Ahrefs Automation

Run Ahrefs SEO analytics directly from Claude Code. Analyze backlink profiles, research keywords, track domain authority over time, audit organic keyword rankings, and batch-analyze multiple URLs without leaving your terminal.

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/ahrefs

Setup

1. Add the Composio MCP server to your configuration:

   https://rube.app/mcp
   

2. Connect your Ahrefs account when prompted. The agent will provide an authentication link.
3. Most tools require a target (domain or URL) and a country code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2). Some also require a date in YYYY-MM-DD format.

Core Workflows

1. Site Explorer Metrics

Retrieve comprehensive SEO metrics for a domain including backlink counts, referring domains, organic keyword rankings, and traffic estimates.

Tool: AHREFS_RETRIEVE_SITE_EXPLORER_METRICS

Key parameters:

• target (required) — domain or URL to analyze
• date (required) — metrics date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• country — ISO country code (e.g., us, gb, de)
• mode — scope: exact, prefix, domain, or subdomains (default)
• protocol — both, http, or https
• volume_mode — monthly or average

Example prompt: “Get Ahrefs site metrics for example.com as of today in the US”

2. Historical Metrics Tracking

Track how a domain’s SEO metrics have changed over time for trend analysis and competitive benchmarking.

Tools: AHREFS_RETRIEVE_SITE_EXPLORER_METRICS_HISTORY, AHREFS_DOMAIN_RATING_HISTORY

For full metrics history:

• target (required) — domain to track
• date_from (required) — start date in YYYY-MM-DD
• date_to — end date
• history_grouping — daily, weekly, or monthly (default)
• select — columns like date,org_cost,org_traffic,paid_cost,paid_traffic

For Domain Rating (DR) history:

• target (required), date_from (required), date_to, history_grouping

Example prompt: “Show me the monthly Domain Rating history for example.com over the last year”

3. Backlink Analysis

Retrieve a comprehensive list of backlinks including source URLs, anchor text, link attributes, and referring domain metrics.

Tool: AHREFS_FETCH_ALL_BACKLINKS

Key parameters:

• target (required) — domain or URL
• select (required) — comma-separated columns (e.g., url_from,url_to,anchor,domain_rating_source,first_seen_link)
• limit (default 1000) — number of results
• aggregation — similar_links (default), 1_per_domain, or all
• mode — exact, prefix, domain, or subdomains
• history — live, since:YYYY-MM-DD, or all_time
• where — rich filter expressions on columns like is_dofollow, domain_rating_source, anchor

Example prompt: “Get the top 100 dofollow backlinks to example.com with anchor text and referring DR”

4. Keyword Research

Get keyword overview metrics and discover matching keyword variations for content strategy.

Tools: AHREFS_EXPLORE_KEYWORDS_OVERVIEW, AHREFS_EXPLORE_MATCHING_TERMS_FOR_KEYWORDS

For keyword overview:

• select (required) — columns to return (volume, difficulty, CPC, etc.)
• country (required) — ISO country code
• keywords — comma-separated keyword list
• where — filter by volume, difficulty, intent, etc.

For matching terms:

• select (required) and country (required)
• keywords — comma-separated seed keywords
• match_mode — terms (any order) or phrase (exact order)
• terms — all or questions (question-format keywords only)

Example prompt: “Find keyword variations for ‘project management’ in the US with volume and difficulty”

5. Organic Keywords Audit

See which keywords a domain ranks for in organic search, with position tracking and historical comparison.

Tool: AHREFS_RETRIEVE_ORGANIC_KEYWORDS

Key parameters:

• target (required) — domain or URL
• country (required) — ISO country code
• date (required) — date in YYYY-MM-DD
• select — columns to return (keyword, position, volume, traffic, URL, etc.)
• date_compared — compare against a previous date
• where — rich filter expressions on keyword, volume, best_position, intent flags, etc.
• limit (default 1000), order_by

Example prompt: “Show all organic keywords where example.com ranks in the top 10 in the US”

6. Batch URL Analysis

Analyze up to 100 URLs or domains simultaneously to compare SEO metrics across competitors or site sections.

Tool: AHREFS_BATCH_URL_ANALYSIS

Key parameters:

• targets (required) — array of objects with url, mode (exact/prefix/domain/subdomains), and protocol (both/http/https)
• select (required) — array of column identifiers
• country — ISO country code
• output — json or php

Example prompt: “Compare SEO metrics for competitor1.com, competitor2.com, and competitor3.com”

Known Pitfalls

• Column selection is required: Most Ahrefs tools require a select parameter specifying which columns to return. Omitting it or using invalid column names will cause errors. Refer to each tool’s response schema for valid identifiers.
• Date format consistency: Dates must be in YYYY-MM-DD format. Some historical endpoints return data at the granularity set by history_grouping, not by exact date.
• API unit costs vary: Different columns consume different unit amounts. Columns marked with “(5 units)” or “(10 units)” in the schema are more expensive. Monitor API usage when requesting expensive columns like traffic, refdomains_source, or difficulty.
• Batch limit is 100 targets: AHREFS_BATCH_URL_ANALYSIS accepts up to 100 targets per request. For larger analyses, split into multiple batches.
• Filter expressions are complex: The where parameter uses Ahrefs’ filter expression syntax, not standard SQL. Consult the column descriptions in each tool’s schema for supported filter types and value formats.
• Deprecated offset parameter: The offset parameter was deprecated on May 31, 2024. Use cursor-based pagination or adjust limit instead.
• Mode affects scope significantly: Setting mode to subdomains (the default) includes all subdomains, which can dramatically increase result counts compared to domain or exact.

Quick Reference

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