What is AhrefsBot?
AhrefsBot is Ahrefs' crawler. Ahrefs says it powers the database for both Ahrefs' SEO tools and Yep, a search engine.
Last verified 2026-09-30 against the operator's documentation. All bots
AhrefsBot at a glance
- Operator
- Ahrefs
- Type
- SEO and link-index crawlers
- Purpose
- Builds the link database behind Ahrefs and the Yep search engine.
- robots.txt token
AhrefsBot- Example user agent
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; AhrefsBot/7.0; +http://ahrefs.com/robot/)- How to verify
- Check that the reverse DNS name ends in ahrefs.com or ahrefs.net, or check the source IP against the ranges Ahrefs publishes.
- Reverse DNS
- ahrefs.com, ahrefs.net
- Operator documentation
- https://ahrefs.com/robot
How often is AhrefsBot impersonated?
For the median organisation, under 1% of requests claiming to be AhrefsBot failed verification.
Measured between 3 July 2026 and 28 September 2026 across organisations protected by Centinel. We only publish a share when at least five organisations each saw enough of these requests. Pooled across all of their requests, the share was under 1%: a few large organisations carry most of the traffic, so the median organisation is the better guide to what yours will see.
This directory measures requests between 3 July 2026 and 28 September 2026. The fake crawler report covers its own, earlier window (late June to 21 September 2026), so its figures differ from the ones here. Read it for the method.
Have a request that claims to be AhrefsBot? Check its IP address.
Should you block AhrefsBot?
- Allow it if
- you or your partners use this tool's backlink or audit data, or the crawl load is not a concern.
- Block it if
- the crawl load is noticeable and you have no use for the tool's data. Blocking it does not affect search rankings.
- What blocking changes
- Ahrefs and Yep stop updating their data about your pages. Use Crawl-delay if load is the only issue.
To block it, add this group to your robots.txt. Ahrefs says AhrefsBot obeys robots.txt and Crawl-delay.
User-agent: AhrefsBot
Disallow: /robots.txt only asks. It does nothing against a client that ignores it or only pretends to be AhrefsBot. Stopping those takes verification at your edge.
AhrefsBot: common questions
See which bots reach your site, and which of them are who they claim to be.
What is AhrefsBot?
AhrefsBot is Ahrefs' crawler. Ahrefs says it powers the database for both Ahrefs' SEO tools and Yep, a search engine.
How do I verify that a request is really AhrefsBot?
Check that the reverse DNS name ends in ahrefs.com or ahrefs.net, or check the source IP against the ranges Ahrefs publishes. The user agent alone proves nothing: any client can send it.
How do I block AhrefsBot in robots.txt?
Add a group for User-agent: AhrefsBot with Disallow: /. Ahrefs says AhrefsBot obeys robots.txt and Crawl-delay. robots.txt only asks. A client that ignores it, or pretends to be AhrefsBot, has to be stopped at your edge.
What happens if I block AhrefsBot?
Ahrefs and Yep stop updating their data about your pages. Use Crawl-delay if load is the only issue.
Related bots
- SemrushBot (Semrush): Collects web data for Semrush's SEO tools.
- MJ12bot (Majestic): Maps links between websites for Majestic's link index.
- DotBot (Moz): Gathers data for the Moz Link Index.
- DataForSeoBot (DataForSEO): Adds links to DataForSEO's backlink database.
- Barkrowler (Babbar): Collects links and page metadata for Babbar.