sarahkofficial
Newbie
- Jun 4, 2026
- 7
- 1
It depends on How you use it
Google doesn’t care about DR.
- Thread starter milhan SEO
- Start date
sarahkofficial
Newbie
- Jun 4, 2026
- 7
- 1
DR is not for every body
The_Growth_Source
BANNED
- Feb 15, 2026
- 307
- 57
DR is just a third-party metric that Google completely ignores. True authority comes from topical relevance, real traffic, and how natural the link placement is within the content. Two contextual links from active, niche-specific sites will always beat a dozen artificial metrics on dead domains. 
Absolutely on point. DR is simply a vanity metric tat Ahrefs has invented for itself; Google’s algorithms aren’t interested in it at all. A live, topic-spcific backlink from an indexed website bets a truckload of dead guest posting backlinks in the form of DR70 anytime, anywhere.
The whole spreadsheet obsesion when one neds to concentrate on traffic, topic authority, and clean outbound links!
The whole spreadsheet obsesion when one neds to concentrate on traffic, topic authority, and clean outbound links!
- Jun 15, 2019
- 8,864
- 4,413
What do you think is the fundamentals of these DR and DA?
Work on those fundamentals rather than increase dr or da.
Work on those fundamentals rather than increase dr or da.
- May 27, 2016
- 11,065
- 2,514
I totally agree! Also DR is a vanity metric.
- Feb 20, 2018
- 534
- 441
I think DR became popular because it's easy to understand and easy to sell, not because it's a great representation of how Google actually evaluates links. IT can still be useful as a rough indicator, but I wouldn't make decisions based on that number alone.
- Jun 26, 2018
- 1,148
- 593
We used to get direct data that DID come from Google, called PR, and people STILL called it inadequate in reflecting what it was using to measure the value of sites. It didn't tell us exactly how G was determining page rank, or how it tied in to relevance for ranking purposes, so we still had to speculate the rest. Google is never gonna tell us everything, folks, so we will have to use the best third party info from DA, DR, TF, AS and such to give us a clue.
These metrics do in fact help us estimate ranking power, as page and url authority definitely is an element of that. But link authority is not the whole picture, as is often pointed out. The problem is the metric is over extended by its users, who think it covers contextual relevancy and traffic as well. When not misapplied to those aspects, DR et al is very helpful indeed in building the total ranking power of pages and domains. Don't throw away the bricks, just because it isn't the piping.
These metrics do in fact help us estimate ranking power, as page and url authority definitely is an element of that. But link authority is not the whole picture, as is often pointed out. The problem is the metric is over extended by its users, who think it covers contextual relevancy and traffic as well. When not misapplied to those aspects, DR et al is very helpful indeed in building the total ranking power of pages and domains. Don't throw away the bricks, just because it isn't the piping.
quangmen93
Newbie
- Nov 11, 2023
- 1
- 0
DR is just a third-party vanity metric. People often forget that Google doesn't read Ahrefs' database. At the end of the day, a link from a DR20 blog that gets real, highly-targeted traffic in your exact niche is worth 100x more than an orphaned guest post on a DR80 general news site. If a link doesn't bring real clicks or make sense to a human, it won't move the needle for Google.
DigitalRiseHQ
Newbie
- May 10, 2026
- 35
- 7
This is true in a lot of cases. I think relevance and the actual context of the link matter more than chasing a high DR number alone.
- Dec 11, 2020
- 110
- 14
Quality Beats matrics, relvance and trust consistently drive rankings.
Exactly. Too many SEOs are obsessed with DR while Google is looking at relevance, context, trust, and user value. I've seen sites get nowhere with 20+ DR50 links, then jump rankings from just 1-2 highly relevant niche backlinks. A link from the right website beats a link from a big website that's unrelated to your topic. Focus on building authority, not decorating reports.
- Dec 19, 2007
- 3,279
- 407
Exactly, DR is a third party metric not a Google ranking factor. You know it, a few very relevant, contextual links from trusted sites in your niche can outdo dozens of high DR links with little relevance. The rankings come from link quality and relevance, not report aesthetics, even if the dashboard looks nicer.
Conversion Wizard
Registered Member
- Apr 15, 2026
- 53
- 13
I agree with this honestly. high DR looks nice in reports, but niche relevance moved rankings way more for me.