Importing Ahrefs Domains Into Semrush: Quick Guide
importing ahrefs domains into semrush
Why Import Ahrefs Domains into Semrush? Fix Your Backlink Blind Spots Now
You’re paying for two backlink tools but still missing critical data. Seven-figure ecommerce brands lose months of link-building ROI because they trust one crawler’s incomplete view. No single tool indexes every backlink–Ahrefs finds domains Semrush misses, and vice versa. Consolidating both datasets into Semrush’s audit engine gives you the complete picture for accurate disavow decisions and smarter outreach.
Switching Between Platforms Wastes Hours During Audits
You export from Ahrefs, cross-reference in Semrush, then manually reconcile differences in spreadsheets. This back-and-forth slows decisions when speed wins. Unified data lets you run one audit, spot toxic links faster, and identify outreach opportunities without toggling tabs. For brands managing 50+ domains, this can cut audit time by 60%.
Index Comparison: Where Each Tool Shines
| Feature | Ahrefs | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Live Index Size | Over 36 trillion links | Over 43 trillion links |
| Crawl Frequency | Every 15 minutes | Daily for most domains |
| Unique Domain Discovery | Strong for niche blogs | Better for enterprise sites |
| Toxic Score Accuracy | Manual review needed | Automated with recalculation |
Ahrefs excels at discovering smaller, niche referring domains that Semrush’s crawler skips. Semrush’s larger index captures more enterprise and news site backlinks. The overlap between them is where you find the most reliable data. The gaps? That’s where blind spots hide.
Real Results: What Happens When You Merge Both Datasets
One Shopify client imported their Ahrefs data into Semrush and found 340 toxic domains neither tool flagged alone. After disavowing those and focusing outreach on the clean overlap, organic traffic jumped 920% in 100 days. The content didn’t change. The data quality did.
Step-by-Step: Export Clean Data from Ahrefs Site Explorer
Export Live Dofollow Referring Domains: One Link Per Root Domain
Log in to Ahrefs Site Explorer and enter your target domain. Navigate to Backlinks > Referring Domains. Set filters to Dofollow and One link per domain–this removes duplicate root domains and prevents inflated datasets. Select Export, choose CSV format, and download the file.
Remove Duplicates and Filter Junk Before Import
Open your CSV in Excel or Google Sheets. Sort by Domain Rating (DR) to spot low-quality sources. Remove rows with DR below 10 unless they’re highly relevant niche sites. Delete any rows missing URL data or showing nofollow status. Use Remove Duplicates on the referring domain column to catch export errors. Save your cleaned file as ahrefs_clean_dofollow_2026.csv for easy tracking.
Pro Tip: Export separate lists for different DR ranges (0-20, 21-50, 51+). This segmentation speeds Semrush import and helps you prioritize high-authority domains for outreach while isolating low-quality links for review.
Pre-Categorize into Toxic, Prospects, and Partners
Create three tabs or files. Tag domains with spammy anchor text, foreign-language mismatches, or adult content as Toxic. Mark relevant, high-DR domains with no existing relationship as Prospects. Label existing partner or client domains as Partners to avoid accidental disavows. This upfront work saves hours during the import phase and speeds up your review.
Map and Import into Semrush Backlink Audit Without Errors
Column Mapping Guide: Match Ahrefs to Semrush Fields
Open Semrush Backlink Audit and select your project. Click Import Backlinks and upload your cleaned Ahrefs CSV. Semrush prompts you to map columns. Match Referring Domain (Ahrefs) to Domain (Semrush). If your export includes anchor text, map it to Semrush’s Anchor field. Leave unmapped any Ahrefs-only metrics like URL Rating that don’t translate directly. Check the mapping preview to confirm data appears in the correct columns.
Run the Import and Recalculate Toxic Scores
Click Start Import and wait while Semrush processes your file. The platform merges your Ahrefs domains with its existing backlink database. After completion, go to the Audit tab and click Recalculate Toxic Score. Semrush needs to analyze newly imported domains against its spam detection systems. Recalculation takes 10 to 30 minutes depending on list size. You’ll see newly flagged toxic domains that each crawler missed on its own.
Data Integrity Check: After import, sort by Source to separate Ahrefs imports from native discoveries. Compare total domain counts between your original CSV and the imported list. If numbers differ by more than 5%, check for formatting errors or duplicate removals during upload.
Fix Common Errors Like Data Mismatches and Failed Uploads
If Semrush rejects your file, check for special characters in domain names or anchor text. Remove commas inside cells that break CSV structure. Confirm UTF-8 encoding to prevent character corruption. For column mismatch errors, verify your Ahrefs export includes standard fields like referring domain and URL. If the import succeeds but shows zero new domains, you’ve likely uploaded domains Semrush already found. Filter your Ahrefs export to exclude domains already in your Semrush project, then try again. Save an error-free template for monthly refreshes.
