What is DR?

What is Domain Rating (DR)?

Domain Rating (often abbreviated DR) is a metric created by Ahrefs that scores the overall strength of a website’s backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. The higher the DR, the more “authority” the domain is considered to have, based on the number and quality of sites linking to it.

DR is domain-wide (it applies to the whole site, not to individual pages) and uses a logarithmic scale: moving from 0 to 20 is much easier than moving from 80 to 100. It is not an official Google metric, but studies show that around 44% of SEO professionals use Ahrefs DR as their preferred authority metric, and Ahrefs’ backlink data is widely trusted in the industry.

DR is inspired by principles similar to Google’s PageRank: it looks at who links to you and how strong those linking domains are.

How is DR calculated?

Ahrefs computes DR from several factors:

• Number of unique referring domains — How many distinct websites link to the target domain (with at least one link that “counts”).
• Quality of those domains — Each referring domain’s own DR is taken into account; a link from a high-DR site weighs more than one from a low-DR site.
• Dofollow links only — Only dofollow (followed) links are included. Nofollow, UGC, and sponsored links do not transfer “link equity” in this calculation, so they don’t affect DR. When we offer a dofollow backlink on ShowMySites, it’s the type that can contribute to your SEO.
• Link distribution — If a site links to thousands of other domains, the “authority” it passes to each one is diluted. Domains that link to fewer sites tend to pass more strength per link.
• Raw score mapped to 0–100 — Ahrefs derives a raw score from these factors, then maps it onto a 0–100 logarithmic scale so the metric is easy to compare across sites.

DR is updated frequently (Ahrefs refreshes its data very often), so it reacts to recent link gains or losses more quickly than some other authority metrics.

The DR scale (0–100)

DR is always between 0 and 100. Here’s a rough guide to how to read the score:

• 0–20: New or low-authority sites, with few or low-quality backlinks.
• 20–40: Growing authority; often niche, regional, or smaller professional sites.
• 40–60: Solid authority; many directories, content sites, and established blogs sit in this range.
• 60–80: Strong authority; established brands, larger media, and well-known platforms.
• 80–100: Very high authority; major global sites (e.g. Wikipedia, large news outlets, big tech).

A dofollow backlink from a higher-DR site is generally considered more valuable for SEO than one from a lower-DR site, all else being equal—though relevance, anchor text, and page quality also matter.

When you add your site to ShowMySites, you receive a dofollow link from our DR57+ directory, so you know exactly what kind of backlink you’re getting.

DR vs Domain Authority (DA)

You may also hear about Domain Authority (DA) from Moz. The two are not the same and scores are not interchangeable (a DR 50 is not the same as a DA 50).

• Ahrefs DR focuses only on backlink strength: quantity and quality of referring domains and how they link. It does not include on-page SEO, spam signals, or domain age.
• Moz DA tries to predict how likely a domain is to rank, using 40+ factors (links, spam score, domain age, technical SEO, etc.). It’s a broader “ranking potential” score.
• DR tends to update more frequently; DA is typically updated on a different schedule. Both are third-party metrics—neither is a direct Google ranking factor, but they’re useful for comparing sites and prioritizing link-building targets.

What is DR used for?

SEOs use DR mainly to:

• Evaluate backlink opportunities — Decide if a site is worth getting a link from (guest posts, directories, partnerships, sponsorships).
• Compare your site to competitors — See how your domain’s backlink “authority” stacks up in your niche.
• Prioritize link building — Focus first on targets with higher DR (and relevant content) when building a backlink profile.
• Assess directories and listing sites — When you submit to a directory like ShowMySites, the site’s DR gives you a quick idea of the potential strength of the backlink you’ll get.

On ShowMySites, we display our site’s DR so you know the approximate “authority” of the dofollow backlink you get when you list your website in our directory. Submitting is free: submit your website in a few minutes and your listing goes live with a dofollow link to your site.

Important things to keep in mind

• DR is not a Google ranking factor. Google doesn’t use DR. It’s a third-party tool for comparison and prioritization.
• Only dofollow links count toward DR. If you get a backlink, check that it’s dofollow if you want it to pass link equity (and to be the type that would affect DR).
• Relevance and context matter. A DR 30 site in your exact niche can sometimes be more valuable than a DR 50 site in an unrelated topic.
• Don’t rely on DR alone. Use it together with traffic estimates, content quality, and relevance when choosing where to get backlinks.
• Choose transparent directories. Platforms like ShowMySites that show their DR let you know the strength of the backlink before you submit your site.