URL Rating evaluates the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to a specific webpage, assigning a score from 0 to 100. The metric considers factors like the authority of linking domains, the relevance of linking pages, and the overall strength of the backlink profile. According to Ahrefs' documentation, the calculation weighs both internal and external links, with greater emphasis on links from authoritative sources.
The scoring system uses a logarithmic scale, meaning it becomes progressively harder to increase your URL Rating as the score gets higher. A jump from 20 to 30 is typically easier to achieve than moving from 70 to 80.
URL Rating serves as a reliable indicator of a page's potential to rank in search results. Pages with higher UR scores generally have stronger link profiles, which correlates with better search engine rankings. The metric helps SEO professionals identify strong pages within their site architecture and evaluate the link-building potential of competitor pages.
Research from digital marketing experts shows that pages with URL Ratings above 40 are significantly more likely to rank in the top 10 search results for competitive keywords. This makes UR an essential metric for prioritizing link building efforts and identifying high-value link opportunities.
While URL Rating measures the strength of individual pages, Domain Rating evaluates the overall authority of entire domains. A website might have a high Domain Rating but individual pages with lower URL Ratings, particularly if internal linking isn't optimized. Conversely, specific pages can achieve high URL Ratings even on domains with moderate authority through focused link building and content optimization.
SEO professionals use URL Rating to inform various strategic decisions. When conducting competitor analysis, UR helps identify which pages have accumulated the most link equity. For internal linking strategies, understanding URL Rating distribution across your site helps optimize the flow of link authority to important pages. Additionally, when prospecting for backlink opportunities, targeting sites with relevant pages that have strong URL Ratings typically yields better results than pursuing links from weaker pages on high-authority domains.
Real-world URL Rating data for Moz's Beginner's Guide to SEO, showing how a high UR (84) correlates with strong organic performance and quality backlinks from authoritative domains.
{
"page_analysis": {
"url": "https://moz.com/blog/beginners-guide-to-seo",
"url_rating": 84,
"referring_domains": 2731,
"total_backlinks": 8947,
"organic_traffic": 52400,
"ranking_keywords": 3892,
"top_referring_pages": [
{
"domain": "wordpress.org",
"ur": 92,
"link_type": "editorial"
},
{
"domain": "hubspot.com",
"ur": 89,
"link_type": "resource"
}
]
}
}
URL Rating measures the strength of individual pages, while Domain Rating evaluates the authority of entire domains. A site can have a high Domain Rating but lower URL Ratings on specific pages, depending on internal linking and individual page backlink profiles.
To improve URL Rating, focus on earning quality backlinks from relevant, authoritative websites, optimizing internal linking structure, and creating high-value content that naturally attracts links.
A URL Rating above 40 is generally considered strong, while scores above 70 are exceptional. However, the competitive benchmark varies by industry and keyword difficulty.
View Engine targets millions of searches and multiplies your traffic on Google, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and more.
