fasttrak
Elite Member
- Sep 12, 2016
- 3,514
- 3,986
Looks like Ahrefs screwed up with their March keyword volume update as they are now reversing much of it to "make our traffic estimations go back up, as well as substantially improve their overall accuracy".
The bit I liked in their statement was "Thanks to many of you, we quickly realized that this update actually caused a noticeable decrease in search traffic estimations for many websites."
Just a fewwwwwww complaints then.
Traffic estimation is hard and everyone knows it is not hugely accurate but following the original March "improvement" Ahrefs was way off. Google Search Console and Analytics were showing 3 x the traffic that Ahrefs was reporting for my client sites, oh dear.
This is the bit I love though
Original Ahrefs Post in February about the planned changes - https://ahrefs.com/blog/keyword-data-improvements/
But how accurate are the search volumes in Ahrefs?
Well, we recently performed a study of 72,635 random keywords comparing the search volumes from three sources: Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner, and Google Search Console.
And it turned out that the search volumes in Ahrefs are more accurate than search volumes in Google Keyword Planner (when compared to “Impressions” from Google Search Console)."
AKA - we know more than Google
And today - https://ahrefs.com/blog/keyword-traffic-estimations-update/
"Earlier in March 2023, we updated our keyword volume estimates with the intention to make them more accurate. Thanks to many of you, we quickly realized that this update actually caused a noticeable decrease in search traffic estimations for many websites.
Very shortly, we'll be rolling out another significant update to our database. This is designed to reconcile that discrepancy and make our traffic estimations go back up, as well as substantially improve their overall accuracy.
For a full explanation, please read: https://ahrefs.com/blog/keyword-traffic-estimations-update/
Here we explain what happened, how we addressed it, and what you can expect when this update is released. Future updates should not cause dramatic swings in traffic estimates."
* I did not add the Bold emphasis to the "should not" part of the statement but at least they are learning.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the Great Wall of China, I have seen the Pyramids of Egypt, I've even witnessed a grown man satisfy a camel. But never in all my years... have I witnessed something as improbable, as impossible, as what we've witnessed here today! - Cotton McKnight
The bit I liked in their statement was "Thanks to many of you, we quickly realized that this update actually caused a noticeable decrease in search traffic estimations for many websites."
Traffic estimation is hard and everyone knows it is not hugely accurate but following the original March "improvement" Ahrefs was way off. Google Search Console and Analytics were showing 3 x the traffic that Ahrefs was reporting for my client sites, oh dear.
This is the bit I love though
Original Ahrefs Post in February about the planned changes - https://ahrefs.com/blog/keyword-data-improvements/
"2. More accurate search volume
We worked hard to refine our search volume numbers by blending data from multiple sources and finding the right balance between them.....But how accurate are the search volumes in Ahrefs?
Well, we recently performed a study of 72,635 random keywords comparing the search volumes from three sources: Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner, and Google Search Console.
And it turned out that the search volumes in Ahrefs are more accurate than search volumes in Google Keyword Planner (when compared to “Impressions” from Google Search Console)."
AKA - we know more than Google
And today - https://ahrefs.com/blog/keyword-traffic-estimations-update/
"Earlier in March 2023, we updated our keyword volume estimates with the intention to make them more accurate. Thanks to many of you, we quickly realized that this update actually caused a noticeable decrease in search traffic estimations for many websites.
Very shortly, we'll be rolling out another significant update to our database. This is designed to reconcile that discrepancy and make our traffic estimations go back up, as well as substantially improve their overall accuracy.
For a full explanation, please read: https://ahrefs.com/blog/keyword-traffic-estimations-update/
Here we explain what happened, how we addressed it, and what you can expect when this update is released. Future updates should not cause dramatic swings in traffic estimates."
* I did not add the Bold emphasis to the "should not" part of the statement but at least they are learning.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the Great Wall of China, I have seen the Pyramids of Egypt, I've even witnessed a grown man satisfy a camel. But never in all my years... have I witnessed something as improbable, as impossible, as what we've witnessed here today! - Cotton McKnight