Results 1 to 20 of 20
  1. #1
    casinoduende's Avatar
    casinoduende is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    August 2017
    Location
    Spain
    Posts
    99
    Thanks
    28
    Thanked 46 Times in 29 Posts

    Default Ahrefs backlink checker is a fraud tool?

    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?

    Name:  ahrefs casino a.jpg
Views: 485
Size:  14.9 KB
    Name:  ahrefs casino b.jpg
Views: 487
Size:  16.8 KB

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to casinoduende For This Useful Post:

    mediamanoz (24 February 2023)

  3. #2
    Randy Ray's Avatar
    Randy Ray is offline Public Member
    Join Date
    November 2016
    Location
    Denton, TX
    Posts
    62
    Thanks
    166
    Thanked 57 Times in 26 Posts

    Default

    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.
    Randy Ray

    A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao Tzu

  4. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Randy Ray For This Useful Post:

    casinoduende (9 July 2022), chaumi (9 July 2022), gm2891 (10 July 2022), mediamanoz (24 February 2023), statsdrone (11 July 2022)

  5. #3
    casinoduende's Avatar
    casinoduende is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    August 2017
    Location
    Spain
    Posts
    99
    Thanks
    28
    Thanked 46 Times in 29 Posts

    Default

    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!

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to casinoduende For This Useful Post:

    mediamanoz (24 February 2023)

  7. #4
    robyroy is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    March 2009
    Location
    Somewhere on this earth
    Posts
    234
    Thanks
    11
    Thanked 42 Times in 32 Posts

    Default

    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.

  8. #5
    gm2891's Avatar
    gm2891 is offline Public Member
    Join Date
    June 2018
    Location
    UK/Europe
    Posts
    286
    Thanks
    233
    Thanked 165 Times in 111 Posts

    Default

    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.

  9. #6
    baldidiot is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    January 2010
    Posts
    4,988
    Thanks
    427
    Thanked 2,272 Times in 1,511 Posts

    Default

    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.
    onlinegamblingwebsites.com - Formally known as goodbonusguide.

    Gambling Domains: Small clear out of some of the domains we've been hoarding on Dan - see the list here. Prices negotiable, and willing to swap for decent links.

  10. #7
    casinoduende's Avatar
    casinoduende is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    August 2017
    Location
    Spain
    Posts
    99
    Thanks
    28
    Thanked 46 Times in 29 Posts

    Default

    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?

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to casinoduende For This Useful Post:

    mediamanoz (24 February 2023)

  12. #8
    mickyfu is offline Public Member
    Join Date
    February 2013
    Posts
    728
    Thanks
    118
    Thanked 503 Times in 305 Posts

    Default

    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.

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to mickyfu For This Useful Post:

    universal4 (10 July 2022)

  14. #9
    statsdrone's Avatar
    statsdrone is offline Public Member
    Join Date
    January 2018
    Posts
    112
    Thanks
    34
    Thanked 37 Times in 23 Posts

    Default

    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.
    statsdrone.com - affiliate stats tracking tool
    Want to be featured in our affiliate interviews? Send a DM

  15. The Following User Says Thank You to statsdrone For This Useful Post:

    pokeraussie (11 July 2022)

  16. #10
    jack87's Avatar
    jack87 is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    July 2022
    Location
    Philippines
    Posts
    8
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post

    Default

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

  17. #11
    MichaelSchumann's Avatar
    MichaelSchumann is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    July 2021
    Location
    Berlin
    Posts
    57
    Thanks
    20
    Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts

    Default

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

  18. #12
    jocajoca's Avatar
    jocajoca is offline Brand New Member
    Join Date
    January 2023
    Location
    Casablanca
    Posts
    8
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    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

  19. #13
    AnnaAbram is offline Brand New Member
    Join Date
    July 2022
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    5
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

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

  20. #14
    Stanpopz is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    February 2023
    Location
    Portugal
    Posts
    5
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default

    There are few strong domains on Website B

  21. #15
    LowFlyingBird's Avatar
    LowFlyingBird is offline Sponsor Affiliate Program
    Join Date
    July 2018
    Posts
    200
    Thanks
    114
    Thanked 113 Times in 81 Posts

    Default

    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.

  22. The Following User Says Thank You to LowFlyingBird For This Useful Post:

    universal4 (23 February 2023)

  23. #16
    baldidiot is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    January 2010
    Posts
    4,988
    Thanks
    427
    Thanked 2,272 Times in 1,511 Posts

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by LowFlyingBird View Post
    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.
    onlinegamblingwebsites.com - Formally known as goodbonusguide.

    Gambling Domains: Small clear out of some of the domains we've been hoarding on Dan - see the list here. Prices negotiable, and willing to swap for decent links.

  24. #17
    edgarf76's Avatar
    edgarf76 is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    March 2013
    Location
    Montreal
    Posts
    2,184
    Thanks
    799
    Thanked 581 Times in 428 Posts

    Default

    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.

  25. #18
    Raúl Jimenez's Avatar
    Raúl Jimenez is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    March 2020
    Location
    Ukraine
    Posts
    54
    Blog Entries
    1
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked 13 Times in 11 Posts

    Default

    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

  26. #19
    edgarf76's Avatar
    edgarf76 is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    March 2013
    Location
    Montreal
    Posts
    2,184
    Thanks
    799
    Thanked 581 Times in 428 Posts

    Default

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

    Quote Originally Posted by Raúl Jimenez View Post
    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

  27. #20
    baldidiot is offline Private Member
    Join Date
    January 2010
    Posts
    4,988
    Thanks
    427
    Thanked 2,272 Times in 1,511 Posts

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Raúl Jimenez View Post
    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.
    onlinegamblingwebsites.com - Formally known as goodbonusguide.

    Gambling Domains: Small clear out of some of the domains we've been hoarding on Dan - see the list here. Prices negotiable, and willing to swap for decent links.

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •