parklibrary.mj.unc.edu

If you're new to Ahrefs and want to run your first SEO audit, the fastest path is: open Site Explorer, enter your target URL, review the Overview for a health snapshot, then dig into Organic Keywords, Top Pages, and Site Audit to find specific problems. From there, build a short prioritized to-do list instead of trying to fix everything at once.

This tutorial walks through that workflow using a realistic starting scenario, explains what the numbers mean, and shows how to turn findings into actions.

Before You Start: Pick a Narrow Scope

A common beginner mistake is auditing an entire large website on day one. The reports become overwhelming, and you can't tell which issues matter.

Instead, choose one of these starting points:

• A single important page (your homepage or a key product/service page)
• A small site (under ~50 pages, e.g., a personal blog or small business site)
• One section of a bigger site (e.g., /blog/)

For this tutorial, assume you're auditing a small business site with about 30 pages. The same steps scale up later.

You'll need an Ahrefs account to follow along. Ahrefs offers paid plans, and pricing and feature limits change over time, so check the current Pricing page for what's included in each tier before committing.

Step 1: Enter Your Target in Site Explorer

Site Explorer is Ahrefs' core tool for analyzing any website or URL.

1. Open Site Explorer from the top navigation.
2. In the search box, paste your domain (e.g., example.com).
3. Choose the Exact URL or Domain mode depending on scope. For a full-site view, use Domain or Prefix; for a single page, use Exact URL.
4. Press Enter.

You'll land on the Overview report. Don't try to absorb everything — focus on four numbers first.

Reading the Overview Snapshot

Important caveat: Ahrefs' traffic and keyword numbers are estimates based on its own data. They won't match Google Search Console or your analytics exactly. Treat them as directional, not absolute.

Step 2: See What You Already Rank For

Go to Organic Keywords in the left sidebar. This shows queries where your site appears in search results.

Sort by Traffic (descending) to see which pages bring the most estimated visitors. Then look for:

• Keywords ranking in positions 4–15 — these are often the easiest wins. A small content or on-page improvement can push them onto page one.
• Keywords with high volume but low position — potential opportunities if the topic is relevant.
• Irrelevant keywords — if you rank for something off-topic, it may signal thin or mismatched content.

Write down 5–10 of the position 4–15 keywords. These become your first optimization targets.

Step 3: Find Your Best and Weakest Pages

Open Top Pages. This ranks your URLs by estimated organic traffic.

Look for two things:

1. Your top performers — understand what topics and formats work. Can you create more content like this?
2. Pages with traffic but poor rankings — these may need on-page fixes (title, headings, internal links).

If a page gets zero traffic and targets a topic you care about, it's a candidate for a rewrite or consolidation.

Step 4: Run a Technical Site Audit

Now move to Site Audit. This crawls your site and flags technical and on-page issues.

1. Click Site Audit → New project.
2. Enter your domain and set crawl settings (default is usually fine for a small site).
3. Start the crawl and wait for it to finish.

Once complete, you'll see a Health Score and a list of issues grouped by category.

Which Issues to Fix First

Not all issues are equal. Prioritize in this order:

Ignore low-impact warnings (like minor meta description length) until the big items are handled.

Step 5: Turn Findings Into a To-Do List

You now have raw data. Convert it into a short, actionable list. Example:

1. Fix 3 broken links found in Site Audit.
2. Rewrite title tags on 5 pages with duplicate titles.
3. Improve 4 pages ranking in positions 6–12 by adding missing subtopics and internal links.
4. Remove or update 2 thin pages with no traffic.

Keep the list to 5–10 items max for your first audit. Finishing a short list beats starting a long one.

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Chasing every red flag. Site Audit flags many minor issues. Fix what affects rankings and users first.
• Trusting estimates as exact numbers. Ahrefs data is modeled, not measured from your analytics.
• Auditing a huge site too early. Start small to learn the interface.
• Ignoring search intent. A page can be technically perfect but still fail if it doesn't match what searchers want.
• Forgetting to re-crawl. After fixes, run Site Audit again to confirm improvements.

Where to Go Next

Once your first audit is done:

• Compare with competitors using Site Explorer's Competing Domains and Content Gap reports.
• Track keyword rankings over time with Rank Tracker.
• Explore backlink opportunities in the Backlinks and Link Intersect reports.
• Set up recurring Site Audit crawls so new issues surface automatically.

Your first audit isn't about perfection — it's about building a repeatable habit: enter a target, read the key reports, pick the highest-impact fixes, and act. Do that once a month and your site's health compounds.

Park Library's site at parklibrary.mj.unc.edu organizes everything around one main hub: Central Resources. If you need research databases, equipment, course or subject guides, or a librarian appointment, start there. The sections below map each service to where it lives and what you can expect to find.

