Ahrefs vs SEMrush – SEO Tool Showdown in 2024
With over 20 billion keywords, SEMrush has the largest Google keyword database that provides invaluable data to optimize your SEO and PPC campaigns. But does it have an edge over Ahrefs? Read our 2024 updated comparison to find out. [Disclosure we will receive a referral commission from SEMrush if you sign up for a free trial (at no cost to you), but not Aherfs. Our review is not bias towards either company].
Choosing the right SEO tool is number one for the success of your digital marketing campaigns. While both Ahrefs and SEMrush have their strengths, SEMrush edges out when it comes to larger keyword volumes, rank tracking accuracy, and robust content marketing features.
SEMrush or Ahrefs?
SEMrush’s 20 billion+ keyword database allows for enriched campaign optimization by identifying high-value, long-tail phrases. It provides daily rank updates for desktop and mobile searches to closely monitor rankings. The SEO writing and content audit tools facilitate impactful content creation. But is it really the best choice for your business? Let’s do a detailed compare of SEMrush and Ahrefs to see what really meets your needs.
Keyword Research
| Google Keyword Database | ||
|---|---|---|
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Provides data from Google PPC, allowing users to access both SEO and PPC data, which can be super helpful for in-house SEO or agency work. | Allows keyword research for 9 search engines, including Google, YouTube, and Amazon, giving it an edge in terms of the variety of search engines covered. | |
| Keyword Click Data | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Offers a ton of data on each term, including search volume, CPC, competition, and keyword trend data. | Provides keyword difficulty and also tells you how many backlinks you will need to rank on the first page of search results, which SEMrush does not have, giving Ahrefs an advantage in this area. | |
| Search Engine Support | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Primarily focuses on Google, but also provides data from Google PPC, which can be valuable for SEO and PPC integration. | Allows keyword research for 9 search engines, including Google, YouTube, and Amazon, providing a wider variety of search engine data compared to SEMrush. | |
Our Verdict: Winner Ahrefs. While SEMrush provides a wealth of data on each keyword, including Google PPC data, Ahrefs has an advantage in keyword click data, providing information on backlinks needed to rank. Ahrefs also supports keyword research for a wider variety of search engines compared to SEMrush.
Domain Analytics
| Mobile SERP Rank | ||
|---|---|---|
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Provides mobile ranking data, allowing users to track their mobile search engine results page (SERP) performance. | Offers mobile SERP features, enabling users to track mobile rankings and search visibility for specific keywords. | |
| PLA Keyword Comparison | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Provides features for comparing PLA (Product Listing Ads) keywords, allowing users to analyze and optimize their product listing ad campaigns. | Does not have specific features for PLA keyword comparison, and it’s more focused on other aspects of SEO such as backlink analysis and keyword research. | |
| Comparison Domains (Side by Side) | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Both SEMrush and Ahrefs offer side-by-side comparison of domains, allowing users to analyze their website’s performance against competitors in terms of various SEO metrics such as organic search traffic, backlinks, and more. | ||
Our Verdict: Winner SEMrush. Both SEMrush and Ahrefs provide comprehensive domain analytics capabilities, including mobile SERP rank tracking and side-by-side comparison of domains. SEMrush offers specific features for PLA keyword comparison, while Ahrefs is more focused on backlink analysis and keyword research. Get 7 days of full access to all SEMrush toolkits. Cancel anytime.
Backlinks
| Link Building | ||
|---|---|---|
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Offers a link building tool with a CRM-style approach, allowing users to identify and contact prospects directly within the tool. | Provides features for link building outreach, but it’s more focused on providing easily-digestible data, making it a better option for project-based work and link building outreach. | |
| Link Detox Analysis | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Offers backlink auditing and building tools, which can be used for link detox analysis and to identify and disavow toxic backlinks. | Provides a site audit feature, but it’s not specifically focused on link detox analysis. However, it offers features to see what changed on a referring page after adding or removing a link. | |
| Google Analytics with GSC | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Both SEMrush and Ahrefs provide integration with Google Analytics and Google Search Console, allowing users to access and analyze their website’s performance data from these sources. | ||
| Removed/Lost Links | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Both SEMrush and Ahrefs allow users to track removed or lost backlinks, providing visibility into the link profile changes over time. | ||
Our Verdict: Draw. SEMrush and Ahrefs both offer robust backlinks capabilities, with SEMrush providing a link building tool with a CRM-style approach and features for link detox analysis, while Ahrefs is more focused on providing easily-digestible data and features to track changes on referring pages. Both tools allow integration with Google Analytics and Google Search Console, and they provide features to track removed or lost backlinks.
Competitive Intelligence
| Competitors Traffic and Target Audience Understanding | ||
|---|---|---|
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Provides features for competitor analysis, including traffic analytics and audience insights, allowing users to understand their competitors’ traffic and target audience. | Offers features for understanding your keyword’s traffic potential by looking at how much organic traffic the top-ranking page gets, and it boasts the largest database of US search queries, allowing users to analyze competitors’ traffic and target audience. | |
Our Verdict: Winner SEMrush. Both SEMrush and Ahrefs offer robust competitive intelligence capabilities, including features for analyzing competitors’ traffic and understanding their target audience. SEMrush has the edge in that it offers a holistic view of competitors data and audience insights. Get 7 days of full access to all SEMrush toolkits. Cancel anytime.
