How to Filter Spam Links (List Provided) in Ahrefs Using “Best Links” Feature – Update March 2026

The list was updated on March 15, 2025. Current number of spam domains 3.192 total.

Summary

• The Irritating Spam Backlink Problem We All Face
• The "Best Links" Filter Solution
• The Setup Process
• The Results: Cleaner Data for Analysis
• 3.192 Spam Domains For Filtering via Ahrefs Best Links Feature
• Filter Spam Links in Ahrefs: Quick Setup Summary
• But Wait – Does Ahrefs Actually Have The Spam Score?
  • How Spam Scoring Actually Works
  • A Tool That Actually Calculates Spam
  • Coming in 3 weeks: Link Value (including Spam) Analyzer

The Irritating Spam Backlink Problem We All Face

If you use Ahrefs for backlink analysis, you’ve likely encountered this frustrating scenario: You open Site Explorer for a domain, see it has 40 referring domains and 90 backlinks, but when you click through, you discover most are garbage links from spammy sites that have crawled the entire internet.

This has been a constant frustration for years. Analyzing backlink profiles usually means sorting through worthless link spam that bloats Ahrefs Site Explorer metrics. The reason why both fresh new websites, as well as domains, expired a couple of years ago:

• Auto-redirect to backlink sellers
• Mass-link to boost their own Ahrefs DR
• Create a redirect to “Instant DR boost” websites
• Generate automated links to every new domain they find
• A link towards affiliate pages maliciously placed on analyzed websites

The result is a completely unrealistic picture of a site’s backlink profile, making proper analysis difficult and time-consuming.

The “Best Links” Filter Solution

During one sleepless night, I decided to tackle this problem. I knew Ahrefs had a “Show me only best links” feature, but the default settings weren’t flexible enough. With just a small adjustment, good links were getting filtered out along with the bad.

I manually collected as many spam domains as I could find – ones that consistently appeared across different site profiles and added zero value. My goal was to create a custom filter that would show only the links that actually matter.

Creating a Custom Spam Filter in Ahrefs

The solution combines thorough filtering with an elegant implementation:

1. I compiled a list of known spam domains that regularly appear in backlink profiles
2. Created a custom filter using Ahrefs’ “Show only best links” feature
3. Pasted my domain exclusion list directly into the filter settings
4. Saved it as my default view for all Site Explorer searches

This approach takes about a minute to set up but saves hours of frustration later. Unlike creating a disavow file, this is just for your analysis – it doesn’t affect how Google views these links and is reversible with 2 clicks.

The Setup Process

Here’s how to implement this yourself:

1. In Ahrefs Site Explorer, click on the “Best links” button
2. When the filter opens, look for the text box where you can exclude domains

3. Copy and paste your list of spam domains (shared below)
4. Save the filter and select “Always show best links first”

Now every time you open Site Explorer, your filter is automatically applied. If you want to see the full backlinks profile, you can toggle the filter off with one click.

The Results: Cleaner Data for Analysis

The difference is significant. Instead of wading through pages of worthless links, I now see a much cleaner, more realistic view of backlink profiles. What used to show as “40 referring domains” might now display as “8 quality referring domains” – but at least those 8 are actually relevant.

This small change has literally improved the quality of my life for at least 1 to 2% :)

Building a Better Filter Together

I’ve published my current list of spam domains on this page for you to use. I’ll update it when I spot new batches of spam backlinks. 

Important note: Being on this list doesn’t mean a site is “bad” in Google’s eyes. This isn’t a disavow list – it’s simply domains I want to filter out of my analysis view for clarity. No site will be harmed by appearing on this list.

3.192 Spam Domains For Filtering via Ahrefs Best Links Feature

Filter Spam Links in Ahrefs: Quick Setup Summary

1. Copy the domain list below
2. Open Ahrefs Site Explorer
3. Click “Best links”
4. Paste the list in the exclusion box
5. Save and set “Always show best links first”

No need to activate additional filters, as they might remove links you actually want to see. This simple setup is enough to clean up your view dramatically.

What spam domains would you add to the list? Let me know in the comments, and let’s keep building this resource together.

But Wait – Does Ahrefs Actually Have The Spam Score?

Here’s something that trips up a lot of SEO professionals: Ahrefs doesn’t have a spam score.

If you’ve landed on this article searching for “Ahrefs spam score” or “how to check spam score in Ahrefs,” you’ve probably discovered this the frustrating way. Ahrefs has no built-in spam scoring system. The “Best Links” filter we covered above doesn’t calculate spam – it excludes domains you’ve manually flagged or that appear on pre-defined lists.

There’s a critical difference:

What Ahrefs can do: Filter out domains you already know are spammy. You provide the list. It hides them from view.

What Ahrefs cannot do: Look at an unknown domain and calculate whether it’s likely to be spam based on its characteristics.

This matters when you’re evaluating link opportunities. Finding a backlink from a DR 45 site doesn’t tell you whether that domain has all the hallmarks of a link farm. Ahrefs will show you the DR. It won’t warn you that the site has 47 external links in the navigation, runs on a .info TLD, lacks any contact page, and has anchor texts like “casino” and “credit cards” plastered across the homepage.

How Spam Scoring Actually Works

Spam scoring requires analyzing multiple signals simultaneously and weighting them against each other. The approach involves checking factors like:

• TLD patterns – certain extensions (.info, .mobi, .cc, .tw) correlate with higher spam rates
• On-page signals – excessive ad blocks, missing contact pages, suspicious anchor texts
• Domain structure – excessive hyphens, numbers in domain name, unusually long URLs
• Link profile anomalies – unnatural ratios between referring pages and referring domains
• Technical indicators – cloaked links, sponsored content disclosure, indexation issues
• Metric thresholds – extremely low DR combined with zero organic traffic

The value of spam scoring isn’t just identifying obvious junk. It’s catching the 37% of domains with DR above 50 that have less than 100 monthly organic visits – the red flag pattern our link building research identified as the hallmark of PBN networks and link farms.

A Tool That Actually Calculates Spam

Base.me, the link building management platform we built, includes a spam checker that evaluates 16 different factors. Unlike a static blocklist, it analyzes each domain against configurable thresholds and weights.

The algorithm checks:

Each factor has an importance slider. If you think domain age matters more than TLD pattern in your niche, adjust accordingly. The scoring adapts to your definition of spam.

Users create a free account, add their existing backlinks or link opportunities/leads, and the system calculates spam scores automatically. This gives you the missing piece Ahrefs can’t provide: a calculated spam probability for domains you’ve never seen before.

Coming in 3 weeks: Link Value (including Spam) Analyzer

We’re launching a public tool in early 2026 that goes beyond spam detection. The Link Value Analyzer will score domains across 12+ parameters including spam risk, traffic quality, price efficiency, and decay probability.

Think of it as a comprehensive link quality calculator – paste in a domain or backlink list, get back an actionable assessment. No account required for basic analysis.

We built this because our Link Building Health Research showed that 26% of paid links die within 12 months. That $200+ casino backlink? There’s a measurable probability it disappears before delivering real value. The analyzer will help you calculate whether a link opportunity is worth the price before you commit.

Radomir Basta CEO and Co-founder

Radomir is a well-known regional digital marketing industry expert and the CEO and co-founder of Four Dots with 15 years of experience in agency digital marketing and SEO strategy, SaaS startup dev and launch, and AI solutions advocacy.

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