How to Use Ahrefs: Rank #1 on Google in 2026

Most websites struggle to get any traffic from Google.

You spend hours writing, but nobody visits your page. It feels like you are shouting into a dark room.

This happens because you are guessing what people want.

Ahrefs stops the guessing game.

It shows you exactly what people search for and how to beat your competitors.

It is the secret weapon for growing your site fast.

Read this guide to learn how to use Ahrefs and track your rankings like a pro.

Ahrefs

With Ahrefs, you can discover 28.7 billion keyword ideas and analyze 267.6 million domains. Stop guessing with your SEO strategy. Create your account today and see how Ahrefs can help you acquire organic traffic growth!

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Ahrefs Tutorial

Ahrefs is like a map for your website.

It shows you the best path to get more visitors.

You can see what people search for and find ways to rank higher.

It makes SEO easy for everyone to understand.

How to Use Ahrefs Site Audit

Mastering search engine optimization is easy with the right seo tools.

Ahrefs seo tools help you find what works for your site and your rivals.

You can stop guessing and start growing your search traffic by following these simple steps.

Step 1: Analyze Your Site and Rivals

• Start your keyword research process by entering a URL into Site Explorer to see organic keywords.
• Connect Google Search Console to get better data on how search engines see your pages.
• Check your top-ranking pages to see which content brings in the most visitors.

Step 2: Fix Technical Issues

• Use the Site Audit tool to find technical SEO errors, like broken links, that hurt your rankings.
• Look at how your site appears in search engine results pages to increase your click-through rate.
• Consider search intent to ensure your pages give readers exactly what they want.

Step 3: Find New Opportunities

• Use the keyword research tool features to find fresh keyword ideas and target keywords.
• Check the keyword difficulty and search volume to pick words you can actually rank for.
• Compare your site to others in the search results to find gaps in your content.

How to Use Keywords Explorer

The keywords explorer is a powerful keyword research tool that helps you find what people type into Google.

You can use it to find relevant keywords that bring new visitors to your web pages.

It is one of the most popular ahrefs seo features for a reason.

Here is how you can find the most lucrative keywords for your site.

Step 1: Start with Your Ideas

• Open the keywords explorer and type in some seed keywords. These are basic words that describe your topic.
• You can enter just a single keyword or a whole list to see different search queries.
• Look at the monthly search volume to see how many people search for that topic every month.

Step 2: Filter for the Best Words

• Use keyword tools to find low-difficulty keywords. These are words that are easier to get on the first page of Google.
• Check keyword metrics, such as keyword difficulty, to see how much work you need to do.
• Look for lucrative keywords with high monthly search volume and low competition.

Step 3: Check the Competition

• Look at the seo metrics for the sites already ranking for a given search query.
• Use Site Explorer and backlink analysis to view your rivals’ domain ratings and referring domains.
• This helps you understand if you can beat them for better Google rankings and higher keyword rankings.

How to Use Rank Tracker

The rank tracker lets you see how your pages rank on Google over time.

It is a key part of digital marketing because it shows whether your on-page SEO is working.

You can stop manually checking Google and let this tool do the hard work for your site.

Step 1: Add Your Site and Keywords

• First, go to the Ahrefs website and open the Rank Tracker.
• Link your search console or use Webmaster Tools to quickly bring in your data.
• Enter specific keywords or a single keyword, such as coffee machine, to start tracking.
• You can also add long tail keywords to find your target audience more easily.

Step 2: Watch Your Progress and Rival Sites

• Check the pages’ rank report to see which of your pages move up or down.
• Use the Ahrefs site explorer to look at competitors’ websites and see how competitors rank.
• Compare your backlink profile to a competitor’s domain to see their competitor’s backlinks.
• This helps you learn seo by seeing what makes other sites successful in your niche.

Step 3: Improve Your Results

• Look for broken links and check your site’s technical health to keep your site running fast.
• Find related keywords and keyword suggestions in the content explorer to get more organic traffic.
• Check the backlinks pointing to your site to see your estimated traffic potential.
• Use this data for link building and better page seo to keep growing every day.

