Quick answer: Increase Domain Rating by earning followed links from new, credible referring domains. Publish original resources, build integration and partner pages, contribute expert insights, reclaim lost links, convert unlinked mentions and promote genuinely useful assets. Because DR is logarithmic and relative, progress is not guaranteed and should remain secondary to relevant traffic and search performance.
DR cannot be improved reliably through on-page changes alone. Ahrefs calculates it primarily from the domain’s backlink graph.
Seven steps to improve DR
- Audit current referring domains.
- Create assets worth citing.
- Earn links from relevant new domains.
- Reclaim broken and lost links.
- Convert unlinked brand mentions.
- Strengthen internal paths to linked pages.
- Measure search and referral outcomes with DR.
Read what Domain Rating is before setting a target.
1. Audit your existing backlink profile
Record:
- current DR and date;
- followed referring domains;
- new and lost domains;
- top linked pages;
- broken backlinks;
- redirects receiving links;
- links to obsolete domains or protocols;
- suspicious clusters.
Separate total backlinks from unique referring domains. Thousands of sitewide links from one source do not equal thousands of independent endorsements.
Use referring domains vs backlinks for the measurement model.
2. Create assets people need to cite
Linkable assets solve a publisher’s problem. Examples include:
- original industry data;
- free calculators;
- templates and checklists;
- open-source libraries;
- technical benchmarks;
- definitive documentation;
- visual reference charts;
- migration guides;
- public datasets;
- expert surveys.
Generic “10 tips” articles rarely earn strong links without unique evidence. Build something another writer cannot reproduce by summarizing the same search results.
For IndieTools, anonymized directory research can produce original insights about product categories, founder behavior and launch trends if the methodology is transparent.
3. Target new relevant referring domains
Ahrefs DR is influenced by unique linking domains and their strength. Prioritize sources that:
- cover your topic;
- serve your audience;
- publish real editorial content;
- have organic visibility;
- link selectively;
- can send qualified visitors;
- are likely to keep the page live.
A relevant DR 30 industry publication can be more useful than an unrelated DR 80 coupon page.
4. Use digital PR with evidence
Pitch a fact, dataset or expert insight—not “please link to our homepage.”
A strong outreach email contains:
- why the topic fits the publication;
- one concise finding;
- methodology or source;
- a link to the full evidence;
- optional chart or quote;
- no demand for a specific anchor.
Journalists and writers decide whether and how to cite. Do not require a followed link as a condition for providing legitimate commentary.
5. Build integration and partner links
Real product relationships can create durable links through:
- integration directories;
- app marketplaces;
- implementation guides;
- partner case studies;
- shared webinars;
- technology-stack pages;
- certified service-provider pages.
Each page must help users understand the relationship. Avoid mass “partner” pages created only to exchange links.
6. Reclaim lost and broken links
Links are often lost because:
- a page moved;
- a URL returns 404;
- HTTP and HTTPS versions differ;
- a domain migration missed redirects;
- a publisher updated the article;
- an image or tool URL changed.
Fix your own redirects first. When the source page is still live, send the publisher the correct destination. Do not pressure them if the reference is no longer relevant.
Read why Domain Rating dropped to diagnose losses.
7. Convert unlinked mentions
Monitor brand, product and founder mentions. When a page clearly references the product but does not provide a destination, ask whether a link would help readers verify the source.
The request should be factual and optional. Do not ask publishers to replace natural anchors with commercial keywords.
8. Use relevant directories selectively
Maintained niche directories can provide discovery, entity context and referral traffic. Evaluate them by audience, review quality, stable pages and transparent link relationships.
Start with the IndieTools product submission guide and how directory backlinks work.
Do not buy bulk directory packages promising a fixed DR increase.
9. Strengthen internal linking
Internal links do not create new referring domains, so they do not directly solve domain-level link acquisition. They help distribute attention and link equity from cited assets to related pages.
Link from a research report to:
- its methodology;
- related guides;
- relevant product pages;
- follow-up analysis;
- conversion pages that genuinely help the reader.
Use internal linking for SEO for architecture guidance.
Link tactics to avoid
- paid followed links sold for ranking credit;
- private blog networks;
- automated comments and profiles;
- irrelevant guest-post farms;
- sitewide footer exchanges;
- expired-domain redirects without a real migration;
- reciprocal link schemes at scale;
- fake scholarship or award pages;
- copied statistics without methodology.
These can move third-party metrics temporarily while creating search-policy and reputation risk.
How long does DR growth take?
There is no fixed timeline. It depends on:
- when links are published;
- when Ahrefs crawls them;
- whether they qualify in the DR calculation;
- source-domain strength;
- your starting point;
- changes elsewhere in the relative index.
At higher DR levels, visible movement generally requires much more link growth.
DR campaign scorecard
| Metric | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| New followed referring domains | Closest operational input to DR |
| Relevant referring domains | Measures topic fit |
| Linked assets | Reveals what earns citations |
| Referral conversions | Captures direct business value |
| Non-brand impressions | Tracks search discovery |
| DR trend | Compares backlink profile over time |
| Lost domains | Identifies maintenance work |
Report all of them. Do not turn the campaign into a single-score exercise.
Frequently asked questions
Can I increase DR without backlinks?
Not meaningfully through ordinary on-page changes, because DR is a backlink-profile metric.
How many links are needed to increase DR?
There is no fixed number. Unique source quality, source link distribution, starting DR and the relative index matter.
Do nofollow links increase DR?
Ahrefs DR focuses on qualifying followed relationships. Nofollow links can still send traffic and create discovery.
Should DR be an SEO KPI?
Use it as a supporting benchmark. Primary KPIs should reflect visibility, qualified traffic, conversions and durable referring domains.
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