As AI technologies influence how people discover content, Large Language Model Optimization (LLMO) has become a critical part of modern SEO. Unlike traditional search engines, LLMs rely on different signals to cite content.
This shift means your SEO strategy must adapt to how LLMs interpret, index, and surface content.
Ahrefs incorporates features that support content optimization and visibility for AI systems. However, it’s not the only software that does this. Several SEO tools are also innovating to help marketers meet the demands of LLMO and improve the discoverability of AI content.
In this article, we’ll explore seven Ahrefs LLMO alternative tools designed to improve visibility in both search engines and generative AI.
TL;DR: Best Ahrefs Alternatives for LLM Optimization
- Prerender.io: best for JavaScript rendering and crawler accessibility.
- Keyword.com: best for AI rank tracking for LLM-based search platforms.
- Semrush: best comprehensive SEO tool with AI toolkits.
- Moz Pro: best for domain authority tracking and trust signals.
- Screaming Frog: best for technical SEO and site structure analysis.
- Majestic: best for detailed backlink analysis.
- SE Ranking: best for content and AI performance tracking.
1. Prerender.io: Best for JavaScript Rendering and Crawler Accessibility
Prerender.io is a leading technical SEO solution designed to help search engine bots and AI crawlers access content hidden behind JavaScript. It’s particularly useful for sites built with modern frameworks like React or Angular, which are notoriously hard for bots to crawl.
By delivering 100%-ready-to-index content to AI crawlers, Prerender.io ensures that your content is easier for both traditional and AI search engines to crawl, index, and cite.
Take a look at this case study, for instance. After adding the ChatGPT user agent to their Prerender.io system settings, one of our clients gained significant referral traffic from ChatGPT. Learn more about how Prerender.io makes your site more visible to AI and LLM-based search engines.
Features
- User-agent detection: detects AI crawlers, like ChatGPT, and serves them static snapshots while users get the dynamic version, balancing SEO and user experience.
- JavaScript rendering: prerenders dynamic JS pages ahead of request or on demand for faster and more accurate content crawling and indexing.
- Cache system: uses smart and customizable caching for fast delivery and minimal server load.
- JS frameworks and CDNs compatibility: work seamlessly with most JS frameworks and hosting environments.
Pros
- Installs easily with minimal development effort.
- Improves user experience through faster page loads.
- Boosts your crawl budget and prevents indexation issues caused by JS rendering.
- Handles large, complex sites without breaking a sweat.
- Reduces organic traffic drops caused by poor JS rendering.
- Includes a free SEO audit tool to help you identify and optimize problems for search and AI engines.
Pricing
Prerender.io pricing starts with a free plan that offers 1,000 renders per month. The paid plans scale with usage and come with dedicated support. To explore all available plans and find the best fit for your needs, visit Prerender.io’s pricing page.
2. Keyword.com: Best for AI Rank Tracking for LLM-Based Search Platforms
Keyword.com is a keyword performance monitoring platform for SEO agencies, in-house teams, and businesses. It offers features for tracking your keyword rankings, analyzing competitors, and optimizing your content for LLM visibility.
Features
- Real-time rank tracking: tracks keywords globally, locally, and on desktop or mobile devices.
- Visibility score: shows your keyword visibility score to track SEO performance
- SERP feature tracking: identifies if your keywords are triggering rich results like featured snippets, maps, or FAQs
- AI Rank Tracker: tracks rankings across generative search engines like Google SGE, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI-driven platforms.
Pros
- Has a strong focus on AI visibility tracking.
- Designed with a simple, intuitive interface that is accessible to both SEO beginners and professionals.
- Provides accurate and reliable ranking data critical for making informed SEO decisions.
Cons
- While Keyword.com is great for rank tracking, it has a limited scope with no backlink or site audit tools.
- Can be more expensive than some competitors, especially when additional features are needed.
Pricing
Keyword.com offers a 14-day free trial to try out the service, after which pricing starts at $3 per month for 50 keywords. Their Enterprise Plan includes custom pricing and is designed for large SEO teams with customized tracking needs.
