DR Checker

Check DR signals + key link metrics. Paste domains (one per line) and get results instantly.

Enter a domain and click “Check Now” to view results.

Heads up

You’ll keep seeing Ahrefs metrics like DR, Backlinks, Referring Domains, and Dofollow percentages. These aren’t “vanity numbers” (okay, sometimes they are) — they’re a fast way to estimate how strong a domain’s backlink profile looks on paper, and what might be driving that strength.

What are Ahrefs metrics?

Ahrefs crawls the web, collects backlink data (links from other sites pointing to yours), then summarizes it into metrics used for SEO audits, competitor research, guest post screening, expired domain checks, and general link analysis. Important: metrics are not Google rankings. They’re indicators, not guarantees.

1) DR (Domain Rating)

DR (Domain Rating) is Ahrefs’ 0–100 score that estimates the overall strength of a domain’s backlink profile. Higher DR usually means the domain has earned links from stronger websites — but it does NOT automatically mean high traffic or top rankings. DR is heavily influenced by the quality and strength of referring domains, not just link quantity.

Simple mindset: 10 links from 10 relevant, solid domains can boost DR more than 10,000 repeated links from one site.

2) Backlinks vs Referring Domains (Refdomains)

Backlinks = the total number of links pointing to a website. This can be huge because one website can link to you many times (footer links, sitewide links, repeated mentions, etc.).

Referring Domains (RD / Refdomains) = the number of unique domains linking to you. RD is often more meaningful than raw backlink count because “unique sources” is usually a healthier signal.

Quick rule: if Backlinks are massive but RD is low, you’re probably seeing lots of repeated links from the same few sites. Not always bad, but often less powerful than growing high-quality RD.

3) Dofollow Backlinks & Dofollow Referring Domains

Dofollow Backlinks = links that can pass ranking signals (in general). Nofollow links typically don’t pass the same signals, but they can still be valuable for traffic, branding, and a natural link mix.

Dofollow Referring Domains = the number of unique domains that link to you with dofollow links. This is often more important than dofollow backlink count, because unique dofollow domains usually carry more weight than repeated links.

Why show Dofollow BL/RD as a percentage?

Because the ratio helps you judge the “shape” of a backlink profile fast. For example: if dofollow is 99% and the sources look sketchy, that’s a red flag. if dofollow is 20% but the domains are strong and relevant, that can still be healthy.

Simple formulas:
Dofollow BL (%) = (Dofollow Backlinks / Total Backlinks) × 100
Dofollow RD (%) = (Dofollow Refdomains / Total Refdomains) × 100

How to read these metrics without getting fooled

Use this quick checklist:
1) Look at Refdomains first, not Backlinks. Stable RD growth usually matters more.
2) Compare DR vs RD. High DR with tiny RD can happen (very strong link sources), but it can also signal unnatural patterns — you should inspect the link sources.
3) Watch the dofollow ratio. Extreme ratios aren’t automatically “wrong”, but they should trigger a closer look.
4) Always add context: niche relevance, link quality, anchor patterns, and real traffic signals matter too.

Takeaway

• DR = a summary score of backlink strength (useful indicator, not truth).
• Backlinks = total links (can be noisy and repetitive).
• Refdomains = unique linking domains (often more meaningful).
• Dofollow BL/RD = check counts + percentages to spot whether the profile looks natural or “too engineered”.