Domain Ranking Explained: What Affects Your Score

Domain ranking is a score that predicts how well a website will perform in search results. It's measured on a scale from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating stronger potential to rank.

Here's the crucial thing most people miss: domain ranking is not a Google metric.

Google does not use Domain Authority, Domain Rating, or any third-party score in its algorithm. These are metrics created by SEO tool companies like Moz and Ahrefs to approximate a site's ranking potential.

That said, domain ranking scores strongly correlate with actual Google rankings because they measure the same underlying signals — primarily backlink quality and quantity — that Google does use.

When Ahrefs studied 218,713 domains, they found that Domain Rating correlates well with keyword rankings. An Onely study of 2,000 keywords found a correlation coefficient of 0.14 — which sounds small but is actually significant when you consider PageRank is just one of hundreds of ranking factors.

Domain Authority vs Domain Rating: what's the difference?#

The two most popular domain ranking metrics come from Moz and Ahrefs. They sound similar but work very differently.

Source: The HOTH's DA vs DR comparison

Other metrics worth knowing#

• Semrush Authority Score (AS): Combines backlinks, organic traffic, and spam signals
• Majestic Trust Flow: Measures link quality based on how close a site is to trusted "seed" sites
• Majestic Citation Flow: Measures link quantity regardless of quality

Critical point: scores are not interchangeable#

For a deeper dive into how these metrics relate to each other, see our domain rating vs domain authority comparison or the Moz DA vs Semrush Authority Score comparison.

What actually affects your domain ranking score#

1. Number of referring domains#

This is the single most important factor for both DA and DR. Getting backlinks from more unique websites is the most effective way to improve your score.

Key insight: Many links from different sources are more valuable than many links from one source. The returns diminish when you get multiple links from the same website.

2. Quality of linking domains#

A single link from a high-authority domain has greater impact than dozens of links from low-quality sources. A link from a DA 70 industry publication moves the needle more than 50 links from DA 10 blogs.

3. Link diversity#

A natural backlink profile includes:

• Various types of sites (blogs, news, directories, tools)
• Mix of anchor texts (branded, URL, generic, keyword)
• Links from different geographic regions
• Both follow and nofollow links

4. Relevance of linking sites#

A link from a site in your industry signals expertise more strongly than a random link from an unrelated site. Google and the domain metrics tools both weigh topical relevance heavily.

5. Your site's technical health#

While DR focuses purely on backlinks, DA also factors in:

• Crawlability and site structure
• Page speed and Core Web Vitals
• Mobile-friendliness
• Clean URL structure

What does NOT significantly affect domain ranking#

• Domain age: Google has denied this since 2010. There's no meaningful difference between a 6-month-old and 1-year-old domain.
• Domain registration length: Google confirmed this is NOT a ranking factor.
• Exact match domains: Having keywords in your domain provides little to no SEO benefit.
• Social media signals: Shares and likes don't directly impact domain ranking scores.

Source: Orbit Media's 273 Google Ranking Facts & Myths

How to check your domain ranking#

Free tools (no account required)#

Free tools (account required)#

• Moz Link Explorer: The official Domain Authority checker (10 free queries/month)
• DA PA Checker: Bulk checking for up to 1,000 URLs at once

How to interpret your score#

How to improve your domain ranking#

Strategy 1: Build content clusters for topical authority#

In 2026, sites focusing on topical authority before link building see ranking gains up to 3x faster. Build at least 25-30 high-quality, interlinked articles within a content cluster before investing heavily in link acquisition.

Source: SearchAtlas 2026 DA vs Topical Authority study

A B2B SaaS client went from zero to ranking for 200+ keywords within 8 months — despite a DA under 25 — by executing a rigorous content cluster strategy.

Strategy 2: Earn backlinks from unique referring domains#

Focus on getting links from as many different domains as possible:

• Guest posts: Write for industry publications your audience reads
• Data-driven content: Publish original research that others cite
• Broken link building: Find broken links on relevant sites, offer your content as replacement
• Directory listings: Submit to relevant, quality directories

For more strategies, see our free backlinks guide or the complete guide to increasing domain authority.

