What's the Buzz About Domain Rating?

We hear this metric held high like it’s a kingmaker—domain rating (DR). It was designed as a reflection of a domain’s SEO strength, specifically the quality of its backlink profile. Though it has taken on different forms, its popularity across the SEO industry stems from its useful status as a website authority score. Ultimately, domain rating metrics help you spot a site’s potential to rank in search engines and to help drive authority in any links you get from them.

The original domain rating metric was popularized by Ahrefs, and other tools created their own versions. With every version is a unique calculation and, in many cases, a different name. Find it in Moz's Domain Authority (DA), SEMrush's Authority Score, and SpyFu's Domain Strength. Domain rating remains a trusted measurement of a site’s SEO footprint.

It's like a report card for a website's popularity and authority in the eyes of search engines.

Domain Rating: What Is It Exactly?

What is Domain Rating?

Domain Rating is a score ranging from 0 to 100 that reflects the strength of a website's backlink profile. The higher the score, the stronger the website’s SEO standing. It's like a credit score for your website – the better your "credit," the more likely you are to "qualify" for higher search rankings. At least that’s the original Ahrefs version. Ahead, we will look at the similar metrics that also represent a domain’s SEO strength.

How Domain Rating is Calculated

Various factors go into determining how Domain Rating is set:

  1. The number of unique domains that link to your site
  2. The authority of those referring domains
  3. The number of other sites that original page links out to

If the website that linked to you (referring domain) keeps linking out to other websites, that lowers the power of the link that you originally got. Put another way: being one of only 5 websites that they link to is more powerful than being one of 20 websites that they link to.

It's important to note that DR is a relative metric. This means your site's DR is calculated in comparison to all other websites in Ahrefs' database.

Difference Between Domain Rating and Domain Authority

While both Domain Rating and Domain Authority help you gauge a website's authority, they are not identical. Nor are other variations that we mentioned. Moz’s Domain Authority and SpyFu’s Domain Strength both use a scale from 0 to 100, but they are built from different data and algorithms.

Additionally, Moz's Domain Authority considers factors like root domains and total number of links, whereas Ahrefs' DR focuses more on the quality and power of referring domains. Understanding these distinctions helps in making more informed decisions and working with a gap in the scores.

Why Domain Rating Matters

Domain Rating isn't just another vanity metric to gloss over. It carries significant weight in the SEO world:

  1. Link Building Opportunities: Websites with higher DR are more attractive link partners, opening doors for valuable backlink opportunities.
  2. Competitive Analysis: DR provides a quick way to gauge your website's authority compared to competitors.
  3. Overall SEO Health: A steadily increasing DR is often a sign that your SEO efforts are paying off.

Remember, while Domain Rating is important, it's just one piece of the SEO puzzle. Don't neglect other crucial factors like content quality, user experience, and technical SEO.

My Take: How to Use Domain Rating in Your SEO

Domain Rating as a Gauge

One mistake people make with domain rating is using it as a score to achieve. The best use of domain rating (or domain strength, authority score, etc.) is to get a sense of where you are versus the leader pool on the SERP you're trying to break.

Let's say that we have a domain rating of 25. I'm trying to rank for a relatively new, low search term with fairly low competition. That DR score shouldn't keep me from landing on the first page of the SERP with well-structured, helpful content.

However, if I am having a hard time cracking the top 10 on a different keyword, that's where I want to measure my domain rating against DRs from my competitors. If everyone in the top 10 has an 85, that's an ocean between us at the rest of the pack. Here, domain rating gives you some sort of indication if you can play in that pool or if your efforts are better aimed elsewhere.

Ultimately, domain rating is useful for comparing yourself against the top contenders.

Your Domain Rating Can (and Will) Change

As you grow more links, your site’s domain rating should rise. What’s more definite is that if you go stagnant and don’t keep up with fresh content, your score will certainly fall. We had a wave of links that we built when we first launched our site. At the same time, we were putting out new articles to establish our blog. Our rankings rose, and so did our domain rating.

There is a correlation between the two, but our DR does not drive our rankings. What’s notable is that while we are still putting out new content, our score is not rising as it was before. My sense is that the bulk of our links came at the start and are now starting to age. That could be driving our domain rating down. The next natural step is to build newer, authoritative links.

How to Check Your Domain Rating

There are several tools available for checking your website's Domain Rating. Ahrefs, being the originator of the DR metric, is the primary tool used by many SEO professionals. However, other tools like Moz, SEMrush, and SpyFu also offer similar metrics that can provide additional insights.

Tools for Checking DR

Several SEO tools offer ways to check your Domain Rating or similar metrics:

  • Ahrefs: The original source of DR
  • Moz: Provides Domain Authority (DA)
  • SEMrush: Offers Authority Score
  • SpyFu: Features Domain Strength

What is a Good Domain Rating Score?

Context is key. A DR of 30 might be excellent in a niche industry but mediocre in a highly competitive field. As we mentioned earlier, the domain rating score is relative and should be used as a reference point—not a milestone. Here are some steps to consider.

  1. Compare with Competitors: Use DR to benchmark your site against competitors. A higher domain rating indicates a stronger backlink profile, which can be a competitive advantage.
  2. Monitor Changes: Regularly track changes in your domain rating to identify the impact of your SEO efforts. Significant drops or spikes can indicate issues or improvements in your backlink strategy.
  3. Work With Other Metrics: Domain rating should be considered alongside other SEO metrics such as traffic, keyword rankings, and user engagement.

The Building Blocks of Domain Rating

Several factors influence a website’s domain rating. Though inbound links carry a lot of weight, they aren’t the only criteria that come into play. Here are other elements that affect your score.

