One client recently told me thought they could save money but ended up paying more.. If you’ve been digging into backlink profiles or auditing websites, chances are you’ve stumbled upon on-page spam signals — notably the dreaded ad block count. But how many ad blocks on a page truly push a site into spammy territory? When do too many ads start tanking user experience and potentially hurt your SEO? In this post, we'll deep-dive into the https://fourdots.com/blog/how-to-filter-spam-links-in-ahrefs-site-explorer-using-best-links-feature-11059 real-world impact of ad blocks, crunch some numbers, and walk you through practical tools and workflows to identify and filter spammy ad-heavy sites using Ahrefs Site Explorer and its Best links feature.
Why the Number of Ads Matters (More Than 5 Ads Is Usually a Red Flag)
There isn’t an official “ad block count” threshold set by Google, but industry experience and manual audits show that more than 5 ads on a single page often signals spammy behavior or low-quality content. Excessive ads can:
- Hurt user experience with intrusive or overwhelming layouts Decrease page loading speed and increase bounce rates Trigger search engine penalties or ranking drops due to “page layout” or “intrusive interstitial” issues
So, while some ads are necessary for monetization, more than five ad blocks start to clutter the page, making the content less credible both for users and search engines.
Spam Backlinks and On-Page Spam Signals: How They Inflate Ahrefs Metrics
One thing to keep in mind: spammy sites with excessive ads often tie into spam backlinks. In fact, analysis of 3,192 spam domains total across multiple audits reveals a pattern — sites abusing ad placement often carry toxic or irrelevant backlinks. This inflates certain Ahrefs metrics like:
- Domain Rating (DR) — Artificially boosted by spammy backlinks Referring domains count — Many low-value or spammy domains pointing to the site Backlink count — Bloat due to spammy link schemes or leftover PBN links
These inflated metrics can mislead SEOs into thinking these sites have good link profiles when in reality, they are toxic portfolios masked by spammy ad-heavy pages.
Using Ahrefs Site Explorer and the “Best Links” Feature to Spot Spammy Ad-Laden Sites
Ahrefs Site Explorer is invaluable for inspecting backlink profiles and on-page factors. The Best links feature is particularly helpful:
- Filters the highest-quality links by Ahrefs' own quality metrics Surface links that truly add value rather than spammy backlinks Allows a custom exclusion list to remove known spam domains and ad farms from the calculation
By combining the Best links report with a custom exclusion list, you can avoid the inflated metrics caused by spam domains. For example, including your personal blocklist of repeat-offender domains—such as those notorious for excessive ad blocks or clear PBN footprints—helps you identify if a domain’s backlink profile remains solid after filtering out spam.
How to Set Up a Custom Exclusion List in Ahrefs
Open Ahrefs Site Explorer and enter your target domain. Navigate to the Backlinks report. Click on the Best links tab. Use the Exclude domains filter and input your blocklist domains to filter out known spammy sites. Review how many backlinks remain and check if the DR shifts noticeably downward, indicating spammy backlinks were present.Saving a Default View for Continuous Spam Monitoring
Think about it: once you set up the ideal filters and custom exclusions in site explorer, save the view as your default for that domain. This is a huge timesaver because:
- It maintains your filter settings for future checks without resetting Speeds up audits by allowing quick toggling between filtered and unfiltered backlink data Helps you consistently track how spam signals evolve over time
To save a default view:
Apply the filters you want (e.g., Ad block count filters, spam domain exclusions) Click the Save view option above the backlink report. Name your view (e.g., “Clean profile no spam & low ads”) and set it as default.Filtering vs. Disavow: Why It Matters When Tackling Spammy Backlinks and On-Page Ads
Time for a crucial distinction: filtering spam backlinks in your tools (Ahrefs or others) is NOT the same as officially disavowing links to Google. They serve fundamentally different purposes.
Understanding this is crucial—don’t confuse tool-based filtering with an official disavow submission. For ad-heavy spammy sites, you want to filter out obvious spam domains during analysis. Pretty simple.. If those domains are also a threat backlink-wise, consider disavowing them cautiously after thorough review.
My Personal Blocklist: Lessons from Cleaning 3,192 Spam Domains
In my 11 years of link auditing, I have personally identified and catalogued over 3,192 spam domains notorious for ad block abuse, PBN footprints, and toxic backlink practices. These repeat offenders share traits such as:
- Excessive ad blocks, often more than 5 and clustering above the fold Spammy anchor text linking to unrelated niches or exact match keywords Minimal genuine content, with heavy monetization via ads Multiple interlinking domains owned by the same entity—classic PBN behavior
Having a personal blocklist that you progressively refine saves hours in audits and prevents you from being fooled by inflated Ahrefs metrics or misleading backlinks reports.
Spotting Ad Block Spam: Quick On-Page Checks to Complement Backlink Analysis
Don’t rely solely on backlink tools to judge a site’s quality. Always perform on-page spam signal checks including:
- Check how many visible ad blocks appear on the homepage and key landing pages Use browser ad-blocking extensions to see if ads cover a significant portion of content Evaluate user experience aspects like intrusive popups or forced redirects Combine with backlink audits to correlate spam backlink presence with ad block abuse
If you find more than 5 ads repeatedly on critical pages, and your backlink filtering confirms the links are mostly from low-quality or spam domains, you’re dealing with a seriously spammy site.
Conclusion: How Many Ads Are Too Many?
There’s no magic number, but as a rule of thumb in SEO audits, more than 5 ad blocks per page flags a high risk of spammy behavior and on-page spam signals. When paired with spam backlinks, these inflated ad counts artificially boost Ahrefs metrics and can mislead link profile quality assessments.
Your best defense? Use Ahrefs Site Explorer and its Best links feature combined with a personal blocklist to filter out spammy domains. Save your filtered views to streamline future audits. And always remember: filtering is for insight, disavowing is for penalty relief—they’re not interchangeable.
With these strategies, you’ll save hours on audits, dodge misleading data, and produce cleaner, more actionable link profiles that support true SEO growth.
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