Use Ahrefs Domain Rating, Backlinks & Traffic Lookup with Python
Look up a domain's public Ahrefs Domain Rating, linking-website count, global rank, and estimated organic traffic, with a mode to fetch just authority or just backlink metrics.
1. Choose the data you need
Review the published README for supported collection modes, examples, and limits. The recipe below uses the current published input definition.
2. Prepare a source-based input
This JSON contains published prefills and required-field defaults. Review every value for your task before running it; it is not a promise of successful collection.
{
"domains": [
"wikipedia.org"
],
"includeCompetitors": false,
"includeCountries": false,
"includeHistory": false,
"includeKeywords": false,
"maxItems": 1,
"mode": "domain",
"topWebsitesCategory": "all",
"topWebsitesCountry": "worldwide",
"topWebsitesPage": 1,
"topWebsitesRanking": "ranking"
}
Download input.example.json and save your reviewed copy as input.json.
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
mode | string | required | What to fetch. `domain` returns the full public profile; `competitors` returns one row per competitor; `topWebsites` returns the AhrefsTop ranking without needing domains. Legacy values `full`, `authority_only` and `backlinks_only` are accepted and mapped to `domain`, `authority` and `backlinks`. |
domains | array | optional | Domains or full URLs (mode=domain/authority/backlinks/traffic/competitors). `www` and non-`www` forms are both tried. Duplicates are removed. |
includeHistory | boolean | optional | Include monthly traffic, traffic-value and linking-website history (mode=domain/authority/backlinks/traffic). |
includeKeywords | boolean | optional | Include the top 5 keywords table (mode=domain/traffic). |
includeCountries | boolean | optional | Include the top 5 traffic countries (mode=domain/traffic). |
includeCompetitors | boolean | optional | Include the top 5 competing websites on the profile (mode=domain). |
maxItems | integer | optional | Hard cap on emitted rows across all requested domains or ranking pages. |
topWebsitesCountry | string | optional | (mode=topWebsites) Country ranking. `worldwide` uses the global top 1000; any other value uses that country's top 100. |
topWebsitesCategory | string | optional | (mode=topWebsites) Category filter. Combine with a country for that country's category ranking. |
topWebsitesRanking | string | optional | (mode=topWebsites) Position ranking or the monthly trending up/down list. |
topWebsitesPage | integer | optional | (mode=topWebsites) Starting global ranking page (1 = ranks 1-100, 10 = ranks 901-1000). Country, category and trending rankings expose one page only. |
3. Start an Actor run
Set APIFY_TOKEN in your environment. Python 3.10 or newer is sufficient; this recipe uses no third-party packages.
Execution may incur charges. Review current pricing on Apify. The request asks for a 120-second timeout and a charge limit; these settings are subject to Apify’s pricing and do not guarantee an all-inclusive spending cap.
import json
import os
import urllib.request
# Save the schema-derived example as input.json; review and edit it first.
with open("input.json", encoding="utf-8") as stream:
actor_input = json.load(stream)
token = os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"]
request = urllib.request.Request(
"https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/gUzxxjRtJtq8KiIiG/runs?timeout=120&maxTotalChargeUsd=0.50",
data=json.dumps(actor_input).encode("utf-8"),
headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + token, "Content-Type": "application/json"},
method="POST",
)
# This starts a potentially billable run. Do not automatically retry this POST.
with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=40) as response:
run = json.load(response)["data"]
print("Run ID:", run["id"])
print("Status:", run["status"])
# Inspect and download results in Apify Console once the run succeeds.
4. Inspect the actual results
Open the run in Apify Console and wait for a successful completion. Use the published output schema to locate results and the dataset schema to understand declared views. Missing or optional record fields must not be treated as guaranteed values.
One dataset of public AhrefsTop website profiles, competitor rows and top-website rankings, including Domain Rating, traffic, traffic value, keyword counts, top keywords, countries, competitors, similar sites and monthly history.
Questions before you run
Which inputs are required?
The published required fields are mode
What does this guide verify?
The fields, prefills, and schema links are rendered from the published build. This is a usage recipe, not a paid live extraction test. Source availability and collection results can vary.
What if the run request times out?
Check Apify Console before retrying. The first request may already have created a run. Do not automatically repeat a run-creation POST.
Generated from source build 1er5MI6BnUASyOt8P and its README and schemas. Source changes regenerate this guide; no third-party editorial claims are inferred.