Which SEO metric matters least?
- Thread starter SEO Sparton
- Start date
- Jun 26, 2018
- 1,184
- 606
Calling DA and DR relatively useless is misleading or incomplete. If they are the "least" meaningful, when DO they have meaning? Are people saying an 80 DA or DR means nothing? Does a standalone measurement of page or url authority mean anything, in deciphering ranking, traffic or conversion value?
These metrics are leads, as they have sliding scale significance when considered together. I say a site that has a high DA and DR etc together, does mean it contributes to the other values, and that a combined high rating is much harder to game. Let's use all the clues we can, not ignore them because they don't get us to where we want in isolation.
These metrics are leads, as they have sliding scale significance when considered together. I say a site that has a high DA and DR etc together, does mean it contributes to the other values, and that a combined high rating is much harder to game. Let's use all the clues we can, not ignore them because they don't get us to where we want in isolation.
SugarBitterTruth
Newbie
- Jul 11, 2023
- 36
- 20
backlink count. nobody in the count column knows if the page with the link is even indexed. 200 links on dead pages is 0 links
- Sep 8, 2026
- 225
- 15
DA/DR honestly, they're third party estimates that don't even correlate directly with rankings, real traffic and conversions tell you way more
- Dec 17, 2015
- 1,342
- 459
IMO, raw rankings alone weak performance metric. SERPs fluctuate, and their position doesn’t tell you whether traffic relevant or commercially valuable. I’d look at ranking trends alongside qualified traffic, CTR, conversions, and query intent to understand actual performance.
SEOForger
Registered Member
- Aug 18, 2026
- 76
- 14
DA/DR is actually the least useful if judging actual SEO performance. They are useful but only for comparing link profiles.
They don’t show you whether your pages are getting citations, impressions, conversions, clicks, or qualified traffic.
coinz15120
BANNED
- Jan 25, 2024
- 8
- 2
loading speed is not biggest ranking factor.high authority sites taking 5 to 8 seconds load still rank better than smaller sites that load in 1 to 2 seconds
Rocket_SEO
Registered Member
- Aug 1, 2026
- 51
- 10
DA and DR are often overvalued because they are third party estimates; conversions, qualified traffic and page level relevance reveal far more.
- Oct 18, 2008
- 2,280
- 1,038
Right you are. I would not disregard DA/DR, but I would not base my decision on DA/DR alone either.
DA/DR can be good indicators for comparison, together with organic traffic, relevance, backlink profile, and individual page authority.
I do agree with you on that. Rankings can never give us all the answers because the SERP keeps changing.
I would therefore analyze the ranking trend in relation to quality organic traffic, click-through rates, conversions, and intent behind the searches.
frankhernandez
BANNED
- Aug 15, 2026
- 54
- 10
DA/DR is probably the least useful when used alone. It’s a third-party estimate, so I’d care more about rankings, organic traffic, conversions, and whether the site actually gets real search visibility.
- Oct 18, 2008
- 2,280
- 1,038
Agreed. While DA/DR can still be a good source of reference, they should not be determining factors.
I would always consider organic traffic, ranking of the keywords, relevance, and the general backlink profile of the website.
Absolutely. Number of keywords doesn’t say much about , it would be better to consider the quality of keywords, their placement, intention and whether these keywords attract organic traffic and conversions.
- Oct 18, 2008
- 2,280
- 1,038
Precisely. The DA and DR could serve as an easy way to check, but should not be considered an evidence of any valuable correlation.
Instead, one should focus on organic traffic quality, ranking keywords, topic relevance and, finally, the actual value of such a backlink for the business.