Key Takeaways
- Ahrefs is not just for SEO teams, its domain, keyword, and content data can help SDRs build laser-targeted cold calling lists based on what prospects are actually researching and publishing.
- Use Ahrefs Site Explorer and Content Explorer to find companies actively creating content around your ICP's pain points, then prioritize those accounts for cold calls and multi-channel outreach.
- With average cold calling success rates hovering around 2.3% in 2025, down from 4.82% in 2024, better targeting and personalization are now mandatory, not optional, for SDR teams.
- Turn Ahrefs insights into call openers by referencing a prospect's top pages, recent content, and competitive gaps, so every dial starts with relevance instead of a generic pitch.
- Build repeatable workflows where RevOps or marketing exports Ahrefs-based target lists weekly, enriches them with contact data, and feeds SDRs short research snippets for calls and emails.
- Use Ahrefs metrics such as organic traffic trends, domain rating, and commercial intent pages as prioritization signals so reps focus dials on accounts most likely to be in an active buying cycle.
- If your team does not have the time or expertise to operationalize this, partner with a specialist SDR firm like SalesHive that already combines SEO style data, AI personalization, and cold calling at scale.
Your prospects don’t live in your CRM
In modern B2B sales, most of the decision-making happens long before a rep ever gets a live conversation. Multiple studies show that 88% to 94% of B2B buyers do online research before contacting sales, and roughly 70% of the buying journey is completed digitally. That means Google, not your call script, is often shaping what prospects believe by the time you reach them.
At the same time, cold calling has gotten harder. Benchmarks put the average cold calling success rate at about 2.3% in 2025, down from 4.82% reported in 2024. When only a couple of conversations per hundred dials turn into real traction, your list quality and relevance strategy become the real lever.
That’s why we like Ahrefs for outbound. Most teams treat it as an SEO tool, but in practice it’s a digital intent engine that helps you understand what accounts care enough to publish, rank for, and invest in. Used well, it makes your B2B cold calling services feel less like guessing and more like calling into active priorities.
Why SEO intelligence belongs in outbound targeting
Buyers start with self-education, not sales conversations. Data consistently shows that 68% of B2B buyers prefer to research online, and 77% say they won’t speak to a salesperson until that research is complete. When your prospects are building opinions from search results, your outbound team gets an advantage by aligning outreach to what prospects are already exploring.
Traditional list building often relies on static filters like industry, headcount, and geography. Those firmographics matter, but they rarely answer the question every SDR needs: “Why now?” Ahrefs helps us add a second layer—topic alignment and content signals—that’s closer to real-world urgency than a purchased list.
| Targeting approach | What it optimizes for |
|---|---|
| Firmographic-only lists | Fit on paper (industry, size, region) but weak “why now” timing |
| Ahrefs-informed lists | Fit plus proof of interest (topics, commercial pages, content velocity) |
| Blended (best practice) | Fit + intent signals + the right contacts (LinkedIn + data providers) |
For any outbound sales agency or SDR agency trying to improve connect-to-meeting rates, this shift is the point: you can’t “script” your way out of a bad list. Better inputs—especially digital signals—create better conversations.
A practical Ahrefs primer for sales teams
Ahrefs is large-scale search and content intelligence, and its depth is what makes it useful beyond marketing. The platform has been reported at roughly US$149.1M in annual revenue (2024) and tracks an enormous web index, including about 35 trillion external backlinks and over 456.5 billion indexed pages. You don’t need to be an SEO specialist to benefit from that dataset—you just need a repeatable way to translate it into outbound actions.
For cold callers, the most valuable views are straightforward: Site Explorer (what a domain ranks for and which pages drive traffic), Content Explorer (who publishes content on a topic across the web), and Alerts (what’s changing). Instead of chasing vanity SEO metrics, we focus on what the content indicates about priorities, maturity, and timing.
Think of it like this: LinkedIn Sales Navigator helps you find the right people, but it doesn’t tell you what the company is actively educating the market about. Ahrefs helps you pick which companies to pursue (and with what angle), then your contact data stack helps you route that insight to the right titles for your cold calling team.
How to build an Ahrefs-sourced calling list that actually converts
Start with your ICP and the buyer’s problem language, not your product name. Define your best-fit industries, size bands, regions, and the pain themes you solve in plain English—then map those themes to the phrases buyers search (for example: “reduce churn,” “SOC 2 audit cost,” “vendor risk management,” or “warehouse labor cost”). Those themes become your filters, your call angles, and your list-building inputs.
