Curated by THEOUTPOST
On Tue, 16 Jul, 8:01 AM UTC
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Ahrefs vs Semrush: Which SEO Tool Is a Better Choice?
Ahrefs or Semrush, which one to choose? Name a harder question - we'll wait. Both SEO tools are extremely capable, offering bleeding-edge tools to boost your website ranking and online presence. We found that Semrush and Ahrefs are almost equally good. Both excel at keyword research, backlink analysis, site audits, competitive analysis, and many other aspects. However, in this Ahrefs vs Semrush comparison, there can only be one winner. The winner will be the service that wins the most rounds in this battle. To make it clear, our team of SEO experts has a long experience with both. This allows us to make an objective comparison and evaluate both options based on real-world use. Our honest thoughts about Semrush and Ahrefs are below, so stick around. Ahrefs vs Semrush Keyword Research Let's start the duel with keyword research, the most prominent feature of SEO tools. If you're working on improving the SEO of your website, keyword optimization is paramount. We tested Semrush and Ahrefs and must say they're almost neck and neck. Semrush is a capable keyword research tool. Once you type in the key phrase, you'll get information like search volume, difficulty, keyword suggestions, CPC, and a lot more. A huge advantage over Ahrefs is the search intent - this metric isn't found in its rival. Search intent tells you more about why people search for the keyword. The results are divided into transactional, navigational, informational, and commercial. Semrush also comes with data like trends, global volume, and the level of competition. This is great when you're thinking if it's worth trying to rank for a specific term. A standout feature of Semrush is its Keyword Magic Tool. It's easily our favorite option. This feature shows you hundreds of keyword suggestions that you can implement. Visit Semrush Moreover, it includes numerous filters to fully customize your search results. Apart from more than a few languages, Semrush also supports the word count filter. As a result, you can discover long-tail keywords with lower difficulty and competition - great for an easy SEO boost. This tool also lets you find keyword-related questions. It's suitable for FAQs or when you want to cover the topic more efficiently. We'll also mention its Keyword Strategy Builder, a new tool that builds clusters of keywords based on a few seed keywords. Finally, there's the keyword gap tool that compares your keyword profile with competitors. You can compare your domain with up to 4 competitors and find their ranking keywords to try to overtake them for these terms. This is standard fare in premium SEO tools. Ahrefs Ahrefs has the Keyword Explorer tool that works similarly to Semrush. Once the term is provided, you'll get keyword ideas, questions, and data like volume, difficulty, CPC, and so forth. Unlike Semrush, Ahrefs doesn't come with the intent metric - a minus in our book. Some say Ahrefs is more intuitive, with better information delivery. In our Ahrefs vs Semrush duel, we liked both but we still preferred the latter. However, the former has a few interesting metrics. For instance, you'll see the number of clicks per search. This lets you see how many clicks you'll get if you manage to rank for the key phrase. We also discovered many parent topics based on the keywords we provided. In terms of keyword suggestions, Ahrefs is as good as Semrush, with one added category. Namely, you'll get the "Also Rank For" tab where you'll see which keyword you'll also rank for if you manage to rank for the keyword you're analyzing. Ahrefs includes the Organic Keywords tool, which lets you discover all ranking keywords on the competitor's site. Ahrefs supports keyword clustering like Semrush. This works by providing a seed keyword and obtaining content ideas with corresponding volumes, difficulties, and so on. The SEO tool is suitable for finding long-tail keywords too by applying certain filters. Semrush is better than Ahrefs for keyword analysis - by a bit, however. We prefer Semrush's graphics that display all data perfectly clean. Besides, the Intent metric is valuable too, especially when targeting a specific audience. Backlink Analysis & Link Building Semrush is an amazing tool for link building and so is Ahrefs. It'll be interesting to see who comes out on top. Their backlink databases are pretty similar on paper but in this Semrush vs Ahrefs comparison, the former surprisingly lost by quite a margin. After analyzing our (gizmodo.com) backlink profile, Semrush displayed 287K referring domains and 63.3M backlinks. In