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Last UpdatedNov 15, 2024
Are you on the hunt for the perfect digital marketing tool to up your game in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing trends? Navigating the latest trends and choosing the best fit can be a real head-scratcher!
But we are here to help you navigate this tricky decision.
We will dive into the comparison for the SEO and content analysis arena: BuzzSumo and Ahrefs.
These platforms have been tested and are both renowned for their impressive features.
After a thorough comparison of BuzzSumo and Ahrefs, it’s clear that both platforms offer valuable features, including backlink analysis, top free keyword research tool, competitor analysis, content marketing insights, and site auditing. The best tool for your business hinges on your specific objectives and budget.
If content discovery and social media engagement are your primary goals, BuzzSumo is a worthy investment. However, for a more comprehensive and powerful SEO toolset, Ahrefs emerges as the clear winner.
Take advantage of their free trials to explore both platforms and let your unique requirements guide your decision towards the tool that will best propel your business to success in the digital landscape.
BuzzSumo is like a turbocharged content radar that helps you find the hottest and trendiest content on the web. With its powerful search and discovery features, you can see what’s buzzing on social media, track the performance of your content, and find influencers to collaborate with.
If you’re serious about content marketing, then BuzzSumo is a tool that you need. It’s a powerful must-have tool for any content marketer who wants to create content that people can’t get enough of.
The tool offers many powerful features to boost your content marketing game.
Enter a keyword or topic.
In this case, the keyword is “digital marketing”.
The new ‘Brief Generator’ feature streamlines your research with insights like:
STEP 1: Research about Your Topic
Find the week’s top trending stories: According to your location, get the top trending results of the week.
Get ideas from evergreen content: Find topics that have stood the test of time this time to write about them in a new and interesting way. Look for the popular keywords of the month to help rank your content better.
Discover this week’s top questions, including the 5 most recent HOW, WHY, and WHAT queries, with even more to explore.
Top 5 Ranking Content in Google: Delve into the best-performing content on Google, featuring top headings and subheadings.
Expand Your Search Horizons: Open to a world of search ideas by tapping into external research sites like Wikipedia, Quora, and Reddit.
STEP 2: Create your content
Create Content with Insightful Charts: Leverage data-driven insights from recent articles and total social engagement to craft captivating content.
Unveil the Audience’s Format Preference: Get insights into post types that resonate with your insights, like, ‘What Post’, ‘How-To Article’, etc.
Discover the ideal word count: Find the preferred word count by the audience for maximum engagement.
Preferred Platform for Interaction: Find out where the audience loves to engage with content, primarily on Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit, and more!
Day Preference: Discover the preferred content consumption day of this audience.
Find Better Insights Based by analyzing B2B publisher content for a competitive edge.
Gain valuable insights to optimize your content strategy and outshine the competition.
Search Volume: Discover search volume data for your target keyword over the past year.
Cost Per Click (CPC): Know your CPC for the target keywords for the last year.
Articles Published: Track the number of articles published on your keyword topic within the past year.
Related keywords: Understand the trend, volume, and CPC insights.
Similar keywords: Insightful data into trend, volume, and CPC.
Graphical Analysis: Visualize trends and patterns with a graphical analysis of search volume and articles published over the past year.
Content Ideas and Questions: Fuel your content with BuzzSumo’s Content Ideas and Questions feature for engaging creations.
Related SEO Keywords: Discover related SEO keywords with their trends, performance, search volume, and CPC.
SERP Overview: Get a comprehensive overview of the search engine results page (SERP) for your target keyword through DA, PA, and the number of links for the top URLs.
Uncover valuable insights from question-based content.
Timeless Insights from Past Years: Dive into historical data to explore trends and patterns of question-based content over the years.
Country TLD: Filter your results by country top-level domains (TLDs) to gain insights into question-based content from different regions.
Exploring Content Diversity: Discover question-based content from various site types, such as blogs, forums, news sites, and more.
Diverse Platforms, Singular Insights: Analyze questions from different sources like Reddit, Quora, Stack Exchange, and more to gain unique perspectives.
Type of Question: Categorize and analyze question types (e.g., ‘are,’ ‘can,’ ‘how,’ ‘what,’ ‘when,’ ‘where,’ ‘which,’ ‘who,’ ‘why,’ ‘will’) to understand user intent and content preferences.
BuzzSumo can help you find the hottest content on the web.
Search by keywords, topics, or domains to find the most popular and engaging content to create your feed.
You can even customize your search result feed.
Customize your feed through ‘More Filters’. You can find results by language, topics, and country and find the content that’s really resonating with people.
Discover a world of creativity with BuzzSumo’s Topic Explorer, where inspiration knows no bounds. Whether looking for fresh content ideas or seeking to revitalize your existing topics, this powerful tool has got you covered.