Start With Central Resources

"Central Resources" is the primary navigation block on the site and the fastest route to most services. It groups the library's offerings into these areas:

• Equipment — reserve library equipment for student use.
• Scholarly Articles — research databases and search tools.
• News — current and historical news sources.
• Guides & Tools — course guides, subject guides, and reference tools.
• Reserve Equipment — the direct booking entry point.
• How to Use Our Resources — instructions for accessing materials.
• Standards & Policies — the rules that apply to student use.
• Connect to VPN — remote access setup for off-campus use.

If you only remember one thing, remember this block: it is the site's central index.

Find Research Databases and Articles

Under the Scholarly Articles area, the library lists specific databases and search options:

For data and reference tools, the Guides & Tools area points to Simmons Insights, Statista, and the AP Stylebook Online.

Key point: off-campus access to these databases generally requires the VPN. Use the "Connect to VPN" link in Central Resources before trying to open subscription databases from outside campus.

Get Help From a Librarian

The site offers a direct help path rather than a general contact form:

1. Go to the Need Help? section.
2. Select Schedule an Appointment.
3. Choose Schedule at Davis to book a session.

This is the recommended route for research questions, database troubleshooting, or guidance on using a specific tool. If your question is about equipment rather than research, use Reserve Equipment instead.

Use Course and Subject Guides

Two guide types sit under Guides & Tools:

• Course Guides — tied to specific classes and assignments.
• Subject Guides — organized by topic or discipline.

Start with a course guide if your instructor pointed you to one; use a subject guide when you need an overview of resources in an area like media studies or business journalism.

Additional Resources and Free Subscriptions

Beyond the main research tools, the site lists:

• Access Libby and a Libby Help Guide — for digital reading access.
• Free NYT Subscription — a New York Times subscription offered through the library.
• Free WP Subscription — a Washington Post subscription offered through the library.

Follow the individual links for activation steps, since each subscription service has its own sign-up process.

Stay Current With News & Events

The News & Events section carries library announcements, such as the launch of the redesigned website and background on Rory, the library's mascot. Check here for changes to services, new resources, or operational updates that affect how you access materials.

Quick Navigation Summary

The site's structure is intentionally flat: nearly every service is one click from Central Resources, so that block is the right starting point for almost any task.

Park Library is the library of the Hussman School of Journalism & Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It provides educational and instructional resources to students in the school's journalism and media programs, covering three main areas: equipment, scholarly and news databases, and research guides and tools. If you are a UNC Hussman student or faculty member looking for journalism-specific research support, equipment access, or course-related resources, this is the library to start with.

Who It Serves

Park Library's stated purpose is to support students at UNC Hussman's department of Journalism and Media. Its resources are organized around the needs of that community — course guides, subject guides, and discipline-specific databases rather than a general-purpose collection. The library also offers appointment scheduling for research help, which points to one-on-one support as part of its service model.

What You Can Access

The library's "Central Resources" page groups its offerings into a few clear categories.

Equipment

The library provides equipment for student use, with a "Reserve Equipment" option and a "How to Use Our Resources" guide. Standards and policies apply, and there is a VPN connection option — relevant if you need to reach library resources from off campus.

Databases and Search Tools

Park Library points users to a set of research databases suited to journalism and media work:

The page also notes a combined search option across the three EBSCO-style databases, which is useful when you are not sure which subject database fits your topic.

Guides and Tools

Two types of guides are listed: Course Guides (tied to specific classes) and Subject Guides (organized by topic area). These are the fastest entry point if you want a curated starting list rather than searching databases from scratch.

Additional Resources

Beyond the core collection, the library lists access to Libby (with a help guide) and free subscriptions to The New York Times and The Washington Post. The presence of "subscription" language in the site's signals suggests some resources are subscription-based, so access terms may depend on your affiliation — check the individual resource rather than assuming open access.

Getting Help

The library offers appointment scheduling for research assistance, with scheduling available at Davis. If you are stuck on a literature search, a data question, or which database to use, booking an appointment is the direct route.

Practical Notes

• Off-campus access: Use the VPN connection option if you are working remotely.
• Equipment: Reserve in advance and review the standards and policies before pickup.
• Starting point: The homepage is described as the best entry to the most-used resources.
• News access: The free NYT and WP subscriptions are listed as additional resources — confirm current eligibility terms on the site, since the page does not spell out who qualifies.

Park Library is best understood as a subject-specialized library: it exists to serve journalism and media students at UNC Hussman, and its value is in the combination of discipline-specific databases, course and subject guides, reservable equipment, and research appointments in one place.

Park Library at the Hussman School of Journalism & Media provides four main categories of student resources: loanable media equipment, scholarly and news databases, research and style tools, and additional access perks like free newspaper subscriptions and Libby. Most of these are aimed at current UNC Hussman students, and some resources (particularly databases and subscriptions) require a VPN connection or library login to use from off campus.

Equipment

The library lends media gear for student use, and the site separates this into two actions: browsing what's available and reserving it.

• Reserve Equipment — the booking entry point for checking out gear.
• Equipment — the general listing of what the library holds.

