I’m getting confused because the traffic numbers I see in Google Analytics don’t match what Ahrefs is showing me for my website. The difference is pretty significant and I can’t figure out why this is happening. I’ve been tracking my site’s performance using both tools for a few months now. Google Analytics shows one set of visitor numbers while Ahrefs displays completely different data. Sometimes the gap is small but other times it’s huge. Has anyone else noticed this kind of mismatch? I’m wondering if these platforms calculate traffic differently or if there’s something wrong with my setup. Would really appreciate if someone could explain what might be causing these inconsistent results.
These tools measure totally different things - that’s why the numbers don’t match.
Google Analytics tracks real visitors who actually hit your site and load the GA code. Ahrefs just guesses your traffic based on keyword rankings and search volume. They’re not measuring anything directly.
Here’s how Ahrefs works: they see what keywords you rank for, then estimate clicks based on typical positions. But they can’t account for your actual click-through rates, branded searches, direct traffic, or referrals.
GA shows real sessions from actual people. Ahrefs shows what they think your organic traffic should be using industry averages.
This exact problem screwed up our reporting at work. Instead of manually comparing data every month, I built an automation in Latenode that pulls from both tools, spots discrepancies, and creates one dashboard.
It grabs GA’s actual traffic data, pulls Ahrefs keyword estimates, then auto-generates variance reports. Now we know exactly where differences come from without wasting hours in spreadsheets.
For you: trust GA for real visitor numbers, use Ahrefs for keyword research and competitor intel. You can automate the comparison to save time.
Had this exact problem when I started using both tools for client reports. Here’s what’s happening: Google Analytics tracks real user behavior with JavaScript code on your site - it sees every actual session, pageview, and interaction. Ahrefs just estimates traffic using algorithms based on your rankings and average CTRs for those positions. Their estimates are often way off because they can’t factor in things like brand recognition, seasonal changes, or whether your meta descriptions actually get people to click. I’ve seen Ahrefs underestimate traffic by 60% for sites with strong brand searches, and overestimate just as much for sites that rank well but have terrible CTRs. Stick with Google Analytics for actual traffic data. Use Ahrefs for keyword research and competitor analysis. Their estimates can’t beat real tracking data.