Every SEO analyst knows the frustration: you open Ahrefs’ Site Explorer to review a backlink profile, only to get lost scrolling through thousands of low-quality, spammy domains. It sucks up your time and clouds your judgment. Even worse, spam backlinks inflate your Ahrefs metrics, making it harder to get clear, actionable insights.
In this post, I’ll walk you through how to stop wasting time scrolling junk links in Ahrefs. We’ll focus on leveraging the Best links view combined with a custom spam exclusions list for cleaner data. I’ll also explain why filtering and disavowing backlinks serve different purposes and why both matter in your workflow.
Why Spam Backlinks Waste Your Time and Inflate Metrics
Spam backlinks often come from link farms, PBNs, irrelevant low-quality sites, or even expired domains. For example, one client’s backlink profile recently showed 3,192 spam domains total. That’s thousands of junk links likely inflating Ahrefs metrics like UR (URL Rating), DR (Domain Rating), and Referring Domains count. These inflated numbers create a false sense of authority and often distract you when you need focused, actionable data.
Time spent scrolling through these junk links is time wasted. You’re hunting for those few gems that genuinely help your site or client, but the noise makes it like finding a needle in a haystack. This is where smarter backlink audit practices and using Ahrefs cleverly come into play.
Use the Best links View with Custom Spam Exclusions
The Best links feature in Ahrefs Site Explorer is a game-changer if you know how to use it properly. It’s designed to surface your highest quality backlinks by default — typically removing many low-value links upfront.
But the Best links feature is only as good as the filters and exclusions you apply. In my experience working with hundreds of backlink profiles, I’ve built a personal blocklist of repeat-offender spammy organic traffic threshold domains. Adding these to your exclusions inside Site Explorer makes the Best links view even cleaner.
How to Create and Use a Custom Spam Exclusions List
Identify spam domains: Start by exporting domains flagged as suspicious or obviously junk from your backlink audit. A quick glance at domain quality metrics like DR under 10, no organic traffic, or typical spammy signs (weird TLDs, irrelevant niches, link farms) helps. Build your blocklist: Add these domains into a text file or spreadsheet. Over time, you’ll build a personal spam exclusions list you trust to exclude the usual suspects. Apply exclusions in Site Explorer: In Ahrefs’ Site Explorer, when viewing backlinks, apply filters to exclude domains on your blocklist. This lets you see a clean view with spam links removed before you even scroll. Save a default view: Save this filtered view as your default for rapid load every time you check backlinks. Ahrefs lets you save custom filters, so you don’t start from scratch each time.Doing this drastically cuts wasted time scrolling junk and magnifies your focus on links that potentially impact rankings or require manual review.
Saving a Default View in Site Explorer for Cleaner Data
One neat trick that saves me about 10-15 minutes daily is setting and saving a default filtered view in Ahrefs Site Explorer:
- Open Site Explorer > Backlinks tab. Apply your custom spam exclusions filter plus relevant metrics (e.g., DR above 10, Dofollow, etc.). Click “Save as default” so this always loads on backlink views.
This way, you immediately see cleaner data without manual filtering every session. Over dozens of link audits a week, that time saved adds up—for me, it’s easily hours per month.
Filtering vs Disavowing Links — Why It Matters
A common misconception is that filtering out spammy links in Ahrefs or other tools is equivalent to disavowing those links—this is not the case.
Understanding this distinction helps you work smarter. Filtering improves your workflow and link audit clarity. Disavowing changes your site’s standing with Google and should only be done after careful analysis and confirming links are severely harmful.
Practical Takeaways to Stop Wasting Time
- Use the Best links view: Don’t waste time on “all links” raw dumps. Filter for quality backed by Ahrefs metrics. Create and maintain a custom spam exclusions list: Regularly update your blocklist to automatically exclude known spammy domains. Save default filtered views: Automate your preferred spam exclusions and filters for quick, clean backlink analysis. Understand filtering vs disavow: Filter links for better data during audits. Disavow only extreme cases to protect your site. Keep a personal blocklist: Especially with expired domains, watch for repeat offenders and add to your list.
Conclusion
Ahrefs is a powerful backlink tool, but if you fall into the trap of scrolling through junk links, you waste your time and get misleading metrics. The secret: use the Best links feature combined with your own spam exclusions list and save filtered default views to instantly clean your data.
Remember that filtering links inside Ahrefs speeds up analysis but doesn’t replace disavowing when serious link issues exist. Using both smartly keeps your backlink audits efficient and focused on what matters.
Next time you open Site Explorer, don’t spend an hour wading through thousands of junk links. Instead, harness filters, exclusions, and Best links to save time, avoid wasted clicks, and get to the value faster. Your SEO sanity will thank you.