Unearth endless possibilities and ignite your content strategy with innovative concepts that captivate your audience like never before.
With the Topic Explorer at your fingertips, there are no limits to what you can achieve in the world of content creation.
This allows you to discover and analyze the most engaging articles and blogs based on various metrics, including Facebook Engagement,Reddit Engagement, Pinterest Shares, Twitter Shares, Number of Links, Evergreen Score, and Total Engagement.
You can explore top sharers, backlinks, and in-depth analysis, empowering you with valuable insights to optimize your content strategy and improve your online presence.
The Analysis Report provides key metrics, including the number of Articles Published and Articles Analyzed, along with the Total Engagement and Average Engagements of the content. It also includes insights on Total Linking Domains and Average Linking Domains, offering a comprehensive view of your content’s performance and reach across the web.
Top domains for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Reddit engagements, offering valuable insights to measure your content’s success and optimize your social media presence.
Discover the top-performing content pieces based on engagement metrics with BuzzSumo’s ‘Top Pieces of Content by Engagement’ feature.
From the most recent to the all-time classics, filter through top-performing videos across all countries.
Allows you to benchmark and analyze your own Facebook page as well as your competitors’ pages.
Note: You will have to connect to your Facebook Profile.
By using this tool, you can gain valuable insights into the performance of your content, understand engagement metrics, and identify strategies used by your competitors to thrive on Facebook.
It’s an essential resource to stay ahead in the competitive social media landscape and optimize your Facebook marketing efforts.
Discover pages linking to a specific URL or domain.
Note: Outreach Beta is still in beta as of August 2023 meaning that it is still under development and may not be fully functional.
The Media Database in Outreach Beta is a collection of over 100 million influencers and journalists. The database is updated daily and you can search by the following criteria:
You can filter the results by reach, engagement, and other metrics.
You can save the Media Database to ‘Media List’.
Once you have created a list of influencers, you can send them personalized outreach emails. You can use BuzzSumo’s email templates to create professional-looking emails.
To use the ‘PITCH’ feature, you must have a BuzzSumo PR & Comms, Suite or Enterprise plan. You can also sign up for the Outreach Beta waitlist if you have a Basic or Content Creation plan.
To create a ‘PITCH’, click on the Create PITCH button and enter the following information:
Once you have created a PITCH, you can save it and use it to reach out to influencers. When you send an email using a PITCH, BuzzSumo will automatically fill in the subject line, body, and call to action with the information from your PITCH.
Did you know that 50% of Millennials trust influencers for their product recommendations?
With BuzzSumo, you can find the perfect influencers for your brand by searching through keywords or topics.
Filter your search by location, influencer activity, and influencer type to discover their follower count, engagement rate, and active topics across platforms.
Tweet your way to success with BuzzSumo’s influencer search.
Find the right Facebook pages to partner with for your brand.
Reach your target audience on TikTok with BuzzSumo’s influencer search.
Find the right YouTube influencers to help you grow your brand.
In addition to searching for influencers, BuzzSumo allows you to reach out to them directly through the platform. You can easily learn How to use Influencer Marketing.
BuzzSumo’s Monitoring feature allows you to track mentions of your brand, competitors, keywords, backlinks, and content. This can help you stay up-to-date on what’s being said about your brand online, identify opportunities for outreach, and track the performance of your content.
To create a monitoring alert, you first need to select what you want to monitor. You can choose from the following options:
Once you have selected what you want to monitor, you need to enter the search terms or criteria.
For example, if you want to track mentions of your brand, you would enter your brand name or a related term.
You can also specify the sources that you want to monitor. For example, you can choose to monitor mentions from social media, news articles, or blogs.
Once you have created the alert, BuzzSumo will start tracking the mentions and send you notifications when new mentions are found. You can also view the results of your monitoring alerts in the BuzzSumo dashboard.
BuzzSumo’s Projects feature allows you to save, curate, and export content. This can help you stay organized, track your progress, and share your findings with others.
Projects can be used for a variety of purposes, such as:
To create a project, you first need to give it a name and select a category.
You can then add articles, blog posts, and other content to the project. You can also add notes, tags, and filters to help you organize your content.
Once you have created a project, you can export the content to CSV or Excel format. This can help you share your findings with others or use the data in other applications.
BuzzSumo offers four pricing plans: Pro, Plus, Large, and Enterprise. The plans range in price from $99/month to $499+/month, and you can save money by choosing the annual billing option.
