Domain Rating is a score from 0 to 100 that Ahrefs assigns to a website to show the strength of its backlink profile compared with other sites in the Ahrefs index. It is a third-party metric, not a Google signal. This page defines the score, explains what feeds it, compares it with Domain Authority and Authority Score, lists the bands that sort hosts and shows how to raise it through new referring domains.
What is Ahrefs Domain Rating?
Domain Rating, or DR, is an Ahrefs metric on a 100-point scale that measures the backlink strength of a domain. A higher score means a stronger link profile relative to other sites in the Ahrefs index. Ahrefs reports the score for the domains in its database.
The score describes a whole domain. Ahrefs reports a separate metric, URL Rating, for single pages. Practitioners use DR to compare sites, to qualify hosts for guest posts and niche edits, and to describe a link’s quality in a report. DR is built from backlink data, so it does not measure a site’s traffic, content or topical relevance directly.
How is Domain Rating calculated?
Ahrefs calculates Domain Rating from the backlinks that point to a domain, and the value of a link is shared across the domains each linking site links to. A site that links to few domains passes more to each than a site that links to many.
Two consequences follow. First, DR is calculated across linking domains, so new referring domains are the lever. Second, DR changes when other sites change, because the score sits on a relative scale: Ahrefs states that DR can drop without lost backlinks when other websites are pushed down the scale. The metric guide on referring domains versus backlinks explains why domain count carries the weight.
Is Domain Rating a Google ranking factor?
Domain Rating is not a Google metric. It is an Ahrefs score, calculated from the Ahrefs backlink database and published by Ahrefs, so it describes link strength as Ahrefs measures it. Use it to compare hosts, and do not read it as a Google signal.
The score summarizes backlink data, so the work that changes it is link acquisition, as the last section explains.
What is a good Domain Rating?
A good Domain Rating is one at or above the sites you compete against for the same queries, because the score is relative and no universal threshold exists. Compare your DR with the DR of the pages that serve your target query.
| DR band | Typical profile |
|---|---|
| 0 to 20 | New sites and small local sites with few referring domains |
| 21 to 40 | Established small-business sites and niche blogs |
| 41 to 60 | Strong niche publishers and regional brands |
| 61 and above | Major publishers and national brands |
The bands are our working heuristic for sorting hosts, not an Ahrefs or Google threshold.
How does Domain Rating differ from Domain Authority and Authority Score?
Domain Rating, Domain Authority and Authority Score are three separate metrics from Ahrefs, Moz and Semrush, each built on that vendor’s own data and formula. Scores do not convert between them, so compare sites only within one metric.
| Metric | Vendor | Scale | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain Rating (DR) | Ahrefs | 0 to 100 | Backlink strength of a domain, with link value shared across the domains each site links to |
| Domain Authority (DA) | Moz | 1 to 100 | Machine learning model, backlink-focused |
| Authority Score | Semrush | 1 to 100 | Link Power, Organic Traffic and Natural Profile (spam checks) |
Pick one metric per workflow. The same site scores differently on each.
How do you check Domain Rating?
Check Domain Rating by entering a domain into an Ahrefs tool, which reports the score alongside the referring domains behind it. Checking one site takes seconds, and checking a long list of prospects takes one bulk run.
The authority metric lookup returns Domain Rating and Domain Authority for many domains in one run, which suits host qualification during outreach.
How do you increase Domain Rating?
Increase Domain Rating by earning backlinks from more unique, stronger referring domains. Ahrefs calculates the score from the backlink profile, so the work is link acquisition. New domains move the score more than repeat links from existing ones, so the work targets breadth.
The guide to authority improvement steps sets out the sequence for the Moz score, and the same sequence applies to DR. Backlink Agency’s improve domain rating service builds links toward that goal and reports each placement; no service controls how Ahrefs calculates the score, and none guarantees a specific number. A wider mix of source types broadens the profile, and YouTube Video SEO Backlinks add links from a video platform. Buyers weigh paid placements against policy exposure first, and the page on buying links safely covers that. The authority metric guides list every metric definition.
Related: packages that build referring domains, journalist-sourced placements, and spam score and toxic domains.