What is a Good Domain Rating? DR Benchmarks by Niche (2026)

One of the most common questions founders and marketers ask after checking their Ahrefs score is: "Is this good?" The honest answer is that a good Domain Rating depends entirely on who you are competing against. A DR 25 might be excellent for a two-month-old SaaS startup and terrible for a national media publication.

If you are not sure what Domain Rating is or how the metric works under the hood, start with our complete guide to Domain Rating or our breakdown of how DR is calculated. To check your current score right now, use our free DR checker.

Understanding the DR scale#

Domain Rating runs from 0 to 100 on a logarithmic scale. This is not like a percentage where 50 means you are halfway — it means each point higher requires exponentially more backlink equity than the previous one. Think of it like the Richter scale for earthquakes: a magnitude 6 is not twice as strong as a magnitude 3; it is roughly 1,000 times stronger.

Here is what each range generally means in practice:

DR 0-10: Brand new site#

You have few or no backlinks. Nearly every website starts here. If you just launched your product last week and your DR is 0, that is completely normal. There is nothing wrong with your site — you simply have not had time to earn referring domains yet.

DR 10-20: Some initial link building#

You have a handful of referring domains, likely from initial directory submissions, a product launch listing or two, and perhaps your personal social profiles. You are starting to establish a footprint but are not yet competitive for most keywords.

DR 20-30: Decent foundation#

This is where things get interesting. You have enough referring domains to start competing for low-competition, long-tail keywords. Most startups that actively work on SEO reach this range within a few months. This is the good DR score range where your backlink profile becomes meaningful.

DR 30-50: Strong for most niches#

With DR 30-50, you have a strong backlink profile relative to the average website. You can compete for medium-difficulty keywords and are likely showing up in search results for your niche. Hundreds of unique referring domains are pointing to your site.

DR 50-70: Very strong#

This is established brand territory. You have hundreds to thousands of referring domains from authoritative sources. Sites in this range are typically well-known businesses, popular SaaS tools, or respected publications in their field.

DR 70-100: Major websites#

These are the Wikipedias, GitHubs, and New York Times of the internet. Reaching this range requires massive, sustained link acquisition over many years. For context, ahrefs.com itself is DR 92. Unless you are building a platform with millions of users, DR 70+ is not a realistic near-term target.

The logarithmic scale is actually good news for startups. It means your early link building efforts have an outsized, visible impact on your DR. Every new referring domain you earn in the 0-30 range meaningfully moves your score.

Sources:

• Ahrefs Blog: What is Domain Rating and how it works

DR benchmarks by niche#

General DR ranges are helpful, but the real question is: what is a good DR for YOUR type of business? A DR 30 personal blog is exceptionally strong, while a DR 30 media publication would be below average.

Here are realistic domain rating benchmarks broken down by industry:

How to actually use these benchmarks#

These ranges give you orientation, but they should not be your target. Here is what to do instead:

1. Search your top 5 target keywords in Google. These are the queries you actually want to rank for.
2. Check the DR of the top 10 results for each keyword using Ahrefs or our free DR checker.
3. Calculate the average DR of those ranking pages. That is your real benchmark — the DR you need to be in the ballpark of to compete.

If you are a SaaS startup and the sites ranking for your target keywords all have DR 15-30, you do not need DR 60. You need DR 20-30 and excellent content. If those ranking sites have DR 50-70, you have a bigger gap to close and may want to target less competitive keywords first.

Compare against your actual competitors, not a generic table. Your niche might be easier or harder than the averages suggest.

What DR should startups aim for?#

If you are a founder who just launched a product, seeing DR 0 can feel discouraging. It should not be. Every website starts at zero, and the early DR gains are the fastest to achieve thanks to the logarithmic scale.

Here are realistic DR targets by startup stage:

Pre-launch / Week 1: DR 0-5#

This is completely normal. You might have a few links from your personal site, a social profile, or a beta listing. Do not worry about DR at this stage — focus on building your product.

After directory submissions: DR 15-25#

This is achievable in days, not months. When you systematically submit your site to quality directories, each listing creates a new unique referring domain. At low DR levels, every new referring domain has a visible, immediate impact on your score.

Here are real results from startups that used directory submissions:

These are real customers of RankInPublic's directory submission service. renderly.video went from DR 0 — a brand new domain with zero backlinks — to DR 24 through directory submissions alone. psychiatryexams.co.uk, a niche site in healthcare education, saw a 21-point increase. These results demonstrate that the DR 15-25 range is achievable for any startup willing to invest in systematic directory submissions.

3-6 months of SEO work: DR 25-40#

With consistent effort — guest posting, content marketing, building linkable assets, and continued link outreach — most startups can reach the DR 25-40 range within their first six months. At this level, you are competitive for medium-difficulty keywords in most niches.

