🔎 ahrefs overplays their hand

I have spent the last few newsletters talking smack on Google.

So this week I will take a break from that…

And today, I will talk smack on Ahrefs!

what Ahrefs is doing

Ahrefs, for those that don’t know is one of two popular SEO tools (the other being SEMrush).

The two have long been battling each other for SEO tool dominance, and while I came up in the game using SEMrush, I had been converted into an Ahrefs stan over the years.

SEMrush stagnated, while Ahrefs always seemed to be innovating.

Sure, they had a bad name, but they were the cool newcomer to the SEO scene (just like me!)

They had done everything right to attract solo-marketers like myself to their platform. And while they had a high price point, it was well worth it.

However, things change.

Ahrefs has switched up its marketing strategy and more importantly, their pricing structure in recent months. They’ve retired legacy plans and instead opted to go the “credits” route.

This shift caters their platform to bigger websites and clients…but in the process of doing this, they have annoyed many small marketers such as myself.

why Ahrefs is doing this

But hey, a shift like this can make sense.

A lot of Ahrefs’s customers started small and (perhaps) have over time become heavy users of the tool. On paper, this shift could work if the early-adopters used Ahrefs to make more money and could therefore dish out the extra money each month for more credits.

In short, Ahrefs hoped that their userbase progressed in their careers just as Ahrefs has progressed as a company.

However, that linear trajectory is not always the case with SEOs or with life.

I think Ahrefs is forgetting who they’re leaving behind with this shift to credits: those of us stuck in a rut.

The system is unfortunately now pricing most people out of the tool…and that's frustrating especially to newcomers, freelancers, and slow-growers.

That’s an important group. People just beginning their careers as SEOs will now need to opt for cheaper options…or at least ones that are less confusing! They won’t get to even see the amazing features Ahrefs has because they’ll be immediately eliminated as an ideal user.

As a solo-marketer, I am as cheap as possible. My margins are thin. The few things I do splurge for need to be good enough…not necessarily the best.

(In my early days, I would use a tool like Ubersuggest just to save a few dollars per month)

I hate SEO tools that cost a monthly fee because it ultimately hurts what I do in the long-term. If it’s going to cost me a lot, it better be worth it.

And to be clear, Ahrefs was worth it.

But now I’m not so sure…

my thoughts?

From a business perspective, it get why Ahrefs decided to go this way.

In doing so, they avoid competing with SEMrush anymore. They’ll attract customers from larger companies and agencies who have bigger budgets. They’ll say “who cares? This isn’t my money!” and splurge for more credits.

This can therefore boost their profits…while not having to compete in the trenches anymore with SEMrush for new customers.

But they’re playing a dangerous game now. They’re alienating a bunch of users (including yours truly) who used to advocate for them.

Without old-heads recommending Ahrefs to a new generation of SEOs, how do they expect to exist in the long-term?

SEMrush weirdly played this perfectly.

Ahrefs was the hip new product on the SEO scene. SEMrush just waited. They realized that SEOs constantly are playing the long-game. SEMrush sat and made a platform that was just good enough for every SEO.

And then, they just waited for Ahrefs to overplay their hand.

It'll be interesting to see how this new marketing strategy plays out for Ahrefs and if I’m right. What do you think of the credits system?