Link Authority: DA, DR and What They Really Mean

“Authority” is one of the most-used words in link building — and one of the most misunderstood. This guide explains what link authority means, how the popular metrics work, and why you should never judge a link on authority alone. For the wider picture, see our complete guide to backlinks.

What is link authority?

Link authority refers to how trusted and influential a linking site or page is — and therefore how much weight its link can carry. It traces back to the PageRank idea that important pages pass more value. A link from an authoritative site generally helps more than a link from an unknown one.

The metrics: DA, DR and others

Google doesn’t publish a public authority score, so the industry uses third-party proxies:

• Domain Rating (DR) — Ahrefs’ 0–100 score of a domain’s backlink authority.
• Domain Authority (DA) — Moz’s 0–100 equivalent.
• Trust Flow / Citation Flow — Majestic’s quality and quantity metrics (see link trust).

These are useful for quick comparison, but they’re estimates made by SEO tools — not Google scores. Treating them as gospel is a mistake.

Why authority alone is misleading

A high DA or DR does not guarantee a valuable link. Two big traps:

• Inflated metrics. Scores can be manipulated, so a site can show a high DR with little real traffic or genuine authority.
• Authority without relevance. A powerful but unrelated site passes a weaker signal than a relevant one (see link relevance).

This is why a DR 70 site with no traffic and a spammy profile is worth far less than a DR 45 site with genuine readership in your niche.

How to judge a link’s real strength

• Cross-check metrics — compare DR/DA with Trust Flow; a big gap is a warning sign.
• Check real organic traffic — does the site actually rank and get visitors?
• Confirm relevance — is it related to your topic?
• Look at the profile — clean and editorial, or spammy and link-selling?

Authority is one input among several — combine it with traffic and relevance for a true read. Our guide to high-quality backlinks brings these together.

FAQ

What is link authority?

How trusted and influential a linking site or page is, which affects how much weight its link carries.

What’s the difference between DA and DR?

DA is Moz’s authority score; DR is Ahrefs’. Both estimate backlink authority on a 0–100 scale but are calculated differently.

Is a high DR always good?

No. DR can be inflated and ignores relevance and traffic. Always check real traffic and relevance too.

In summary

Link authority measures how influential a linking site is, estimated by metrics like DA and DR — but those are proxies, not Google scores. Judge links on authority plus real traffic and relevance, never on a single number. Read our complete guide to backlinks or get a free plan.