1+ year established: DR 40-60#

After a year or more of sustained SEO and link building, well-run startups typically fall in the DR 40-60 range. This is strong territory. You have hundreds of referring domains, a growing content library that earns links naturally, and enough authority to compete for meaningful keywords.

The pattern is clear: do not stress over DR 0 at launch. Within days of focused directory work, you can build a foundation that puts you ahead of most websites on the internet.

DR vs actual rankings#

Here is something critical that many founders misunderstand: Domain Rating is not a Google ranking factor. Google has confirmed repeatedly that it does not use any third-party SEO tool scores in its ranking algorithm. DR is an Ahrefs metric, not a Google metric.

This means that a site with a lower DR can absolutely outrank a site with a higher DR. And it happens constantly.

Why lower-DR sites outrank higher-DR sites#

• Page-level authority matters more than domain-level. Google evaluates individual pages, not just domains. A DR 25 site with one outstanding, well-linked page can rank above a DR 70 site whose competing page has weak content and few page-level backlinks.
• Content relevance and search intent. Google's primary job is matching search intent. If your page is the best answer to the query, it can rank despite a lower DR. A highly relevant, deeply comprehensive page beats a tangentially related one from a stronger domain.
• Topical authority. A site that covers a narrow topic deeply often outranks a broad site with higher DR. A DR 30 site entirely focused on email marketing can outrank a DR 60 general marketing site for email-specific queries.
• Page-level backlinks. DR measures domain-wide backlink strength, but specific pages earn their own backlinks. A page with 50 quality referring domains from relevant sites will rank well regardless of the overall domain's DR.

What DR is actually useful for#

If DR is not a ranking factor, why track it? Because it is a useful competitive benchmark:

• Competitive gap analysis. If every site ranking for your target keyword has DR 40-60 and you have DR 10, that tells you there is a significant link gap. It does not mean you cannot rank, but you will need outstanding page-level authority and content to compensate.
• Progress tracking. A rising DR over time confirms your link building strategy is working, even before you see ranking improvements.
• Link opportunity evaluation. When prospecting for guest posts or partnerships, DR gives you a quick read on a site's authority.

Think of DR as a useful compass, not a map. It tells you the general direction — whether you are building authority or falling behind — but it does not dictate exactly where you will rank.

For a deeper comparison of how DR differs from Moz's Domain Authority metric, see our domain rating vs domain authority guide.

Sources:

• Ahrefs Blog: Domain Rating, what it measures and what it does not

How fast can you grow DR?#

DR growth speed depends almost entirely on your starting point. The logarithmic scale means that early gains are fast and later gains are slow. Here is a realistic timeline:

DR 0 to 20: Days to weeks#

This is the fastest DR growth you will ever experience. At the very bottom of the scale, every new referring domain makes a noticeable difference. Submitting to 50-100 quality directories can push you from DR 0 to DR 15-25 in a matter of days.

The customer data above proves this. renderly.video went from DR 0 to DR 24 in days. blitzcutai.com jumped from DR 8 to DR 25 in the same timeframe. At this level, the math is simple: more unique referring domains means a higher DR, and directory submissions add referring domains quickly.

DR 20 to 40: Weeks to months#

Once you have the directory foundation in place, growth slows. Each new referring domain has a smaller relative impact because you already have dozens. To push through this range, you need guest posts, content that earns links, and active outreach on top of your directory base.

Expect 1-4 months to move from DR 20 to DR 30, and 3-6 months to move from DR 30 to DR 40, depending on the intensity of your link building efforts.

DR 40 to 60: Months to a year#

At this level, you need high-quality links from authoritative sources — not just directories, but editorial mentions, media coverage, and backlinks from sites with their own DR 50+. You are competing with established businesses, and each point of DR requires significantly more effort.

DR 60 to 80+: Years#

This is major brand territory. The sites at this level — large SaaS platforms, news publications, government sites — have been building backlinks for years and have thousands of referring domains. Reaching this range is a long-term game that requires sustained brand building, not just SEO tactics.

The takeaway: do not compare your DR growth trajectory to a site that is in a completely different stage. If you are at DR 5 and a competitor is at DR 50, they did not get there overnight. Focus on the next 10-15 points of DR, not the final destination.

How to check your DR#

Before you can benchmark your DR, you need to know your current score. Here are the best ways to check it:

RankInPublic free DR checker#

Our website authority checker lets you look up the Domain Rating for any domain instantly and for free. Enter your domain, see your DR, and compare against competitors — no account or credit card required.

Ahrefs Website Authority Checker#

Since DR is an Ahrefs metric, their free tool is the source of truth. Go to ahrefs.com/website-authority-checker, enter any domain, and get the DR score along with referring domain counts and backlink totals. No paid account needed for basic lookups.