Strategy 3: Fix technical issues#

• Audit and fix broken internal links (71% of websites have this problem)
• Ensure all pages return proper HTTP status codes
• Optimize page speed (pages loading in under 2 seconds have a 9% bounce rate vs 38% at 5 seconds)
• Implement proper canonical tags to avoid content duplication

Strategy 4: Remove or disavow toxic links#

If you have spammy backlinks dragging your score down:

1. Audit your backlink profile using Ahrefs or Semrush
2. Identify links from spam sites, link farms, or irrelevant foreign sites
3. Contact webmasters to request removal
4. Use Google's disavow tool for links you can't get removed

Realistic timeline for improvement#

• 2-6 months: Noticeable improvements with consistent effort
• Up to 9 months: Moz's official estimate for significant DA changes
• DA 0-30: Fastest improvement zone
• DA 50+: Improvements slow significantly
• DA 70+: Expect progress to take years

Case study: Responsify increased DA by 87.5% to reach DA 30 in just 6 months with 345+ linking domains, resulting in considerably higher lead volume.

Source: Sure Oak link building case study

Common domain ranking myths debunked#

Myth 1: "DA/DR is a Google ranking factor"#

False. Google does not use these scores. John Mueller has stated this explicitly multiple times. These are third-party approximations.

Myth 2: "Higher DA always means higher rankings"#

False. While correlated, search results aren't simply in descending DA order. Content quality, relevance, and topical authority often override raw domain scores. A DA 25 site can outrank a DA 60 site with better, more relevant content.

Myth 3: ".edu and .gov links are worth more"#

False. Google treats all domains equally based on their actual authority, not the extension. These domains often happen to be authoritative, but the extension itself provides no bonus.

Source: AIOSEO's 13 SEO Myths analysis

Myth 4: "Domain age is important"#

False. Google has denied this since 2010. Matt Cutts stated there's no meaningful difference between a 6-month-old and 1-year-old domain.

Myth 5: "You need a high DA to rank"#

Key takeaways#

1. Domain ranking is a proxy, not a Google metric: It correlates with rankings but isn't used directly by Google
2. DA ≠ DR: Different tools measure different things — never compare scores across tools
3. Referring domains matter most: Get links from many unique, relevant, authoritative sites
4. Topical authority > raw DA: Content clusters can outperform sites with higher domain scores
5. Benchmark against competitors: Your score only matters relative to who you're competing with
6. Improvement takes months: 2-9 months for meaningful changes, longer at higher scores
7. Quality over quantity: One authoritative backlink beats dozens of low-quality ones

Don't chase a number. Focus on the activities that improve domain ranking as a side effect: publishing great content, earning quality backlinks, and keeping your site technically sound. The score will follow.

FAQs#

What is domain ranking and how is it calculated?#

Domain ranking is a third-party metric that predicts how well a website will perform in search results, scored on a scale from 1 to 100. It is calculated primarily based on the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to your site. Tools like Moz and Ahrefs each use their own algorithms and data sets, so scores are not interchangeable between platforms.

Is domain ranking a Google ranking factor?#

No. Google does not use Domain Authority, Domain Rating, or any third-party domain score in its ranking algorithm. Google's John Mueller has confirmed this multiple times. However, domain ranking correlates with actual Google rankings because both measure similar underlying signals like backlink quality.

How long does it take to improve domain ranking?#

Expect 2 to 6 months for noticeable improvements with consistent effort, and up to 9 months for significant changes according to Moz. Progress is fastest in the 0-30 range and slows considerably above DA 50. Reaching DA 70 or higher typically takes years of sustained link building and content creation.

What is the difference between Domain Authority and Domain Rating?#

Domain Authority from Moz is a holistic metric using over 40 factors including links, site size, and domain age on a logarithmic scale. Domain Rating from Ahrefs focuses exclusively on backlink profile strength and uses a more linear scale. A DA of 50 does not equal a DR of 50 since they measure different things with different data sets.

How many backlinks do I need to improve my domain ranking?#

There is no fixed number. What matters more is the diversity and quality of referring domains. Getting links from many unique, relevant, authoritative websites is far more effective than accumulating many links from a single source. Focus on earning backlinks from sites in your industry with strong authority scores.