Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR) are two important indicators used to evaluate the reputation of a website, thereby predicting the website’s ability to rank on search engines. Although both reflect the overall strength of a website, DA and DR are developed by two different platforms with separate calculation methods, using factors like the number of unique domains, links pointing to your website, and overall backlink profiles.
So, is there any difference between Domain Authority vs Domain Rating? Are you understanding the meaning correctly and using these two indicators effectively? Let’s break it down together in the article below.
What are Domain Authority vs Domain Rating?
Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine optimization (SEO) metric developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs). DA considers a broader range of factors than DR, including:
- Backlink Profile: The number and quality of backlinks, including the authority of linking domains and unique domains linking.
- On-Page SEO: Factors like high-quality content, keyword optimization, and technical SEO.
- Website Age and Size: The age and size of the website can also influence DA.
Meanwhile, Domain Rating (DR) is a metric developed by Ahrefs to assess the overall backlink strength of a website. It ranges from 0 to 100 and is calculated by analyzing the quantity and quality of backlinks pointing to a website. A higher DR score generally indicates a stronger backlink profile and greater potential to rank well in search engine rankings.
DA and DR each have their own criteria for scoring your domain. While DA focuses on overall authority through various factors, DR is more specific to backlinks and Ahrefs Rank.
What are the Differences between Domain Authority vs Domain Rating?
Domain Authority vs Domain Rating are both metrics used to assess a website’s strength and ranking potential, but they are developed by different companies and use different algorithms. DA, created by Moz, predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages, while DR, developed by Ahrefs, focuses on the quality and quantity of a website’s backlinks.
DR focuses purely on the backlink profile, particularly the total number and quality of sites linking to your domain. Meanwhile, DA predicts the chances that one site will outrank others based on numerous SEO strategy signals such as organic traffic, root domains, and social signals.
While DR is more suited for assessing backlink-building efforts, DA is valuable for competitor analysis and understanding relative SEO performance indicators. DR is an absolute metric, while DA is comparative; hence, they are complementary and not opposing tools.
The two metrics DR and DA are important pillars of the SEO but not standalone solutions themselves. They should be applied with more holistic approaches, such as producing quality content, building links in an appropriate context, competitive keyword optimization, and painstaking audits, to achieve meaningful results.
Effective SEO campaigns will combine link building, organic traffic generation, engaging social content, and possibly paid ads to dominate the search engine rankings.
Here’s a table summarizing the key differences between Domain Authority vs Domain Rating:
| Domain Authority (DA) | Domain Rating (DR) | |
| Calculation Method | Machine learning model using MOZ’s link index. | According to the number of unique domain links to the website. |
| Update Frequency | Moz’s Domain Authority (DA) score is typically updated around once a month. | Ahrefs updates its Domain Rating (DR) score approximately every 5 to 7 days. |
| Reflects | It evaluates a website’s “authority” based on link data and estimates its potential to rank in search engine results. | It evaluates a website’s “popularity” based on its backlink profile. |
| Inclusion of Internal Links | Internal links are not factored into the DA calculation. | Unlike Domain Authority (DA), DR includes internal links in its calculation. |
| Influence of High-Quality Links | High-quality backlinks significantly impact the score. | Quantity of unique domains weighs more, though quality link still matters. |
| Prediction Capability | DA assesses the ranking potential of an entire domain or subdomain. | DR does not predict rankings but reflects the site’s link popularity due to its link-oriented nature. |
| Weightage of Links | Predicts rankings of the entire domain or subdomain. | Doesn’t predict rankings; shows link popularity. |
| Range | Domain authority score follows a scale from 0 to 100. | DR also uses a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100. |
| Factors Considered | MozRank, MozTrust, domain age, etc. | Focuses on backlink data, Ahrefs Rank, and referring domains. |
3 Methods To Check Domain Authority vs Domain Rating
Below are 3 suggested tools that you may find useful to check your Domain Authority vs Domain Rating:
1. Loganix DA Checker
Loganix DA Checker is a multi-tool highly recommended both for freshers and SEO experts. Even though branded as a Domain Authority Checker, the tool tends to measure so much more in-depth, looking into over 12 SEO metrics.
Loganix DA Checker checks a web page, a competitor site, or prospect websites that provide a link back to it. For example, in the case of creating backlinks, Loganix can help you analyze publishing sites in a second by looking into their DR, citation flow, and trust flow.Â
An inspiration from Google PageRank, it provides the required insights in the most presentable manner. The best part is that Loganix DA Checker is free, therefore you can analyze up to 10 domains every 24 hours. Simply enter URLs, verify captcha, and click “Lookup” to get extended results in a dashboard.
2. Ahrefs Website Authority Checker
Ahrefs, the originator of Domain Rating, has an “Ahrefs Website Authority Checker” for accurate DR checks. It analyzes key metrics using machine learning and a robust SEO database to provide results in just a few seconds.
Quite simply, users can check domain rating score, a breakdown of the number of backlinks, and linking domains by typing in the domain within the tool and then clicking “Check Website Authority” after captcha verification.Â
Ahrefs’s tool also provides total backlinks distribution so it is widely used by link-building specialists. A more in-depth look at backlinks is available through a dedicated Backlink Checker on Ahrefs, but for full access, you need to buy a membership.
3. Moz Domain SEO Analysis Tool
Moz’s Free Domain SEO Analysis Tool is the ideal tool for Domain Authority checks. This very handy tool enables you to build a site’s DA score and basic SEO metrics with no account needed.
You just need to insert your domain and click on “Analyze Domain”; in a while, it will present a report that includes DA, the number of linking root domains, ranking keywords, and the proportion of spammy links. The tool by Moz is ideal for immediate Site Authority insights.
Final Thoughts
Moz’s Domain Authority (DA) and Ahrefs’ Domain Rating (DR) are both useful metrics for assessing the reputation of a website through backlinks. However, they differ in data sources, calculation methods, and purposes. When you know how to exploit both metrics properly, you will have a more comprehensive view to optimize the effectiveness of your SEO strategy.
Understanding the difference between Domain Authority vs Domain Rating will help you have the right SEO strategy, select quality links, and improve rankings sustainably. Hopefully, Jeenam’s sharing will help your SEO process. Don’t forget to follow to update more useful information!