comparison, Ahrefs came up with 144K referring domains and 21M backlinks. That's a stark difference. Semrush's backlink database has grown significantly since the last time we checked. Ahrefs used to be about on par with it but as you see, things have changed. Ahrefs Ahrefs' Site Explorer tool is frequently used for backlink analysis. It's great for analyzing your competition in terms of its backlink profile, paid traffic, and organic keywords. You'll find info like domain rating, URL rating, external links, linked domains, etc. We love its Ads Position History part where you'll see which keywords your competitors are buying and ranking for. In the Linked Domain menu, you'll find more about the external links of your competitors to observe their linking patterns for additional information. Another benefit is discovering broken backlinks, which can also influence your Google ranking. Finding broken backlinks makes them easier to resolve, and thus, prevents any harm to your SEO. It's worth noting that Ahrefs lacks several tools available in Semrush. These include a dedicated link-building tool and more in-depth backlink audits that could improve the backlink profile more effectively. In terms of data delivery, Ahrefs' clear interface doesn't disappoint and all relevant data will be there in seconds. However, as you'll see, Semrush is better than Ahrefs for link-building and backlink analysis. Semrush Speaking of that, everything we said about Ahrefs applies to this tool. However, Semrush still provides a few more bits of data and its accuracy is superior. The Authority Score is an important metric but there's also the Authority Score Trend that Ahrefs lacks. It displays how the website's authority shifted historically, in the last 12 months. You'll also easily find new and lost backlinks and referring domains of the website. Ahrefs lacks a dedicated backlink audit tool, which Semrush luckily has. Find backlink opportunities with Semrush It evaluates your backlink profile to find toxic links and various backlink-related problems to fix right away. However, it also displays a non-toxic link to let you know what you did good. The highlight of its backlink features is the link-building tool - a splendid addition. Semrush gives you a CRM-like overview of the so-called prospects that represent your backlink opportunities. These are websites that you can contact directly through Semrush and request a backlink or even a guest post to further skyrocket your ranking. Each prospect can be monitored or removed from the list if you don't want it. We also found its Product Review option to be excellent. If you have a product you'd like reviewed, contact the website and hand over the product for review - this is a great SEO tactic. Rank Tracking: Ahrefs or Semrush? Ahrefs and Semrush are incredible rank trackers that you'll surely enjoy. However, our team enjoyed the latter more. Once you get a hold of the rank-tracking tool, provide a few keywords, select the country, and you're all set. Semrush and Ahrefs will churn out information akin to other great rank trackers. These include ranking distribution, the number of keywords in the top 3 to top 100 results, average position, estimated traffic, and so on. There are glaring differences, though. Ahrefs Ahrefs' rank tracker is a bit... basic. But accurate. After testing it, we found its visibility average position, and traffic metric to be spot-on compared to Semrush. Moreover, it includes the ability to see SERP features and fluctuations in rankings. Its rank tracker is developed majestically, with easy-to-read information about ranking progress and share of voice, to discover the percentage of organic clicks that end up on your website. Ahrefs supports Google Search Console integration. Once you integrate it, you'll see more data directly from Google, like total impressions, average CTR, total clicks, and your average position. This can be done directly from Ahrefs, so there's no need to open GSC separately. Quite a handy little thing. Ahrefs is better than Semrush in terms of tracked keywords. Namely, its cheapest plan tracks 750, while Semrush tracks only 500 keywords. There's a catch - Ahrefs updates its ranking information WEEKLY, which means its accuracy is, after all, not that great. Daily updates are possible but only if you shell out an additional $100 per month. Semrush Semrush updates rank-tracking info daily and notifies you of rank changes by email. In comparison, tracking only 500 keywords in the cheapest plan sounds a bit underwhelming. We won't repeat what we said already because its rank tracker works the same. Track your rankings with Semrush Even the information you get is very