How to increase your Domain Rating
Domain Rating rises when more unique, strong websites link to you with followed links. The safe ways to get there are the same as good link building: listings on relevant directories, partner and integration pages, earned coverage, and content people want to cite. Because DR is logarithmic and relative to the whole web, it moves slowly, and it can dip when other sites grow.
Updated · Citable
How DR moves
Ahrefs calculates DR from the unique domains linking to a site with followed links, weighted by their own strength and by how many other sites they link to. Because the scale is logarithmic and recalculated against the whole web, early points come quickly and later ones slowly.
What raises it
| Tactic | Speed | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Startup and SaaS directories (dofollow) | Fast | Low to medium |
| Launch platforms and comparison sites | Fast | Medium |
| Partner, integration and customer pages | Medium | Low |
| Podcasts and interviews | Medium | Medium |
| Original data and free tools | Slow, compounding | High |
| Digital PR and journalist outreach | Medium | High |
| Reclaiming unlinked mentions | Fast | Low |
See backlinks for a new website and directory submissions and SEO.
What not to do
- Buy "DR 50+ guaranteed" packages: often private blog networks, which Google can ignore or penalize.
- Swap links at scale.
- Chase DR at the expense of relevance.
Questions people ask
Why did my DR drop?
You may have lost links, or other sites grew faster (DR is relative). Small fluctuations are normal.
Do press releases raise DR?
Usually little, because most syndicated links are nofollow, which DR does not count. See press release backlinks.