Domain Rating operates on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100, analyzing the quality and quantity of a website's backlink profile. The metric evaluates incoming links based on the linking domain's own DR score, creating a recursive evaluation system similar to Google's original PageRank algorithm. Higher scores indicate stronger backlink profiles relative to other websites in Ahrefs' database.
The calculation considers several key factors including the number of unique referring domains, the DR scores of those referring domains, and whether the links are dofollow or nofollow. Importantly, raw link counts matter less than the authority of linking domains—a single link from a DR 90 website can impact your score more than dozens of links from low-DR sites.
Domain Rating serves as a reliable indicator of a website's link-based authority and potential ability to rank in search results. While not a direct Google ranking factor, DR correlates strongly with organic search performance because it measures similar quality signals that search engines evaluate.
SEO professionals use Domain Rating to assess website authority, analyze competitors, and identify valuable link building opportunities. A higher DR score typically indicates greater potential to rank for competitive keywords and pass link equity to other sites through outbound links.
Domain Rating exhibits several distinct characteristics that differentiate it from other authority metrics:
The score is relative, meaning it's calculated by comparing a site's backlink profile against all other websites in Ahrefs' database. This creates a natural distribution where very few sites achieve scores above 90, while most fall between 0-20.
The metric is link-focused, considering only backlink-related factors rather than on-page elements, content quality, or user metrics. This makes it a pure measure of link-based authority rather than overall SEO health.
When applying Domain Rating insights to SEO strategy, focus on steady, sustainable growth rather than chasing specific DR numbers. Quality always trumps quantity—earning fewer high-DR backlinks often proves more valuable than accumulating many low-DR links.
For competitive analysis, compare your DR against direct competitors in your niche rather than major platforms like Wikipedia or Amazon. Most successful businesses operate effectively with DR scores between 30-60, while scores above 70 typically belong to major publications and industry leaders.
Real Domain Rating data showing the relationship between DR, referring domains, and organic performance for a major content marketing website. Note how high-DR backlinks from authoritative sources contribute to the overall score.
{
"website": "contentmarketinginstitute.com",
"domain_rating": 87,
"metrics": {
"referring_domains": 34891,
"total_backlinks": 2184526,
"organic_keywords": 257943,
"organic_traffic": 897632
},
"top_referring_domains": [
{
"domain": "forbes.com",
"dr": 93,
"referring_pages": 156
},
{
"domain": "entrepreneur.com",
"dr": 91,
"referring_pages": 89
}
],
"historical_dr": {
"2023_q4": 86,
"2024_q1": 87
}
}
A good Domain Rating varies by industry and website type. Most successful business websites operate effectively with DR scores between 30-60, while major publications typically have scores above 70. New websites usually start at DR 0-10.
Domain Rating is not a direct Google ranking factor since it's an Ahrefs metric. However, it correlates with rankings because it measures similar backlink quality signals that search engines evaluate. Learn more: Link Quality
Improve Domain Rating by earning quality backlinks from relevant, authoritative websites through content marketing, digital PR, and relationship building. Focus on acquiring links from sites with higher DR scores rather than quantity alone.
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