Next, use Content Explorer to identify domains publishing heavily on those themes, and filter aggressively so you don’t end up with agencies, bloggers, or affiliate sites that will never buy. The goal is not “every domain that ranks,” but “domains that look like our ICP and demonstrate repeated topic investment,” because repeated topic investment is often a stronger buying signal than a static firmographic checkbox.
Finally, operationalize the handoff: export the domains, enrich them with firmographics and contacts, and tag them in your CRM as Ahrefs-sourced. In most teams, RevOps or marketing should own the weekly exports and enrichment so SDRs aren’t trapped inside SEO tools. Your outsourced sales team (or internal SDRs) should receive a short account snippet and one to two suggested call angles—enough to be relevant, not enough to delay call blocks.
Relevance beats cleverness every time—use Ahrefs to detect themes and priorities, then translate them into plain-language business problems your prospect already cares about.
Turn Ahrefs insights into better openers and cleaner discovery
The biggest mistake we see is using SEO data to “sound smart” instead of to be useful. Don’t bring up backlinks, domain rating, or keyword volume on a cold call; prospects outside marketing will tune out. Instead, use Ahrefs to spot patterns—like multiple high-performing pages on churn reduction, onboarding, or compliance—and turn those into a relevance-based opener and a discovery question that matches their world.
A simple workflow works: pick one or two top pages from Site Explorer, note the topic cluster, and identify whether the site has commercial intent pages (pricing, comparisons, implementation guides). That last part matters because commercial pages suggest a more mature initiative than generic thought leadership, and it helps you choose the right cadence across phone, email, and LinkedIn outreach services.
When we run cold calling services alongside a cold email agency-style motion, we keep personalization lightweight but consistent. The SDR shouldn’t write a novel; they should reference a clear priority, ask a relevant question, and earn the next step. With success rates sitting near 2.3% on average, your goal is to make every dial feel like it belongs on the prospect’s calendar, not like a random interruption.
Common mistakes (and how to fix them without slowing down reps)
One avoidable failure is keeping Ahrefs locked in marketing while sales calls blind lists. When SEO intelligence is siloed, your SDRs miss the most obvious “what they care about” signals sitting in plain sight on the prospect’s website. The fix is simple: create a shared workflow where marketing or RevOps pushes weekly domain exports, topic themes, and top pages into the CRM, and sales executes with consistency.
Another mistake is pulling every domain that ranks for a keyword without applying ICP filters. That creates bloated lists and wastes dials on non-buyers—one of the fastest ways to tank performance for a B2B sales agency or outbound sales agency. Always layer content signals on top of firmographics (industry, size, region) and exclude obvious mismatches before you ever enrich contacts.
Finally, avoid one-off research and vanity metrics. If every rep checks different reports, you can’t optimize; and if you over-weight domain rating, you’ll chase big logos with zero pain. Standardize a one-page research template (top pages, core topic cluster, and one to two angles) and keep the SEO jargon in prep notes, not in the opener.
Optimize timing and prove impact with clean measurement
Ahrefs is most powerful when you treat it as a timing tool, not just a list source. Content velocity, fresh updates, and new backlinks to relevant pages can act like lightweight triggers that a company is actively investing in a problem. Combine that with the reality that many B2B sales cycles run 6–8 months, and that 58% of sellers report cycles longer than three months, and it becomes obvious why timing matters: you want to enter the deal while priorities are forming, not after the shortlist is set.
To get leadership buy-in, instrument it like an experiment. Tag accounts sourced through Ahrefs versus your standard sources, then compare performance over a 30–60 day window. In many teams, targeted segments outperform generic purchased data on meetings booked—even if total dials drop—because list quality lifts outcomes.
| Metric to track | How to segment |
|---|---|
| Connect rate | Ahrefs-sourced vs. non-Ahrefs lists |
| Call-to-meeting rate | Tier 1 (commercial intent pages) vs. Tier 2/3 |
| Held meeting rate | By call angle/theme (e.g., churn, compliance, efficiency) |
| Pipeline created | By list source and by content “freshness” signal |
In practice, the best results come from blending: Ahrefs for account prioritization, LinkedIn Sales Navigator for the right stakeholders, and your data provider for direct dials. That intersection—fit, topic intent, and the right person—is where B2B cold calling services stop feeling like telemarketing and start producing predictable pipeline.
Next steps: build it in-house or outsource the motion
If you want to roll this out internally, keep it simple: have RevOps or marketing build and refresh the Ahrefs-based domain list weekly, enrich contacts, and attach a short research snippet to each account record. SDRs should spend minutes—not hours—reviewing the insight, then run their calling blocks with consistent talk tracks and follow-up across phone, email, and LinkedIn.
