How To Increase Ahrefs UR And DR Metrics

16 hours ago
4 min read

If you're serious about SEO, you’ve probably checked your Ahrefs UR (URL Rating) and DR (Domain Rating) more times than you’d like to admit.

I’ve worked with dozens of websites where clients obsess over these numbers — but most don’t fully understand what actually moves them.

In this updated guide, I’ll break down:

What UR and DR really mean
The difference between them
Practical, proven ways to increase both
What NOT to waste time on

Let’s keep it simple and actionable.

Ahrefs uses metrics to rate a website’s backlink profile. These include the UR and DR metrics. A high UR and DR value have shown to improve SEO rankings, which is great in reaching the right audience. Before learning how to increase Ahrefs UR and DR metrics, we must first know what they are.

What are Ahrefs UR and DR metrics?

What Is Ahrefs UR?

URL Rating (UR) measures the strength of a specific page’s backlink profile on a scale from 0–100.

Key points:

It’s page-level.
It improves when that page earns quality backlinks.
Internal links also influence UR.
It’s logarithmic — going from 20 → 30 is easier than 70 → 80.

If you want a specific blog post or landing page to rank, increasing its UR is critical.

However, this does not mean that the UR is a complete replacement for the PageRank. This is because Google's PageRank formula has highly developed since its conception. And Ahrefs UR formula remains simple.

What Is Ahrefs DR?

Domain Rating (DR) measures the strength of your entire domain’s backlink profile.

Key points:

It’s domain-level.
It increases when your site earns links from unique referring domains.
Quality matters more than quantity.
Links from strong domains pass more DR than weak ones.

If UR helps a page rank, DR strengthens the overall authority of your site.

How to increase Ahrefs' DR and UR Metrics

UR vs DR: What’s the Difference?

Metric	Level	What Affects It	Primary Goal
UR	Individual Page	Page backlinks + internal links	Rank specific pages
DR	Entire Domain	Referring domains	Build overall authority

You can have:

High DR but low UR on new pages
High UR on a page even if DR is moderate

The smart strategy? Improve both together.

10 Proven Ways to Increase Ahrefs UR & DR

Here’s what actually works in 2026.

1. Get Backlinks from Relevant, Authoritative Sites

This is the foundation.

Focus on:

Niche-relevant websites
Real businesses and blogs
Editorial placements
Contextual links within content

Avoid:

Random link farms
PBN blasts
Fiverr spam links

One quality link from a DR70 site in your niche is worth more than 50 junk links.

2. Increase Referring Domains (Not Just Backlinks)

DR improves when you gain new referring domains, not just more links from the same site.

Instead of getting 10 links from one website, aim for:

10 different websites linking once each.

Diversity builds authority.

3. Use Smart Internal Linking

Internal links pass authority between pages.

If you already have high-UR pages:

Link from them to newer pages.
Use descriptive anchor text.
Avoid over-optimization.

This helps boost UR without building new external links.

I’ve seen pages jump 5–10 UR points just from strategic internal linking.

4. Create Link-Worthy Content

Links don’t magically appear.

Create content that earns them:

Data studies
Industry guides
Step-by-step tutorials
Statistics pages
Tools or calculators

If your content doesn’t provide value, people won’t link to it.

5. Do Competitor Backlink Analysis

This is one of my favourite tactics.

Use Ahrefs to:

Analyze competitors with higher DR.
Export their referring domains.
Identify link gaps.
Pitch those same sites.

If they linked to your competitor, they may link to you too.

6. Guest Posting (Done Properly)

Guest posts still work — when done correctly.

Look for:

Real websites with traffic.
Niche relevance.
Editorial standards.

Avoid:

Guest post farms.
“100 guest posts for $50” packages.

Quality > Quantity.

7. Fix Broken Link Opportunities

Find:

Broken links on relevant websites.
Pages that previously linked to outdated resources.

Offer your content as a replacement.

This strategy builds natural, relevant links that increase both UR and DR.

8. Build Digital PR Campaigns

This is where serious DR growth happens.

Examples:

Publish original research.
Release industry surveys.
Create controversial opinion pieces.
Launch a tool or calculator.

Journalists and bloggers link to unique angles.

One good PR campaign can move DR significantly.

9. Remove Toxic Links (If Necessary)

Most low-quality links won’t hurt DR directly, but massive spam campaigns can distort your profile.

Audit backlinks occasionally and:

Disavow if needed.
Avoid buying bulk links.

Long-term authority wins.

10. Be Consistent (DR Growth Is Logarithmic)

Remember: Ahrefs metrics are logarithmic.

It’s easy to move from:

DR 10 → 20

Harder to move:

DR 60 → 70

Consistency in link acquisition is key.

Authority compounds over time.

Common Myths About Increasing UR & DR

Let’s clear this up.

❌ Buying 1,000 cheap backlinks will increase DR sustainably

❌ DR is a Google ranking factor

❌ Social media shares directly increase DR

❌ More links always mean higher authority

Truth:

Quality and relevance drive growth.
DR correlates with rankings but isn’t a Google metric.
Sustainable link building beats shortcuts.

Final Thoughts

If you want to increase Ahrefs UR and DR: