Ahrefs is a powerful all-in-one SEO and PPC tool that can significantly boost the online visibility and success of local businesses. This guide will walk you through how to leverage its features for both Local SEO and PPC.

Leveraging Ahrefs for Local SEO Success
Local SEO is all about increasing the visibility of your business in local search results, particularly for brick-and-mortar businesses serving a specific geographic area. Ahrefs provides invaluable insights for this purpose.

1. Local Keyword Research with Keywords Explorer
Identify Local Search Terms:

Start by brainstorming "seed" keywords related to your products/services (e.g., "plumber," "bakery," "dentist").

Go to Keywords Explorer in Ahrefs.

Enter your seed keywords. Crucially, select your target country/region/city to get localized data.

Explore the "Matching terms" and "Questions" reports. Look for keywords that include local modifiers (e.g., "plumber near me," "bakery in [city name]," "best dentist [city] reviews").

Filter by Keyword Difficulty (KD): For local businesses, target keywords with lower KD scores as they are often easier to rank for, especially when combined with local intent.

Analyze Search Volume and Clicks: While national search volumes might seem low for highly specific local keywords, remember that these users often have high commercial intent. Focus on keywords with reasonable search volume and high click potential.

Find Competitor Keywords:

Use Site Explorer to analyze your local competitors' websites. Enter their domain and go to "Organic Keywords."

See what local keywords they are ranking for and getting traffic from. This can uncover opportunities you might have missed.

2. Competitor Analysis with Site Explorer
Identify Local Competitors: Beyond obvious direct competitors, use Ahrefs' "Organic competitors" report in Site Explorer to find businesses that rank for similar local keywords.

Analyze Their Backlink Profile:

Go to the "Backlinks" report in Site Explorer for your competitors.

Look for local directories, industry-specific sites, and local publications that link to your competitors. These are prime opportunities for you to gain citations and backlinks.

Use the Link Intersect tool: Enter your domain and a few local competitors' domains. This shows you websites that link to your competitors but not to you, highlighting easy link-building opportunities. Many of these will be local directories.

Spy on Their Content Strategy:

Check their "Top Pages" report to see which local-focused content is performing best for them (e.g., service pages for specific areas, blog posts addressing local issues). This can inspire your own content creation.

3. Local Citation Building
Consistent NAP Information: Ensure your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) are consistent across all online listings, including your Google Business Profile (GBP), social media, and local directories. Ahrefs helps you discover where your competitors are listed.

Leverage Link Intersect (as mentioned above): This is a fantastic way to find local and niche directories where your competitors have listings but you don't.

Monitor Backlinks (Alerts): Set up alerts in Ahrefs to be notified when your competitors gain new backlinks or mentions. This can reveal new citation opportunities.

4. On-Page Optimization for Local SEO
Optimize Content with Local Keywords: Incorporate your researched local keywords naturally into your website content, including service pages, location pages, and blog posts.

Google Business Profile (GBP) Optimization: While not directly an Ahrefs feature, Ahrefs' keyword research directly informs your GBP optimization. Use the keywords you find to describe your services and business accurately in your GBP listing.

Technical SEO with Site Audit: A healthy website is crucial for local SEO. Use Ahrefs' Site Audit to identify and fix technical issues like broken links, duplicate content, slow loading pages, and crawl errors, which can hinder your local rankings.

5. Tracking Local Rankings with Rank Tracker
Monitor Specific Local Keywords: Add your target local keywords to Ahrefs' Rank Tracker.

Specify Target Location: Crucially, set the exact location (city, state, country) to track your rankings accurately for local searches.

Track Competitor Performance: Monitor how your local competitors are ranking for the same keywords over time. This helps you adapt your strategy.

Leveraging Ahrefs for PPC Success
Ahrefs isn't just for organic search; its powerful data can significantly enhance your Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns by providing insights into competitor strategies and keyword profitability.

1. PPC Keyword Research with Keywords Explorer
Identify High-Intent Keywords:

Use Keywords Explorer to find keywords with commercial and transactional intent (e.g., "buy [product]," "[service] pricing," "hire [service]").

Look at the Cost Per Click (CPC) metric to understand the average cost of bidding on a keyword. This helps you gauge profitability and set budgets.

Filter for Low Competition, High Value: While not always easy, you can try filtering for keywords with lower Keyword Difficulty (KD) but a decent CPC, as these might offer a good balance for paid campaigns.

Discover Competitor's Paid Keywords:

Go to Site Explorer, enter a competitor's domain, and navigate to the "Paid keywords" report.

This report shows you exactly which keywords your competitors are bidding on, their estimated paid traffic, and the ads they are running.

This is invaluable for discovering profitable keywords you might not have considered and understanding competitor strategies.

Identify Negative Keywords:

While researching, you might uncover keywords that are related but not relevant to your offerings. Add these to your negative keyword list in your PPC campaigns to avoid wasting ad spend on irrelevant searches.

2. Competitor PPC Analysis with Site Explorer
Spy on Competitor Ads:

In the "Ads" report within Site Explorer, you can see the actual ad copy your competitors are using for their paid campaigns.

Analyze their headlines, descriptions, and calls to action. This provides inspiration and helps you craft more compelling ad copy for your own campaigns.

See which landing pages they are directing their paid traffic to. This can give you insights into their conversion strategies and help you optimize your own landing pages.

Analyze Paid Traffic & Cost Trends:

The "Overview" report in Site Explorer shows estimated paid traffic and paid traffic cost over time for any website. Compare your performance against competitors to identify trends and adjust your bidding strategies.

The "Paid pages" report can show you which of your competitor's pages are generating the most paid traffic and likely have the highest ad spend.

Understand Ad Positions:

Ahrefs can show you the position of your competitors' ads (top ad, bottom ad, shopping ad). This helps you understand the competitive landscape for specific keywords.

3. Monitoring and Optimization
Track PPC Performance: While Ahrefs doesn't directly manage your PPC campaigns, the insights you gather from it are crucial for ongoing optimization.

Identify Organic vs. Paid Overlap: Use Ahrefs to see if you're bidding on keywords where you already rank highly organically. In some cases, this can lead to inefficient spending. Ahrefs research suggests that sometimes businesses pay for ads even when they rank #1 organically for the same keyword. Evaluate whether your PPC spend is truly adding incremental value.

Refine Landing Pages: Use the insights from competitor landing pages (found via the "Ads" and "Paid pages" reports) to improve your own ad landing page experience, aiming for higher conversion rates.

Conclusion
Ahrefs is a versatile tool that empowers local businesses to excel in both organic search and paid advertising. By diligently utilizing its Keywords Explorer, Site Explorer, Rank Tracker, and Site Audit features, businesses can conduct thorough research, analyze competitors, optimize their online presence, and track their performance for sustained local SEO and PPC success. Remember that consistency in NAP information for local SEO and continuous monitoring and adaptation for PPC are key to maximizing your return on investment.