3. Semrush: Best Comprehensive SEO Tool with AI Toolkits
Semrush is a full-featured online marketing platform designed to help businesses improve their online visibility and digital marketing operations. It offers a comprehensive suite of SEO and AI-powered tools for optimizing everything from keyword research and competitive analysis to backlink tracking and content audits.
Features
- Keyword research: identifies keywords to inform your SEO and advertising campaigns.
- Content marketing tools: supports content research, creation, and optimization with AI and data.
- Backlink analysis: monitors backlinks to understand the health of your backlink profile and link-building opportunities.
- AI tools: tracks how LLMs feature your brand versus your competitors and recommendations to optimize your strategy.
Pros
- One of the most complete marketing suites on the market.
- Its writing assistant helps optimize your content for AI search visibility tools.
- Offers a massive keyword database and the fastest backlink crawler, delivering extensive data for SEO and competitor analysis.
Cons
- Some users have reported that Semrush’s interface can be overwhelming, especially for beginners.
- Pricing adds up quickly with add-ons, which can be expensive for freelancers or small businesses.
- Semrush’s database only covers Google search, which is a drawback if you want data from other search engines like Bing.
Pricing
Semrush offers three pricing tiers: Pro, Guru, and Business. The Business plan starts at $499.95 per month and is tailored for large agencies and enterprises. There’s also the option for add-ons (charged separately) or creating a custom plan for your specific needs.
4. Moz Pro: Best for Monitoring Domain Authority and Trust Signals
Moz Pro is an all-in-one SEO software suite for visibility-focused teams. It offers tools to help businesses track and improve their site’s domain authority—a key trust factor for both SEO and AI search models.
Features
- Domain authority tracking: use Domain Authority to gauge your site’s strength and authoritativeness in search results.
- On-page optimization: optimizes your content for target keywords.
- Keyword explorer: helps discover valuable keyword opportunities and analyzes search volume, difficulty, and organic click-through rates.
- Site crawl: performs thorough SEO audits to identify technical issues, errors, and optimization opportunities.
Pros
- Beginner-friendly with a straightforward and intuitive interface.
- Features search intent modeling and keyword suggestions designed to match evolving AI search behaviors.
- Offers robust site auditing features that help identify technical SEO issues effectively.
Cons
- Essential features cost more, which may not be feasible for all users.
- Has limited export options and keyword research queries, restricting larger campaigns.
- Smaller keyword and backlink databases than competitors, limiting the depth of keyword research.
Pricing
Moz Pro offers a 30-day free trial for new users to explore the platform. After that, pricing starts at $49 per month for the Starter plan, with higher-tier plans offering additional capabilities.
5. Screaming Frog: Best for Technical SEO and Structure Audits
Screaming Frog is a website crawling tool for diagnosing what AI crawlers or search bots might struggle to access your site. It provides in-depth technical SEO insights for improving site structure, optimizing for AI, and search engine visibility.
Features
- Website crawling: thoroughly crawls sites to extract on-page SEO elements such as URLs, page titles, meta descriptions, etc.
- SEO audit: identifies technical issues like broken links, redirects, duplicate content, and server errors that could hurt site performance or user experience.
- Integration with other tools: integrates seamlessly with various third-party tools and platforms, including Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
- XML sitemap generation: generates XML sitemaps that help search engines and AI systems find and parse your content.
Pros
- Diagnoses technical issues and provides detailed insights on your site performance.
- Supports scheduling audits, custom filtering, and advanced reporting tailored to your specific SEO needs.
- Integrates with other tools to layer performance and behavior data into your crawl.
Cons
- Desktop-only application and lacks cloud support.
- Has a complex interface and steep learning curve, especially for those unfamiliar with SEO technicalities.
- Consumes significant memory resources when crawling large sites, which can slow down less powerful computers.
Pricing
Screaming Frog offers a free version of its SEO Spider tool, which has a crawl limit of 500 URLs. For unlimited crawling and access to advanced features, users can purchase a license, which costs $279 per year.
Not a fan of Screaming Frog? Check out these Screaming Frog alternatives.