Plan | Price (Monthly) | Features |
Basic | $95 | Content Ideas Generator, Monitoring, Chrome Extension, Unlimited searches, 1 user, 1 alert |
Content Creation | $199 | Everything in Basic, plus Content Analyzer, Backlink Analyzer, Question Analyzer, 5 users, 2 alerts |
PR & Comms | $199 | Everything in Basic, plus Journalist Profiles, Coverage Report, Backlink Analyzer, 5 users, 5 alerts |
Suite | $399 | Everything in Content Creation and PR & Comms, plus YouTube Analyzer, Advanced Chrome Extension, Article Uploads, 10 users, 10 alerts |
Enterprise | $999 | Everything in Suite, plus RSS Feed, Early Access to New Features, 30 users, 50 alerts |
BuzzSumo integrates with a variety of other tools, including:
Ahrefs is a cutting-edge and comprehensive SEO (Search Engine Optimization) toolset that empowers businesses and marketers with valuable insights into their online presence.
With a vast database of indexed web pages, Ahrefs offers an array of powerful features, including backlink analysis, keyword research, competitor analysis, content marketing insights, and site auditing.
Its user-friendly interface and robust functionalities make it an indispensable resource for improving search engine rankings, optimizing content strategies, and staying ahead in the digital landscape. Ahrefs is the go-to solution for businesses seeking to enhance their online visibility and drive organic growth in today’s fiercely competitive digital world.
The Site Explorer section of Ahrefs is a powerful tool that can help you analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles, track your own backlink profile, and find new backlink opportunities.
On searching for your URL you will come across the overview section first that covers the following metrics:
You can filter these data on the basis of average volume, monthly volume, change history and location.
Further on this section is divided into three main tabs, each offering valuable and comprehensive information in the graphical format.
You can filter your search by specifying among competitors, location, year and time span for your search.
Referring domains
Domain Rating
URL Rating
Top Anchors
Traffic
Keywords
Pages
Top ranking keywords and pages
The step by step Guide to Keyword Research, offered within the Keyword Explorer section, is an indispensable resource for SEO professionals. It helps you discover, track, and optimize keywords, ultimately driving targeted traffic and outperforming your competitors. Utilize the powerful features to gain a competitive edge and maximize your content’s impact in the dynamic digital landscape.
Get a comprehensive view of each keyword, including its search volume, competition level, and Keyword Difficulty score, guiding your keyword selection process.
Find a curated list of related keywords that you can also target, based on their search volume, competition, and Keyword Difficulty score, expanding your content reach.
Track the keyword’s ranking performance over time, allowing you to monitor your keyword success and spot emerging trends in your niche.
Keep an eye on how the keyword ranks in paid search results over time, empowering your paid search campaigns with actionable insights.
Analyze the top-ranking pages for the keyword, unveiling their titles, descriptions, and backlink profiles, to understand their success and find opportunities to enhance your own content.
Delve into comprehensive website insights with Ahrefs’ Site Audit feature. Uncover valuable data through various reports, enabling you to identify and address issues affecting your website’s performance and user experience.
fs’ Site Audit feature provides your website with a comprehensive “health score,” evaluating common technical SEO problems such as duplicate meta tags and broken redirects.
You can identify issues of indexable and non -indexable pages on Ahrefs.
Gain an overview of HTTP status codes for all crawled URLs by Ahrefs. Easily pinpoint pages returning errors or warnings, ensuring a smooth user journey.
Explore the distribution of content types for crawled URLs. Detect any missing content types like images or videos, ensuring a well-rounded and engaging website.
Dive deeper into HTTP status code distribution, grouped by depth level. Identify specific depth levels with errors or warnings, facilitating targeted issue resolution.
Seamlessly export Site Audit results to a CSV file for further analysis or sharing with others. Enhance collaboration and data-driven decision-making.
The Rank Tracker section of Ahrefs is a powerful tool that allows you to track your website’s keyword rankings over time.
After creating the project, we are required to add keywords to track data.
The tool provides information about the currently ranking keywords of your website.
It provides a wealth of data and insights that can help you improve your SEO and get more organic traffic to your website.
Not only can you discover content ideas, research competitors, and track performance, but you also get access to valuable data in graphical form, providing a clear graphical representation of your keyword performance.
Shows you how much of the total search traffic for a given keyword is going to your website and your competitors. A higher share of voice means that you are getting a larger percentage of the traffic for that keyword.
This metric shows you your average ranking position for a given keyword. A lower average position means that you are ranking higher for that keyword.
Gives insights on the estimated monthly organic traffic that you are getting for a given keyword. A higher traffic value means that you are getting more traffic for that keyword.
This metric shows you if your website is ranking for any SERP features for a given keyword. SERP features can help you attract more clicks and improve your organic traffic.
This data shows you your ranking position for a given keyword over time and can help you identify trends in your ranking and see what factors are affecting your performance.
