Official
Live SERP, keyword, backlink, and on-page SEO data for an AI agent.
seo, serp, keywords, backlinks
Ahrefs
Backlinks, keyword research, and rank tracking from the official Ahrefs remote MCP.
Quick answer
What it does
Connects to the Ahrefs API via a hosted remote MCP endpoint and exposes backlink profiles, referring domains, keyword research with Ahrefs proprietary metrics, and rank-tracking data so an agent can enrich answers with Ahrefs SEO intelligence.
Best for
- Backlink and referring-domain analysis
- Keyword research with Ahrefs metrics
- Rank tracking queries
- Competitor SEO analysis
Not for
- Teams without a paid Ahrefs plan
- Pay-per-request budgets
Setup recipe
- 1
Install
No install snippet available yet — see the project’s README for setup instructions.
- 2
Set required secrets
No credentials required — this MCP runs over stdio without authentication.
- 3
Try a minimum working prompt
Minimum working prompt pending verification. Try any prompt from the MCP’s README once installed.
Tools & permissions
| Tool | Description | Args | Side effects |
|---|---|---|---|
backlinks | Return backlinks and referring domains for a target from the Ahrefs index. | target: string | Network |
keywords_explorer | Keyword research with Ahrefs volume, difficulty, and intent metrics. | keywords: string[] | Network |
rank_tracker | Return rank-tracking positions for a tracked project. | — | Network |
site_explorer | Return Domain Rating, organic traffic, and top pages for a domain. | target: string | Network |
Security & scope
- Access scope
- Network
- Sandbox
- Hosted remote MCP reached over Streamable HTTP at api.ahrefs.com/mcp/mcp. Authentication is an Ahrefs API key with an MCP scope; each connection gets its own key for per-integration tracking. No local process runs and no local filesystem access is involved — the trust boundary is the API key and your Ahrefs plan unit allowance.
- Gotchas
- The local @ahrefs/mcp npm package is archived and unmaintained — do not use it; it only supports legacy v3 keys.
- Calls consume your monthly Ahrefs API unit allowance; an agent that loops can exhaust units before month end.
- Treat the MCP-scoped API key like any credential — revoke the per-connection key if a client is decommissioned.
Agent prompt pack
— copy into Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT.Paste into Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT. Edit the [brackets] before sending.
Recommend the best MCP servers for [task: e.g. marketing & seo work] in [client: Claude]. Constraints: - Prefer tools that are [official | open-source | read-only] — pick what matters for my use case. - Exclude MCPs that require [e.g. a paid plan, OAuth-only flows, remote-only transport]. - Return at most 3 picks, ranked. For each pick include: 1. One-sentence rationale. 2. The ready-to-paste install snippet for my client. 3. Any required secrets I need to create before installing. Cross-check the top-mcps.com listing: https://top-mcps.com/top-mcps-for-marketing-seo
Compare Ahrefs against a real alternative. Swap the second MCP in [brackets] if you want a different match.
Compare Ahrefs MCP vs [DataForSEO MCP] for the following job: [describe the job, e.g. "let an agent create GitHub issues on bug triage"]. Judge them on: - Setup time and complexity (what a new user hits first). - Auth model (none / API key / OAuth 2.1) and credential risk. - Transport (stdio / Streamable HTTP / SSE) and where the server runs. - Required secrets and the blast radius if they leak. - Operational risk in an unattended agent loop. - Which one is "good enough" for a weekend prototype vs. production. End with one sentence: which should I pick for my scenario, which is: [my scenario]. References: - https://top-mcps.com/mcp/ahrefs - top-mcps.com listing for DataForSEO
Asks the agent to install and verify. Works inside Claude Code, Cursor Agent, Codex CLI.
Install the Ahrefs MCP server for my [client: Claude] at the default config path for that client. Use the exact install snippet published at https://top-mcps.com/mcp/ahrefs (fetch https://top-mcps.com/mcp/ahrefs.json for the canonical server.json if you can read URLs). Before finishing: 1. Create the required secrets (no secrets) and put them in the appropriate env block — do not hard-code them. 2. Restart or reload the client so it picks up the new server. 3. Verify the server is connected (green / running state) and at least one tool is listed. 4. If anything fails, read the client's MCP logs and report the exact error — do not silently retry. Confirm when done and list the tools the server now exposes.
Frequently asked questions
What changed
— 2 updates tracked.Refreshed install snippets and fact sheet; verified for 2026.
Initial directory listing.
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