your organic traffic and keywords that are ranking.
However, this version is very limited in terms of competitor data and depending on what you are looking to get out of it, you will find yourself limited on the free version.
Is Ahrefs the best SEO tool?
Ahrefs is one of many great SEO tools that you can use to make informed decisions about your SEO strategy.
Whilst the free version of Ahrefs is quite limited, there are many other free SEO tools that you can use to extract useful insights for your online business. Ahrefs is widely considered as one of the best SEO tools that are available in terms of the data that it provides but if you are looking for a free tool, then you may want to consider using others available before paying for these kinds of tools.
Google Search Console and Google Analytics can provide great insights without the need to pay a monthly subscription. For example, if you are an eCommerce business, you can use Google Analytics to find out the exact keywords that users are searching for when they go to make a purchase.
This can help you find out the exact kinds of phrases that are converting into sales and in turn enable you to create better-optimised pages for those particular phrases.
Can you use Ahrefs for free?
Whilst the full version of Ahrefs and all of its features are not available for free, you can use Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for free which connects to your verified Google Search Console properties.
This allows you to look at the backlinks of your website, organic traffic and keyword data but only if the site is connected via GSC. It also allows you to run basic website audits and spot any issues that you may not necessarily find in your other SEO tools.
If you want to research your competitors and look at what other people are doing, then you will be required to upgrade to a paid plan. However, the free version of Ahrefs can be valuable and provides a fairly good surface look at your SEO performance.
What other free SEO tools are available?
There are many free SEO tools that you can use if you are not able to get the most out of the free version of Ahrefs. Some of the best tools are actually free and you can still carry out effective SEO research by using these kinds of tools.
Some of the best free SEO tools available include:
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a popular free tool that provides in-depth data about your website. It provides a number of useful data points and insights when it is set up correctly. You can track the success of pages and find out which of your pages convert the best and really dig into the overall performance of your website.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is another essential SEO tool for your business. Search Console tracks how well all of your pages are performing as well as gives you updates on the overall health of the website. It is necessary to have this tool in order to index your site and update Google when you make changes to certain pages.
Google Data Studio
Google Data Studio allows users to combine data from different Google tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console to create interactive reports. This tool will enable you to visualise how much money your website is making and look at how efficiently your site is performing both organically and if you are running paid advertising.
Conclusion
Whilst you can use Ahrefs for free, its paid versions provide you with a lot more data and insights. The free version is quite limited if you are looking to use it primarily as a keyword and competitor research tool.
However, there are many free SEO tools that you can get the most out of if you are looking for an affordable solution to your research. I would recommend doing what you can with the free tools provided by Google before making the commitment to buy a monthly plan with Ahrefs.
Ahrefs is certainly a tool that we recommend but only if you are comfortable with making the payments and if you are maximising your use of the free tools provided by Google.
