statesman.com

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.

The Austin American-Statesman covers Austin and Texas news across a defined set of sections: News, Weather, Business, Education, Sports, Longhorns, Food, Entertainment, Opinion, Newsletters, and Puzzles. Its stated focus is being "the number one source for Austin and Texas breaking news, politics and business," so the coverage skews local and regional rather than national or international. If you want Austin-area politics, University of Texas athletics, or Central Texas high school sports, this is the relevant scope; if you need national wire coverage or non-Texas news, that is not what the homepage evidence shows.

Main coverage areas

The site organizes content into these labeled sections, visible in its navigation:

• News — general breaking and local news
• Weather — including recurring Austin weather coverage
• Business
• Education — for example, reporting on school closure petitions
• Sports — high school and college sports
• Longhorns — dedicated University of Texas athletics coverage
• Food
• Entertainment
• Opinion
• Newsletters
• Puzzles

Politics sits inside the news coverage rather than as a separate top-level label in the evidence, and the site describes politics as one of its core beats.

Local events and Austin life

A large share of the homepage is built around Austin-specific happenings. The ACL Fest music festival dominates the sample, with items such as:

• "Talarico appears at ACL Fest after time away from the campaign trail"
• "ACL Fest mud is gone but prepare for dust"
• "10 ACL Fest Weekend 2 acts you shouldn't miss"
• "ACL Fest then and now: See how Austin's skyline has changed in last 21 years"
• "ACL Fest Weekend 2: See the best photos from Zilker Park"

Other local-interest threads include Austin weather, an annual cricket invasion, and a roundup of "Best music venues in Austin." This tells you the site treats city events, weather, and local culture as regular coverage, not occasional features.

University of Texas and college sports

The Longhorns section is a distinct, heavily populated area. Examples from the page include:

• Texas vs. Arkansas game replay and highlights
• Texas volleyball coverage, including injury status for middle blocker Nya Bunton
• Texas football stories on the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma
• A piece on the return of player Hollywood Smothers ahead of Texas vs. OU

If your interest is UT Austin athletics, this section is the reason to visit.

High school and prep sports

Central Texas high school football gets its own recurring coverage, including live scoring updates, game final scores, and a "High School Athlete of the Week" vote. Sample items include Cedar Park vs. Hutto live updates, Smithson Valley vs. Anderson results, and Week 7 UIL game scoring across Texas. This is a meaningful differentiator for readers following local prep teams.

How to use this scope

• For Austin politics and city news: start with News and Opinion.
• For UT sports: go straight to Longhorns.
• For local prep football: use the High School Football coverage and live-update posts.
• For events and culture: check Entertainment and the ACL Fest-style event roundups.
• For weather: the Weather section carries recurring Austin forecasts and conditions.

One practical note: the site uses a "subscribe" signal, so some content may sit behind a subscription. The available evidence does not specify which articles are free or what a subscription costs, so check the individual article or the site's subscription page before assuming access.

statesman.com is the website of the Austin American-Statesman, a news outlet that describes itself as "the number one source for Austin and Texas breaking news, politics and business." It is aimed at readers who follow Austin and Texas news, with a strong emphasis on local politics, sports, and community coverage. If you are looking for Austin-area headlines, University of Texas athletics, or Central Texas high school sports, this is the kind of site built for that.

What the site covers

The homepage navigation and story mix show the main coverage areas:

• News — breaking news and general Austin/Texas reporting
• Weather — local forecasts and conditions
• Business — Austin and Texas business coverage
• Education — school-related reporting, including local district news
• Sports — general sports coverage
• Longhorns — University of Texas athletics, including football and volleyball
• Food — Austin food and dining
• Entertainment — events and culture, including Austin City Limits (ACL) Fest coverage
• Opinion — columns and commentary
• Newsletters — email-based updates
• Puzzles — games and puzzle content

The site also runs a "Trending" list, which at the time of the page evidence included items such as "Best music venues in Austin," "ACL Fest Weekend 2," "Austin weather," and "Annual cricket invasion returns."

Who it is for

The audience is primarily people in or following Austin and the wider state of Texas. Two areas stand out in the page evidence:

1. Local and state news — politics, business, education, and community stories.
2. Sports at multiple levels — University of Texas ("Longhorns") coverage plus Central Texas high school football, with live scoring updates and game results.

For example, if you want to follow a Texas vs. Arkansas game, high school football scores from around Austin, or a local story about a church erasing medical debt, those are the kinds of items the site publishes.

How to use it

• Scan the section menu (News, Weather, Business, Education, Sports, Longhorns, Food, Entertainment, Opinion, Newsletters, Puzzles) to go straight to the topic you want.
• Check the Trending list for the stories getting the most attention at that moment.
• Use the Longhorns and High School Football sections if you are following Texas athletics or Austin-area prep sports.
• Look for the subscribe option if you want ongoing access; the site shows subscription signals, so some content or features may sit behind a subscription.

What to keep in mind

The site is a local news destination, not a general-purpose reference site. Its value is in Austin and Texas coverage — especially politics, business, and sports — rather than national or international news. If your interest is outside that region, another source will likely serve you better.

