Ahrefs vs SEMrush vs MOZ: vs Yoast = Which SEO Tool Should You Use?

thecontractman

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Messages
168
Reaction score
41
Hi,

I currently have 'PRO' accounts with Ahrefs v+ SEMrush + MOZ and err .......Yoast .... they send me weekly newsletters and I must admit I read them and they are somewhat enlighting and informative, in the main part. if you can get past the self-congratulatory noise!!!!!.... please let me know and the BHW brethren.. who do you think is kicking ass in the SEO tool department in October 2021.... many thanks ... Paul TheContractMan.
 
Yoast isn't mentionable with the others...
Most guys talk a lot about Ahrefs like it's the greatest thing ever, but the fact of the matter is that DA/PA is still the universal standard of domain metrics.
It depends on your use-case, because Ahrefs has a great keyword utility, for example, and supposedly a larger database, but Moz also has some features that Ahrefs doesn't have.

With Ahrefs, you can see quantity of keywords ranking in the top 100, for example, and they have traffic estimations, and a great viewable for various metrics in the same on-screen spreadsheet.
Moz, on the otherhand, has a Spam score, which Ahrefs doesn't even offer, and the UI is sort-of broken-up into sections, which isn't as good as how Ahrefs lets you view everything.
Moz has the core things that you need, like spam score, top 50 rankings, DA/PA, Referring Domains and Total Links, but it's missing a lot of the granular metrics that Ahrefs offers.
Moz Spam Score for Ahrefs.png

I'm tempted to say that Spamzilla is better than all of them, simply because you can view multiple metrics from the same dash, but the scale is also very low, although the price is much lower, as well.
DomDetailer is a cheap solution for basic metrics from Moz and Majestic, but you don't get a spam score or keywords ranking, which I think are essential metrics for link-building.

SEMrush is overpriced, but it's got great features for looking at traffic, and analyzing competitors.
It's more of a suite of tools for marketing, rather than just focusing on SEO, though.
Majestic has a great way of presenting their core metrics, which I think is more insightful than the other core metrics, frankly, but without spam score or ranking keywords, none of them can be viewed by themselves.
They also show topical tagging estimations for URLs, and languages, which is super useful for determining cleanliness of the link profile.
Majestic is also really a bulk link analytics tool, so it's really just a one-show pony.

I'm a big fan of the dash offered by SE Ranking, although they base their data on Moz.
Also, SpyFu, I think is really underrated, because their viewables make everything really easy to understand.
They are a much smaller database, but they are much cheaper, and the insights, I think, are actually superior in some areas like with keywords, but they also lean a little towards PPC.

At the end of the day, it's mostly about your KPI dashboard layout, pretty much, rather than the underlying data.
Both are important, in reasonable levels.
There are videos out-there, where guys compare majestic metrics to ahrefs, and fawn over how amazing ahrefs database is supposed to be.
I'm sure there's an argument to be made, for each independent feature.

I think the best solutions for the dollar are:
1. SE Ranking
2. DomDetailer
3. SpyFu
4. Majestic
5. Spamzilla
6. Ahrefs
7. SEMrush
8. Moz

They each have their benefits, but I don't think there's a single tool I would recommend over any other, necessarily.
In my current group buy stack, I use a few of these for various processes.
Surprisingly, multi-million dollar companies, like these, are not doing a very good job in terms of understanding what is important from a dash perspective, or in terms of correlating data properly.

The most well-rounded solution is probably SEMrush, followed by Ahrefs, and everyone else tends to have a specific focus.
Smaller versions would be SE Ranking and SpyFu... both of which, I think, are extremely underrated, by comparison.
You can use free mozscape api credits to get the occasional spam score you might need, but otherwise, it doesn't really offer a lot, despite being the age-old standard.

So, if you're spending around $35/mo, then either SE Ranking or SpyFu will serve you well.
If you're spending around $100/mo then either SEMrush or Ahrefs would be the better choices.
If you don't wanna invest a retainer, then DomDetailer, and free Moz usage is the way to go.
You can get everything with group buy trial accounts, pretty much, as well. :o

I dunno everything about all tools, but I've used many of them at one point, or another.
I'm always open to a better tool. :p
 
If I had to choose one: ahrefs.

