DR vs. Referring Domains: What Matters More in Ahrefs?

What is Domain Rating?

Domain Rating (DR) is Ahrefs’ proprietary metric that measures the overall strength and authority of a website’s backlink profile. It is scored on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting stronger authority.

While DR doesn’t come directly from Google, it correlates with ranking potential. A site with a higher DR generally has more high-quality backlinks, which improves trust and visibility in search engines.

Key points about DR:

• It’s logarithmic, meaning moving from DR 10 to 20 is much easier than going from DR 70 to 80.
• It considers both the quantity and quality of backlinks.
• It updates regularly as Ahrefs crawls new data.

If you’re looking to increase domain rating in Ahrefs, the focus should be on acquiring relevant, high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites rather than just increasing volume.

What are Referring Domains?

Referring Domains (RD) are the number of unique websites that link back to your site. Unlike DR, which is a calculated score, RDs are a straightforward count of distinct domains linking to you.

For example:

• If 10 different websites link to your site, you have 10 referring domains.
• If one of those websites links to you 50 times, it still counts as 1 referring domain in Ahrefs.

Why RDs matter:

• Google values diversity of backlinks. A site with 200 referring domains is often stronger than one with 2 domains linking thousands of times.
• High-quality referring domains bring not only authority but also referral traffic.
• Referring domains are a direct growth metric you can track when building links.

DR vs. RD Comparison

To understand which matters more, let’s break down the differences between Domain Rating and Referring Domains:

In simple terms:

• Referring Domains build Domain Rating.
  
• Without RDs, your DR won’t grow.
• DR is useful for benchmarking against competitors, while RD gives a clear action path for link-building.

Which Drives SEO Growth?

The debate often comes down to this: does DR or RD matter more for ranking?

The answer: Referring Domains are the foundation of SEO growth.

Here’s why:

1. Google favors link diversity. A website with 100 unique referring domains will usually outrank a site with 1 domain linking 1,000 times.
2. RD impacts DR. Your Domain Rating won’t increase without building more high-quality referring domains.
3. Traffic & relevance matter. Referring domains from relevant sites in your niche bring referral visitors and contextual authority.

That said, DR is still important:

• High DR means you’re seen as authoritative overall.
• Many SEOs use DR when deciding if a site is worth pursuing for guest posting or outreach.
• DR is a good comparative tool to measure your growth against competitors.

But when it comes to action, building referring domains should be your primary focus. Increasing RD naturally boosts DR, which in turn helps rankings and traffic.

How to Increase Domain Rating in Ahrefs

Since DR depends on backlinks and referring domains, here are actionable steps:

1. Guest Posting on Relevant Blogs – Write content for niche-related sites and secure backlinks.
2. Local Citations & Directories – Submitting your business to citation sites (like Citations Check) helps boost referring domains and local SEO.
3. Digital PR & Outreach – Pitch your brand’s story to journalists and industry publications.
4. Broken Link Building – Find broken links on authoritative sites and suggest your content as a replacement.
5. Create Linkable Assets – Publish high-value guides, infographics, or data studies that naturally attract backlinks.
6. Avoid Low-Quality Links – Spammy backlinks don’t help; they may even harm. Focus on relevant, trusted sources.

By focusing on growing referring domains, your domain rating will naturally climb.

Conclusion

When comparing Domain Rating vs. Referring Domains in Ahrefs, both play a role—but they serve different purposes.

• Domain Rating is a useful benchmark of overall backlink strength.
• Referring Domains are the real engine that drives DR and organic SEO growth.

If your goal is to increase domain rating in Ahrefs and improve rankings, prioritize building high-quality referring domains from authoritative, relevant sources. DR will follow.

At Citations Check, we specialize in helping businesses strengthen their online authority through accurate local citations SEO and link-building strategies. More citations mean more referring domains, and that’s the key to boosting both DR and your search engine visibility.

Ready to grow your website’s authority? Visit Citations Check today and start improving your SEO foundation.