First things first. Domain Rating (DR) is not a metric Google uses in its ranking algorithm. It is a metric developed by Ahrefs, similar to Moz’s Domain Authority (DA), that predicts how well a website will rank on search engines.

The theory is that the higher the score, the higher the chances of ranking on Google. So, should you care about your DR/DA and work on improving it?

Yes, you should. But let me tell you why.

Google uses something called PageRank (PR) to measure a web page's importance based on the quality and quantity of links pointing to it. Unfortunately, several years ago, Google stopped making this metric public. Ahrefs’s DR and Moz’s DA are the next best things available now.

A website with high DR/DA usually has a strong backlink profile, ranks for many keywords, and attracts organic traffic. There’s a clear correlation between these factors.

But don’t get things mixed up! You do not rank better because you have a high DR/DA. You rank better because you have good, relevant backlinks pointing to your website. Authority metrics are just a way to measure the strength of your backlink profile, nothing more.

SEO Tip of the week: Work on improving your Domain Rating. This will help because it means you’ll be working on getting more backlinks, doing keyword research and creating more content.

Just remember that you are doing it not for the DR but for the overall SEO improvements.

Need ideas on how to get backlinks? I previously wrote about this on SEO Tips #32, #11 and #4 a while ago.

Also, there are some resources, like Philipp Keller's SEO Kickstarter, Submit Juice and BoringLaunch, that can help you get foundational backlinks.

Are there any specific topics you want me to cover in the coming weeks? DM me on Twitter and let me know!

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