Framework: Ahrefs vs Semrush for broken backlink discovery

Framework: Ahrefs vs Semrush for broken backlink discovery

Two crawlers, two index biases. Pick by job, not brand loyalty.

1. Use Ahrefs when your target is a single competitor — its "Best by links" + 404 filter on Backlinks report surfaces dead pages with the deepest referring-domain history.
2. Use Semrush when you batch 20+ domains — Bulk Backlink Analysis ingests a CSV and returns referring domains per URL in one pass.
3. QA gate: re-check any 404 in the opposite tool. Index lag means one flags dead, one still shows live.
4. Automation fits at step 2 — schedule the Semrush bulk export weekly.

Definition of done: every dead target confirmed 404 in a live header check, not just the tool's cached status.