Ahrefs

best programmatic seo tools - ahrefs

If you do series SEO or client-work, you're either using Ahrefs or SEMrush. Both are excellent, although I do generally prefer Ahref's backlink analysis capabilities. It's brilliant for full stack SEO, from planning to monitoring to reporting.


Quick Details

Type of Tool:

SEO Analysis

Best For:

Full stack SEO, client-based SEO

Our Rating:

★★★★★

Price Tier:

Expensive

Thomas Anthony - OPTIMALSAUCE

Written by

TL;DR: How We Use Ahrefs For Client-Work

Ahrefs is a powerful (and pricey) all-in-one SEO platform. If you’re doing serious client work or managing multiple websites, it’s worth every penny.

Benefits, Practical Use Cases & Caveats:
  • Stack SEO Toolkit:
    Covers everything from site audits and keyword research to backlink analysis and rank tracking.
  • Deep Technical Audits:
    Helps uncover critical site issues that could be hurting rankings.
  • Best-in-Class Backlink Analysis:
    Gives detailed insight into which links boost authority—and which ones don’t.
  • Keyword & Content Planning:
    Finds high-impact, “golden topic” opportunities for traffic and long-term authority.
  • AI Visibility Tracking:
    New tools show where your clients are being mentioned across ChatGPT, Gemini, and other LLMs.
  • Competitor Research:
    Easily spot what’s working for your rivals—pages, links, keywords, and strategies.
  • Client-Ready Reporting:
    Clear, data-rich reports that show exactly what’s driving growth and why it matters.
  • Expensive? Yes. Worth It? Also Yes.
    Overkill for hobby blogs—use something like LowFruits or Ubersuggest instead. But for agencies or pro marketers, Ahrefs is a game-changer.

Ahrefs is one of the most powerful (and expensive) SEO platforms on the market, but in the right hands it gives you god-like powers. It’s a full-stack toolkit that helps us make smarter, faster decisions for our clients.

Audits, Ranking Issues

We use Ahrefs to run deep technical site audits, uncovering hidden issues that hold websites back from ranking.

Its backlink analysis is unmatched, giving us a clear view of which links are driving authority and which ones might be dragging performance down. For client-work, especially when taking on new projects, this is essential.

And I much prefer doing this in Ahrefs over SEMRush.

Keyword Planning & Monitoring

The keyword and content explorers are where Ahrefs really shines for us. They let us identify “golden topic” opportunities: keywords and content angles that deliver traffic, leads, and long-term topical authority.

It now features fairly-decent AI visibility tracking too, so you can see when and where your clients are getting mentioned in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other LLMs.

Spying on The Competition

We also rely heavily on Ahrefs’ competitor analysis features. Being able to see which pages, links, and strategies are working for rival sites gives us the intel we need to outmaneuver them and carve out an edge for our clients.

Finally, Ahrefs’ reporting tools allow us to deliver crystal-clear progress updates and ROI proof. Clients don’t just see “more traffic”, they see exactly what’s driving growth and why it matters.

Yes, Ahrefs is expensive. I’d argue it’s gotten a little too expensive; for smaller site owners or solo web operators, go with something like LowFruits or UberSuggest instead.

For us, because we do a lot of client-work, it’s worth every penny because it gives us the insights, data, and competitive edge we need to consistently deliver results for our clients.

Recommended Reading

Recommended Tools

  • RankMath: For SEO Stuffs
  • OxyLabs: The #1 scraping tool
  • SEMRush: Planning & Analysis

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