Domain Rating (DR)
The Ahrefs 0 to 100 score of a domain's backlink profile strength, a common shorthand for how hard a site is to outrank.
By Teeming Chew, Founder Last updated
Domain Rating (DR) is the Ahrefs metric for the strength of a domain's backlink profile. It counts how many unique domains link to a site and how strong those linking domains are, then compresses the result onto a logarithmic 0 to 100 scale.
What does a DR score mean in practice?
DR predicts ranking difficulty, not ranking position. A page on a DR 15 site can outrank a page on a DR 70 site when it matches the query better. Compare DR against the sites that actually rank for your target keywords, not against the whole web.
Does DR matter for AI citations?
Indirectly. AI engines lean on retrieval systems that favor trusted, well-linked sources, so authority helps. But an AI engine must also crawl the page, parse it, and find a citable claim. Link strength cannot compensate for blocked crawlers or vague content.
How do you raise DR?
Earn links from domains that do not already link to you. Unique linking domains move DR more than repeat links from the same site. Digital PR, original data, and free tools are the usual earners.
Part of the Cite Hustle GEO glossary: definitions for generative engine optimization and AI search. See how it fits the bigger picture in the GEO methodology.