Yoast SEO is a different category, though. It’s like comparing apples to oranges. It doesn’t compete with the others, it complements them.
 
Last edited:
You can discard Moz.

Ahref is better to analyze backlinks, competitors and such.
Semrush is better to analyze traffic, doing keywords research etc.

Your choice, both are good anyway. Personally I have Ahref thorugh account shared and I'm good. If sometimes I need an info about accurate traffic or specific keywords, I just login and check on my free Semrush account (Semrush offer some searches for free every day)
 
1. SE Ranking
2. DomDetailer
3. SpyFu
4. Majestic
5. Spamzilla

all the aforementioned are not on my list ... however mighty enlightening...thank you Ivan/getivan... I have tinkled with SpyFu and Majestic a few years ago...please elaborate more on your evaluations ...is for the good of BHW
 
Hi,

I currently have 'PRO' accounts with Ahrefs v+ SEMrush + MOZ and err .......Yoast .... they send me weekly newsletters and I must admit I read them and they are somewhat enlighting and informative, in the main part. if you can get past the self-congratulatory noise!!!!!.... please let me know and the BHW brethren.. who do you think is kicking ass in the SEO tool department in October 2021.... many thanks ... Paul TheContractMan.
Yoast can't be compared to the rest as they don't do the the same job, even Moz doesn't do the exactly the same job as Ahrefs and Semrush. I don't see reason for the comparison. I prefer working with ahrefs to working semrush. They're both good by the way.
 
thanks, Henry .... so you are saying Afrefs is your go-to SEO tool? .......if so why? ....can you please elaborate ////////BW Paul
 
Ahref is for analysing traffic and backlinks
Semrush is for analysing keyword and traffic.

I think moz is not necessary nowadays. But yoast is different category. Sometimes I prefer for optimizing content.
 
thanks, J ,,, I just did a quick goog on that =

''Semrush provides a lot of data relating not just to SEO, but PPC too — if you want a tool that covers both areas, it's a much better option than Ahrefs. Its site auditing features are more comprehensive and easier to use. Semrush is MUCH more generous when it comes to the number of reports you can pull per day.''
 
This might seem like a naive question, but how much money are the guys pulling decent figures spending on outside providers of structured SEO data in a year?
 
cool Tim thks ...for naive noobs =
What is structured data for SEO?
Definition. Structured data is any data that lives in a fixed field within a file. Within the world of SEO, structured data is the markup that helps search engines understand how to interpret and display the content
 
Can data be monetized?

Data monetization refers to the process of identifying and marketing data or data-based products to generate monetary value. ... External data monetization involves using data to extend an organization's product offering with data-driven services or business models to create new revenue streams
 
This might seem like a naive question, but how much money are the guys pulling decent figures spending on outside providers of structured SEO data in a year?
I just was wondering because since I found out that forward links recorded in a database = backlink database... (back in around 90-95) I have just used Browser/SEOQuake and python/SQL.
I have URLs/copies of content I save ONLY because archive.org doesn't have one (but when they do I let them host the data ;) )
I see all of the free and paid tools change providers over the years, while my db may not be the biggest, I have never found a tool that "hits the spot" like a personal db... even a small one, so I never paid.
I have never wanted to mix in data that was not normalized especially if I was paying ( I know Ahrefs/Moz etc. is technically structured, I am speaking of the diff in backing algorithms).

But like they say, you get what you pay for. What have I been missing out on with my your API, your dime mantra. (I usually try services through free API tools, think of gettting them,
but later usually find an online tool more than welcome to take on the CPU mem load).
 
Last edited:
crivens Prof Tim (that is a compliment btw :-) I am truly out of my depth now :-( .....can you please in layman's language (imagine you are speaking to 6 x-month-old labradoodle) ......= ''I usually try services through free API tool''? please share and elaborate .....your knowledge will be very handy and most appreciated for me and da cool cats on BHW ..... many thanks Paul TheContractMan
 
Yoast isn't mentionable with the others...
Most guys talk a lot about Ahrefs like it's the greatest thing ever, but the fact of the matter is that DA/PA is still the universal standard of domain metrics.
It depends on your use-case, because Ahrefs has a great keyword utility, for example, and supposedly a larger database, but Moz also has some features that Ahrefs doesn't have.