similar. However, Semrush includes cannibalization reports, which we always found welcome. Cannibalization is when two or more pages rank for the same keywords, so they "eat" each other and ruin their rankings. You can check that by clicking on "Cannibalization" but only if you have the Guru plan. In this Ahrefs vs Semrush analysis, the latter also locks some things behind the paywall. Luckily, Semrush comes with more information about positive and negative impact keywords. This metric shows you which keywords improved your SEO and which impacted it negatively. You'll also be able to check the website visibility by locations, alas, only in the Guru plan. Semrush's most expensive plan tracks 5,000 keywords, while Ahrefs offers 10,000. It's hard to decide who is a winner here, Semrush or Ahrefs. The latter tracks more keywords but has weekly updates. Worse yet, the price for daily updates goes up to $250/mo the more expensive your plan is. Semrush tracks fewer keywords but locks some crucial metrics behind the Guru plan. Now, we're getting into technical SEO. Which one to choose, Ahrefs or Semrush? Well, both tools have excellent site audits that highlight pressing issues and provide ways to resolve them. Semrush is a bit quicker for page crawling but that's a marginal difference. The point is that Semrush's interface looks a tad better, so everything is more readable. there's a site health score that displays the overall "state" of your website. You'll see errors, warnings, and notices right away. Errors must be fixed and are highlighted in red. Semrush lets you click on each error, explore its root cause, and be advised on how to fix it. In addition, parameters like site performance, crawlability, and core web vitals are there. The last one highlights how fast your website is, similar to Google Search Console. In our Semrush test, we highlighted how effective it was in this regard. It even analyzes your internal link distribution as another important metric. Ahrefs performed the same, detecting issues like slower loading times, non-indexed pages, and others. Visit Semrush website In addition, it includes the Structure Explorer tool that Semrush lacks. We used it to analyze how "distant" other pages to your home page are. This affects the UX negatively because the visitor will need lots of digging from your home page to find the specific page. You want to have the most important pages easily accessible from the home page, which Ahrefs' Structure Explorer aims to help with. On-Page SEO Checker Semrush comes with its on-page SEO checker that Ahrefs lacks. In our experience, it's been useful to detect page-specific problems. This tool goes a step further to include SEO strategy ideas, technical SEO ideas, semantic/content ideas, and SERP feature advice. It also displays the page's potential traffic. The on-page SEO checker also includes the top pages to optimize to achieve more traffic and rank higher. This was a useful metric in many of our analyses. Another notable service that includes on-page SEO tools is SE Ranking. Content Marketing Features Content marketing and management was never Ahrefs' strength and it lacks many features. Its Content Explorer tool is the closest you'll get to content marketing. It is, however, more suitable for obtaining new topic ideas and analyzing top-performing competitors. We don't say it isn't good. We used it frequently to find new topics based on the keywords. Ahrefs also displays low-competition topics that you can cover to boost your ranking from the bottom up if your website is new. Semrush can do the same and way more than that. An example would be the SEO Content Template tool. This tool helps discover LSI keywords and get advice on how long the article should be. Another tool called SEO Writing Assistant is extremely useful. It's like Grammarly on steroids. Apart from displaying grammar errors, it includes countless advice on keyword optimization, article structure, and technical SEO issues. Semrush's Topic Research comes in handy when you have no idea where to go next and want Semrush's advice on what to focus on. If you pay a bit more on top, you can use its ContentShake AI. This tool aids article creation through AI that generates text and images while taking care of necessary optimization. Semrush also includes a mighty App Center where you'll find tons of useful apps. All of these apps will boost Semrush's capabilities not only in terms of content marketing but in other aspects as well. This means Semrush is ahead of Ahrefs when it comes to content optimization, creation, and generation in our comparison. We can't complete this Ahrefs vs Semrush comparison without discussing their prices. As these are