Not all backlinks are created equal. High-quality backlinks from authoritative sites are more valuable than numerous low-quality links. A balanced link profile with a mix of dofollow and nofollow links, and varied anchor text, is also important.

Website Age and Content Quality

Older websites tend to have higher domain ratings due to accumulated backlinks over time. However, quality content is what keeps those scores steady. It brings relevant, fresh backlinks and keeps the audience engaged.

Links from relevant, trustworthy websites in the same or related niches carry more weight. These links signal to search engines that your content is credible and valuable.

It should be clear: just grabbing links won’t do the trick. The quality, relevance, and diversity of your backlink profile are what truly move the needle.

Does Google Use Your Domain Rating for Rankings?

This question has grown more relevant in the wake of 2024's "Google API Leak.” This past spring, a leak of over 2500 pages of Google documentation revealed details about its search ranking algorithm—a fiercely protected code that reveals how it weighs different websites and pages over others.

The API documents showed us that Google assesses a metric called "site authority" (styled "siteAuthority" in the documentation). In its earliest days, Google calculated PageRank, a signal created on links that websites sent to each other. That's a stripped-down basic description, but you can see the connection. Google phased out PageRank, but they did not acknowledge any other method for measuring a site's authority.

This new finding implies that sitewide domain rating is part of the API.

However, SpyFu President Mike Roberts points out that the presence of the metric doesn’t give us a clear answer. “You don't know whether those signals are used in ranking. You know that they're available.”

It’s easy to get swept up in the dramatic story, so let me reiterate that: Just because Google has this information does not mean that it is used in ranking calculations.

What we do know from experiments and announcements alike is that links matter. They carry significant weight.

So continue to focus on building quality links to help increase your page visibility and authority. Watch your rankings and your traffic, but don’t treat your domain rating as a milestone goal to achieve. It is an indicator of your likelihood to rank high. That’s for obvious reasons. The criteria to rank high relies on the same criteria that drive a strong domain rating.

How to Boost Your Domain Rating

Improving your domain rating isn't an overnight process, but with the right strategies, you can see significant gains over time:

  1. Build High-Quality Backlinks
  • Create link-worthy content that naturally attracts backlinks
  • Engage in guest posting on reputable sites in your industry
  • Leverage broken link building to replace dead links with your content
  1. Content Marketing Magic
  • Develop a content strategy that focuses on creating valuable, shareable content
  • Use data-driven content to attract links from authoritative sources
  • Repurpose your best content into different formats (infographics, videos, podcasts) to reach a wider audience
  1. Regular Website Audits and Updates
  • Conduct periodic SEO audits to identify and fix technical issues
  • Update and improve existing content to maintain its relevance and value
  • Remove or disavow toxic backlinks that might be holding your DR back

The Power of Consistency

Make link building and content creation ongoing processes rather than one-time efforts. And remember to be persistent, but patient. Not only does proper link building take time, but landing a wave of links all at once could send up red flags. There’s value in the slow build as you get results over time.

Debunking Myths about Domain Rating

As with any popular metric, Domain Rating has its fair share of myths and misconceptions. Let's set the record straight:

Myth: Higher Domain Rating Guarantees Higher Rankings

Reality: While there's often a correlation, DR isn't a direct ranking factor. Google uses hundreds of signals to determine rankings.

Myth: You Need Thousands of Backlinks to Improve DR

Reality: Quality trumps quantity. A few high-quality, relevant backlinks can be more valuable than hundreds of low-quality ones.

Myth: Getting a High-DR Score is the Goal

Reality: DR is just one piece of the puzzle. Other factors like content quality, user experience, and technical SEO are equally important.

Keep in mind that Domain Rating, while valuable, doesn't paint the full picture of your website's SEO health. It's a tool to be used in conjunction with other metrics and strategies.

Comparing Domain Rating with Other Metrics

While Domain Rating is a powerhouse metric, it's not the only player in the game. Let's compare it to some other popular SEO metrics:

  1. Domain Authority (DA) by Moz
  • Similar to DR, measures overall site authority
  • Uses a different algorithm and data set
  • Generally aligns with DR, but scores can vary
  1. Trust Flow by Majestic
  • Focuses on the quality and trustworthiness of backlinks
  • Complements DR by providing insight into link quality
  1. Citation Flow by Majestic
  • Measures the quantity of links pointing to a website
  • Can be used alongside DR to get a more comprehensive view of link profile
  1. Domain Strength by SpyFu
  • Takes a more comprehensive approach
  • Acts as a reflection of a site’s SEO ranking consistency

When to Turn to Domain Rating

Domain Rating comes in most handy at some points of your research over others:

  • Assessing the overall strength of your website
  • Comparing your site's authority to competitors
  • Evaluating potential link building opportunities

However, always consider domain rating in context with other metrics and factors for a well-rounded SEO strategy.

How Will Domain Rating Change in the Next Few Years?

As search engines evolve and SEO practices advance, domain rating will continue to be a helpful guide. However, there is more emphasis on user experience and engagement. That could start a shift that either lessens our reliance on domain rating scores, or tools could change how it’s calculated. Until we see that shift, though, you can start focusing more on quality over quantity and improving your overall site experience.

Final Thoughts on Domain Rating

While the specifics may change, the fundamental concept behind domain ratings —measuring a website's authority and potential to rank—will likely remain a key part of SEO strategies. By understanding what goes into domain rating and how to improve it, you're well-equipped to boost your website's authority and visibility in search results.

You are now well informed to not get swept up in overvaluing a score as a goal when it’s more of a guide. Rule of thumb: follow domain rating, but don’t chase it.

Remember, while DR is important, it's just one aspect of a comprehensive SEO strategy. Focus on creating valuable content, providing a great user experience, and building genuine relationships in your industry. Do these things consistently, and watch your entire SEO performance soar.