Ahrefs backlink checker is a fraud tool?

[casinoduende]

Hi everyone!
Some time ago I realize that Ahrefs free backlink checker tool is showing not very understandable results. I understand that it is every SEO company has their own auditing tools. But doing some research with link analysis of some sites, a strange thing (see the images).

Website "A" has,
DR - 11, Backlinks - 7, Referring Domains - 6

Website "B" has,
DR - 1.1, Backlinks - 2758, Referring Domains - 86

It is a bit confusing and not fully understood as website "A" has higher Domain Rating (DR) than website "B".
However website "B" has more backlinks and referring domains. How is this possible?
So the question, is it to trust all these tools offered by some SEO companies or is it just a scam?

[Randy Ray]

It's not a scam; the number of backlinks doesn't equate to the authority of the link. A single link from CNN, for example, will increase a site's DR by a lot more than a link from some anonymous blog that has no links to it. The DR figures are supposed to replicate in a rough fashion Google's PageRank calculations, so reading about how PageRank works might be helpfu.

That being said, such third-party metrics aren't used by Google, and, in my experience, don't correspond that well with what's actually happening in the search engine results. I've never used any of these kinds of metrics to make any kinds of decision yet, and I don't recommend that you do, either.

AHREFS is mostly helpful in finding link prospects who might link to your site and for doing keyword research. People sure love to put a lot of stock in these third party metrics, but they vary from tool to tool, and none of them replicate the calculations that Google engages in.

[casinoduende]

Thanks Randy for your comment!
As far as Google PageRank performance is concerned, I am aware of it.
And as you said, I don't give importance to these metrics because they are very different from one SEO company to another. For example, the same website "B" in Semrush show Domain Rating - 10.
What is a bit infuriating is that all these SEO "guru" companies pretend to sell you plans that in reality are almost worthless as there are free tools that offer these same statistics and metrics. Therefore you can consider companies like Ahrefs, Semrush, Majestic and the like as "just business", in other words - scam and deception well masked. As the old pastor said before he died to his devotees, it was all a lie!

[robyroy]

Hey mate.

Ahrefs is one of the best seo tools on the market. I am using this tool from about 5 years.

Regarding to your question, what matters is link quality, not quantity. In most cases, one strong link beat 10 / 100 links from obscure sites.

[gm2891]

I don't think that any Ahrefs data is a scam because their blog contains a lot of information about how their metrics are calculated. This means, everything is available for people to see, and whether or not they use it is entirely up to them. I personally use, at times, their free backlink checker only.

[baldidiot]

Domain stats (DR, DA, even page rank) are some of the least useful stats when they’re taken out of context.

Ahrefs is great for link research and keyword analysis, definitely wouldn’t call it a scam.

[casinoduende]

Hi everyone!
Thanks for your comments. Indeed, it is as many of you confirm, quality of links beats quantity. I have also been confirmed by Ahrefs support.
It's not that I didn't know this rule, it's just that everything about search engine positioning, be it from Google or any other company, is a "mystery" and in many cases it doesn't make sense.
Doing so much research I realize that free backlinks or paid backlinks if they have no traffic, then they are almost useless.
There are many of you and myself who buy backlinks, but in many cases they are "dead", they have no traffic at all.
Making the conclusion, I have seen that backlinks from affiliate programs can have some traffic and therefore high domain rating. Also the backlinks from some thematic forums, for example like GPWA, have traffic. The other websites that offer cheap paid backlinks are practically useless.
Sorry, maybe I'm wrong about something...I don't know. And you mates, what do you think?

[mickyfu]

DA, DR, TF, CF, PA all silly metrics introduced by charlatans when Google hid PR. I'd take very little notice, it is easy to game most of these stats.

However what you will probably find if you take a closer look, the site with 6 links will have what Ahrefs considers more quality links compared to the site which has 86 domains.

You can check these stats on the righthand side of Ahrefs when you enter a domain. It tells you stats like EDU, GOV, Dofollow, Nofollow, UGC and so on.

[statsdrone]

Ahrefs is a solid tool but don't take the data at face value when people are trying to get you to buy or trade links.

Some sites have unnaturally high links while others are spammy. Some sites are trending up in a healthy way while others are trending down.

If you see a site that is obtaining 5000 referring domains or more in 1 month, this could be a sign they are hacking their links. I've seen one company with 10,000 referring domains and it happened in 1 month, the following month you see about 500 removed per month.

If a site has growth trending in the right direction at a good rate then consider it.

If a site isn't growing their content or links then it could be a sign the site is stagnant.

[jack87]

Before this tool is free, then shift to subscription. Now a real money making website.

[MichaelSchumann]

We have been using Ahref for 2 years, we believe it is top tool on the market based on our experience.

[jocajoca]

it's not a scam, I find it really useful! it's a benchmark. You'll find other tools better for this type of thing (majestic should be the best for this), ahrefs is an all-rounder tool

[AnnaAbram]

DR & Backlinks does not relate to each other actually, I agree to Randy's point. He had given a great example about it.

[Stanpopz]

There are few strong domains on Website B

[LowFlyingBird]

Useful tool but isn't Google or 100% accurate.
It gives a reasonable snap shot of SEO organic traffic metrics.
Breakdown of where the traffic comes from, Country, Keywords, Page(s).

I rarely see Paid search attributions in Ahrefs, unless campaign has been running +3months with https.
Panel of SEO people at past events claims running ongoing PPC ads (white hat) will boost a sites SEO score.
Maybe/maybe not. Either way no one is doing this.

When unknown (new) affiliate(s) ask for high CPAs before sending 1 single click.
We as Affiliate Managers will look at tools like Ahrefs metrics to get an idea of traffic source.
If the snap shot comes back with 0 score and few bad backlinks I'd almost guarantee the traffic source is **** and affiliate can't be trusted. Add in the lies they tell about how everything is organic SEO usually leads to a change in plan.

If you are buying links and using Ahrefs note:
Link sellers that have learned to manipulate scores in Ahrefs.
Usually own a larger PBN network and use non-gambling niche sites like Fake Agg news sites which score incredibly high in Ahrefs.

[baldidiot]

If you are buying links and using Ahrefs note:
Link sellers that have learned to manipulate scores in Ahrefs.

The DR stats in ahrefs are ridiculously easy to manipulate, they even tell you how they calculate it which makes it even easier. You don't even need a massive network or a ton of links.

As a tester to prove the concept we took a site from DR20 to DR40 in about a week using one link from a DR35 site.


Not bagging on ahrefs here btw, we like it and use it daily. Just don't pay too much attention to the arbitrary stats. Look at the actual underlying links and traffic.

[edgarf76]

it is not a scam at all. Ahrefs is by far the best seo software solution I have ever used. It blows all of the other programs away. Don't mistake the number of backlinks or referring domains with the domain authority.

[Raúl Jimenez]

Hi all. I use non-acrefs on serank. A little similar but obviously worse. But I wanted to ask knowledgeable people, when achrefs sees new backlinks, but they do not appear in the search console. Does this mean that Google does not consider these links yet? Thanks

[edgarf76]

I go by search console even if Ahrefs finds them first. My two cents

Hi all. I use non-acrefs on serank. A little similar but obviously worse. But I wanted to ask knowledgeable people, when achrefs sees new backlinks, but they do not appear in the search console. Does this mean that Google does not consider these links yet? Thanks

[baldidiot]

But I wanted to ask knowledgeable people, when achrefs sees new backlinks, but they do not appear in the search console. Does this mean that Google does not consider these links yet? Thanks

This may have changed in recent years, but historically the search console didn't include all links.