Learn About Backlinks

A dofollow backlink is a link from one website to another that passes "link equity" (also called "link juice") to the destination site. When a website links to yours with a dofollow attribute, search engines like Google follow that link and count it as a vote of confidence for your site.

Dofollow vs Nofollow

There are two main types of backlinks:

• Dofollow links — Pass SEO value. Search engines follow these links and use them as ranking signals. These are the links that directly help improve your domain authority.
• Nofollow links — Don't pass SEO value directly. They have a rel="nofollow" attribute that tells search engines not to follow the link. Still useful for traffic, but not for SEO.

Why Dofollow Links Matter

Google's algorithm uses backlinks as a key ranking factor. When high-quality websites link to yours with dofollow links, it signals to Google that your content is trustworthy and valuable. This can lead to:

• Higher rankings in search results
• Increased organic traffic
• Faster indexing of new content
• Greater domain authority over time

Domain Rating (DR) is a metric developed by Ahrefs that measures the strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. The higher the DR, the stronger the site's link profile.

How DR is Calculated

Ahrefs calculates DR based on:

• The number of unique domains linking to your site
• The DR of those linking domains
• How many other sites those domains link to

It's a logarithmic scale, which means going from DR 20 to 30 is easier than going from DR 60 to 70. Each point becomes progressively harder to earn.

What's a Good DR?

• DR 0-20: New or low-authority sites
• DR 20-40: Growing sites with some backlinks
• DR 40-60: Established sites with solid link profiles
• DR 60+: High-authority sites (major publications, established brands)

How to Improve Your DR

The primary way to increase DR is acquiring backlinks from other websites, particularly from sites with higher DR than yours. Other factors include:

• Getting links from diverse, unique domains (not just more links from the same sites)
• Earning links from sites that don't link to thousands of other sites
• Building links consistently over time

Not all backlinks are created equal. A single high-quality backlink can be worth more than dozens of low-quality ones. Here's what separates good backlinks from bad ones.

Signs of a Quality Backlink

• Relevant content: The linking site covers topics related to yours
• Real traffic: The site has actual visitors, not just SEO metrics
• Editorial placement: The link appears naturally within content
• Established domain: The site has been around for a while with consistent content
• Dofollow attribute: The link passes SEO value

Red Flags to Avoid

• PBNs (Private Blog Networks): Sites created solely for link building with no real audience
• Link farms: Pages with hundreds of outbound links to random sites
• Irrelevant niches: A casino site linking to your SaaS tool looks unnatural
• Spammy content: Sites with thin, auto-generated, or duplicate content
• Sitewide links: Footer or sidebar links on every page of a site

The Backlink Rocket Approach

Our network consists of real websites built for indie makers and SaaS founders. Each site serves a genuine purpose — tool directories, idea databases, and resources for builders. They have real content, real traffic, and topical relevance to the startup and SaaS space.

One of the most common questions about backlinks is how quickly they'll impact your rankings and domain rating. Here's what to realistically expect.

Indexing vs Impact

There are two stages to consider:

• Indexing (days to weeks): Google needs to discover and crawl the page containing your backlink. This typically happens within days for established sites.
• Impact (weeks to months): Seeing the actual effect on rankings and DR takes longer. Ahrefs updates DR approximately once per week, but ranking changes can take 1-3 months.

Factors That Affect Speed

• Your starting point: New sites (DR 0-10) often see faster initial gains
• Link source authority: Links from higher-DR sites can impact faster
• Your existing profile: Sites with few backlinks will see more dramatic changes
• Crawl frequency: How often Google crawls both your site and the linking site

Realistic Expectations

Based on our data from Backlink Rocket customers:

• DR changes typically visible in Ahrefs within 1-2 weeks
• Ranking improvements for specific keywords: 4-12 weeks
• New sites can see significant DR jumps (our own sites went from DR 0 to 25+ in under two weeks)