Ahrefs Competition Research
- George Apostolov
Ahrefs Competition Research: step-by-step guide
Enter your competitor's domain into the Site Explorer.
You can see your competitor's Organic search traffic,Top organic keywords and Paid search traffic.
Click on Keywords to see your competitor's organic keywords.
This information can help you understand which keywords are driving the most traffic to your competitors.
Go to the Backlinks tab to explore the backlink profile of your competitor's website.
This will show you which websites are linking to them, the anchor text used, and the authority of those linking domains.
Navigate to the Top Pages tab.
Top pages tell you the pages driving the most traffic to your competitor's website.
Set up Rank Tracker for your competitor's domain to monitor their keyword rankings over time.
This will allow you to track their progress and identify any new keywords they are targeting.
The "Paid Search" tab in Site Explorer provides insights into their top paid keywords, ad copy, and landing pages.
Quick answer: To research competitors using Site Explorer, enter their domain to view organic traffic, keywords, and paid traffic. Click Keywords for organic search details, check the Backlinks tab for linking domains, and view Top Pages for high-traffic content. Use Rank Tracker to monitor rankings and the Paid Search tab for ad insights.
About this Ahrefs tutorial
Analyze competitor traffic, keywords, backlinks, and paid search strategies using Ahrefs Site Explorer and Rank Tracker. This guide covers ahrefs Competition Research in 11 steps, starting with "Enter your competitor's domain into the Site Explorer" and finishing with "The ' Paid Search' tab in Site Explorer provides insights into their top paid keywords,...". The interactive demo above is a click-through copy of the real Ahrefs interface, so you can rehearse each step before doing it in your own account.
Frequently asked questions
How many steps does ahrefs Competition Research take?
11 steps. Each one is listed in order above, and the demo highlights exactly where to click.
Can I try it without changing my own account?
Yes. Clicking through the demo doesn't touch your Ahrefs data or settings. Once you know the flow, repeat it in your own workspace.
This tutorial is filed under Ahrefs. Related guides: Ahrefs - Find Affiliate Websites, Ahrefs - Turn Off Email Reports and Ahrefs - Cancel Ahrefs Subscription. Last reviewed 05 Oct 2026.
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