Yes. The Austin American-Statesman (statesman.com) covers both Austin-area sports and local events, and it does so as a dedicated local news operation rather than as a general-interest site. Its sports coverage spans high school football, University of Texas ("Longhorns") athletics, and live scoring updates, while its events coverage includes major Austin happenings such as ACL Fest. If you want Austin-specific scores, schedules, and event reporting in one place, this site is built for that.

What sports coverage you'll find

The site's sports reporting is organized around Austin and Central Texas teams, with a strong emphasis on live and same-day updates.

• High school football: Game-day live updates, final scores, and weekly scoring roundups across Austin-area and Texas UIL games. Examples from the site include "Cedar Park vs Hutto: Live updates of high school football" and "High school football Week 7: Live scoring updates from Friday UIL games across Texas."
• University of Texas (Longhorns): Coverage of football, volleyball, and other programs. Headlines include Texas vs. Arkansas game replays and highlights, Texas volleyball results, and previews such as "How to watch Texas play Week 6 against Oklahoma."
• Recurring features: Items like a "Vote Now: High School Athlete of the Week" poll and analysis pieces (for example, which players belong on a "Mount Rushmore of Texas college football").

If your interest is a specific Austin-area high school or a UT team, the site regularly publishes scores, updates, and follow-up stories rather than only post-season summaries.

What local events coverage looks like

Beyond sports, the site reports on Austin cultural and community events, often with photo galleries and practical angles.

• ACL Fest (Austin City Limits Music Festival): Multiple stories across both weekends, including "10 ACL Fest Weekend 2 acts you shouldn't miss," "ACL Fest mud is gone but prepare for dust," and "ACL Fest Weekend 2: See the best photos from Zilker Park."
• Local context pieces: "ACL Fest then and now: See how Austin's skyline has changed in last 21 years" ties an event to the city's broader changes.
• Community and civic items: Examples include reporting on an Austin church helping erase $14 million in medical debt and education stories such as a school closure petition.

This mix means event coverage is not limited to listings — it includes previews, recaps, photo essays, and service-oriented guidance (like weather and ground conditions at Zilker Park).

Who this site fits

It is less suited to you if you need national or international sports coverage as your primary focus, or if you want only event ticketing and listings without news context.

Practical notes before you rely on it

• Headlines and updates move fast: Live blogs and scoring updates are time-stamped to game days, so check the latest post rather than an older recap.
• Some content sits behind a subscription: The site shows "subscribe" signals, so certain articles may require a subscription to read in full. Confirm access on the specific story you need.
• Coverage is Austin/Texas-centric: This is a feature, not a flaw, if your interest is local — but it means non-local teams and events generally won't appear.

For Austin sports scores and local event coverage, the Austin American-Statesman is a direct, purpose-built source: start with its sports section for high school and Longhorns updates, and its entertainment/events coverage for things like ACL Fest.

The Austin American-Statesman is the daily newspaper for Austin, Texas, and its website at statesman.com is the primary way to read its journalism online. You can access most of the site by simply visiting the homepage and browsing sections like News, Politics, Sports, Business, Education, Food, Entertainment, and Opinion. The site also shows a "subscribe" signal, which means some content may sit behind a subscription or require an account — but the page evidence does not specify prices, plans, or which articles are gated, so treat subscription as a possibility rather than a certainty.

What the site covers

Based on the homepage, statesman.com organizes coverage into clear topic areas:

The homepage also surfaces a "TRENDING" list (for example, "Best music venues in Austin," "ACL Fest Weekend 2," "Austin weather"), which is a quick way to see what readers are following at the moment.

How to browse without an account

1. Go to statesman.com. The homepage loads the latest headlines across all sections.
2. Use the top navigation. Click a section name (News, Sports, Politics, etc.) to see that topic's article list.
3. Open an article. Click a headline to read the full story. Live blogs and score updates — such as high school football coverage — are typically updated in place during games.
4. Follow the trending bar. The "TRENDING" links jump straight to the most-read topics.
5. Check for newsletters. The site lists a Newsletters section, which is a way to get content delivered rather than browsing.

If an article is restricted, you'll usually see a prompt to subscribe or sign in rather than the full text. The evidence here confirms a "subscribe" keyword appears on the page, but not the terms attached to it.

What to expect if you hit a paywall

• A subscribe prompt may appear on some articles. The page evidence does not state the price, the number of free articles, or whether registration alone unlocks access — so don't assume it's free or that a specific plan exists.
• Some content is clearly public, such as the headline lists, section pages, and trending topics visible on the homepage.
• Live and breaking coverage (weather, game updates, election nights) is often the most frequently refreshed content and a good starting point if you want current information.

Practical tips

• Bookmark the section you care about (for example, the Longhorns or High School Football page) instead of reloading the homepage.
• Use the site's own search if you're looking for a specific story, team, or person.
• Expect Austin-specific framing. This is a local paper, so coverage leans toward Central Texas — city politics, UT athletics, local schools, and area events like ACL Fest.
• If you need the subscription terms, check the subscribe link on the site itself, since pricing and plan details aren't available in the material here.

In short: start at statesman.com, browse by section or trending topic, and read what's openly available. If you run into a subscribe prompt, that's the point to decide whether the site's terms work for you — the specifics of those terms aren't documented in the source material provided.