Quick Guide to Realtime Data in Ahrefs without Webhooks

Aug 7, 2024 • 7 minute read

Hey there, fellow JavaScript aficionado! Ready to dive into the world of real-time data fetching from Ahrefs without relying on webhooks? Let's get our hands dirty with some good old polling techniques. Buckle up!

Introduction

We all love real-time data, don't we? It's like having a superpower in the world of SEO and content marketing. But what if webhooks aren't an option? No worries! We're going to explore how to achieve near real-time data using polling. It's like repeatedly asking your crush if they like you, but way less awkward and much more useful.

Setting up the Ahrefs API

First things first, you'll need to grab your Ahrefs API credentials. I'm assuming you've already got that sorted. If not, hop over to your Ahrefs account and get those keys!

Let's set up a quick function to make API requests. We'll use axios because, well, it's awesome:

const axios = require('axios');

const ahrefsApi = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://api.ahrefs.com/v1',
  params: {
    token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN'
  }
});

Implementing Polling

Polling is like constantly refreshing your social media feed, but programmatically. Here's a basic polling function:

async function pollAhrefsData(endpoint, interval = 60000) {
  while (true) {
    try {
      const response = await ahrefsApi.get(endpoint);
      processData(response.data);
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('Polling error:', error);
    }
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, interval));
  }
}

Optimizing Polling Requests

Now, we don't want to hammer Ahrefs' servers (they're nice people, after all). Let's implement exponential backoff:

async function pollWithBackoff(endpoint, initialInterval = 60000) {
  let interval = initialInterval;
  while (true) {
    try {
      const response = await ahrefsApi.get(endpoint);
      processData(response.data);
      interval = initialInterval; // Reset on success
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('Polling error:', error);
      interval = Math.min(interval * 2, 3600000); // Max 1 hour
    }
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, interval));
  }
}

Efficient Data Comparison

Let's not waste resources processing unchanged data. Here's a simple diff function:

function hasDataChanged(oldData, newData) {
  return JSON.stringify(oldData) !== JSON.stringify(newData);
}

Managing Application State

If you're using React (and who isn't these days?), here's a neat hook to manage your polled data:

function usePolledData(endpoint, interval) {
  const [data, setData] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    const pollData = async () => {
      while (true) {
        try {
          const response = await ahrefsApi.get(endpoint);
          if (hasDataChanged(data, response.data)) {
            setData(response.data);
          }
        } catch (error) {
          console.error('Polling error:', error);
        }
        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, interval));
      }
    };

    pollData();
  }, [endpoint, interval]);

  return data;
}

Error Handling and Retry Logic

Let's add some retry logic to our polling function:

async function pollWithRetry(endpoint, maxRetries = 3) {
  let retries = 0;
  while (retries < maxRetries) {
    try {
      const response = await ahrefsApi.get(endpoint);
      return response.data;
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(`Attempt ${retries + 1} failed:`, error);
      retries++;
      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 2000 * retries));
    }
  }
  throw new Error('Max retries reached');
}

Performance Considerations

To avoid unnecessary API calls, let's implement a simple cache:

const cache = new Map();

async function getCachedData(endpoint, ttl = 60000) {
  const cachedData = cache.get(endpoint);
  if (cachedData && Date.now() - cachedData.timestamp < ttl) {
    return cachedData.data;
  }
  const data = await ahrefsApi.get(endpoint);
  cache.set(endpoint, { data, timestamp: Date.now() });
  return data;
}

User Experience

Don't forget to make those updates look smooth! Here's a quick example using React Spring:

import { useSpring, animated } from 'react-spring';

function AnimatedDataDisplay({ data }) {
  const props = useSpring({ opacity: 1, from: { opacity: 0 } });
  return <animated.div style={props}>{JSON.stringify(data)}</animated.div>;
}

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to fetch near real-time data from Ahrefs without relying on webhooks. Remember, polling is powerful but use it wisely. Keep an eye on those API limits and always strive for efficiency.

Happy coding, and may your SEO metrics always be trending upwards! 📈

Additional Resources

Now go forth and build something awesome with your newfound real-time Ahrefs data!