😱 Free Ahrefs Plan - Should You Use it?

Ahrefs has the IM world buzzing with their new tool. But did you know...  TLDR: Ahref's new free webmaster tool is just one of many weird and wonderful things to come out of September. [Watch the full show to hear about what else went down](. For those of you who don’t already know, Ahrefs recently gave everyone who wanted it access to their new [Webmaster Tools](. Free of charge. And it wouldn’t be Ahrefs if the release didn’t come with some kind of drama. Typically because they’re not very clear about what their intentions are. Which is also completely accidental on their part. So, is this new good or bad news for affiliates and SEOs? Let’s look at the pros and cons of what you get. The Good Let’s start by focusing on the positive. Site audit function You get full Ahrefs site audit functionality with their ‘Webmaster Tools’. For up to 5,000 URLs per month. This is a BIG win though for any small publishers who are currently paying £149 per year for [Screaming Frog](. Yes, Screaming Frog does have a free version, but it can only crawl 500 URLs. The Ahrefs audit tool crawls your site each week, checking for 100 common errors including missing title tags, content too short, site speed, etc. Another benefit is that Ahrefs is cloud-based whereas Screaming Frog is a desktop app. So your PC or Mac won’t grind to a halt when using it. Did I mention that it’s Free? Comprehensive backlink checker You can finally stop using that free backlink checker you’ve been wrestling with. Because Ahrefs Webmaster Tools gives you access to their backlink tool. This is also a hell of a lot better than the sample data you get from Google Search Console. And you don’t get any of those useful metrics like DR, the number of referring domains, etc. in GSC. Basically, using the Search Console means you have no idea if those links are good or bad. But you also get access to the data on any backlinks you recently lost...but didn’t realize. Emailing these sites to ask them to link to you again to a new piece of content is one of the easiest ways to build backlinks I know of. So this tool is a definite plus. Organic keyword report No, you don’t get access to ‘Keyword Explorer’. But you do get an organic keyword report, so you can see every keyword you rank for. Or what is basically a rank tracker that automatically updates weekly. Why is this better than Google Search Console? One word: accuracy. Search Console gives you average ranking data which is about as much use as a chocolate teapot. Ahrefs data is simply way better. And you can use the organic keyword report to figure out what keywords you have ranking at #5 and then give them a little bit of on-page magic to bump them to #1. Or to grab the ‘Featured Snippet’ instead. For as long as they’re around. The Bad If Edward Snowden achieved nothing else he made everyone instantly paranoid about their data. Which is mostly a good thing. Except where Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is involved. You see, you have to "link" it to your site. Now, you can do this by updating your DNS record, an HTML file upload, or adding some HTML code to your site. But what has people freaked out is that Ahrefs recommends using Google Search Console as the "preferred method". And they haven’t really explained why. So half the SEOs and affiliates out there are now sitting comfortably in their tinfoil hats. What we do know is that Ahrefs took a big hit when they lost access to the [Jumpshot keyword data](. So what I suspect (and this is purely theoretical) is that Ahrefs might use this free tool to improve the accuracy of their data. But for right now, you don’t have to link your search console to get the tool. So if you are worried about Ahrefs giving your data away to your competitors, just don’t link it. Speculation is a waste of your time. Should you use it? If you’re on a strict budget then signing up for Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is a no-brainer. Just verify your account with a DNS update instead of GSC if you are worried about your data. That way you’re sharing none of your site’s data. And you still get access to the best free tools of their type on the market. Just bear in mind that this isn’t a replacement for a paid Ahrefs subscription – you don’t get competitor data, the keyword explorer tool, etc with the free version. We talk about Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (well...more like debated) in our latest show, but we also cover major changes to Featured Snippets, an interesting email case study, a great marketing blog, the Mattress Mafia, and other cool stuff. [Watch The Full September News Roundup Show]( Until next time, Gael Breton P.S. Would you trust Ahrefs with your GSC data? Hit me up with a reply to let me know. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Authority Hacker, 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU, United Kingdom