Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR) are both third-party scores that estimate a site’s backlink strength on a 1 to 100 scale, but they come from different companies and different data sets. Treat both as quick prospecting filters rather than final answers: when you are deciding whether a link prospect is worth pursuing, page relevance, editorial placement, and real organic traffic should outweigh either score.
TL;DR:
- Both DA and DR are proxy scores from separate companies that should inform prospect filtering but not determine link worthiness.
- A site with a DA of 30 or DR of 30 is typical for local businesses, while publishers often exceed 70, but relevance and traffic are more important.
- Focus on page-specific relevance and organic traffic over domain-wide scores to identify links that genuinely boost rankings.
- Improving backlink signals involves creating link-worthy content and diversifying referring domains rather than solely chasing higher scores.
- Regularly verify link prospects by checking page relevance and traffic, not just relying on raw DA or DR numbers.
Table of Contents
- DA vs DR at a glance: quick rules of thumb
- How Moz and Ahrefs actually calculate these scores
- What counts as a good score for your type of site
- Using DA and DR in link prospecting: a practical checklist
- Common mistakes marketers make with these metrics
- How to improve the backlink signals behind DA and DR
- What research and practitioner guidance say about links and rankings
- How we apply DA and DR in our own link-building work
- Want these checks handled for you every month?
- FAQ
- Sources
DA vs DR at a glance: quick rules of thumb
DA comes from Moz, and DR comes from Ahrefs. Both model a domain’s backlink profile on a 1 to 100 scale, but they pull from separate link indexes, so the same site often shows two different numbers.
- DA works well for long-term benchmarking and client reporting because Moz’s index updates on a predictable cycle.
- DR tends to suit fast prospecting checks since Ahrefs crawls a large, frequently refreshed link index.
- Ignore both when a prospect’s page is irrelevant to your topic, even if the domain score looks strong.
- Prioritize neither in isolation: use them to sort a list, then verify with page-level checks before outreach.
Neither score is official. They are proxies built to approximate authority, not a mirror of how Google treats a domain.
How Moz and Ahrefs actually calculate these scores
Moz’s DA model predicts how well a domain is likely to rank, based on the quantity and quality of linking root domains, weighted through a machine-learning process. The scale is non-linear, so climbing from 70 to 80 takes far more link strength than climbing from 20 to 30, a point confirmed in Moz’s own documentation on Brand Authority.
Ahrefs calculates DR using a similar logic applied to its own link index, weighing both the number of referring domains and the authority those domains pass along.
- Moz and Ahrefs crawl different portions of the web, so their raw link data never fully overlaps.
- Crawl cadence differs: one index may catch a new link weeks before the other does.
- Link-counting rules, like how nofollow or redirect chains are treated, vary by provider.
The PageRank concept, first formalized by Google’s founders, established the underlying idea that links transfer value between pages. DA and DR both build on that theory, but neither is a direct Google ranking signal: they are predictive estimates, not confirmed inputs into the algorithm.
What counts as a good score for your type of site
A DA or DR of 30 means something different for a local plumbing company than it does for a national news outlet. Because both scales are non-linear, the gap between 20 and 30 is far easier to close than the gap between 70 and 80.
- A local service business site often sits in the 10 to 25 range and that is normal for its category.
- A niche blog with consistent editorial links might land between 30 and 50.
- An established publisher with years of coverage routinely clears 70 or higher.
Comparing your score against direct competitors in your niche usually tells you more than staring at the raw number alone.
Using DA and DR in link prospecting: a practical checklist
Start every prospecting pass with DA or DR as a rough filter, then confirm with checks the score cannot show you.
- Pull DA or DR for each prospect and drop anything far below your site’s own score.
- Check the specific page that would link to you, not just the domain’s homepage.
- Verify organic traffic to that page using a tool like Ahrefs or Semrush.
- Confirm topical relevance between the linking page and your content.
- Sort surviving prospects into tiers: Tier 1 meets your score threshold and has strong topical fit, Tier 2 meets the score but has weaker relevance, Tier 3 has a lower score but excellent topical fit.
Watch for red flags like a high domain score sitting on a thin, outdated, or clearly link-farm page. For more detail on separating strong link pages from weak ones, see our guide to authority backlinks for small business SEO.
