Ahrefs is the best tool out there for SEO but guess what? You can still do SEO without Ahrefs.
At Pulling Off Strategies, we’ve helped dozens of small to medium sized businesses improve their organic SEO without spending a dime on expensive SEO tools.
Here’s the thing: SEO isn’t about fancy tools. It’s about strategy, experience, and execution.
In this post, we’ll show you how to do killer SEO without Ahrefs.
Why Do We Use Tools Like Aherfs or Semrush for SEO?
Ahrefs and Semrush are the two biggest keyword research tools in SEO industry, and many feel one can’t do SEO without them.
The reason why SEOs, marketers, and agencies like us choose Ahrefs or Semrush is because:
1) Competitive Data
Do you want to know what your competitors are up to?
SEO tools can give us a glimpse into the niche and tell you which keywords your competitors are ranking for and how much traffic they are getting.
This data helps businesses choose the topics that work the most, and having data enables you to understand the opportunities to grow.
Instead of using Ahrefs, there are multiple free SEO tools out there for data (Which we will discuss later)
However, to effectively understand data about search results, you need to be well-versed in SEO, and that’s the reason why websites include paid tools in their SEO stack.
2) Keyword Research
Ahrefs and Semrush are known to help websites with keyword research. In most cases, these tools are mainly used to determine search volumes, keyword difficulty, and related search terms in your industry.
The thing is, these tools make the process of keyword research so easy that you can churn out 100 keyword ideas for your websites within one to two sessions of using these tools.
Thus, they help you find keywords and come up with topic ideas at the scale.
3) Backlink Analysis
We know that backlinks play a major role in SEO success, and in most cases, backlinks can be a differentiating factor for rankings on Google.
Ahrefs and Semrush have their own backlink checker tools, which are great for spying on your competitors’ backlinks. They show you who’s linking to whom and help you spot link-building opportunities.
Metrics provided by these tools, like domain rating and the number of referring domains, are great for analyzing any website’s backlink profile.
The best part is they help you understand what sort of backlinks are being built, where each backlink is placed, and what kind of anchor text is being used. Thus it is great for backlink analysis.
4) Content Opportunities
You can use ‘Content Explorer’ in Ahrefs to find any content opportunities in your space. You can play around with it’s filter to discover new topics for your website.
Ahrefs and Semrush both have this tool called ‘Content Gap’ that helps you discover any untapped content. You can analyse your website with your top competitors to see what sort of content/keywords you missed out on.
This is great for websites because this way, they get to discover the exact content ideas that cater to their relevant audience and also help them close the gap of topical authority in the space.
5) Site Audit
Technical SEO issues like 404-page errors, broken links, 310 Redirects etc, can only be solved by doing regular site audits, which is one of the amazing features of Ahrefs.
At PullingOffStrategies, we personally use Ahrefs to do site audits for our clients if we don’t have their website access. The best part is that it takes minutes, not days, for Ahrefs to do a decent site audit of any website.
6) Keyword Tracking
Rank Tracker on Ahrefs helps you track your keyword both on mobile and desktop, and it’s addictive. They will show you daily or weekly changes in your rankings. Ahrefs calls it ‘Rank Tracker’.
Obviously, you can use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to do this. But connecting your sites to Ahrefs webmaster tools helps you see a similar kind of dashboard. Therefore, you don’t have to leave its platform for monitoring and any SEO analysis
Ahrefs and SEMRush are fantastic if you’ve got the budget. What if you don’t have that budget? You can still do SEO, and we will explain how in the next section.
How To Do SEO Without Ahrefs?
SEO can be done without Ahrefs, and many websites ranking on Google are probably already doing it.
Before we discuss further, let us share that we’ve ranked over 250 articles on Google’s first page for our clients, and some of those articles relied on free tools to rank on Google.
1) Niche Selection
You have to pick your niche wisely. Whether you’re a startup, an Ecommerce business, or any local business, everybody has a niche.
Predominantly, the SEO mistake most businesses make is when they take their industry as a whole niche and choose to target everybody instead of niching down on topics.