some of the best SEO tools you can buy, don't expect them to be cheap or free. However, it's good to know that Semrush has a free plan while Ahrefs doesn't. Ahrefs relies on 10+ free but basic SEO tools that you can delve into without registering. Semrush's free plan mimics the premium experience but with limited requests - about 10 daily and only a few tracked keywords. Okay, so what about the price? Ahrefs Ahrefs' cheapest plan sounds and looks the same as Semrush's equivalent. In our experience, this plan lacks some necessary features and won't be the best solution for more demanding users. No wonder some people see Semrush as an alternative to Ahrefs. The problem with Ahrefs is its credit system. It plagues the experience by increasing the cost of the service with the usage. To simplify things, the service charges you 1 credit for every action - opening a report, for example. The cheapest plan comes with 500 credits. This translates to 500 monthly actions, after which, you're screwed. You can buy more credits if you run dry but again, that costs more - 500 credits for $50. The Standard plan offers unlimited credits but costs $208 a month or way over $2,400 a year. You at least get 2 free months on top of each annual plan. Do you want daily rank tracker updates too? Well, that's an additional $1,200 annually. Ahrefs has no free trial either, so your decision to buy it must be rock-solid. If not... well, imagine your revolt if you end up not liking it. Poor you. Semrush Semrush's price isn't perfect by any means. The Basic plan at $108.33 a month for the annual plan isn't the cheapest either. However, there are no credits and you can open reports and do whatever you want without errors. Granted, this plan tracks 500 words, less than Ahrefs. On the other hand, Semrush's Basic plan still includes many features we mentioned in this Ahrefs vs Semrush comparison. On top of that, Semrush has a coupon that grants you a 17% discount for annual plans and you get a 14-day free trial, so you pay nothing at the start. The downside of this service is that all plans are for single users. If you want additional users, you'll have to pay at least $40 for each, which can easily bump up the price. The Guru plan is Semrush's magnum opus and likely the best possible choice to get everything you want. Get the best Semrush deal At just over $200, it's a far better choice than Ahrefs' Standard plan. The service includes many optional extras that will undoubtedly cost more. We discussed them in our review of Semrush. So, value-wise, we think this is a better pick. Considering it won most of the categories of our Semrush vs Ahrefs duel, yet, it's priced relatively similarly, our opinion is justified. Ahrefs' value is brought down by a sudden price increase through the credit system and the lack of a free plan/free trial. Customer Support We have nothing to complain about on the customer support front. Both support teams are helpful and will be there for you when things go south. Honestly, things won't go south unless you're confused or don't get around their apps well. If this happens, live chat support will pick you up. Use the live chat widget, provide your email/username, and ask the question. Both services have amazing response times of just around a minute and they're more than helpful in resolving pressing matters. On-site support is fantastic. Both tools offer how-to guides, FAQs, and other self-help means. A pretty nice experience on both sides. Conclusion: Semrush Is Better Than Ahrefs Everything we said so far led us to this conclusion and the opinion that Semrush beats Ahrefs. Now, this isn't a knockout by any means because Ahrefs punches back in many categories too. Both tools are almost neck-and-neck but Semrush often has an edge by offering slightly more data and features. We discovered it provides more accurate backlink information. It's also a solid tool for keyword research because of the Keyword Magic Tool. However, Ahrefs and its keyword suggestions were more than useful. Other categories mostly belong to Semrush. Site audits, link building, and even content marketing are more streamlined in Semrush too. Ultimately, we can't say you'll go wrong with Ahrefs. Millions of users who enjoy it wouldn't agree with us. In our experience, Semrush is a tad better at the end of the day. If you want to test it without losing money, let us remind you of its 14-day free trial. Additionally, users who aim for a long-term commitment will be granted a 17% price reduction for any of the three annual plans, right after the free trial period ends.
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SE Ranking Review 2024: Is this Affordable SEO Tool Any Good?