If you need cameras, audio recorders, or other production gear for a class project, start with the equipment listing and then place a reservation. Plan ahead: equipment is shared across the school, so popular items go early in the semester.

Scholarly Articles and News Databases

This is the largest group of resources, split between academic search tools and news archives.

Scholarly and general databases:

• Academic Search Premier
• Business Source Premier
• Communication & Mass Media Complete
• A combined search across all three
• Google Scholar

News databases:

• America's News
• U.S. Newsstream
• Mainstream U.S. News
• Wall Street Journal
• Historical Newspapers

The site also links a Connect to VPN option alongside these databases, which tells you off-campus access depends on the VPN. If a database asks you to log in or won't load, connect to the VPN first before assuming the resource is unavailable.

Research Tools and Style Guides

For data, audience research, and writing standards, the library points to:

• Simmons Insights — consumer and audience data.
• Statista — statistics and market data.
• AP Stylebook Online — the standard style reference for journalism students.

These support both reporting assignments and market/audience research, so they're worth bookmarking early rather than hunting for mid-deadline.

Guides and Help

The library organizes instruction through:

• Course Guides — resources tied to specific classes.
• Subject Guides — resources grouped by topic or beat.
• Guides & Tools — the broader tools hub.
• Standards & Policies — the rules that govern use of library resources and facilities.

If you're stuck, there are two appointment paths: Schedule an Appointment and Schedule at Davis. Use these when a database isn't behaving or you need help shaping a research strategy.

Additional Resources

Beyond the core collections, students can access:

• Libby — plus a Libby Help Guide for setup.
• Free NYT Subscription
• Free WP Subscription

The subscriptions are listed as free resources through the library, but they still route through the library's access system — expect to authenticate rather than simply signing up on the newspaper's site.

Quick Reference

One practical note: the library recently launched a new website, and according to its own news post the changes are "mostly aesthetic," with information in roughly the same locations as before. If you had bookmarked a specific database page, it should still exist — just re-navigate from the Central Resources page rather than assuming the link moved.

Park Library at the Hussman School of Journalism & Media offers two main paths for students: reserving physical equipment and accessing online research resources. Equipment reservations go through the library's reserve system, while off-campus access to databases and subscriptions requires connecting to VPN first. If you get stuck, you can schedule an appointment with library staff.

Reserving Equipment

The library lists Reserve Equipment as a central resource, meaning equipment checkout is handled through a reservation process rather than walk-up borrowing alone.

Before you reserve, confirm two things:

• Who can reserve. The library describes its resources as serving "students at UNC Hussman's department of Journalism and Media," so eligibility is tied to that program rather than the general public.
• What you need it for. Course-related production work is the typical use case; the library's guides and tools are organized around coursework and research.

The reservation flow itself follows a standard pattern:

1. Go to the library site and find the Reserve Equipment entry under Central Resources.
2. Log in with your university credentials when prompted (reservation systems for university libraries are account-based).
3. Select the equipment and your pickup/return window.
4. Confirm the reservation and note the pickup location and time.

Expected result: you receive a confirmation for a specific item and time slot. If you don't get a confirmation, the reservation didn't go through — try again or contact the library.

Common snag: reservation systems often require you to agree to standards and policies before checkout. The library publishes a Standards & Policies page; read it before your first reservation so you aren't blocked mid-request.

Accessing Online Resources Off-Campus

The library's online resources include databases and subscriptions such as:

The library explicitly lists Connect to VPN as a step for using these resources. That matters because database and subscription access is typically tied to being on the university network.

How to use it:

1. Connect to the university VPN from your off-campus location.
2. Once connected, open the database or subscription link from the library's resource list — not from a general web search.
3. Log in with your university account if the resource asks for one.

Expected result: the resource loads with full institutional access instead of a paywall or limited preview. If you still hit a paywall, the VPN connection likely didn't establish — reconnect and retry.

Note on the free NYT and WP subscriptions: these are listed as additional resources, but the page doesn't state the signup terms. Check the linked pages for activation steps rather than assuming instant access.

Using Guides, Tools, and Search

Beyond databases, the library organizes help into Course Guides and Subject Guides. These are the fastest route when you don't know which database fits your assignment — a course guide points you to the specific sources your instructor expects.

You can also Search All Three Together across Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, and Communication & Mass Media Complete, which is useful when your topic spans media, business, and general academic literature.

Getting Help

If a reservation fails, VPN access doesn't work, or you can't find the right database, the library offers Schedule an Appointment (including scheduling at Davis). This is the direct route for questions that the guides and policies pages don't answer.

Quick Decision Guide

• Need a camera, recorder, or other gear? → Reserve Equipment, then check Standards & Policies.
• Need articles, data, or news archives from off campus? → Connect to VPN first, then open the resource from the library list.
• Don't know where to start on an assignment? → Course Guides or Subject Guides.
• Stuck on anything? → Schedule an Appointment.