This where you can input your competitors URL’s in Ahrefs to find the niche and exact topics to go after
Or else
You can manually go through your competitor websites and analyse their topics using platforms like
- Google Trends to check any seasonality trends
- Reddit/Quora for niche validation
- Google search to come up with topic ideas
2) Competitors Analysis
You can use Google’s “related:” search operator to find similar sites based on your URL.
From there, you can see each website individually to understand what topics they are covering.
This hands-on approach often reveals more about your competition and helps you understand what’s working for most in your space.
3) Keyword Research
No budget? No Ahrefs? No problem!
When used correctly, Google’s Keyword Planner paired with AnswerThePublic helps you come across question-based keywords.
If you already have a few seed keywords/categories in mind for your niche, then you can use Google’s autocomplete feature for your keyword research.
On the other hand, if you have some budget to spend. You can go for paid alternatives to Ahrefs like LowFruits.io and Clicks.so (We’re going to talk about them in the next sections)
4) Content Outline
You can use your keywords to create an outline that answers user intent. Take inspiration from Google’s top results, but refrain from copying.
Your outline should help you with headings and address some points, such as: What questions are others not asking? What is your unique angle?
Tools like Surfer SEO or Neuron Writer can be a great help in coming up with SEO content outlines based on SERPs.
5) Content Writing
The focus should be on creating genuine, helpful content that offers insights different from what already exists on Google.
That being said, the primary purpose of your writing should be focused on solving a problem and breaking down complex topics to make content easy to understand.
At Pulling Off Strategies, we have dedicated SOP’s in place for content writing that helps out client articles ranks on Google.
6) On-page SEO
On-page SEO is nothing but optimising the webpage/content based on its keyword to help search engines understand what your content is about.
On-page SEO is done within your Content Management System (CMS). If you use WordPress, then plugins like Rank Math or Yoast will help you optimise content.
If your website is not on WordPress, read this article on SEO without WordPress to do on-page optimisation.
Note: At our agency, we use either SuferSEO (or) Neruonwriter for on-page SEO that focuses on NLP Optimization.
7) Off-page SEO
To do off-page SEO without Aherfs, you need to rely on multiple platforms, depending on what sort of backlinks you want to acquire.
For example:-
- If you want to do guest posts, you can use Google search moderator “‘ Topic’ + ‘write for us'” to find guest posting opportunities
- To sort any link insertion opportunities, you can connect with businesses on social media or join a link-building collaboration group.
- Use Connectively (formerly known as HARO) to get media link mentions
By now, it should be clear that Aherfs is only a tool that helps with keyword research, and for other aspects of SEO, you don’t have to rely on Ahrefs data.
If the keyword research part is sorted out, then you can do SEO without the need for any keyword tools.
9+ Best Ahrefs Alternatives in 2024
1) Semrush
Pricing: Starts at $139.95/month
Semrush is also an all-in-one SEO tool that pretty much competes with Ahrefs in literally every way imaginable. It helps you with keyword research, competitor analysis, site audit, and much more
Semrush also is the go-to for many SEO pros because of its user-friendly interface and features.
Pros:
- Good data for keyword research
- You can handle multiple websites SEO using this one tool
Cons:
- No SERP analysis features like Ahrefs
- Pricey for small businesses and overwhelming for beginners SEOs
2) LowFruits.io
Pricing: $25 for 2,000 credits, pay-as-you-go model
If you’re looking for low-competition keywords, LowFruits.io is a hidden gem. This is great for new sites for those who want to enter into competitive niches.
This tool is all about finding ‘low-hanging fruit’ keywords that are easier to rank in search results
Pros:
- This is tool is affordable and doesn’t need any monthly subscriptions
- Effective to find easy to rank keywords
Cons:
- Not as good as Aherfs in terms of data
- Fewer features than all-in-one SEO tools
3) Clicks. so
Pricing: Starts at $24.99/month
This SEO tool Clicks.so is on the rise. It gives you data on keyword research, backlink analysis and rank tracking, just like Ahrefs, but at a fraction of the cost.
