Indexes and Terms in Ahrefs that SEOers Need to Know

In the SEO world, Ahrefs has become an indispensable tool for experts to optimize websites and analyze competitors. With a rich set of metrics and terms, Ahrefs provides in-depth insights into website performance, from tracking traffic to analyzing backlinks. Important metrics such as Domain Rating (DR), URL Rating (UR), and Organic Traffic not only help evaluate the strength of a website but also provide valuable information for SEO strategies. In this article, let's explore with Sadesign the basic metrics and terms that any SEOer needs to understand when working with Ahrefs.

1. Keyword Difficulty (KD)

Keyword Difficulty is one of the most important concepts in SEO that you need to understand. Measured on a scale of 1 to 100, this metric indicates how competitive a keyword is to achieve a top 10 position on Google. When you look up a keyword on Ahrefs, the difficulty is displayed immediately, giving you an overview of the competitiveness in the market.

However, many people still do not understand how to analyze this difficulty. For example, if you see the keyword "old laptop in Ho Chi Minh City" has a difficulty of over 40, this is not just a number. It reflects that you will need a solid SEO strategy, maybe dozens or hundreds of backlinks to be able to compete. But remember, the perception of difficulty depends on each person's experience and ability. One person may think that 1,000 backlinks are needed, while another person thinks that just a few are enough.

The most important thing is not to rely too much on the Keyword Difficulty metric. It is just one of many factors to consider when doing SEO. Experience and real-world analysis are the factors that determine your success. Use this number as a guide, but don’t let it completely determine your SEO strategy.

2. Organic Keywords/ Organic Traffic/ Organic Search

When you enter any URL into Ahrefs, you will get detailed information about Organic Keywords, Organic Traffic, and Organic Search. Organic Keywords are the natural keywords that your website uses to attract free traffic from search engines. These are the keywords that help you appear in the top 100 of Google without having to pay for advertising.

If you see that a URL has 592 Organic Keywords, it means that your website has successfully optimized for 592 keywords and is now listed in Google search. However, keep in mind that Organic Keywords are not everything. You need to consider Organic Traffic, which is the amount of traffic these keywords bring to your website. This is an estimate based on data from Ahrefs, but it is not an exact figure.

Organic Search is a section that displays graphs that depict the movement of your organic traffic and organic keyword volume. Through these graphs, you can track your SEO performance over time and make necessary adjustments to your strategy. Regular monitoring is important to ensure that you are on the right track in your website optimization journey.

3. What is Anchor Text?

Anchor Text is an important factor in SEO that you cannot ignore. It is a phrase containing a link leading to a page on your website or on another website. Using Anchor Text properly will contribute significantly to SEO optimization and improve the website's ranking on search engines. However, if you over-optimize, you may be penalized by Google, so you need to be careful.

When checking Anchor Text, you can use tools like Ahrefs to track links and their density. Here, you will see columns detailing Anchor Text, Referring Domains, and dofollow. Of these, the dofollow column is the most important, as Google only counts Anchor Text from dofollow links in your site’s rankings. This means you need to pay attention to how you build links to ensure they are natural and effective.

Another important thing to note is Anchor Text density. Google will only consider the first Anchor Text it sees in a link. If you use multiple Anchor Texts for the same URL, only the first Anchor Text will count towards the density. Therefore, choosing keywords for Anchor Text is very important, helping you optimize better and avoid possible penalties from Google.

4. What is UR?

UR, or URL Rating, is an important SEO metric used by Ahrefs to measure the strength of a particular URL based on the backlinks it has received. It is rated on a scale of 1 to 100, with higher values ​​indicating the strength and trustworthiness of that URL. Understanding UR will give you more insight into a website’s ability to rank on Google.

When analyzing a URL, UR indicates how much competition the URL is facing in achieving a high position in search engines. This means that if a website has a high UR, its chances of ranking in the top search results will also be higher. However, it is important to note that UR is not the only factor that determines rankings. Other factors such as content quality, on-page optimization, and user engagement also play an important role.

One thing to note is that UR is largely dependent on off-page factors, i.e. backlinks pointing to that URL, rather than on-page factors such as the content or structure of the page. Therefore, building a quality backlink strategy is essential to increase UR and improve your ability to rank on Google.

5. Domain Rating (DR)

Domain Rating (DR) is another metric developed by Ahrefs that reflects the strength and trustworthiness of an entire domain. Like UR, DR is also rated on a scale of 1 to 100. However, DR looks at the entire website and not just at a specific URL. This metric gives you a general idea of ​​the strength of the domain you are analyzing.

While DR is a useful metric, it is less accurate than UR in assessing a website’s Google ranking. This is because DR indicates the overall strength of the entire domain, while UR focuses on the strength of individual URLs. This means that you can still outrank high DR websites if you have a good quality backlink strategy.

When implementing an SEO strategy, getting backlinks from sites with high DR will help increase the credibility of your website. DR is one of the important indicators that you should consider when planning to build links from forums, blog comments, or guest posts. Remember, an effective backlink strategy does not only rely on DR but also needs to consider UR to ensure the best quality.

6. What are Referring Domains?

Referring Domains is a metric that shows the number of different domains that link to your website. This is an important factor in SEO, because each referring domain can bring value and authority to your website through backlinks. The number of Referring Domains will tell you the popularity and recognition your website receives from external sources.

