Ahrefs for Organic Growth: Rank Higher, Faster

A Beginner’s Guide to Organic Growth Using Ahrefs

Want to build a brand that attracts customers naturally, without constantly shelling out for ads? That’s the promise of organic growth, a marketing strategy focused on earning attention. It’s about creating content and experiences that people genuinely want to engage with. But how do you actually do it? Can a tool really make it happen? I’ll show you how to use Ahrefs to create a data-driven plan for organic success. Ready to say goodbye to guessing and hello to real results?

Step 1: Setting Up Your Ahrefs Account and Project

Before we jump into tactics, let’s get Ahrefs set up. If you don’t have an account, head over to Ahrefs and choose a plan that fits your budget. They offer different tiers based on your needs, so compare them carefully. Once you’re in, the first thing you’ll want to do is create a project for your website. This allows Ahrefs to track your progress and provide tailored recommendations.

Creating a New Project

1. Navigate to the “Projects” tab on the top menu bar. You’ll see a list of your existing projects (if any).
2. Click the “Add New Project” button, located on the right side of the screen.
3. Enter your website’s URL in the provided field. Make sure to include the “https://” prefix if your site is secure.
4. Click “Add Project.” Ahrefs will then prompt you to verify ownership of your website. You can do this by uploading an HTML file to your server, adding a DNS record, or connecting your Google Search Console account. I recommend the Google Search Console method – it’s the easiest.

Pro Tip: Connect your Google Search Console account for the most accurate data. This gives Ahrefs access to valuable information about your website’s performance in Google search, including keyword rankings and click-through rates.

Common Mistake: Forgetting to verify website ownership. Without verification, Ahrefs can only provide limited data.

Expected Outcome: A verified project in Ahrefs, ready for analysis.

Step 2: Keyword Research with Keyword Explorer

Keyword research is the foundation of any successful organic growth strategy. You need to know what your target audience is searching for. Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer tool is perfect for this. Forget guessing what people want; let the data guide you. It’s located under the “Tools” dropdown menu.

Finding Relevant Keywords

1. Enter a broad topic related to your business into the Keyword Explorer search bar. For example, if you’re a personal injury lawyer in Atlanta, you might start with “car accident lawyer.”
2. Select your target country (e.g., “United States”). This ensures you’re seeing data relevant to your audience.
3. Click the “Explore” button.
4. Examine the “Keyword Ideas” report in the left-hand navigation. This report shows a list of related keywords, along with their search volume, keyword difficulty, and other metrics.
5. Pay close attention to the “KD” (Keyword Difficulty) score. This indicates how difficult it is to rank for a particular keyword. Aim for keywords with a KD score of 30 or lower when you’re just starting out.
6. Look for keywords with high search volume but relatively low KD scores. These are your “sweet spot” keywords – they have the potential to drive traffic without being too competitive.
7. Use the “Filters” option to narrow down your results. For example, you can filter by KD score, search volume, or word count.

Pro Tip: Look for long-tail keywords (phrases with three or more words). These keywords are often less competitive and more specific, making them easier to rank for. For instance, instead of “car accident lawyer,” try “car accident lawyer Buckhead Atlanta.” I had a client last year who completely transformed their organic traffic by focusing on long-tail keywords related to local neighborhoods.

Common Mistake: Targeting keywords that are too competitive. It’s better to start with less competitive keywords and gradually work your way up to more challenging ones.

Expected Outcome: A list of 10-20 relevant keywords with manageable KD scores.

Editorial Aside: Don’t get hung up on chasing the perfect keyword. Sometimes “good enough” is better, especially when you’re just starting.

Step 3: Competitor Analysis with Site Explorer

Want to know what your competitors are doing right? Ahrefs’ Site Explorer tool lets you peek behind the curtain and see their organic traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks. It’s like having a secret weapon.

Analyzing Competitor Websites

1. Identify 2-3 of your main competitors. These should be websites that rank well for the keywords you’re targeting.
2. Enter each competitor’s URL into the Site Explorer search bar.
3. Review the “Organic Keywords” report. This shows the keywords that your competitor is ranking for, along with their position, search volume, and traffic estimates.
4. Pay attention to the keywords that are driving the most traffic to your competitor’s website. These are likely high-value keywords that you should also be targeting.
5. Examine the “Top Pages” report. This shows the pages on your competitor’s website that are generating the most organic traffic. This can give you ideas for content that you can create on your own website.
6. Look at the “Backlinks” report to see where your competitor is getting their backlinks from. This can help you identify potential link-building opportunities for your own website.

