Is the New Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) Free?

Google's search engine optimization (SEO) landscape is crowded with various tools designed to help website owners improve their online visibility. Among these, Ahrefs stands out as one of the most comprehensive options available. Recently, Ahrefs introduced its Webmaster Tools (AWT) with a free tier, offering website owners a range of valuable features. In this article, we will explore whether these tools are truly free and what benefits they provide.

The Free Access

Despite the new Ahrefs Webmaster Tools claim to be free, it’s important to understand the extent of the free access. Initially, website owners receive free limited access to Site Explorer and Site Audit. This means that while the platform remains a paid service, users can still gain significant insights and benefits from the free tier.

Monitoring Your SEO Health

1. Scan for SEO Issues

The first significant feature of AWT is the ability to scan your website for 100 common SEO issues that might negatively impact its performance in search engines. These scans include a range of areas such as broken links, slow loading pages, and missing titles and meta descriptions. By identifying these issues, website owners can take proactive steps to improve their website's health.

2. Fixing Issues and Monitoring Progress

AWT offers actionable advice on how to fix these issues, providing a step-by-step guide to improve your website’s SEO. Moreover, it allows you to monitor your website’s SEO health over time, ensuring that any improvements are sustained.

Understanding Your Backlinks

Browse Backlink Data

AWT provides a detailed view of your website’s backlink data, collected from the industry’s favorite third-party backlink crawler. This feature is crucial for understanding the quality and quantity of links pointing to your site. With a range of user-friendly reports and filters, you can easily navigate through your backlink profiles and discover patterns or anomalies.

Actionable Insights

The actionable insights provided by AWT can help you strategically improve your link profile. Whether you’re looking to identify low-quality backlinks to disavow or find opportunities to nurture high-quality backlinks, AWT offers the tools you need.

Keyword Analysis

One of the standout features of AWT is its ability to identify the keywords driving traffic to your website. Getting a better understanding of which keywords are performing well can help you optimize your content for better search engine rankings. The tool provides detailed metrics such as Search Volume, Keyword Difficulty, and Traffic Value, which are essential for informed decision-making.

Competitive Analysis

AWT also allows you to compare your keyword performance against that of your competitors. This feature is particularly useful for identifying areas where you can improve your SEO strategy. Understanding how your competitors are performing in the SERPs can provide valuable insights into market trends and opportunities.

Alternative Tools and Comparisons

Many website owners also use other tools like Ubersuggest from Neil Patel for keyword research. While Ubersuggest is fantastic for keyword ideas, it falls short in SEO site audits. Ubersuggest’s side audit is very slow and users can’t request crawling for free. In contrast, Ahrefs has a more robust crawling process that shows all link juices, providing a more comprehensive view of a website's backlink profile.

Search Console vs. Ubersuggest vs. AWT: While Google’s Search Console is free and essential for basic SEO monitoring, it may not provide all the advanced features that website owners need. Ubersuggest is excellent for initial keyword research, but AWT offers a broader scope for SEO management, including link analysis and keyword performance.

Given these factors, many website owners find that the combination of free AWT features plus other tools creates an unbeatable SEO toolkit. Ultimately, whether the new Ahrefs Webmaster Tools AWT is free depends on how you define 'free.' While you won’t have access to all premium features, the free tier provides significant value for website owners looking to improve their SEO performance.