Published on 2025-08-07T06:18:08Z

AhrefsBot

AhrefsBot is the official web crawler for Ahrefs, a prominent SEO software company. It is one of the most active crawlers on the internet, systematically scanning websites to build and maintain Ahrefs' comprehensive backlink database. The data it collects powers key Ahrefs tools used by SEO professionals for backlink analysis, keyword research, and competitor intelligence. It also contributes data to Yep.com, Ahrefs' own search engine.

What is AhrefsBot?

AhrefsBot is the sophisticated and highly active web crawler operated by Ahrefs, a leading company in the SEO software industry. Its primary function is to continuously browse the internet to collect data about websites, their content, and, most importantly, their backlink profiles. This data is the foundation of Ahrefs' extensive backlink index. The bot identifies itself in server logs with the user-agent string: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; AhrefsBot/7.0; +http://ahrefs.com/robot/). As a well-behaved bot, it respects robots.txt directives and does not inflate Google Analytics traffic numbers or trigger advertisements.

Why is AhrefsBot crawling my site?

AhrefsBot is crawling your site to gather data for its massive web index. The main reasons for its visits are to analyze your backlink profile (which sites link to you), understand your content structure, and examine the relationships between your site and others. The frequency of its crawls depends on factors such as your site's authority, the number of backlinks it has, and how often you update your content. Sites with a strong backlink profile and frequent updates will likely be visited more often. This is standard crawling behavior for a major SEO tool and is considered legitimate.

What is the purpose of AhrefsBot?

The core purpose of AhrefsBot is to collect the data that powers the Ahrefs suite of SEO tools. This data is essential for their flagship Site Explorer tool, which allows SEO professionals to analyze backlink profiles. The information also supports other tools like Keywords Explorer, Content Explorer, and Site Audit. Additionally, the data contributes to Yep.com, a search engine developed by Ahrefs. For website owners, the data collected by AhrefsBot provides indirect benefits by enabling SEO professionals to gain insights into how search engines might perceive and rank their site, leading to better optimization strategies. However, some site owners may be concerned about the server load from its frequent crawling.

How do I block AhrefsBot?

If you want to prevent AhrefsBot from crawling your website, you can do so by adding a specific directive to your robots.txt file. This is the standard method for communicating with legitimate web crawlers.

To block AhrefsBot, add the following lines to your robots.txt file:

User-agent: AhrefsBot
Disallow: /

How to verify the authenticity of the user-agent operated by Ahrefs?

Reverse IP lookup technique

To verify user-agent authenticity, you can use host linux command two times with the IP address of the requester.
  1. > host IPAddressOfRequest
    This command returns the reverse lookup hostname (e.g., 4.4.8.8.in-addr.arpa.). 
  2. > host ReverseDNSFromTheOutputOfFirstRequest
If the output matches the original IP address and the domain is associated with a trusted operator (e.g., Ahrefs), the user-agent can be considered legitimate.

IP list lookup technique

Some operators provide a public list of IP addresses used by their crawlers. This list can be cross-referenced to verify a user-agent's authenticity. However, both operators and website owners may find it challenging to maintain an up-to-date list, so use this method with caution and in conjunction with other verification techniques.