# AhrefsBot

Ahrefs crawler used for backlink and SEO analysis.

Overall rank

#4 of 51 ▲2 m/m

Category rank

#1 of 10 ▲1 m/m

## What does AhrefsBot do?

`AhrefsBot` crawls and renders web pages to collect website data, backlink information, and index content and assets. This data powers the [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) SEO toolkit (Site Explorer, Site Audit, and related features) as well as the Yep search engine. Pages indexed by `AhrefsBot` can appear in Yep search results with clickable source links, and your backlink data surfaces in [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) product interfaces used by millions of SEO professionals.

## Should I allow and optimize for AhrefsBot to drive organic growth?

Allowing `AhrefsBot` provides two distinct growth channels. First, your pages can appear in Yep search results with direct source links, driving referral traffic. Second, accurate crawl data in the [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) SEO toolkit means your backlink profile and site health are visible to SEO professionals, content marketers, and potential link partners who use [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) daily. Blocking `AhrefsBot` removes your site from both of these ecosystems. Unless you have a specific reason to block it, allowing access is the better default.

Here's how to optimize for AhrefsBot:

- Allow AhrefsBot in your robots.txt to ensure full indexing in Ahrefs tools and Yep search
- Use a reasonable Crawl-delay value if server load is a concern, but avoid setting it too high or you may slow indexing significantly
- Ensure your robots.txt returns a 200 status code, as a 404 on robots.txt can prevent AhrefsBot from indexing your site
- Add structured data and descriptive meta tags to help Yep search present your pages effectively
- Whitelist Ahrefs IP ranges in your firewall or CDN to prevent accidental blocking
- Keep important content accessible without login walls so AhrefsBot can index it

## Data Usage & Training

[Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) documents crawling for indexing and analytics purposes, powering its SEO tools and the Yep search engine. Whether crawled content is also used to train AI models is not addressed in [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/)' public documentation. If this is a concern, contact [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) support at support@ahrefs.com for clarification.

## How AhrefsBot Accesses Content

Here's how AhrefsBot accesses your site and understands your content:

- Fetches HTML and renders JavaScript fully
- Identifies as Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; AhrefsBot/7.0; +http://ahrefs.com/robot/)
- Supports Crawl-delay directives, with a caveat that JS rendering may trigger simultaneous asset requests
- Adjusts crawl rate based on server responses, reducing frequency on 4xx/5xx errors
- Can be verified via published IP ranges or reverse DNS (hostnames ending in ahrefs.com or ahrefs.net)

`AhrefsBot` crawls continuously for indexing purposes, adjusting its rate based on server health. Site Audit and other [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) features may also trigger user-initiated or scheduled crawls from paying [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) customers.

## How to Block or Control AhrefsBot

To block `AhrefsBot` via robots.txt:

User-agent: `AhrefsBot`  
Disallow: /

You can also block specific paths while allowing the rest of your site. For IP-based blocking, [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) publishes its crawler IP ranges at [https://api.ahrefs.com/v3/public/crawler-ip-ranges](https://api.ahrefs.com/v3/public/crawler-ip-ranges) and [https://help.ahrefs.com/en/articles/78658-what-is-the-list-of-your-ip-ranges.](https://help.ahrefs.com/en/articles/78658-what-is-the-list-of-your-ip-ranges.) To verify a request is genuinely from `AhrefsBot`, check that the reverse DNS hostname ends with ahrefs.com or ahrefs.net. For verified site owner controls, contact support@ahrefs.com.

## Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Watch out for these common problems when working with AhrefsBot:

- Firewall, CDN, or security plugins (ModSecurity, Sucuri, Cloudflare) block the `AhrefsBot` user-agent or its IP addresses by default
- A robots.txt returning 404 prevents `AhrefsBot` from indexing the site entirely
- Crawl-delay interacts unexpectedly with JavaScript rendering, since rendering a single page may trigger multiple simultaneous asset requests
- Overly broad Disallow rules in robots.txt unintentionally block `AhrefsBot` alongside other bots
- High crawl volume on smaller servers can cause performance issues if no Crawl-delay is set

## Quick Reference

Platform

[Ahrefs](/content/ai-agent-directory?platforms=Ahrefs/index.html)

Agent Category

[SEO](/content/ai-agent-directory?tags=SEO/index.html)

Growth Value

High

Official Documentation

[ahrefs.com/robot](https://ahrefs.com/robot)

User Agent String

`ahrefsbot`

robots.txt Entry

`User-agent: ahrefsbot  
Disallow: /`

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does AhrefsBot respect robots.txt?

### How do I verify a request is really from AhrefsBot?

### Why is AhrefsBot crawling my site so aggressively?

### Does AhrefsBot use my content for AI training?

### Will blocking AhrefsBot affect my SEO?

### Does AhrefsBot render JavaScript?

### Can AhrefsBot drive traffic to my site?