Free tool

Domain Rating checker

Enter your domain to see its Ahrefs Domain Rating, a score from 0 to 100 for how strong your site's backlink profile is. You get a plain-English reading of the number and one sensible next step.

Enter a domain such as yourbusiness.com. No signup needed. Up to 5 checks a day.

How to use this

How to read your score

It measures links, nothing else

Domain Rating looks at the backlinks pointing to a site, meaning links from other websites. It says nothing about how good your content, your service or your website design is, so read it as one signal among several.

Compare like with like

A number means most when you set it beside sites in your own market, such as local competitors, rather than against a famous brand. A rating that looks low on paper can still be the right size for a small local business.

Watch the direction, not one reading

The score moves slowly and can drift up or down as links are gained and lost. Check it every few months and look at the trend instead of reacting to a single result.

Improving it

What moves a Domain Rating

Links from relevant, trusted sites

What lifts a rating is other credible websites choosing to link to you. A link from a trade body, a supplier, a local publication or a respected site in your field counts for more than a pile of links from sites with no connection to your business.

Why buying links backfires

Google's spam policies treat links bought to influence rankings as a breach of its guidelines. A paid link can lift a score briefly and still put the site at risk, so it is the one shortcut worth skipping.

Why it is slow

Links accumulate as people find, trust and mention your work, which takes months. The scale is also logarithmic, so every extra point is harder to gain than the last. Steady, genuine effort beats short bursts.

Related guides

SEO, AEO and GEO explainedHow much does SEO cost in Canada?How much does SEO cost in Australia?

Get your real picture

Want to know what to do with your score?

A single number only goes so far. A free audit looks at your website, your links and your market, and points to where the most useful gains are.

If you have run a check above, the result is sent with your request, so the audit can start from it.

Prefer to talk? Book a 15-min call.

Questions

Frequently asked

What is Domain Rating?
Domain Rating is a score from 0 to 100 from Ahrefs. According to Ahrefs' own API reference, it shows the strength of a site's backlink profile compared with the other sites in Ahrefs' database, on a 100-point logarithmic scale. It is a measure of links to a website, not of the quality of its content.
What does a logarithmic scale mean here?
It means each point is harder to gain than the last. Moving from 10 to 20 usually takes fewer new links than moving from 60 to 70, so low scores can rise quickly while high scores climb slowly.
Is Domain Rating a Google ranking factor?
No. Domain Rating is Ahrefs' own metric, not a Google measure. It is a useful way to gauge how well-linked a site is, and backlinks themselves matter to search engines, but the number is a guide and not a lever.
What is a good Domain Rating for a small business?
There is no single good number. It depends on your industry, your location and who you are competing against. Look at the sites that currently rank for the searches you want, and judge your score against theirs rather than against a fixed target. The bands on this page are only a rough guide.
How do I improve my Domain Rating?
Earn links from relevant, trustworthy sites by publishing things worth referencing, being listed on directories and associations that apply to your business, and building real relationships with suppliers, partners and local organisations. Avoid buying links. Progress is gradual, and no one can promise a particular score or date.