You can track up to 10,000 keywords with rankings in 170 countries.
Content Explorer, a robust tool, empowers you with content ideas, competitor research, and content performance tracking. With a vast database of over 13 billion web pages, finding content on any topic is a breeze.
2. Evaluate Metrics: Assess content using various metrics such as organic traffic, backlinks, and social shares for a comprehensive analysis.
Pages
Authors
Websites
Languages
Monitor content performance by keyword, topic, or domain, observing traffic and search engine rankings. Leverage the data collected to refine your content strategy, generating fresh topics, enhancing writing style, and promoting content effectively.
With Ahrefs’ Web Explorer, you gain a comprehensive toolkit to optimize your SEO endeavors, boost website performance, and stay ahead in the competitive digital landscape.
Navigate the Pages section to unearth new and valuable content. Gain insights, knowledge, and shareable material with your audience.
Utilize the Backlinks section to uncover potential backlink opportunities and spy on competitor backlinks, fostering valuable relationships with other websites within your industry.
Leverage the Overview, Pages, and Backlinks sections to analyze and understand your competitors’ strategies, unveiling their tactics for successful keyword rankings.
In the Pages section, identify broken links on your website, enhancing user experience and ensuring seamless navigation.
Unearth new and relevant keywords to target with your SEO efforts using the Organic Search section, giving your content an edge in search engine rankings.
By leveraging Ahrefs’ Competitive Analysis, you gain a competitive edge, understand market dynamics, and refine your SEO tactics for improved online visibility and success.
Get a quick snapshot of your competitors, with domain authority, backlink count, and their ranking keywords.
Dive into their backlink profile, examining the number, quality, and anchor text of their backlinks.
Uncover the keywords your competitors rank for, with valuable information on position, traffic, and keyword difficulty.
Identify keywords your competitors rank for, but you don’t, presenting new SEO opportunities for targeting.
Observe search results for your competitors’ keywords, gaining valuable insights to enhance your content and improve your rankings.
Features | Lite | Standard | Advanced | Enterprise |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ahref.com Pricing | $99/month OR$990/year | $199/month OR$1990/year | $399/month OR$3990/year | $999/month OR$9990/year |
SEO Dashboard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Site Explorer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Keywords Explorer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Site Audit | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rank Tracker | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
SERP Updates | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Content Explorer | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Domain Comparison | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Google Data Studio | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Unlimited History | No | No | No | Yes |
Audit Log | No | No | No | Yes |
Here is a table that summarizes the key differences between BuzzSumo and Ahrefs:
Feature | BuzzSumo | Ahrefs |
Domain | Content discovery and social media engagement | All-in-one SEO toolset |
Pricing | BuzzSumo offers three pricing plans: Starter, Pro, and Enterprise. The Starter plan starts at $99 per month, the Pro plan starts at $299 per month, and the Enterprise plan starts at $699 per month. | Ahrefs offers four pricing plans: Lite, Standard, Advanced, and Agency. The Lite plan starts at $99 per month, the Standard plan starts at $179 per month, the Advanced plan starts at $399 per month, and the Agency plan starts at $999 per month. |
Data | Social media, news, and blogs | Google Search, Bing, and other, and other search engines. |
Tools | Content discovery, social media engagement, influencer marketing | Keyword research, backlink analysis, rank tracking |
Ease of use | Easy to use for beginners | Steeper learning curve, but more powerful |
Support | 24/7 customer support | 24/7 customer support |
While both BuzzSumo and Ahrefs offer valuable features, Ahrefs stands out as the more versatile and comprehensive tool for SEO needs.
Ahrefs provides a powerful suite of SEO tools, including keyword research, backlink analysis, and rank tracking, empowering businesses to enhance their SEO strategies and achieve higher search engine rankings.
With its extensive data from multiple search engines, Ahrefs ensures accurate and up-to-date insights, offering unparalleled support for SEO professionals and marketers.
If your focus is on content discovery and social media engagement, BuzzSumo is a suitable option. However, for businesses seeking to improve their SEO efforts and rank higher in search engines, Ahrefs is the more effective choice. Both platforms offer 24/7 customer support, ensuring you have assistance when needed.
Ultimately, the choice between BuzzSumo and Ahrefs depends on your needs and goals. To make an informed decision, take advantage of free trials offered by both tools and evaluate which one aligns best with your requirements and preferences.
With over a decade of experience in the digital marketing landscape, Alekh has driven exponential growth for global Fortune 500 brands. He has led dynamic, results-oriented teams to acquire customers across digital channels. He develops strategies that deliver tangible business results. His expertise spans digital marketing, branding, organic growth, partnerships, and campaign management. He stays ahead of emerging marketing trends and technologies.