Two Metrics, Two Levels of Analysis
When working with SEO data programmatically, understanding the difference between Domain Rating (DR) and URL Rating (UR) is essential for making smart decisions.
Domain Rating (DR)
Domain Rating is a domain-level authority-style indicator. It estimates the overall strength of an entire website's backlink profile, expressed as a 0–100 score.
When to use DR:
- Qualifying entire websites as link partners
- Evaluating domains for purchase
- Comparing brand authority across competitors
- Filtering prospect lists for outreach campaigns
URL Rating (UR)
URL Rating is a page-level strength indicator. It estimates the authority of a specific page based on its backlink profile, also on a 0–100 scale.
When to use UR:
- Evaluating the strength of individual pages for link insertion
- Assessing guest post page authority
- Comparing specific pages in competitor analysis
Which Should You Use?
| Use Case | Use DR | Use UR |
|---|---|---|
| Site-wide vetting | ✓ | |
| Specific page analysis | ✓ | |
| Expired domain research | ✓ | |
| Guest post evaluation | ✓ | ✓ |
Accessing Both with One API Call
json
{
"domain_rating": 45,
"ahrefs_rank": 320000,
"url_rating": 12
}