6. Majestic: Best for Detailed Backlink Analysis
Majestic specializes in backlink intelligence. Because LLMs often use backlink data as a proxy for trust and authority, Majestic’s backlink insights can indirectly support your AI optimization efforts. Its Trust Flow and Link Graph help you visualize how backlink authority spreads across the web, making it helpful in understanding how AI models may assess credibility and trust.
Features
- Trust Flow and Citation Flow: measures the quality and quantity of backlinks.
- Backlink analysis: provides an extensive database of backlinks with detailed metrics.
- Site Explorer: provides an in-depth look at any website’s backlink profile.
- Link context: offers context about the surrounding content of backlinks, including anchor text and nearby links.
Pros
- Has long-term historic data, going back to 2006.
- Link Graph feature for visualizing backlink networks.
- Maintains a vast and frequently updated index of backlinks, covering millions of domains
Cons
- The interface is not known for being user-friendly and intuitive.
- Majestic specializes in backlink analysis, so it’s not comprehensive enough to be used as a standalone SEO tool.
Pricing
Majestic’s pricing scales from $49.99 per month for basic backlink analysis up to $399.99 per month for extensive data access and API integration.
7. SE Ranking: Best for Content and AI Performance Tracking
SE Ranking offers over 30 SEO tools in one platform, including robust content performance tracking and AI visibility monitoring. It’s a great fit for teams looking to optimize performance across traditional search and generative AI search.
Features
- AI Overviews tracker: monitors your performance in AI-powered search, providing insights to strengthen your AI presence.
- Keyword rank tracking: monitors how your keywords are performing across different search engines and locations.
- Website audit: identifies technical SEO issues and provides actionable recommendations for improvement.
- Competitor analysis: see what your competitors are ranking for, what backlinks they have, and how their traffic compares.
Pros
- Offers a comprehensive feature set.
- Integrates AI and Google NLP technologies to enhance SEO insights.
- Responsive support team helping users navigate the platform and resolve issues efficiently.
Cons
- Due to the breadth of features and menu complexity, the interface can feel crowded for new users.
- Advanced agency tools come at an extra cost, which may not be financially feasible for businesses.
Pricing
SE Ranking offers three main pricing plans with flexible customization options and discounts for annual billing. The pricing starts at $65 per month ($52 per month with annual billing). There’s also the option for add-ons and customization to fit your specific SEO needs.
What to Consider When Choosing an AI SEO Tool for LLMO
Before adding a new tool to your stack, it’s worth considering how well the platform fits into your technical and LLM optimization goals. Here are five key factors to consider:
1. Tech Stack Compatibility
Ensure the tool integrates smoothly with your site’s framework, especially if you’re using JS-heavy setups like React or Next.js, which often require rendering fixes for bots and LLMs.
2. AI Visibility Features
Look for tools that specifically track how your content appears in AI search platforms or generative results, as this visibility is separate from traditional SERP rankings.
3. Data Depth
Consider what type of insights matter most to your LLMO strategy. Some tools offer all-in-one features, while others specialize in more focused metrics.
4. Pricing and Scalability
Choose a platform that fits your current budget but can also scale with your site’s growth and traffic volume.
5. Support and Ease of Use
If your team isn’t highly technical, prioritize tools that are easy to use, have automation features, and responsive support to avoid bottlenecks.
Optimizing Your Technical SEO for Improved AI Visibility with Prerender.io
While the Ahrefs alternatives above offer excellent features to shape your optimization strategy, none of that matters if your content isn’t technically accessible to AI crawlers in the first place.
Search engines and AI systems need to crawl, render, and understand your site accurately to surface your content in results, but JavaScript can get in the way. Prerender.io solves this problem by delivering fully rendered HTML versions of your JS pages, ensuring your content is visible, crawlable, indexable, and AI-ready.
Prerender.io ensures your JavaScript-heavy content is accessible to AI and search engines alike. Learn more about how Prerender.io can help you win in the AI search era. And when you’re ready, get started for free to future-proof your SEO and LLMO strategy.