If you're looking to step up your SEO strategy, this SE Ranking review might scratch your itch. Using a reliable SEO tool is mandatory in 2024. This tool is characterized by affordable prices, powerful SEO features, and top-tier keyword research. Moreover, many people use it to track their website ranking and monitor the website's overall performance. SE Ranking is often overshadowed by superior options - Semrush is one of them. However, we discovered that this tool shouldn't be neglected. Our team has been using this software for well over a few years now. For this SE Ranking review for 2024, we tested it once again to bring you our "updated" thoughts on it and see how well it performs in all aspects, including SEO, content marketing, and many others. Getting Started With SE Ranking At the start of our SE Ranking test, we'll discuss the start-up process, which is pretty simple. The service offers a few subscription plans that you can check using the button below. Select one, subscribe to it, and you're all set. SE Ranking greets you with its splendid interface. As you can see, it looks gorgeous, and while it packs features, it's simpler than, let's say, Semrush. Some users complain about Semrush's slightly intimidating interface. Visit SE Ranking website Nevertheless, SE Ranking lets you add the website to get the machine started. Click on "Add Website." During the setup process, you can also select the keywords to track and even your preferred search engine. In our SE Ranking review, we discovered it supports: After everything is set up, it'll take a while for the app to gather information. The more keywords you add, the more it'll take for everything to start. Regardless, that's a 5-minute process. SE Ranking displays everything clearly, which is a huge plus. The menu on the left houses its features that we'll discuss in a minute in this SE Ranking test. The other portion of the screen is for graphs and other relevant information. Speaking of that, SE Ranking heavily relies on graphics instead of walls of raw text/data like Moz Pro. It'll undoubtedly ensure your first impression is spot-on, dragging you down into its vortex and making every SEO analysis enjoyable. Review of SE Ranking Features Being an all-around SEO tool, SE Ranking isn't shy when it comes to features. It offers some basic ones and some advanced tools you won't find in all of its competitors. After trying out and testing all of them, here's what we think about these features. Competitive Research Competitive Research is the first one you'll see. It's great for analyzing your competitors and seeing how they perform to improve your SEO accordingly. You can discover things like domain trust, page trust, organic traffic, the number of keywords, and so on. Analyze your competitors with SE Ranking SE Ranking divulges even paid traffic and keywords along with total traffic cost. We like that it displays traffic distribution by country, which signals where the competitor you're analyzing is popular. Scrolling down a bit will show you graphs of the said parameters. You'll see how the competitor's traffic, keywords, and other factors changed over the year or more. SE Ranking displays organic keywords and those that have improved, decreased, or are new or lost. Another feature we like is Intent - also found in Semrush. It displays the intent behind the search for keywords. It can be informational, navigational, commercial, local, and transactional. SERP features can also be discovered, such as reviews, featured snippets, videos, site links, and many others. SE Ranking's paid traffic research is basic compared to Semrush. However, there's a Competitor Comparison where you can compare up to 2 websites to the analyzed domain. This is your Keyword Gap tool where you'll find out more about competitors' keywords. Common, missing, and unique keywords can be found promptly. From here, you can implement some of them and see if you can rank higher than your rivals. Keyword Research What about keyword research? Is SE Ranking efficient enough? The answer is a resounding YES. After providing the tool with the search term, you'll be greeted by an in-depth analysis of its difficulty, search volume, CPC, global volume, keyword ideas, intent, and so forth. Search for new keywords with SE Ranking Its difficulty score is accurate enough and reflects the real-world situation. In some scenarios, it's too mild, so obviously "hard" keywords become a tad "easier" in SE Ranking's eyes. The tool will inform you if the keyword is "doable" and if not, you'll basic advice on how to rank for it. Keyword suggestions are handy as well. During our test of SE Ranking, we discovered a heap of them by visiting detailed keyword idea reports. You'll find similar and related phrases, as well as keyword-related questions. Each detailed report contains more information. These include search volumes, trends, difficulty, and intent. Trends are especially valuable because they show you how popular the keyword was in the previous months. Organic results can also be found for the given keyword as they appear in Google SERPs. Finally, we'll briefly mention its Ads History. For every keyword you analyze, you'll find Ads History that displays popular ads for it. However, this feature isn't available in every plan, so if you're into PPC Advertising, you'll have to invest a bit