In SEO, having a lot of quality Referring Domains is very important, because it not only helps to increase the trust of the website but can also improve the ranking in search results. However, not only the quantity but also the quality of the referring domains is very important. A backlink from a highly authoritative website will be much more valuable than many backlinks from untrustworthy websites.

To optimize Referring Domains, you should build diverse and quality backlink strategies, such as guest posting, collaborating with bloggers, or participating in forums related to your industry. By doing this, you not only increase Referring Domains but also build a reputable network that will support the development of your website in the long run.

7. What is Ahrefs Rank (AR)?

Ahrefs Rank (AR) is an important metric in the SEO ecosystem, allowing you to evaluate the ranking of websites in the Ahrefs database. This metric is determined based on the size and quality of the backlink profile that the website receives. The more quality backlinks, the higher the DR of the website, and the closer the AR will be to the top 1 position. This means that AR is an indicator that reflects the overall strength of a website in the competitive landscape on the Internet.

Currently, major sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube top the AR rankings, with Facebook having the strongest backlink profile. This proves that not only the quantity but also the quality of backlinks plays a major role in determining a site’s ranking position. Regularly monitoring AR can help you identify the top competing sites in your industry and adjust your backlink strategy accordingly.

However, it is important to note that AR is not an absolute metric. While it provides a general overview of a website’s strength, it cannot assess all the factors that influence SEO rankings. Therefore, AR should be used in conjunction with other metrics to get a more comprehensive view of your SEO performance.

8. Keyword Search Volume

Keyword Search Volume is a metric that shows the average monthly searches for a target keyword in a given country. This is valuable information for any SEO strategy, as it helps you understand user search needs and tailor your content accordingly. In Google Keyword Planner, this metric is called "Avg. monthly searches".

It’s important to note that Search Volume represents the number of times a keyword is searched, not the number of actual users searching. This means that a keyword may be searched by many people, but not all of them are new. Another important point is that this metric represents a monthly “average,” which can be affected by seasonal factors. For example, the keyword “Christmas gifts” will have a high search volume in December and a low search volume in January.

When you look up Search Volume, keep in mind that it can vary by location. Therefore, it is important to check for different regions like the US, Australia, or Vietnam to get more accurate data. Ahrefs provides detailed information on Search Volume by country, giving you a clearer view of market demand.

9. Return Rate (RR)

Return Rate (RR) is a metric that shows how often someone searches for the same keyword over a 30-day period. This metric can help you better understand user search behavior and adjust your content strategy accordingly. An RR of 1 means that people typically don’t search for that keyword again within 30 days, while RR2 and RR3 indicate that the keyword tends to be searched for more often.

For example, the keyword “world cup” has an RR of 2.8, while “bitcoin price” has an RR of 2.7. This shows that users search for these keywords with roughly the same frequency. However, both are lower than the keyword “Facebook” which has a high RR of 3.7. This shows that more people are searching for “Facebook” frequently, rather than just typing the URL directly into the search bar.

Tracking your Return Rate allows you to tailor your content and keywords to better match the actual needs of your users. This way, you can improve your ability to attract and retain visitors to your website, thereby improving your overall SEO performance.

10. Clicks

In today's SEO world, "Clicks" have become one of the most important factors in evaluating the effectiveness of search campaigns. With the development of features like "quick answers" on Google, the gap between the number of searches and the number of clicks on results has increased. This means that not all searches result in a user clicking on a link.

For example, when users search for “Donald Trump age”, there are over 112,000 searches per month. However, the number of clicks on the search results is only around 17,000. This shows that many people may have gotten the information they needed directly from the featured snippets that Google provides, without having to click on any links. This is becoming a common trend, as Google tries to provide users with quick and accurate information without them having to leave the search results page.

In contrast, for questions like “which washing machine brand should I buy,” users tend to click on multiple results to get opinions from multiple sources. As a result, the number of clicks for this keyword is significantly higher than the number of actual searches. This reflects the need to seek deeper information and consult multiple sources before making a decision.

11. Cost Per Click (CPC)

Cost Per Click (CPC) is an important metric in online advertising, showing the average cost for each click on an ad related to a specific keyword. This metric not only helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your advertising campaign but also determines the budget you need to prepare for PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns.

CPC is a dynamic number that can change rapidly depending on the behavior of other advertisers. When more people bid on a keyword, the cost per click can increase. Conversely, if fewer advertisers are interested in that keyword, the CPC can decrease. This means that to optimize your advertising budget, you need to constantly monitor and adjust your strategy.

In addition, CPC also reflects the level of competition of keywords in the market. Keywords with high CPC are often valuable keywords and have the potential to bring high profits to businesses. Therefore, researching and choosing the right keywords not only helps you save costs but also optimizes the effectiveness of online advertising campaigns.

13. Conclusion

Understanding the metrics and terminology in Ahrefs not only helps SEOers evaluate website performance but also create more effective optimization strategies. In the context of an increasingly competitive environment, using information from Ahrefs to orient and adjust SEO strategies is extremely necessary. Always update and apply these metrics intelligently to improve website rankings and optimize user experience.