Free Access to Premium SEO Tools

Ahrefs and Semrush subscriptions cost hundreds monthly. But both companies offer free tool access through their websites, providing enough functionality for basic keyword and backlink research without payment.

Ahrefs Free Tools

The “Free SEO Tools” link in Ahrefs’ footer leads to unlimited access to core research features. No account required for basic queries.

The Keyword Difficulty Checker accepts keywords and countries, returning difficulty scores (0-100) plus estimates of how many referring domains you’d need to rank. The free version shows top 10 results, which suffices for competitive assessment.

The Backlink Checker shows domain rating, total backlinks, and referring domain counts for any URL. The top 100 backlinks display in detail, enabling competitive backlink analysis and identification of link sources to pursue.

The Website Traffic Checker provides organic search traffic estimates and traffic value for competitive benchmarking.

Browser Bookmarklets

Create a browser bookmark containing JavaScript that extracts the current page’s domain and opens it in Ahrefs’ backlink checker. One click while browsing any competitor site reveals their link profile instantly.

Save the following as a bookmark URL: javascript:window.open('https://ahrefs.com/backlink-checker/?input='+encodeURIComponent(window.location.hostname)). Click while viewing any site to jump directly to its Ahrefs analysis.

Semrush Free Access

Semrush requires registration but offers free account tiers with limited daily queries. During signup, watch for “Skip trial” options that provide free access without credit card entry.

Free accounts typically allow 10 queries daily. Cross-reference Semrush data with Ahrefs free tools for validation and broader coverage.

Strategic Usage

These free tools cover core research needs: keyword difficulty assessment, competitive backlink discovery, and traffic estimation. Premium subscriptions add depth and volume but aren’t necessary for getting started.