more in SE Ranking. Keyword Manager After trying out the Keyword Manager, we found it's decent but not overly useful. It allows you to create bespoke keyword lists and manage them in multiple ways. Those lists can be exported to XLS or updated with new keywords. You can add a list, name it, and then enter your keywords into them. Now, you can track each keyword and keep it under your watchful eye. Nothing too exciting, really. Keyword Grouper The Keyword Grouper is slightly more interesting. It allows you to craft keyword clusters and group keywords based on their SERP similarity. Grouping accuracy is determined by you, from 1 to 9, and after entering the keywords, SE Ranking will promptly do the job. Now, the downside is that you'll pay $0.004 per query and if you're checking search volumes for each, that's an additional $0.005. Index Status Checker There's a nifty little feature called Index Status Checker that we tested in our SE Ranking analysis. It tells you if the page has been indexed by Google, Yahoo, or Bing. Again, it's paid additionally for some reason, so each check-up will cost $0.005. You can do the same for free in Google Search Console, so what's the point? If you're looking to rank higher on Yahoo and Bing, however, this tool will be more valid. Website Audits So let's discuss website audits in our in-depth review of SE Ranking. After trying out this function multiple times, we can only praise it. The amount of data you get is unreal - from the health score to core web vitals, domain metrics, page indexation, page depth, and many others. We appreciate that SE Ranking highlights the most pressing issues first. Clicking on them displays the problems in-depth and the tool offers solutions to fix them. Moreover, you'll get more information about your links - external and internal. You'll see how many dofollow and nofollow links you have. Core web vitals can also be analyzed per device, so you can select from mobile or desktop options. Another handy feature is the On-Page SEO Checker, which analyzes individual pages. We've used this feature a lot in our SE Ranking test. It does a great job in this regard, pointing out the obvious qualities and flaws of each page. There's the Page Quality Score. You'll see things like indexing, internal links, page experience, external links, SERP features, and others. On the right, SE Ranking displays SEO tasks to improve the page. This can be used to increase your Google ranking or drive more traffic. For instance, we found that a few of our pages should be more unique. Some pages required minor fixes, such as adding the pages to the sitemap file or including keywords in the URL of the page. This stuff is easy to handle once you detect it. We found Semrush's On-Page SEO Checker slightly better, however. It displays things like semantic ideas, content ideas, and top-10 benchmarking. Still, our experience with SE Ranking was positive and its On-Page SEO Checker was useful in many situations. SE Ranking Link Building (Backlink) Features Right off the bat, you'll notice SE Ranking's backlink analysis. Frankly, this isn't the best tool for link building compared to Semrush. For one, it doesn't have a link-building tool that lets you directly contact websites and request a backlink. Second, it's great only for analysis. At least in this regard, the tool shines with a huge backlink database and plentiful information. Once you provide the link to the page, the interface will greet you with data like referring domains, backlinks, and anchor texts. We love the toxic backlink analysis, which tells you more about your backlink profile. Toxic backlinks decrease your SEO and make ranking higher slower. SE Ranking also displays your non-toxic backlinks, highlighting what you did well. Like Semrush or Mangools LinkMiner, this tool displays new and lost backlinks. We like the top backlink anchors menu, highlighting the most prominent backlinks on your site. SE Ranking lets you analyze pages individually and examine their backlink profile. In addition, we appreciate the ability to see the referring IP addresses of the backlinks. Finally, SE Ranking detects broken backlinks efficiently. This is another crucial factor that must be eliminated if you want to maximize your SEO scores. Backlink Gap Analyzer Our experience with SE Ranking led us to its Backlink Gap Analyzer which worked well for the most part. You can add up to 5 competitors and run the analysis to see which domains link to your competitors but not to your website. This function is overly simple and doesn't contain much information. Yes, you'll find all the referring domains and backlinks, which is handy. But Semrush is much better, offering the option to see weak, strong, shared, and unique backlinks. It also lets you access its link-building tool directly from here, as you can send the displayed prospects to it. As said, SE Ranking will "inadvertently" improve your backlink profile but not directly like Semrush, which is the #1 SEO tool in this case. SE Ranking has two excellent content management tools we tested. These tools are paramount for improving your content, ensuring better keyword optimization, and providing better readability to increase dwell time. Content Editor SE Ranking's Content Editor is the tool we liked a lot in our review. It lets you write articles directly or copy them to