Domain Rating Checker
Check the Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) of up to 10 websites at once. See where your site stands against competitors before you plan your link building.
What Domain Rating measures
Domain Rating (DR) is a 0–100 score from Ahrefs that sums up the strength of a website's backlink profile. A domain scores higher when more unique websites link to it and when those linking websites are strong themselves. The scale is logarithmic, so each point is harder to earn than the last.
How to use DR when planning SEO
- Check your own domain alongside the 3–5 sites that rank above you for your main keywords.
- If they are 20+ points ahead, target longer, more specific keywords first while you build links.
- Use DR to judge outreach and guest-post targets: a link from a relevant DR 40 site is usually worth more than one from an unrelated DR 80 site.
- Recheck monthly. DR moves slowly, so a change of a few points is a real signal.
DR is not a Google ranking factor
Google does not use Domain Rating. It is a useful shorthand for link authority, but pages with lower DR regularly outrank stronger domains when their content matches search intent better.
Frequently asked questions
What is Domain Rating (DR)?
Domain Rating is Ahrefs' 0–100 score for the strength of a website's backlink profile. It is based on how many unique websites link to a domain and how strong those linking websites are themselves. It is logarithmic, so moving from 70 to 80 is far harder than moving from 10 to 20.
Where does this tool get its data?
Scores come live from Ahrefs' Domain Rating API. Results are cached for 24 hours, so a domain checked twice in one day returns the same score.
What is a good Domain Rating?
It depends on your niche. Compare yourself against the sites that rank for your target keywords rather than against an absolute number. As a rough guide, under 20 is new or small, 30–50 is an established site, and 70+ is a major publication or brand.
Does a higher DR mean higher Google rankings?
Not directly. DR is a third-party metric, not a Google signal. It correlates with rankings because both reflect links from strong websites, but content quality, relevance and search intent matter just as much.
How do I increase my Domain Rating?
Earn links from more unique, relevant websites that themselves have solid authority: digital PR, original data, guest contributions, partner pages and listings in trusted directories. Many links from one site add little; links from many different strong sites move DR.