Ahrefs Alternatives

Ahrefs Compared

Conclusion

Learning how to grow your website takes time, but Ahrefs makes it much easier.

You now know how to find the best words and track your progress.

Following seo tutorials is a great way to stay ahead of other websites.

While you can find free keyword tools online, they often lack the deep data you need to win.

Taking the time for seo training will help you understand how to analyze keywords like an expert.

Keep practicing every day, and you will see your traffic grow.

Good luck on your journey to the top of Google!

Frequently Asked Questions

More Facts about Ahrefs

• Check out any website: Ahrefs has a tool called Site Explorer. It lets you see how many people visit a website from Google and who else is linking to that site.
• Get instant alerts: You can set up notifications. Ahrefs will email you the moment you get a new link or if your website moves up or down in search results.
• A complete SEO toolbox: Ahrefs isn’t just one tool; it’s a big collection of different tools that help you understand everything about showing up on search engines.
• Write better content: To get more readers, do deep research, talk about your product naturally, and make sure your writing is easy for both people and AI bots to read.
• Find great topics: You can use Keywords Explorer to find what people are searching for and Content Explorer to see what is popular right now.
• Watch your rank: The Rank Tracker tool keeps an eye on where your website shows up on Google for important words.
• Win the top spot: To get “featured snippets” (those quick answers at the top of Google), try to answer a specific question in about 40 to 60 words at the start of your page.
• Go deep into topics: Writing long, helpful articles that cover everything about a subject helps you beat other websites in search results.
• Pick the right words: Ahrefs suggests focusing on search words that actually lead people to buy what you are selling.
• Find easy keywords: Use Keywords Explorer to find “long-tail” phrases (longer, specific searches) that have high traffic but aren’t too hard to rank for.
• Keyword research is key: Finding the right words people type into Google is one of the most important parts of SEO.
• Start with “Seed” words: These are basic words that describe your business. They are the starting point for all your research.

• How to find ideas: You can find new words to target by brainstorming, looking at what your competitors do, and using research tools.
• Get suggestions: Ahrefs gives you long lists of extra word ideas based on your main topic.
• Understand the numbers: When looking at keywords, check how many people search for them, how many people actually click, and how hard it is to beat other sites.
• Know why people search: It is very important to figure out what a person is actually looking for when they type a word into Google.
• Pick your favorites: Choose keywords that will bring you the most visitors, aren’t too competitive, and match what your business does.
• Keep your site healthy: Regular “Site Audits” act like a check-up for your website to make sure no hidden technical problems are costing you money.
• Find 100+ problems: The Site Audit tool scans your website to find over 100 different technical mistakes that could be hurting your ranking.
• Easy to set up: To start an audit, just add your website address or connect it to your Google Search Console account.
• Get a quick report: The Overview page shows you a simple summary of all the technical issues found on your site.
• Fix the big stuff first: Ahrefs tells you what to fix first. Start with “Errors” (red), then move to “Warnings” (yellow), and finally “Notices” (blue).
• Stay updated: If you schedule your audits to run automatically, you will always know if your website has technical bugs.
• Find internal links: Site Audit can show you where you can add links between your own pages to help them rank better.
• Track your progress: You can look at past crawls to see if your website is getting healthier over time.
• Discover what’s popular: Content Explorer helps you find articles that have the most links and visitors, so you can get ideas.
• Find missing links: The Link Intersect tool shows you websites that link to your competitors but not to you yet.
• Fix broken links: You can find websites that link to “broken” pages (pages that don’t exist anymore) and ask them to link to your page instead.
• Use the SEO Toolbar: You can install a special bar in your internet browser to see important data right while you are searching on Google.
• The big five tools: Ahrefs is famous for Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Content Explorer, Site Audit, and Rank Tracker.
• Top-rated platform: Ahrefs is one of the most popular tools in the world for getting detailed data on keywords and competitors.
• Different plans for everyone: Ahrefs has several price levels, though the “Starter” plan actually begins at $99 per month (Note: $29 is for certain add-ons, but the main plans start higher).
• Manage many sites: The Ahrefs Dashboard is like a home base where you can keep track of many different websites at once.
• Track AI and Brand: The Brand Radar tool helps you see if your brand is being mentioned by AI chatbots and in new types of search results.