the empty page and let the tool analyze them. We love the fact that it's a full-fledged writing tool where you can format the article the way you want. Moreover, the right-hand side is handy for getting more info about the text. Under "Improvements", you'll see the content score based on factors like text length, headings, and used terms (keywords). SE Ranking will list the keywords you need to use too. The main keyword is displayed first and the software advises using it in the first 100 words, for example. In the Quality tab, you'll find metrics like your grammar, stop words, and punctuation. The readability score is also here, indicating how accessible your article is. Of course, SE Ranking lets you check for plagiarism, alas, only in more expensive plans. We'll address that later in our SE Ranking test. The Outline tab is also handy. It analyzes content structure, competitors, links, and keywords for a better overview of the article. Perhaps the most useful tool is the AI Writer, similar to the one found in Semrush. It lets you generate content based on your needs. For instance, we like its FAQ Section option. We used it to fill our guides with answers to frequently asked questions. In addition, AI Writer supports a few tones of voice, such as conversational, authoritative, informational, and a few others. Its AI Writer goes a long way in creating bespoke content without hassle, which can be helpful for faster, yet more efficient content creation. Content Idea Finder This feature is exactly what it sounds like. We discovered its usefulness when brainstorming content ideas for our few websites. To use it, you need to enter the seed keyword and select the country you're aiming for. SE Ranking will then create so-called clusters. These clusters contain keywords based on the seed keyword you provided. For the "SEO Software" seed keyword, there's an "SEO Engine Optimization" cluster. When we click on it, we get numerous cluster ideas with their CPC, difficulty, volume, and competition. Clicking on Titles gives you ideas you can use to title your article - as you can see below, they're pretty sensical and good-looking. For a more graphical explanation, SE Ranking includes the Mind Map of clusters you generate. In the middle is your seed keyword, while the lines originating from the center are clusters. Clicking on one displays cluster keywords on the right and lets you explore the possible titles. In terms of content management, SE Ranking did a splendid job in our analysis. However, it's still a tad underwhelming compared to Semrush. Semrush includes the SEO Content Template, which comes with data like semantically related words, advised backlinks, the readability score you should aim for, and the needed word count for the given term. Local Marketing SE Ranking offers excellent Local Marketing that aids the improvement of local SEO. It's a great Ahrefs alternative in this regard, based on our experience with both. We found it pretty simple to use. You can target multiple locations, again, depending on your subscription. You can choose from 1 to 50 locations from $7 to $181 a month respectively. Local Marketing is an optional add-on, so if you don't need it, you don't have to pay for it. If you do, you can add a location and track your ranking in it. Furthermore, we like the Local Marketing Audit tool. It gives you a score and displays possible issues that harm your local SEO. SE Ranking can also track your Google Business Profile and display views, searches by keywords, and total searches. We love that you can see Search and Google Maps views from desktop and mobile platforms separately. If you have a phone line, you can even examine the number of phone calls and messages over a specific period. Reviews can also be tracked. You'll see the reviews from Google, Facebook, and other websites. SE Ranking shows all of them, with the rating date, and the review content. It'll display if you've answered the review as well, ensuring you're always in touch with your customers, which adds to your local SEO. SE Ranking Pricing: How Much Does It Cost? Unlike Semrush and Mangools, SE Ranking doesn't have a free plan - quite a shame. Perhaps, you could read our free SEO tools guide if you have no money to pay. Discover SE Ranking's offers However, SE Ranking is very affordable, and in this review, we'll see it costs way less than its many rivals. The Essential plan starts at $44/mo for the annual plan, so it's super affordable. To remind you - Semrush starts at over $100/mo! The Essential plan buys you 1 user seat and up to 5 projects. It includes almost all tools from this review of SE Ranking. However, it lacks API access and historical data on domains and keywords. Its Agency Pack, which includes white label reporting and lead generator, can't be purchased. The best-value plan is in the middle. It's a Pro plan at $87.2/mo for the annual deal. It excludes API access but includes everything else. Local Marketing can be bought and so can the Agency Pack, which can only be paid manually a whopping $600! The Pro plan analyzes 2,000 to 3,500 keywords daily compared to the Essential plan with 750 keywords. Finally, there's the Business plan at $191.2/mo. Instead of 3 user seats in the Pro plan, it allows for 5 seats and unlimited projects. It can also track from 5,000 to 15,000 keywords daily, in which