Clicks.so is easy to use, and the data is accurate. The founder of this tool is on YouTube, and he likes to share any product updates on his channel.
Pros:
- Affordable and user-friendly
- Very insightful data just like Ahrefs
Cons:
- New tool in the market
- Doesn’t provide comprehensive SEO data like Ahrefs
4) Moz
Pricing: Starts at $49/month
Moz has been there for a long time in the SEO industry. This tool provides every kind of data possible for SEO tasks like keyword research, link building, spam score, etc.
It is known for introducing the Domain Authority (DA) metric. Its Chrome extension is very popular for checking the DA scores of websites in SERPs.
Moz has great educational resources and is great for agencies and businesses with SEO teams.
Pros:
- Reliable SEO data
- Strong educational resources
Cons:
- Some features lag behind its competitors
- The interface can be clunky.
5) UberSuggest
Pricing: Free-trail available, and paid plans start at $20/month, and $200 for Lifetime usage
UberSuggest has come a long way after Neil Patel’s acquisition. This tool produces data for keyword research, content ideas, and site audits at a budget-friendly price point.
It’s a good tool for small businesses and bloggers to start.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Offers free-trial and it has a lifetime offer
Cons:
- Provide less SEO data than premium tools in this list
- No SERP analysis feature like Ahrefs
6) Google Search
Pricing: Free to use
Google autocomplete, as we talked about earlier, can help you with keyword ideas.
This is a free Ahrefs alternative, and that is probably the reason why it’s less comprehensive than paid tools.
To date, websites that do Niche SEO rely on Google searches to come up with content ideas.
Pros:
- Free, direct from Google, real-time data
Cons:
- Time-consuming, requires skill to use effectively
7) Google Keyword Planner
Pricing: Free with a Google Ads account
You can get access to Google keyword planner by signing up for Google Ads. To use this tool, you do not have to pay or invest in any ads. It’s completely free to use.
Google keyword planner gives you metrics like search volume and competition for a particular keyword.
Pros:
- Free with a Google Ads account
Cons:
- Limited features and this tool data is geared towards PPC
8) Mangools
Pricing: Starts at $24.50/month
Mangools features a suite of tools, including KWFinder, SERPChecker, and LinkMiner. It’s easy to use and great for beginners.
The difference is their intuitive interface and their pricing. This is a great tool for newbie SEOs and beginner marketers.
Pros:
- Affordable for SEO
- Provide comprehensive suite of tools that is user-friendly
Cons:
- Less robust than other enterprise-level in this list
9) Serpstat
Pricing: Starts at $59/month
Serpstat is an all-in-one SEO platform that includes keyword research, competitor analysis and backlink auditing. It’s gaining popularity fast.
Serpstat has some features that you won’t find elsewhere, such as text analytics and page change tracking.
Pros:
- Offers unique features, comprehensive toolset
- Comprehensive toolset for marketers
Cons:
- Not reliable data
- Honestly, we don’t like its interface
10) Answer The Public
Pricing: Free version available, monthly paid plan start at $5 per month and $50 for Lifetime
Answer The Public is a tool to come across questions related to your topics. Therefore, it is a good tool for content ideas and long-tail keywords. This tool helps you understand what people are searching for about your topic.
This tool is also owned by Neil Patel. Even though it’s not a full-blown SEO tool, but its understanding of user intent can help you craft a reliable SEO strategy. Its free version is useful, but it only allows limited searches.
Pros:
- Offer visual data presentation for your keywords
- Great for content ideation
Cons:
- Not a complete SEO tool, limited to keyword ideas
Wrap Up
Effective SEO can be done without relying on expensive research tools like Ahrefs.
However, if you’re totally strapped for budget. In that case, you choose to focus only on things like niche selection, competitor analysis, and keyword research using free Ahrefs alternatives like Google Search, Google Keyword Planner and AnswerThePublic.
Please note that the free options are great for kicking things off the ground. If you really want to scale your organic growth, then at some point, you have to invest in SEO tools like Ahrefs.
However, for now, you can go through our case studies to understand more about SEO or else you can book a call with us if you want Pulling Off Strategies to take care of your SEO