Pro Tip: Don’t just copy your competitors. Use their strategies as inspiration, but always strive to create content that is better, more informative, and more engaging.

Common Mistake: Getting discouraged by competitor rankings. Remember that organic growth is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep creating high-quality content and building backlinks, and you’ll eventually see results.

Expected Outcome: A clear understanding of your competitors’ organic strategies and potential content gaps.

Step 4: On-Page SEO Audit with Site Audit

Technical SEO can be a real headache, but it’s essential for organic growth. Ahrefs’ Site Audit tool crawls your website and identifies any technical issues that may be hindering your search engine rankings. Think of it as a health check for your website. It’s available under the “Tools” dropdown, next to Keyword Explorer.

Running a Site Audit

1. Navigate to the “Site Audit” tool and select your project.
2. Click the “Start New Crawl” button.
3. Configure the crawl settings. You can customize the crawl scope, speed, and other parameters. For most websites, the default settings are fine.
4. Click “Start Crawl.” Ahrefs will then begin crawling your website and analyzing its technical SEO.
5. Once the crawl is complete, review the “Overview” report. This provides a summary of the key issues that were found, such as broken links, missing title tags, and slow page speed.
6. Click on each issue to see a detailed report and recommendations for fixing it.

Pro Tip: Prioritize fixing the most critical issues first, such as broken links and missing title tags. These issues can have a significant impact on your search engine rankings. We ran into this exact issue at my previous firm; fixing some simple broken links immediately boosted our rankings for several key terms.

Common Mistake: Ignoring technical SEO. Even if you have great content, technical issues can prevent your website from ranking well.

Expected Outcome: A comprehensive report of technical SEO issues and a plan for fixing them.

Here’s what nobody tells you: Technical SEO is an ongoing process. You should regularly run site audits to identify and fix new issues as they arise.

Step 5: Content Creation and Promotion

Now that you have your keywords and a technically sound website, it’s time to create amazing content. Content marketing is the heart of organic growth. But simply publishing blog posts isn’t enough. You need to promote your content to get it in front of your target audience.

Creating High-Quality Content

• Write blog posts, create videos, design infographics, or develop any other type of content that is relevant to your target audience and addresses their needs.
• Optimize your content for your target keywords. Use your keywords in your title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and body copy.
• Make sure your content is well-written, informative, and engaging.
• Include visuals, such as images and videos, to break up the text and make your content more appealing.
• Promote your content on social media, email, and other channels.

Building Backlinks

• Reach out to other websites in your industry and ask them to link to your content.
• Guest post on other websites.
• Participate in online communities and forums.
• Create valuable resources that other websites will want to link to.

Pro Tip: Focus on creating evergreen content – content that remains relevant and valuable over time. This type of content will continue to drive traffic to your website for years to come. A IAB report found that evergreen content generates 3x more leads than traditional marketing campaigns.

Common Mistake: Creating content without a clear strategy. Before you start writing, ask yourself: What problem am I solving? Who is my target audience? What keywords am I targeting?

Expected Outcome: A steady stream of high-quality content that attracts organic traffic and builds brand authority.

## Step 6: Tracking and Measuring Your Results

Finally, it’s important to track and measure your results. This will help you see what’s working and what’s not, so you can adjust your strategy accordingly. Ahrefs provides several tools for tracking your organic growth, including the Rank Tracker and the Organic Traffic report.

### Monitoring Your Progress

1. Use the Rank Tracker to monitor your keyword rankings over time. This will help you see how your content is performing in search results.
2. Use the Organic Traffic report to track the amount of organic traffic your website is receiving. This will help you see the overall impact of your organic growth efforts.
3. Analyze your website’s analytics data to see which pages are generating the most traffic and leads. This will help you identify your most successful content and strategies.
4. Use Ahrefs’ Alerts feature to stay informed about important changes to your website, such as new backlinks or keyword ranking fluctuations.

Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things. The world of SEO is constantly changing, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices. A Nielsen study showed that companies that constantly test and optimize their marketing campaigns see a 20% increase in ROI.

Common Mistake: Not tracking your results. If you don’t know what’s working, you can’t improve your strategy.

Expected Outcome: A clear understanding of your organic growth performance and data-driven insights for improving your strategy.

Organic growth isn’t a magic bullet, but with the right tools and content optimization, you can build a sustainable stream of traffic to your website. The key is to be patient, data-driven, and always learning. So, what are you waiting for? Start using Ahrefs today and unlock the power of organic growth!