Local SEO
Ahrefs for Local SEO: The Complete Guide for Small Business Owners
Ahrefs is one of the most powerful SEO tools available — and one of the most misused by local businesses. Most local business owners either don't use it at all (too expensive, too complex) or use it the same way enterprise marketers do (chasing high-volume keywords they'll never rank for).
Used correctly, Ahrefs can completely change how you approach local content and link building. Used incorrectly, it just gives you data you don't act on.
This guide focuses specifically on local business use cases — how to find keywords your customers actually search, spy on local competitors, and build the links that move the needle in your market.
Is Ahrefs Worth It for Local Businesses?
Ahrefs starts at $129/month. That's a real commitment for a local business.
It's worth it if:
- You're investing in content marketing and want to know which topics will rank
- You're in a competitive local market and need to understand what competitors are doing
- You're spending $2,000+/month on ads and want to reduce that by growing organic traffic
It's probably not worth it if:
- You haven't set up Google Search Console yet
- You haven't optimised your Google Business Profile
- You're just getting started with local SEO
Alternative: Ahrefs has a free version with limited functionality. Useful for a monthly check, not for serious research.
The 5 Ahrefs Features That Matter Most for Local SEO
1. Keywords Explorer — Finding Local Search Terms
This is Ahrefs' strongest tool for local businesses. The key is filtering correctly.
How to find local keywords:
- Enter your primary service (e.g., "coffee shop")
- Set country to your target market
- Filter by: KD (Keyword Difficulty) under 20
- Look for keywords that include city/location modifiers
The patterns that work:
- "[service] in [city]" — "coffee shop in portland"
- "[service] near [landmark]" — "coffee shop near union station"
- "[service] [neighbourhood]" — "coffee shop brooklyn"
- "best [service] [city]" — "best coffee shop seattle"
For local businesses, keywords with 50–500 monthly searches in your city are often easier to rank for than national terms — and they convert better because the searcher is actually near you.
Pro Tip
Don't ignore keywords with 10–50 monthly searches. A term like "coffee shop north portland" might only get 30 searches/month, but if you rank #1, that's 20+ potential visits per month from people who are literally in your neighbourhood.
2. Site Explorer — Analysing Local Competitors
Enter any local competitor's website to see:
- Which keywords they rank for
- What content gets them the most organic traffic
- Who links to them
The "Content Gap" technique:
- Open Site Explorer
- Click "Content Gap"
- Enter 3 local competitors
- Run the report
You'll see every keyword your competitors rank for that you don't. This is your content roadmap.
3. Rank Tracker — Monitoring Your Local Positions
Set up rank tracking for your target keywords filtered by your city. Ahrefs tracks Google rankings (not Maps specifically, but Google.com organic results, which increasingly includes local pack results).
Track at minimum:
- Your primary service + city (e.g., "hair salon london")
- Your brand name
- 5–10 service-specific terms
Check monthly — daily tracking is overkill for local businesses.
4. Backlink Profile — Understanding Your Link Authority
For local SEO, link building is different than national SEO. You need:
- Links from local news outlets and blogs
- Links from local business associations and chambers of commerce
- Links from your niche (suppliers, industry associations, local media)
Use Ahrefs' backlink report to:
- See who links to your competitors (but not you)
- Identify broken links on relevant sites (contact the owner to replace with your URL)
- Monitor if you're getting mentioned without a link (then ask for the link)
5. Site Audit — Finding Technical Issues
Run Ahrefs' site audit on your website monthly. Priority issues for local businesses:
- Missing title tags or meta descriptions
- Pages with no internal links
- Images missing alt text (use your city + service in alt text for local SEO benefit)
- Slow page speed (Core Web Vitals issues)
- Missing LocalBusiness schema markup
$129/mo→
Ahrefs Starter
best keyword/backlink tool
$99/mo→
Semrush Pro
broader toolset
$39/mo→
BrightLocal
best local focus
Free→
Google Search Console
google data only
Local Keyword Research: A Step-by-Step Ahrefs Workflow
Here's the exact process to find 50 keywords worth targeting in your local market:
Step 1: Seed keyword list
Write down 10 ways your customers might search for you. Don't think about volume — just how real people talk:
- "coffee shop with wifi"
- "quiet coffee shop to work"
- "best flat white in [city]"
Step 2: Expand in Keywords Explorer
Enter each seed keyword, check "Matching terms" and "Related terms." Collect everything relevant.
Step 3: Filter for local intent
Remove anything that doesn't have geographic intent. Add city/location filters. Look for KD under 25.
Step 4: Group by intent
Separate your list into:
- Transactional (ready to buy now) — target with service/landing pages
- Informational (learning/researching) — target with blog content
- Navigational (looking for you specifically) — target with homepage and GBP
Step 5: Prioritise by impact
Rank by: local traffic potential × relevance × difficulty. Build your content calendar from this list.
Competitor Analysis: Finding Your Local Content Gaps
Every local business has 3–5 direct competitors in their area. Here's how to use Ahrefs to learn from them:
- Find your top 3 local competitors' websites
- Run each through Site Explorer
- Click "Top Pages" — filtered to your country
- Look for pages driving 50+ visits/month
- Ask: "Could I create a better version of this page?"
You're not copying their content — you're identifying proven topics that your shared audience wants to read, then making something more useful and locally specific.
What Ahrefs Won't Do for Local SEO
Important limitations to know:
It doesn't track Google Maps rankings. Ahrefs shows organic search rankings, not your position in the local pack. For Maps ranking data, use BrightLocal or Whitespark.
It doesn't show GBP performance. No data on how many people called from your GBP, clicked directions, or viewed photos. That's in your GBP dashboard.
It's based on estimates. Ahrefs' search volume and traffic estimates are directionally useful but not exact. Treat them as relative indicators, not absolute numbers.
Local volume data is rough. A keyword might show 50 searches/month nationally but have 200 searches/month in a specific major city, or 10 in a small town. Validate with Google Keyword Planner for exact geographic data.
The Ahrefs + Local SEO Stack
For serious local SEO, combine Ahrefs with:
- Google Search Console (free) — actual performance data from Google
- Google Business Profile Insights (free) — Maps and GBP performance
- BrightLocal ($39/month) — citation tracking and local rank tracking
Ahrefs handles keyword research and competitor analysis. The others fill the gaps it leaves.
Not sure where to start with local SEO? DataLatte offers a free audit where I review your current local search presence — your GBP, your website, your content gaps — and tell you exactly what to prioritise. You'll get a specific action plan, not a generic checklist.
Free for local businesses
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I'll review your Google presence, local SEO, and ad accounts — and send you a specific action plan within 48 hours. No pitch, no pressure.
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Nataliia
Local marketing strategist with 10+ years at global agencies — OMD, Dentsu, GroupM, and BBDO. Now helping small businesses get the same data-driven edge. Based in Europe, working with clients in the US, UK, Australia, and beyond.
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