Content
| Content | ||
|---|---|---|
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Offers a content marketing toolkit, including features for topic research, SEO content template, and content audit, allowing users to create and optimize content for search engines. | Provides features for researching new content ideas, checking for content gaps, comparing content with competitors, and performing website audits, enabling users to analyze and improve their content strategy. | |
Our Verdict: Winner SEMrush. SEMrush and Ahrefs both offer robust content capabilities, with SEMrush providing the edge with a content marketing toolkit for creating and optimizing content, while Ahrefs offers features for content research, analysis, and website audits. Get 7 days of full access to all SEMrush toolkits. Cancel anytime.
Technical SEO
| On-Page Improvements | ||
|---|---|---|
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Offers on-page SEO recommendations and tools to help improve website content and structure, including an SEO content template and on-page SEO checker. | Provides site audit features that highlight technical SEO issues and suggest how to fix them, helping users improve on-page elements. | |
| Website Content Audits | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Offers a content audit tool to analyze and optimize website content, including features for identifying content issues and improving content quality. | Provides features for content research, analysis, and website audits, enabling users to identify content gaps and improve website content. | |
| External Content Reporting | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Semrush External Content Reporting tool that can help you track and measure the reach of your off-site content. | Ahrefs can provide you with data on keywords, backlinks, competitors. It does not specifically target content. | |
| Brand Mentions | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Additional Media Monitoring App required. | Yes. Via Content Explorer. | |
| Popular Content Finder | ||
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Yes. Can be achieved in the Topic Research Tool. | Yes. Via Content Explorer. | |
Our Verdict: Winner Ahrefs. Although both SEMrush and Ahrefs offer robust technical SEO capabilities, including features for on-page improvements, website content audits, and site audit features. SEMrush provides specific tools for content audit and on-page SEO recommendations, while Ahrefs is praised for its site audit features that highlight technical SEO issues. SEMrush lost this round because ‘Brand Mentions’ is an additional cost.
Pay Per Click
| PPC Tools Comparisons | ||
|---|---|---|
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| Offers a complete paid search software suite, allowing users to optimize content for SEO, analyze competitor PPC campaigns, and run Google Ads campaigns along with SEO. It provides features for keyword research, ad creation, and ad management, making it a comprehensive tool for PPC. | Has very limited features for PPC and is more focused on other aspects of SEO such as backlink analysis and keyword research. It does not provide a complete paid search software suite like SEMrush. | |
Our Verdict: Winner SEMrush. SEMrush offers a complete paid search software suite with comprehensive features for PPC, including ad management and competitor analysis. On the other hand, Ahrefs has limited features for PPC and is more focused on other SEO aspects. Get 7 days of full access to all SEMrush toolkits. Cancel anytime.
SMM Tools
| Social Media Marketing (SMM) | ||
|---|---|---|
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
| SEMrush is a marketing software that includes toolkits for SEO, social media, paid advertising, and content marketing. It offers features for social media management, including social media analytics, content scheduling, and post boosting. SEMrush also provides social media advertising tools for creating and managing ad campaigns on various social media platforms. | Ahrefs is primarily an SEO tool focused on backlink analysis, keyword research, and website audits. It does not have a strong focus on social media marketing and does not provide specific SMM tools like SEMrush. | |
Our Verdict: Winner SEMrush (only just). SEMrush offers a comprehensive set of SMM tools, including social media analytics, content scheduling, and social media advertising features. Unfortunately, these are paid add on apps. On the other hand, Ahrefs is more focused on SEO and does not provide specific SMM tools. Get 7 days of full access to all SEMrush toolkits. Cancel anytime.
The Verdict
Comparing the difference between SEMrush and Ahrefs consider the specific needs and priorities of your business or project when choosing between SEMrush and Ahrefs, as both tools offer different strengths and capabilities.
SEMrush
Best for –
Marketers and businesses looking for a comprehensive digital marketing software suite.
Those who require a wide range of tools for SEO, PPC, content marketing, social media management, and more.
Essentially users who need features such as competitor research, advertising research, content optimization, and social media analytics.
Ahrefs
Best for –
SEO professionals and businesses focused on in-depth backlink analysis and keyword research.
Those who prioritize backlink analysis, site audit, and keyword research over other digital marketing activities.
Users who need features such as backlink analysis, keyword research, site audit, and rank tracking.
Both are great tools, SEMrush is well-suited for marketers and businesses looking for a complete digital marketing software suite with a wide range of tools, including SEO, PPC, content marketing, and social media management. On the other hand, Ahrefs is more suitable for SEO professionals and businesses focused on in-depth backlink analysis, site audit, and keyword research.
Give your SEO efforts a boost in 2024 by leveraging unparalleled datasets and actionable keyword intelligence. Sign up today to access accurate rank tracking, optimized content creation tools, and data-driven recommendations to outperform the competition.
Get 7 days of full access to all SEMrush toolkits. Cancel anytime.