case, the price increases to $456/mo. Price Review of Other Features SE Ranking's monthly plans are there if you don't want to commit for a year. However, they're 20% more expensive per month, so they're likely not an option. As said in this SE Ranking review, the service includes a few optional extras. For instance, its Content Editor is always paid extra and costs from $29/mo to $99/mo, while the Content Idea Finder is a standard feature. The price of the Content Editor depends on several factors displayed below. The Agency Pack, as said, costs $600 annually and it's the only way of paying for it. An upfront payment of $600 is significant and we dislike the lack of monthly payments for it. If you need to work on your local SEO, here are the packages: We also mentioned in this in-depth review that the service charges you extra for some features. These include Keyword Grouper, Parameter Checker, Index Status Checker, Search Engine Autocomplete, and Search Volume Checker. These features cost from $0.001 to $0.005 per query/request/keyword/URL. SE Ranking has a 14-day free trial without a credit card. However, the service is non-refundable, which isn't a deal breaker considering a generous free trial for testing purposes. SE Ranking Pros SE Ranking Cons Verdict After testing SE Ranking extensively for years, we can conclude it's one of the best SEO tools to try out. It has plenty of things going for it and is more adorable than many of its rivals. SE Ranking is cheaper than Semrush but not better. It is, however, a close second, which is great. This tool works well for many purposes. Competitive research, keyword analysis, content marketing, and local SEO - all of these will be covered by this tool. With an easy-to-use interface and flexible pricing, we think you'll end up more satisfied than you expect. Its downsides are minor, especially at this price point. If you want more advanced features and SEO-related data, consider using our Semrush coupon. If you're an average or even slightly above average user, we're confident that SE Ranking will be sufficient.
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A comprehensive comparison of popular SEO tools Ahrefs, SEMrush, and SE Ranking, highlighting their features, strengths, and potential use cases for digital marketers and website owners.
In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools have become indispensable for businesses and marketers aiming to improve their online visibility. Among the plethora of options available, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and SE Ranking have emerged as popular choices, each offering unique features and capabilities 1.
Ahrefs has built a reputation as a powerhouse for backlink analysis and competitor research. Its extensive backlink database and robust site explorer tool allow users to dive deep into their own and competitors' link profiles. The platform also offers keyword research capabilities, content gap analysis, and rank tracking features, making it a comprehensive solution for SEO professionals 1.
SEMrush positions itself as an all-in-one marketing toolkit, extending beyond just SEO. While it offers strong keyword research and competitor analysis tools, SEMrush also provides features for content marketing, social media management, and paid advertising. Its domain overview and traffic analytics tools give users a holistic view of their online presence and that of their competitors 1.
SE Ranking has been gaining traction as a more affordable alternative to its more established counterparts. Despite its lower price point, SE Ranking offers a comprehensive suite of SEO tools, including keyword rank tracking, competitor analysis, and backlink monitoring. The platform also provides white-label reporting features, making it an attractive option for agencies and freelancers 2.
When it comes to keyword research, all three tools offer robust capabilities. Ahrefs and SEMrush are known for their extensive keyword databases, while SE Ranking provides a good balance of data and user-friendly interface. For backlink analysis, Ahrefs is often considered the industry leader, but SEMrush and SE Ranking also offer competent backlink tools 1 2.
Pricing is a crucial factor in choosing an SEO tool. Ahrefs and SEMrush are generally considered premium options, with higher price points reflecting their extensive features and data. SE Ranking, on the other hand, offers more budget-friendly plans, making it an attractive option for small businesses and individual marketers 2.
The user interface and learning curve can significantly impact the adoption of an SEO tool. SEMrush is known for its intuitive interface and comprehensive educational resources, making it accessible to beginners. Ahrefs, while powerful, may require more time to master fully. SE Ranking strikes a balance with its user-friendly design and straightforward functionality 1 2.
Selecting the most suitable SEO tool depends on individual needs, budget, and expertise level. Ahrefs might be the go-to choice for advanced SEO professionals focusing on backlink strategies. SEMrush could be ideal for businesses looking for an all-encompassing marketing solution. SE Ranking presents itself as a cost-effective option for those seeking a balance between functionality and affordability 1 2.
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