Domain Rating (DR) is a proprietary backlink strength metric developed by Ahrefs. Scored on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100, it measures how strong a website's overall backlink profile is compared to all other websites in Ahrefs' index. A higher DR indicates a stronger, more authoritative link profile. Like all third-party authority metrics, it does not directly influence Google's rankings — but it is widely used by SEOs to evaluate link prospects, track site growth, and benchmark against competitors.

How Domain Rating is Calculated

Ahrefs calculates DR based on two core factors:

  • Number of unique referring domains: How many distinct websites link to the target domain with at least one do-follow link
  • DR of those linking domains: Links from high-DR sites pass more "DR juice" than links from low-DR sites

The scale is logarithmic, which means moving from DR 70 to DR 80 is significantly harder than moving from DR 10 to DR 20. The score is also relative — it is recalibrated against the entire Ahrefs index, so your DR can change even if your actual backlink profile stays the same.

No-follow links don't count: Ahrefs only factors in do-follow backlinks when calculating DR. A site with thousands of no-follow links may still have a low DR because those links don't pass link equity in Ahrefs' model.

Domain Rating vs Domain Authority

DR (Ahrefs) and Domain Authority (Moz) are the two most commonly referenced third-party authority scores. Both are 0–100 metrics predicting ranking strength, but they use different link databases and methodologies, so the same site can show significantly different numbers across tools. Neither is more "correct" — they are independent estimates. Other tools offer their own equivalents: Semrush has Authority Score, Majestic uses Trust Flow and Citation Flow.

What is a Good Domain Rating?

DR should always be interpreted relative to your competitors, not in absolute terms:

  • 0–20: New or very young sites, minimal backlinks
  • 21–40: Growing sites with some established links
  • 41–60: Solid authority, competitive in most niches
  • 61–80: High authority, strong referring domain count
  • 81–100: Elite authority — major media, social platforms, universities

How to Improve Domain Rating

  • Earn do-follow links from high-DR, relevant websites
  • Use the Skyscraper Technique or Guest Posts to build quality links
  • Create data-driven content, tools, or original research that attracts natural links
  • Audit and disavow toxic spammy backlinks that may dilute your profile
  • Focus on referring domain diversity — 100 links from 100 sites beats 100 links from 1 site