• Check out any website: Ahrefs has a tool called Site Explorer. It lets you see how many people visit a website from Google and who else is linking to that site.
• Get instant alerts: You can set up notifications. Ahrefs will email you the moment you get a new link or if your website moves up or down in search results.
• A complete SEO toolbox: Ahrefs isn’t just one tool; it’s a big collection of different tools that help you understand everything about showing up on search engines.
• Write better content: To get more readers, do deep research, talk about your product naturally, and make sure your writing is easy for both people and AI bots to read.
• Find great topics: You can use Keywords Explorer to find what people are searching for and Content Explorer to see what is popular right now.
• Watch your rank: The Rank Tracker tool keeps an eye on where your website shows up on Google for important words.
• Win the top spot: To get “featured snippets” (those quick answers at the top of Google), try to answer a specific question in about 40 to 60 words at the start of your page.
• Go deep into topics: Writing long, helpful articles that cover everything about a subject helps you beat other websites in search results.
• Pick the right words: Ahrefs suggests focusing on search words that actually lead people to buy what you are selling.
• Find easy keywords: Use Keywords Explorer to find “long-tail” phrases (longer, specific searches) that have high traffic but aren’t too hard to rank for.
• Keyword research is key: Finding the right words people type into Google is one of the most important parts of SEO.
• Start with “Seed” words: These are basic words that describe your business. They are the starting point for all your research.

• How to find ideas: You can find new words to target by brainstorming, looking at what your competitors do, and using research tools.
• Get suggestions: Ahrefs gives you long lists of extra word ideas based on your main topic.
• Understand the numbers: When looking at keywords, check how many people search for them, how many people actually click, and how hard it is to beat other sites.
• Know why people search: It is very important to figure out what a person is actually looking for when they type a word into Google.
• Pick your favorites: Choose keywords that will bring you the most visitors, aren’t too competitive, and match what your business does.
• Keep your site healthy: Regular “Site Audits” act like a check-up for your website to make sure no hidden technical problems are costing you money.
• Find 100+ problems: The Site Audit tool scans your website to find over 100 different technical mistakes that could be hurting your ranking.
• Easy to set up: To start an audit, just add your website address or connect it to your Google Search Console account.
• Get a quick report: The Overview page shows you a simple summary of all the technical issues found on your site.
• Fix the big stuff first: Ahrefs tells you what to fix first. Start with “Errors” (red), then move to “Warnings” (yellow), and finally “Notices” (blue).
• Stay updated: If you schedule your audits to run automatically, you will always know if your website has technical bugs.
• Find internal links: Site Audit can show you where you can add links between your own pages to help them rank better.
• Track your progress: You can look at past crawls to see if your website is getting healthier over time.
• Discover what’s popular: Content Explorer helps you find articles that have the most links and visitors, so you can get ideas.
• Find missing links: The Link Intersect tool shows you websites that link to your competitors but not to you yet.
• Fix broken links: You can find websites that link to “broken” pages (pages that don’t exist anymore) and ask them to link to your page instead.
• Use the SEO Toolbar: You can install a special bar in your internet browser to see important data right while you are searching on Google.
• The big five tools: Ahrefs is famous for Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Content Explorer, Site Audit, and Rank Tracker.
• Top-rated platform: Ahrefs is one of the most popular tools in the world for getting detailed data on keywords and competitors.
• Different plans for everyone: Ahrefs has several price levels, though the “Starter” plan actually begins at $99 per month (Note: $29 is for certain add-ons, but the main plans start higher).
• Manage many sites: The Ahrefs Dashboard is like a home base where you can keep track of many different websites at once.
• Track AI and Brand: The Brand Radar tool helps you see if your brand is being mentioned by AI chatbots and in new types of search results.