Pro Tip: Build these checks into your outreach spreadsheet as columns, not as a separate step, so no prospect skips the page-level review.
Common mistakes marketers make with these metrics
The biggest mistake is treating DA or DR as a goal instead of a byproduct. Chasing a higher number directly, through low-value directory links or link exchanges, rarely moves rankings and sometimes invites penalties.
- Scores are relative and calibrated to each tool’s own index, so your number can shift even when your backlink profile has not changed.
- A generic high-DA link from an irrelevant page often helps less than a lower-DA link from a topically relevant one.
- Inflated scores sometimes come from link schemes rather than genuine editorial trust.
- Page-level relevance and real traffic consistently matter more than a domain-wide number, a point our breakdown of backlink quality criteria covers in more detail.
How to improve the backlink signals behind DA and DR
Rather than optimizing for the score itself, focus on the inputs that naturally raise it over time.
- Publish content that attracts links on its own, like original data, free tools, or detailed resources.
- Diversify referring domains instead of collecting many links from the same few sites.
- Prioritize editorial placements on relevant pages over directory listings or low-value guest posts.
- Audit your link profile periodically and disavow clearly toxic links if they appear.
- Track progress monthly rather than reacting to daily score swings, since both Moz and Ahrefs recalculate on their own schedules.
Our guide on earning backlinks that actually boost rankings walks through outreach tactics that support this kind of steady, editorial link growth.
Pro Tip: Set a recurring monthly check-in for link growth instead of refreshing your DA or DR dashboard every few days.
What research and practitioner guidance say about links and rankings
Moz’s correlation study on authoritative links and ranking found that the DA and PA of linking pages correlate with ranking outcomes, supporting the use of these scores as one signal among several rather than conclusive proof of link value.
Google ranks individual pages, not entire domains, which means page-level relevance and context often carry more weight than a domain-wide score.
That distinction, explained in Search Engine Journal’s analysis of pages versus domains, is why a single strong, relevant page can outperform a link from a higher-scoring but unrelated domain.
How we apply DA and DR in our own link-building work
We track DA and DR on every monthly link placement we secure for clients, but we never treat either number as the finish line. Each placement also gets a page-relevance check and a look at the linking page’s own traffic before it counts toward a client report.
Our internal rule is simple: a moderately scored page with strong topical fit outranks a high-scoring page with none. Scores show up in reports as context for progress, alongside the placements and relevance checks that actually drove it. For a deeper look at how we weigh page-level signals, see our piece on the role of external links in site authority, and for local operational approaches, the backlink and local authority system from ForgeWeb Studio offers a useful comparison point.
Want these checks handled for you every month?
Running the prospecting checklist above by hand, every month, for every new link opportunity takes real time. MySearchHero bundles monthly content publishing, authority backlink placements, and reporting into one subscription, so the relevance and traffic checks described here happen as part of the service rather than as extra work on your plate.
We offer a plan that includes backlink and content deliverables, reported against benchmarks rather than chased as goals. If you would rather handle prospecting and outreach yourself, the checklist above gives you everything needed to do it manually. If you would rather have it managed, compare our plans and see which fits your site.
FAQ
What is the difference between Page Authority and Domain Authority?
Domain Authority scores an entire domain’s backlink strength, while Page Authority scores a single page’s likelihood of ranking well. A page can have strong Page Authority even on a domain with a modest overall DA, since the two measure different levels of the site.
What does “DR” mean in SEO?
DR stands for Domain Rating, a metric from Ahrefs that estimates a domain’s overall backlink strength on a 1 to 100 scale. It serves a similar purpose to Moz’s DA but draws from a separate link index, so the two scores rarely match exactly for the same site.
What is a good DA and PA score?
A good score depends heavily on your niche and competitors rather than a fixed number. Local or small business sites often sit in the 10 to 25 range for DA, while established publishers commonly clear 70, and comparing your score against direct competitors usually matters more than the raw figure, as outlined in Moz’s research on authoritative links.
What is a good DR score?
As with DA, a good DR score is relative to your industry and competitive set rather than an absolute benchmark. A niche blog with steady editorial links might land between 30 and 50, while a newer local business site typically scores lower, and that is expected for its category.