How I Saved $120/Month Using Ahrefs for Free (and Even Earned Some Cash)
Ahrefs costs around $100 per month.
It hits hard!
And even when you invest in it, you will have nightmares from its credit usage system.
And trust me, if you’re a beginner, you won’t need even half of the functions the paid version provides.
Stick with me, and I’ll walk you through how to set up a free Ahrefs account, use it to improve your site’s SEO, and even look for new keywords for free.
Here’s what I’ll cover:
- What are Ahrefs Webmaster Tools?
- Signing up for a free account
- Connecting your site
- Analyzing backlinks
- Tracking organic keywords
- Identifying SEO issues
- Looking for keywords
- Analyzing competitors
By the end, you’ll clearly understand how to leverage Ahrefs’ free tools to boost your site’s search performance. Let’s get started!
What are Ahrefs Webmaster Tools?
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools provides free SEO tools to analyze your site’s backlinks, keywords, traffic, and more.
With this tool, you get free access to:
- Backlink analysis
- Organic keyword tracking
- Site audit for SEO issues
- Traffic and referring domains
- Basic competitor research
For most sites, these free tools are more than enough. It’s a great alternative to paid tools like SEMrush, Moz, etc.
Signing Up for a Free Account
Getting started with Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is simple. Head to their signup page and connect with your email, Google account, or Facebook.
Once you’ve created your account, you’ll be brought to the main dashboard of your website.
Whether you’re on a free or paid plan, this overview is the same.
For a new account, there won’t be any data yet. Next, we’ll connect your site to start collecting insights.
Connecting Your Site
To analyze your site with Ahrefs, you must first connect it to your account. Here’s how:
- From the dashboard, click “Add New Project.”
- Select “Import from Google Search Console.”
3. Choose which Search Console account you want to connect. Make sure it’s the one linked to the site you want to analyze.
4. Click “Import” to add your site.
Once imported, Ahrefs will automatically collect data on your site’s backlinks, keywords, traffic, and more. You can also choose to enable weekly site audits if desired.
Within a day or two, your dashboard will populate with initial insights. Now, let’s look at how to leverage these free tools.
Analyzing Backlinks
One of the most useful free features is backlink analysis. This lets you see who links to your site and research link-building opportunities.
To view your backlinks:
- Click on your connected site from the dashboard
- Select “Backlinks” from the sidebar
Here, you’ll see a list of all pages linking to your site, including:
- The URL of the page with your backlink
- The anchor text used for your link
- The Domain Rating of the site
- Estimated traffic numbers
You can also filter by dofollow/nofollow links and export the data. This makes it easy to identify high-quality backlink sources to reach out to.
Tracking Organic Keywords
Another great tool is tracking your site’s organic keywords and search ranking positions.
To use this feature:
- Click your connected site
- Go to “Organic Keywords” in the sidebar
This report shows all keywords your site ranks for in Google along with:
- Ranking position
- Estimated search volume
- Keyword difficulty
- SERP features (snippets, images, etc.)
Filter by top keywords and analyze ranking trends over time. This data can help you find new keyword opportunities to target.
Identifying SEO Issues
Head to the “Site Audit” section for a free SEO site audit. Here, Ahrefs checks for common on-page issues, including:
- Outgoing 404 links
- Missing meta descriptions
- No indexing tags
- Duplicate content
- Slow page speed
Fix errors here to ensure your site provides the best possible user experience. This will strengthen your SEO foundations.
Free Keyword Research
Did you know Ahrefs has a free keyword generator that no one talks about?
If you are just starting to optimize your website for SEO, this tool will be enough for the first months as you build the topical authority.
Here is how you can use it for free:
Let’s say I want to start keyword research in an AI niche.
So I go to Ahrefs Free Keyword Generator and type “AI.”
It’s a very broad search. The first thing you see is that all the keywords with the biggest search volume here have high keyword difficulty.
So, if you have a new website with no authority, targeting these will not work. You have to focus on low-difficulty, high-search-volume keywords.
You have to open the same tool in another tab in your browser. Then, return to the first tab, scroll down, and find keywords with decent search volume. Try several ones. Use your gut feeling.
You copy the keyword and paste it into the second tab.
For example, I (absolutely randomly) took “Snapchat AI.”
I didn’t see the keyword difficulty, but when I checked it in a new tab, it said 48, which is too much.
It's a pity because the volume is huge — at 27k. However, I saw a lucrative opportunity: “How to get Snapchat AI.”
It’s an amazing idea for an informational post.
So, this is how you use this tool to find any possible keyword ideas.
Yes, it’s probably a bit more time-consuming compared to the paid version. But in general, I think it’s an amazing idea to use it for free.
And if you start now with blogging and just need to do an initial keyword research, I think this tool will be just amazing for you.
Checking Competitors
When you find a promising keyword, the next thing to consider is who ranks for it.
If your website has a low domain authority, it will be hard to rank on the first page of Google. All the slots will be taken by high-authority websites like Forbes, GQ, or similar (depending on your niche).
You have to be sure that there is at least one low-authority website (under 30) among the first 20 search results.
So here I found an amazing keyword opportunity: prime voice AI
It has a huge search volume of 1.1K monthly searches and super low keyword difficulty.
Generally, a well-optimized article will rank for it anyway, but we still have to double-check the competitors.
So, I will go to Google Search and simply type the keyword in.
I see websites I have never heard of in the search results. It’s a good sign as well. They must be as new as my website.
But I can check with the Ahrefs Website Authority Tool.
The very first search result has a decent DR of 47
But the next one’s DR is extremely low! Bingo!
So, it’s a great opportunity for my website, and I even used it already.
Here is the average position of my article on Prime Voice AI, and it’s pretty decent:
I even joined their affiliate program and earned a little commission already:
Wrap Up
Ready to take your SEO to the next level?
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools gives you powerful, free insights to maximize your site’s search potential.
See what keywords resonate most with your audience and which pages drive the most valuable traffic.
Identify opportunities to refine your strategy based on backlink analysis. It’s time to stop guessing and start growing — see how your site performs with the web’s most trusted SEO tool.
Create your account now to gain exclusive intelligence and take the next step toward search success.
Your best ranking is waiting — will you seize it?
