How SEO Pros Use Ahrefs to Find Winning Backlink Opportunities
How to Use Ahrefs for Backlinks? If you want to boost your rankings and get more traffic, backlinks are one of the most important parts of SEO. They act like votes of trust from other websites. The stronger and more relevant those votes are, the higher your site can climb in search results. But building a strong backlink profile takes more than luck. You need the right tools to check where your links are coming from, analyze their quality, and find new opportunities.
That is where Ahrefs comes in. Ahrefs is one of the most powerful SEO tools available, and it is especially strong when it comes to backlink analysis. In this guide, we will go step by step through how to use Ahrefs for backlinks, from checking your current profile to discovering new ways to grow it.
Why Backlinks Matter for SEO
Backlinks are one of Google’s top ranking factors. Each backlink signals that another site trusts your content enough to reference it. When these links come from trusted, relevant sources, they increase your site’s authority and visibility.
Backlinks are also a big part of off-page SEO. While on-page SEO is about optimizing your own content and structure, off-page SEO is about how other sites view and link to you. A strong backlink strategy can drive referral traffic, improve rankings, and strengthen your brand’s reputation.
What Is Ahrefs and Why Do SEO Experts Use It?
Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO platform that gives you data on keywords, competitors, content, and backlinks. While it has many features, backlink tracking and analysis are what made Ahrefs famous.
With Ahrefs, you can see who is linking to your site, how strong those links are, which links you have lost, and where your competitors are getting their backlinks. It is like having a full map of your backlink profile and your competitors’ profiles, which makes it easier to plan your strategy.
Step 1: Use Site Explorer to Check Backlinks
The Site Explorer tool is where most people start with Ahrefs. You enter your domain and get an overview of your backlink profile. You can see the total number of backlinks, the number of referring domains, and how these have changed over time.
The report shows new backlinks, lost backlinks, and the growth trend of your profile. This is helpful for spotting sudden drops that could signal problems or spikes that might indicate new opportunities. You can also drill down into individual backlinks to see exactly where they come from and what anchor text is used.
Step 2: Analyze Backlink Quality
Not all backlinks are good. Some can harm your SEO if they come from low-quality or spammy sites. Ahrefs helps you sort strong links from weak ones by giving you key metrics like Domain Rating (DR) and URL Rating (UR).
You can also look at anchor text distribution. If many backlinks use the same keyword-heavy anchor text, it could look unnatural. Ahrefs makes it easy to spot this pattern.
Another important factor is link type. Dofollow links pass authority and directly boost rankings, while nofollow links do not. But nofollow links can still bring valuable referral traffic, so they should not be ignored. With Ahrefs, you can filter backlinks by dofollow and nofollow to see the balance in your profile.
Step 3: Run a Backlink Audit
A backlink audit is all about evaluating whether your backlink profile is healthy. With Ahrefs, you can filter out low-quality domains, irrelevant sites, or links with suspicious anchor text. This helps you identify toxic backlinks that could hurt your rankings.
Ahrefs also lets you compare your profile with your competitors. By seeing how your backlink profile stacks up against theirs, you can understand where you are strong, where you are weak, and what opportunities you may be missing. If you find harmful backlinks, you can prepare a disavow file to submit to Google, asking them to ignore those links.
Step 4: Find New Backlink Opportunities
Ahrefs is not just about tracking existing backlinks. It is also a powerful tool for finding new ones. The “Best by Links” report shows you which of your pages are attracting the most backlinks. This can help you understand what type of content is most link-worthy and inspire your future content strategy.
You can also look at your competitors’ top linked pages. If you see that a competitor has earned many backlinks from a certain type of guide, list, or resource, you can create something even better to attract similar links. Ahrefs’ Content Explorer tool is another way to discover popular topics that consistently earn backlinks, so you can focus your efforts where they matter most.
Step 5: Track Backlinks Over Time
Backlink building is not a one-time project. It is an ongoing process. Ahrefs makes it easier to monitor your progress with alerts and reports. You can set up notifications for new backlinks, lost backlinks, or changes in referring domains.
Regular tracking helps you understand whether your backlink strategy is working. If you see a steady growth in high-quality backlinks, your efforts are paying off. If you see many lost links, you may need to investigate and adjust your strategy.
How Can Ahrefs Help In Finding Broken Link Backlinks?
Broken link building is one of the most effective ways to earn new backlinks, and Ahrefs makes it much easier. The Broken Links report in Ahrefs shows you pages on other websites that used to link to content but now lead to a dead page.
Once you find these broken backlinks, you can create or point to a relevant resource on your site and reach out to the webmaster. Your pitch is simple: you are helping them fix a broken link while providing a useful alternative. This strategy works because it solves a problem for the other site while earning you a backlink in return.
Ahrefs also lets you find broken links on your own site. Fixing these ensures you do not lose link equity from sites already linking to you.
Common Mistakes to Avoid with Ahrefs
Ahrefs is powerful, but it is only as useful as how you use it. A common mistake is focusing only on numbers, such as chasing a higher Domain Rating, without considering the relevance of the linking sites. Another mistake is ignoring nofollow links. While they do not pass authority, they can bring visitors and brand visibility.
Some people also copy competitor backlinks blindly without considering whether those links make sense for their business. Just because a competitor has a certain backlink does not mean it is valuable for you. Finally, do not fall into the trap of tracking backlinks without taking action. Data is only helpful if it leads to smarter link-building decisions.
How Often Should You Run A Backlink Audit With Ahrefs?
For most sites, running a backlink audit every three to six months is a good practice. This keeps your profile clean and ensures you do not overlook toxic links. If your site is large or you are actively building backlinks, monthly audits may be better.
It is also smart to run an audit after major SEO campaigns, new content launches, or sudden drops in traffic. Regular audits help you spot issues early and make sure your off-page SEO strategy stays strong.
Bottom Line
Ahrefs is more than just a backlink checker. It is a complete platform for building, monitoring, and optimizing your backlink strategy. From checking your current profile with Site Explorer to analyzing backlink quality, running audits, and discovering new opportunities, Ahrefs gives you the tools you need to succeed.
By learning how to use Ahrefs for backlinks, you can take control of your off-page SEO and build a stronger, more competitive site. But if you want expert support to save time and get faster results, Click Typhoon’s Milton SEO services can help. Our team knows how to use Ahrefs and other advanced tools to find opportunities, clean up toxic links, and build a backlink strategy that works. Contact us today and start growing your site with confidence.
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