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 dofollow 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 high-quality links from sites that don't link to thousands of other sites
- Building links consistently over time
Reality check: DR improvements take time. A new site might see quick gains (DR 0 to 20+), but progress slows as you climb. Focus on quality over quantity.
DR in Practice
To see real examples of DR across a curated network, explore sites like NicheTools (DR 50) or TheIndieWall (DR 39). Traditional link-building services such as FatJoe and The HOTH can also help build DR, though often at higher per-link costs.