Free Guide · 10 Pages · 40 Minutes
Build Your Own Ahrefs In 40 Minutes
A self-hosted keyword research tool with real Domain Rating difficulty scores. You paste one prompt into Claude, it writes both files, you upload them. No subscription, no seat limits, about $1 a session.
Free. No referrals, no waiting — the PDF lands in your inbox.
Every keyword tool sells you a number nobody can check
This one doesn’t. It scores keywords on something you can verify by hand in ten seconds.
The tool pulls the live Google top 3 for a keyword, looks up the real Ahrefs Domain Rating of each of those three domains, and scores the keyword on how weak the weakest one is:
A keyword where the weakest page in the top 3 sits at DR 8 scores 92. One where the weakest is DR 74 scores 26. Any top-3 domain at DR 20 or below flags the row as a Weak Spot — Google is already ranking a small site there, which means it will rank yours.
What’s in the guide
Eleven numbered steps. Section 4 is the part everyone screenshots.
What it costs, honestly
| Service | Needed? | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs public DR | Free | Domain Rating. Needs a free API key — free account, no paid plan, and it consumes zero API units. |
| DataForSEO | Paid | Search volume, CPC, and the live SERP. Pay-as-you-go, no monthly minimum. A typical session runs about $1. |
| OpenRouter | Optional | Only powers the AI keyword generation mode. Skip it and everything else still works. |
My own logged session, on camera: 500 keywords analysed, $1.21 spent. Against an Ahrefs Lite seat at $129/month, you’d need to run it a hundred times a month before the maths turns around.
Section 8 is a free-only build. You lose search volume and automatic SERP pulls, but you keep the Domain Rating scoring — the part you can’t get free anywhere else.
Send me the guide
Enter your email and the PDF arrives straight away. You’ll also get what I’m testing each week — the experiments, the numbers, and the things that didn’t work.
Free. Unsubscribe whenever — the guide stays yours.
Who this is for
Build it if you
- Run niche sites, rank-and-rent, or affiliate content and pay for keyword tools you use twice a month
- Already use Claude and would rather own a tool than rent one
- Want a difficulty number you can check yourself
- Have a shared host sitting there running WordPress
Skip it if you
- Need backlink data, rank tracking, or site audits — this does keywords, nothing else
- Want a polished SaaS with support. This is two files you own and maintain
- Don’t want to create a DataForSEO account for the paid metrics
Vlad Ivanov — I build and rank AI-generated content on my own sites, then show the numbers on @wordsatscale. This guide is the tool I actually use, written up so you can rebuild it in an afternoon.