Domain Rating (DR)

What DR measures

DR looks at how many unique sites link to a domain with followed links, and how strong those linking sites are themselves. The scale is logarithmic: moving from 10 to 20 is far easier than moving from 70 to 80.

It is a third party estimate, not a Google metric. Google does not use DR. It is still useful for comparing link sources, as long as you remember what it leaves out.

What DR does not tell you

DR is about the domain, not the page. A high DR site can noindex the page that links to you, delete it after a month or bury it where no crawler goes. It also ignores relevance and traffic. A DR 40 site in your niche with real readers can be a better link than a DR 80 site in an unrelated field.

DR can also be inflated by link schemes. A suspiciously high DR on a site with no traffic is a warning sign.

How to use it

Use DR as one input when deciding where to launch or pitch. Then check the page: is it indexed, does the link stay, is it followed, and does the site get visitors. Our launch platform database shows those details for each platform next to the domain metrics.

Example

Two launch platforms both have DR 70. One keeps every listing indexed with a followed link. The other noindexes listings after a week. The first is the better link, even though the DR is the same.

Questions people ask

How do I check a site's Domain Rating?

Use our free domain rating checker or the bulk checker for many sites at once. Both read the public Ahrefs score.

Is a higher DR always better?

No. Relevance, indexing, permanence and real traffic matter as much as the score.