Ahrefs Rank, DR and UR Explained: Seeing the Data Logic Behind Website Weighting

exist SEO and website analytics, Ahrefs provides several important metrics to measure the quality of links and overall performance of a website. Among them, Ahrefs Rank (AR), Domain Rating (DR) and URL Rating (UR) are the three core data.

This article brings you a systematic understanding of the definition, calculation logic and practical use of these indicators to help you make more accurate optimization judgments.

I. What is Ahrefs Rank (AR)

Ahrefs Rank is a ranking of all websites in the Ahrefs database based on the number and quality of dofollow domains.

1.1 AR Ranking Meaning

AR is ranked by the "number of high quality domains" on the web. The more dofollow referring domains a site has, the morehow (what extent),The higher the qualityThe more you can do, the higher your DR will be, and the closer your AR will be to first place.

Examples:

• Ahrefs.com currently has an AR of 942, which means it is ranked #942 in the world.
• The current top spots are Facebook.com (AR 1), Twitter.com (AR 2), and YouTube.com (AR 3).

1.2 What AR can tell us

• The expression is a site-wide hierarchy ofexternal chain of command (finance)Overall Strength;
• It can be used to horizontally compare the influence of multiple sites in the link ecosystem.

II. What is Domain Rating (DR)?

Domain Rating is a measure of the overall strength of a site's outbound links, with a score ranging from 0 to 100.

2.1 Calculation logic of DR

The calculations are made with reference to the following factors:

• How many dofollow links are there to the source domain;
• The strength (aka DR) of the source domain itself;
• How many sites are linked to from each source, the scarcer the link the greater the impact.

For example:

• A DR-10 site links to 3 sites that pass "weights"It's probably stronger than a site that's DR-80 but links to tens of thousands of sites.

2.2 Characteristics of DR

DR is a relative value:

• The score is influenced by the "scarcity" of the link source;
• Not only should links come from high DR sites, but also minimize the "diversion" of these sites to other link targets.

It is suitable for evaluating the weighted value of outbound link source sites and selecting better quality sites as link sources.

III. What is URL Rating (UR)?

UR is a score used to measure the strength of "single page" links, again out of 100.

3.1 Scoring of URs

UR focuses on page-level outbound link weights. Included in the calculation:

• Quantity and quality of external and internal links;
• Excluding cheating behavior, such as repeated mutual links to form a "link cycle";
• Exclude some of the links that masquerade as high authority but have no real value;
• HTTP and HTTPS are considered the same page and will not be double scored.

3.2 Scoring Curve for UR

UR is logarithmic:

• UR 20 to 30 is easier;
• UR 70 to 80 is much harder to lift.

This makes pages with high UR scores even rarer in the distribution of link resources.

IV. What is the difference between UR and DR?

norm	unit of measure	Scope of application
DR	Domain Name Level	Evaluating link source performance
UR	page level	Evaluating page link quality
AR	Site-wide sorting	Compare the overall position of websites in the link ecosystem

To simplify:

UR is used to see if the page is strong, DR is used to see if the site is worthwhile, and AR is used to see where the site sits on the web.

V. Why are the old and new UR data different?

Ahrefs The UR scoring algorithm was redesigned in August 2022 to fix some of the inaccuracies in the old version.

• The new UR is more consistent with page presentation;
• Historical data maps are available from August 2022 onwards;
• New UR data has also been added to the third version of the API (requires Enterprise Package support).

Therefore, it is normal that there are differences between the old and new data, and it is recommended to use the new version as a reference.

Sixth, how to use these indicators in SEO practice?

Although these metrics are not official ranking factors, in practice they are strongly correlated with performance and can be used:

• Determine which sites are appropriate to use for outbound links;
• Determine if the page has what it takes to attract outbound links;
• Analyze your competitors' link layouts;
• Evaluate the link performance of important pages on the site.

VII. Operational recommendations

• For the home page, section pages and other important pages, prioritize the increase of high UR links;
• Build a portfolio of links with high DR sources;
• Regularly observe changes in UR and DR in the Ahrefs tool;
• become man and wife Google Search Console and GA data to further validate the optimization results.

VIII. Summary

The three data dimensions of AR, DR, and UR provided by Ahrefs provide a comprehensive view of a website's link performance from global to local.

Knowing what these metrics mean and how they are calculated will help you gain a deeper understanding of where your website currently stands and drive more focused and precise optimization actions.

It is recommended to get your hands on Ahrefs Site Explorer and test it in real life in conjunction with these knowledge points, which will accumulate more power for your website growth.

Contact Us
Can't read the tutorial? Contact us for a free answer! Free help for personal, small business sites!	Customer Service
① Tel: 020-2206-9892
② QQ咨询：1025174874
(iii) E-mail: info@361sale.com
④ Working hours: Monday to Friday, 9:30-18:30, holidays off