Ahrefs Site Explorer (paid)#

For deeper analysis — DR trends over time, competitor comparisons, and detailed backlink profiles — the full Ahrefs Site Explorer requires a paid subscription. It is worth it if you are serious about link building at scale.

For a full walkthrough of checking your website's authority across multiple tools including Moz DA and Semrush Authority Score, see our complete guide to checking domain authority.

How to improve your DR#

Improving Domain Rating comes down to one fundamental principle: earn backlinks from more unique, high-quality referring domains. That is the single biggest lever.

Here is a brief summary of the most effective methods:

1. Directory submissions (fastest for new sites)#

Every quality directory listing is a new unique referring domain. At low DR levels, this is the most efficient way to build your backlink foundation. Our directory submission service handles submissions to 150+ curated directories and has delivered DR jumps of 17-24 points for customers starting from low DR.

2. Guest posting#

Writing for blogs and publications in your niche earns contextual backlinks from relevant, authoritative sites. Aim for 2-4 guest posts per month on sites with DR 30+.

3. Building linkable assets#

Free tools, original data studies, and comprehensive guides attract backlinks naturally. If you create something genuinely useful, other sites will reference and link to it without you asking. For ideas on earning quality links, see our high authority backlinks guide.

4. HARO and journalist queries#

Responding to journalist requests can earn you links from major publications with DR 60-90. A single placement in a top-tier outlet can move your DR more than dozens of directory listings.

5. Unlinked mention reclamation#

If your brand is mentioned on other sites without a link, reach out and ask them to add one. Conversion rates on unlinked mentions are significantly higher than cold outreach because the relationship already exists.

For the full, step-by-step playbook with 12 proven methods and realistic timelines, see our dedicated guide on how to increase Domain Rating.

FAQs#

Is DR 0 bad?#

No. DR 0 simply means your site is brand new and has not yet earned backlinks from other websites. Every website starts here — including ones that eventually reach DR 50, 60, or higher. DR 0 is a starting point, not a problem. The question is not whether your DR is 0, but how quickly you start building from there.

What DR do I need to rank on Google?#

There is no minimum DR required to rank. Google does not use Domain Rating in its algorithm. Pages with DR 10 can and do rank above pages with DR 60 when they have better content, stronger page-level backlinks, and more relevance to the search query. That said, if every site ranking for your target keyword has DR 40+, it signals that the keyword requires strong backlink authority — so you should either build your links or target less competitive queries first.

Can DR go down?#

Yes. Domain Rating can decrease if you lose referring domains (sites remove their links to you or go offline), if the sites linking to you lose their own DR, or if other sites across the web gain links faster than you do. The scale is relative, so even maintaining your link count does not guarantee a stable DR. Small fluctuations of 1-3 points between checks are normal noise and not cause for concern. A sustained downward trend means you are losing backlinks faster than you are earning new ones.

Does DR matter more than DA?#

Neither metric is inherently more important. Domain Rating (Ahrefs) and Domain Authority (Moz) are different metrics from different companies. DR focuses purely on backlink profile strength, while DA incorporates additional signals beyond raw link data. The most important thing is to pick one and benchmark consistently within that tool. Never compare DR scores against DA scores — they are not on the same scale. For a full breakdown, see our DR vs DA comparison.

Is DR 30 good for a startup?#

For most startups, DR 30 is very good. It puts you in the "strong" category for SaaS, tech, and B2B niches. At DR 30, you have enough backlink authority to compete for medium-difficulty keywords and are ahead of the vast majority of websites on the internet. Many funded startups with full-time marketing teams operate in the DR 20-40 range, so hitting DR 30 as an early-stage company is a meaningful achievement.

What is the average DR of a website?#

The average Domain Rating across all indexed websites is below DR 10. Most sites on the internet have few or no backlinks and make no effort at link building. If your site has DR 15+, you are already above the median. If your site has DR 30+, you are in the top tier of actively managed websites. The average is not a useful benchmark, though — what matters is how you compare to the sites ranking for your specific target keywords.

How many backlinks do I need for DR 50?#

There is no fixed number because DR is based on unique referring domains, not total backlinks, and the DR of those linking sites matters as well. As a rough guide, reaching DR 50 typically requires backlinks from 300-1,000+ unique referring domains with a mix of authority levels. Getting 500 links from one site counts as one referring domain. Getting one link each from 500 different sites counts as 500 referring domains — and the latter is far more valuable for DR. Quality matters too: 200 referring domains with DR 40+ will push your score higher than 1,000 referring domains with DR 5.

Does improving DR guarantee more traffic?#

No. DR measures backlink profile strength, not traffic. It is possible to increase your DR through link building and see no traffic improvement if your content does not match search intent, targets the wrong keywords, or has technical issues preventing indexing. Always track DR alongside organic traffic in Google Search Console. If your DR is climbing but traffic is flat, the issue is likely on the content or keyword targeting side, not the link building side.