Post-Import Actions: Disavow, Outreach, and Automate with AI
Generate Disavow Files and Submit Them in Google Search Console
After recalculating toxic scores, review domains flagged with high toxicity. Select confirmed toxic domains and click Add to Disavow List. Semrush generates a properly formatted disavow file that matches Google’s requirements. Download it and submit through Google Search Console’s Disavow Tool. Update your disavow file monthly as new toxic links appear. Track submission dates in a spreadsheet–processing usually takes two to four weeks.
Build Outreach Lists for Pitchbox or Responsta
Filter the merged dataset for high-authority domains (50+ DR or Authority Score) that don’t currently link to you. Export these prospects with contact information when available. Import the list into tools like Pitchbox or Responsta to run personalized email campaigns at scale. Prioritize domains that link to competitors but not to you–that gap becomes crystal clear once you’ve consolidated both datasets. This targeted approach converts better than cold outreach because the sites already cover your niche.
Automate Monthly Refreshes with AEO Engine AI Agents
Manual monthly imports eat hours your team could spend on strategy. We built AEO Engine to eliminate this bottleneck. Our AI agents pull fresh data from both Ahrefs and Semrush, merge datasets, flag new toxic domains, and identify outreach opportunities–automatically. The system runs on autopilot and delivers weekly reports showing which new backlinks need action. One Shopify brand cut backlink management time from 12 hours per month to near zero while catching toxic links four times faster than manual reviews.
Scale This Workflow: Agentic SEO for Shopify and Amazon Sellers
Why Manual Imports Fail at Scale: Move to Always-On AI
Managing backlinks for one domain is tedious. Multiply that across 20 Shopify stores or 50 Amazon brand storefronts and manual importing becomes impossible. I’ve watched brands hire full-time VAs just to handle monthly exports and imports. That’s when errors spike and toxic links slip through. Always-on AI systems monitor both tools continuously, merge data in near real time, and alert you only when action is required. This shift from manual tasks to automated intelligence is what we call Agentic SEO.
AEO Engine’s 100-Day Traffic Sprint Framework
We don’t sell retainers. We give you an engine. Our 100-Day Traffic Sprint starts with unified backlink audits pulling from Ahrefs, Semrush, and our proprietary crawlers. Week one: disavow toxic domains and reclaim lost authority. Weeks two through eight: automated outreach to high-DR prospects with AI-personalized pitches. Weeks nine through twelve: citation monitoring across AI overviews, Reddit, and Quora to capture the traffic Google is losing. Results are tied to specific backlinks and citations–no vanity metrics.
Book Your Free Strategy Call: Dominate AI Overviews
Stop guessing which backlinks matter. Our free strategy call analyzes your current backlink profile across both tools and shows where incomplete data is costing traffic. We’ll map your first 30-day sprint, including automated importing, toxic domain cleanup, and citation seeding. Portfolio brands doing $250M+ in annual revenue trust us because we measure everything. Book your call at aeoengine.ai.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Ahrefs and Semrush the same?
No, Ahrefs and Semrush are distinct backlink tools, each with unique strengths and index coverage. Ahrefs often finds niche referring domains Semrush misses, while Semrush has a larger overall index for enterprise sites. I’ve seen brands miss key data by relying on just one tool.
What are toxic backlinks in Semrush?
Toxic backlinks are links Semrush identifies as potentially harmful to your site’s SEO, often originating from spammy or low-quality sources. Semrush’s automated system flags these, and recalculating scores after importing Ahrefs data gives you a complete risk profile. We built AEO Engine because incomplete data leads to missed toxic links.
What are the disadvantages of Semrush?
Semrush, like any single tool, has blind spots in its backlink index. Its crawler might miss smaller, niche referring domains that Ahrefs discovers. This incomplete view can lead to flawed disavow decisions and missed outreach opportunities, slowing down your SEO execution.
Why should I import Ahrefs domains into Semrush?
You should import Ahrefs domains into Semrush to fix backlink blind spots and get a complete picture of your profile. No single tool indexes every backlink, so consolidating both datasets into Semrush’s audit engine provides the full data needed for accurate disavow decisions and outreach prioritization. I’ve seen seven-figure brands lose months of ROI without this unified approach.
How does combining Ahrefs and Semrush data improve SEO results?
Combining data from Ahrefs and Semrush provides a unified, comprehensive view of your backlink profile, which prevents fragmented data from slowing down SEO execution. This allows for faster identification of toxic links and new outreach opportunities. One Shopify client saw 920% traffic growth after consolidating their data and making smarter decisions.
Is Semrush a Russian company?
Semrush is a publicly traded company headquartered in Boston, USA.
Should I block Ahrefs?
Blocking Ahrefs is generally not recommended if you use it for SEO analysis. Ahrefs is a tool that crawls the web to build its backlink index, which is valuable for understanding your site’s performance and competitor strategies.