With Ahrefs, you can see quantity of keywords ranking in the top 100, for example, and they have traffic estimations, and a great viewable for various metrics in the same on-screen spreadsheet.
Moz, on the otherhand, has a Spam score, which Ahrefs doesn't even offer, and the UI is sort-of broken-up into sections, which isn't as good as how Ahrefs lets you view everything.
Moz has the core things that you need, like spam score, top 50 rankings, DA/PA, Referring Domains and Total Links, but it's missing a lot of the granular metrics that Ahrefs offers.
View attachment 187702
I'm tempted to say that Spamzilla is better than all of them, simply because you can view multiple metrics from the same dash, but the scale is also very low, although the price is much lower, as well.
DomDetailer is a cheap solution for basic metrics from Moz and Majestic, but you don't get a spam score or keywords ranking, which I think are essential metrics for link-building.

SEMrush is overpriced, but it's got great features for looking at traffic, and analyzing competitors.
It's more of a suite of tools for marketing, rather than just focusing on SEO, though.
Majestic has a great way of presenting their core metrics, which I think is more insightful than the other core metrics, frankly, but without spam score or ranking keywords, none of them can be viewed by themselves.
They also show topical tagging estimations for URLs, and languages, which is super useful for determining cleanliness of the link profile.
Majestic is also really a bulk link analytics tool, so it's really just a one-show pony.

I'm a big fan of the dash offered by SE Ranking, although they base their data on Moz.
Also, SpyFu, I think is really underrated, because their viewables make everything really easy to understand.
They are a much smaller database, but they are much cheaper, and the insights, I think, are actually superior in some areas like with keywords, but they also lean a little towards PPC.

At the end of the day, it's mostly about your KPI dashboard layout, pretty much, rather than the underlying data.
Both are important, in reasonable levels.
There are videos out-there, where guys compare majestic metrics to ahrefs, and fawn over how amazing ahrefs database is supposed to be.
I'm sure there's an argument to be made, for each independent feature.

I think the best solutions for the dollar are:
1. SE Ranking
2. DomDetailer
3. SpyFu
4. Majestic
5. Spamzilla
6. Ahrefs
7. SEMrush
8. Moz

They each have their benefits, but I don't think there's a single tool I would recommend over any other, necessarily.
In my current group buy stack, I use a few of these for various processes.
Surprisingly, multi-million dollar companies, like these, are not doing a very good job in terms of understanding what is important from a dash perspective, or in terms of correlating data properly.

The most well-rounded solution is probably SEMrush, followed by Ahrefs, and everyone else tends to have a specific focus.
Smaller versions would be SE Ranking and SpyFu... both of which, I think, are extremely underrated, by comparison.
You can use free mozscape api credits to get the occasional spam score you might need, but otherwise, it doesn't really offer a lot, despite being the age-old standard.

So, if you're spending around $35/mo, then either SE Ranking or SpyFu will serve you well.
If you're spending around $100/mo then either SEMrush or Ahrefs would be the better choices.
If you don't wanna invest a retainer, then DomDetailer, and free Moz usage is the way to go.
You can get everything with group buy trial accounts, pretty much, as well. :eek:

I dunno everything about all tools, but I've used many of them at one point, or another.
I'm always open to a better tool. :p
Thanks a lot
very useful post
 
Dear Mods, VIPs, Gurus ... thank you and the BHW community/brethren/members for the excellent input ... however my OP should perhaps be clarified ... what I really need to know is ...what is your daily all-rounder GO TO SEO TOOL be it in no particular order SE Ranking, DomDetailer, SpyFu, Majestic, Spamzilla, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, Yoast, and many others ...plz y'all please add services + can I run a completely transparent foolproof poll /vote on BHW to find the best and most popular provider? similar to this https://www.proboards.com/forum-help-guide/create-poll BW Paul TheContractman
 
+ I am NOT an affiliate of any of the SEO services providers mentioned in this thread
 
Ahrefs is great for comp analysis, Semrush is another great tool.

Moz serves no purpose IMO.

Majestic is good but would be 3rd in the list of what I'd choose.
 
Back
Top