If you’re short on bandwidth, this is also where sales outsourcing can make sense. A strong cold calling agency can operationalize list building services, enrichment, calling, and sequencing without turning your reps into part-time analysts. The best cold calling companies treat data operations and execution as one system, not separate projects owned by different teams.
At SalesHive, we sit right at that intersection as a sales development agency: we combine research-driven targeting, an outsourced SDR team, and multichannel execution so your outreach starts with relevance. Whether you build in-house, hire SDRs, or outsource sales to a partner, the standard is the same: align your targeting to what prospects are already researching online, because that’s where the buying journey is happening first.
Sources
📊 Key Statistics
Expert Insights
Treat Ahrefs as a digital intent engine, not just an SEO toy
For outbound sales, Ahrefs is basically a window into what your prospects care enough to publish and rank for. Build target lists from companies that already create content about the problems you solve, then prioritize those with growing organic traffic and commercial intent pages. That is often a better buying signal than any static firmographic filter.
Use content themes to craft call angles, not to sound smart
Do not quote keyword volumes on your calls; use Ahrefs to detect themes. If a prospect has multiple top pages around topics like churn reduction or SOC 2, shape your opener and discovery questions around those pains. Relevance beats cleverness every time when you have 30 seconds to earn trust.
Operationalize research so SDRs are not stuck inside Ahrefs all day
Your RevOps or marketing team should own list building and enrichment from Ahrefs, then push short research snippets into the CRM. SDRs should see a one paragraph account insight and two suggested angles for calls or emails, not be expected to click through five Ahrefs reports for every dial.
Mix Ahrefs data with LinkedIn and intent tools for real power
Ahrefs alone will not tell you who the decision maker is or who just raised a funding round. Combine its domain and content intelligence with LinkedIn Sales Navigator, firmographic data, and any third party intent you have. The best cold calling lists are built where content signals, firmographics, and timing all intersect.
Test Ahrefs powered segments against your generic lists
If you want buy in from leadership, instrument it. Flag any accounts sourced through Ahrefs in your CRM and compare connect to meeting and opportunity rates versus your standard lists. In most teams I have worked with, targeted Ahrefs lists beat generic purchased data by a factor of two or more on meetings booked.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Letting only marketing use Ahrefs and keeping sales in the dark
When SEO data is siloed in marketing, SDRs end up calling blind lists while your website and content are quietly telling you who is leaning in.
Instead: Give sales operations at least limited Ahrefs access and set up a shared workflow where marketing exports domains, topics, and top pages that map to your ICP, then pipes that into your outbound motions.
Pulling every domain ranking for a keyword without ICP filters
You end up with bloated lists full of agencies, bloggers, and companies that will never buy what you sell, crushing connect rates and wasting SDR time.
Instead: Layer Ahrefs data on top of clear ICP rules such as industry, company size, region, and tech stack, and aggressively filter out non buyers before any contacts are added to your dialer or CRM.
Doing one off manual research instead of a repeatable process
If every rep researches Ahrefs differently before calls, your targeting and messaging are inconsistent and impossible to optimize.
Instead: Document a simple Ahrefs playbook for SDR research, standardize which reports to check, and centralize exports and insights through RevOps so everyone is working from the same patterns.
Using Ahrefs only for vanity metrics like domain rating
High domain rating or traffic does not automatically mean high intent; you may chase big logos that are not even experiencing the pain you solve.
Instead: Focus on content and keyword patterns that signal real problems and projects, such as comparison pages, solution pages, and repeat content around the same pain themes.
Referencing technical SEO details on cold calls
Prospects in non marketing roles will tune out if you start talking about backlinks, DR, and keyword rankings instead of their business problems.
Instead: Translate what you see in Ahrefs into plain language about their priorities such as growth, pipeline, risk, or efficiency and keep the SEO jargon in your prep notes, not in your opener.
Action Items
Define a clear ICP and map it to Ahrefs friendly signals
Write down your best fit industries, company sizes, regions, and pain themes, then list the keywords, topics, and page types in Ahrefs that would indicate those companies are a good fit for your offer.
Build your first Ahrefs sourced account list for outbound
Use Content Explorer or Site Explorer to find domains publishing on your core topics, filter by language and region, exclude obvious non buyers, then export and enrich those domains with contacts via your data provider.
Create a one page Ahrefs research template for SDRs
Standardize what reps should capture for each top tier account such as top three pages, main topic cluster, and one or two call angles, and store that inside the CRM so it is visible on every cold call.
Pilot an Ahrefs based segment against your current list source
Tag a few hundred Ahrefs derived accounts and run a dedicated cold calling and email sequence, then compare connect rate, meeting rate, and opportunity creation to your usual lists over 30-60 days.
Set up Ahrefs Alerts for trigger based prospecting
Create alerts for target keywords, competitor brand names, and key accounts so that when prospects publish new content or gain links around relevant topics, your SDRs can time outreach while interest is high.
Decide whether to build in house or partner with an agency
If you lack internal bandwidth to maintain lists and train SDRs on Ahrefs, evaluate outsourcing to a partner like SalesHive that already runs research driven cold calling and email programs at scale.
Partner with SalesHive
For companies that like the idea of using Ahrefs to prioritize cold calling targets but do not have the internal bandwidth or systems to operationalize it, SalesHive is effectively a plug and play option. Their US based and Philippines based SDR pods can take your ICP, ingest digital signals such as website content, SEO performance, and third party data, then build and work the lists for you across phone, email, and LinkedIn. With no annual contracts, flat rate pricing, and risk free onboarding, they make it easy to test a research driven outbound motion without hiring and managing a full in house SDR team.
Because SalesHive already runs integrated cold calling and email programs for hundreds of B2B companies, they are well positioned to incorporate tools like Ahrefs into the front end of your prospecting. Instead of asking your reps to become part time SEO analysts, you can hand the research and execution to a team whose entire business is turning better data into more meetings and pipeline.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Why should a B2B sales team care about Ahrefs when it is an SEO tool?
Because Ahrefs is essentially the x ray machine for what your target accounts are doing online. Studies show that 88 to 94 percent of B2B buyers research online before contacting sales, and around 70 percent of the buying journey happens digitally. When you use Ahrefs, you can see which companies are actively publishing and ranking around the problems you solve, which makes your cold calling list much closer to real in market demand. Instead of just filtering by firmographics, you can target by proof of interest.
Do our SDRs need full Ahrefs access, or can RevOps handle this centrally?
In most teams, SDRs do not need full platform access. A better pattern is to have RevOps or marketing own Ahrefs, define the ICP, build domain lists, and push curated insights into the CRM. SDRs see a research snippet and a couple of suggested angles next to the account, so they can personalize their openers without burning time in reports. You may still want one or two senior reps to have access for deep dives on strategic accounts.
How does Ahrefs compare to LinkedIn Sales Navigator for researching cold calling targets?
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is great for identifying individual contacts, org charts, and titles but it does not tell you much about what the company is actually doing online. Ahrefs, on the other hand, is exceptional at seeing which topics a domain ranks for, which pages drive traffic, and how seriously they take content and SEO. The most effective outbound teams use both together: Ahrefs to choose and prioritize accounts, and Sales Navigator to find the right people to call inside those accounts.
Which Ahrefs metrics matter most when qualifying targets for cold calls?
For outbound, focus on metrics that map to interest and maturity rather than pure SEO vanity. Look at organic traffic volume and growth trend, presence of commercial intent pages such as solution, pricing, and comparison content, topic clusters around the pains you solve, and recent content velocity. Domain rating can be a rough proxy for market presence, but it should not be the main gate for whether an SDR calls an account.
Can we use Ahrefs effectively on a limited budget or a lower tier plan?
Yes, as long as you are disciplined. Even with a lower tier plan, you can use Content Explorer and Site Explorer to identify promising domains, export small but focused lists, and run manual research on a subset of high value targets. The key is to avoid boiling the ocean: you do not need to analyze every domain in your space, just the ones that match your ICP and show strong topic alignment with what you sell.
How do we prevent SDRs from getting lost in Ahrefs and delaying their calling blocks?
Separate research time from call time. Have one person or a small pod handle Ahrefs list building and research in bulk, then drop findings into the CRM as short notes or custom fields. For SDRs, enforce simple prep rules such as two minutes of review per net new account and no more than one or two Ahrefs screenshots per record. The mindset should be that Ahrefs informs calls, it does not replace them.
How do we measure whether Ahrefs based targeting is actually improving cold calling performance?
Tag every account that enters your system from Ahrefs sourced research versus other channels such as purchased lists or inbound. Track core SDR KPIs by segment, including connect rate, call to meeting rate, held meeting rate, and pipeline created. If Ahrefs is doing its job, you should see meaningfully higher meeting and opportunity rates from those accounts even if total dials stay the same or drop slightly because you are calling fewer but better targets.
Is this approach only useful if we sell marketing or SEO products?
Not at all. Ahrefs surfaces what a company is talking about, what problems they are educating the market on, and how aggressively they are trying to grow through content, which are useful signals for almost any B2B sale. If you sell sales tech, security, logistics, HR solutions, or complex services, the keywords and content your prospects invest in will still reveal growth, risk, or efficiency themes you can use to guide your cold outreach.
