Domain Authority vs Domain Rating vs Tranco Rank Explained
Moz Domain Authority, Ahrefs Domain Rating and Tranco rank explained: how each is calculated, why none is a Google metric, and how to use them sensibly.
When people judge a website or a backlink, they often quote a single number: "this site is DA 50" or "that one is DR 70". Those numbers are useful shortcuts, but they are often misunderstood. The most important fact first: none of them is used by Google.
This guide explains three widely used metrics, Moz Domain Authority, Ahrefs Domain Rating and Tranco rank, and how to use them without being misled.
Moz Domain Authority (DA)
Domain Authority is a score created by Moz, an SEO software company. It runs from 1 to 100 and is meant to predict how likely a domain is to rank in search results compared with other domains. Moz calculates it from its own link index, looking at factors such as the number and quality of linking root domains.
Key points:
- It is a third-party estimate. Google does not use Moz DA.
- The scale is logarithmic in practice: moving from 20 to 30 is much easier than moving from 70 to 80.
- Scores can change when Moz updates its index or model, even if nothing changed on your site.
- It is a comparative metric: it makes most sense when you compare your site with competitors.
You can check DA with Moz Link Explorer or the free MozBar extension. For a free alternative that scores up to 10 domains at once, try our DA PA Checker; our guide on how to check domain authority for free explains how its score differs from DA.
Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR)
Domain Rating is Ahrefs' measure of the strength of a website's backlink profile, on a scale from 0 to 100. Ahrefs bases it on how many unique domains link to a site with followed links, and how strong those linking domains are themselves.
Key points:
- It is also a third-party metric, not a Google one.
- It looks only at links, not traffic, content or rankings.
- It is logarithmic, so higher scores are much harder to gain.
- Verified site owners can see their own DR free in Ahrefs Webmaster Tools.
DA and DR measure similar things with different indexes and formulas, so the same site often gets different scores.
Tranco rank
Tranco is a ranking of popular domains created by academic researchers for use in security and web measurement studies. Rather than counting backlinks, it combines several existing popularity lists into one, averaged over 30 days, so it is harder to manipulate than any single source. The list and its methodology are published openly at tranco-list.eu.
Key points:
- Lower is better: rank 1 is the most popular domain on the list.
- It measures popularity, not link strength or topical relevance.
- It covers the most popular domains, so many small sites have no Tranco rank at all.
- Like DA and DR, Google does not use it.
Side-by-side comparison
| Metric | Made by | Scale | What it reflects | Free way to check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domain Authority | Moz | 1 to 100, higher is stronger | Predicted ranking ability from links | Moz Link Explorer, MozBar |
| Domain Rating | Ahrefs | 0 to 100, higher is stronger | Strength of backlink profile | Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for your own site |
| Tranco rank | Academic researchers | 1 upwards, lower is more popular | Domain popularity across several lists | tranco-list.eu |
What Google actually uses
Google uses its own systems to evaluate links and pages, including PageRank, which has evolved a great deal since the early days. Google does not publish a site-wide authority score, and its representatives have repeatedly said that third-party authority scores are not used in ranking. So raising your DA or DR is not a goal in itself. It is, at best, a side effect of earning good links.
How to use these metrics sensibly
- Compare, do not obsess. Use DA or DR to see whether you are in the same league as the sites ranking for your keyword.
- Pair link metrics with traffic. A high DR with almost no organic traffic can be a sign of manipulated links. Check estimated traffic too.
- Use popularity as a sanity check. A domain with a strong Tranco rank is a well-known, widely visited site, whatever its niche.
- Never buy links based on a score. Sellers know buyers shop by DA and DR, and some inflate them. Relevance and real readers matter more. See what makes a high-quality backlink.
Why Backlink Generator shows Tranco rank
Every result in Backlink Generator shows the linking domain's Tranco popularity rank. We chose Tranco because it is open, published by researchers, and based on popularity rather than a commercial link index. It lets you see at a glance which discovery mentions come from widely used sites. It is a guide to the linking site's popularity, not a promise of ranking value, and the links themselves are mostly nofollow discovery mentions that do not guarantee rankings.
FAQ
What is a good Domain Authority score?
There is no universal good score. A useful benchmark is the DA or DR of the sites already ranking for your target keywords. If yours is in a similar range, links are probably not your main gap.
Can I increase my DA or DR quickly?
Not sustainably. Both rise as you earn links from strong, unique domains. Schemes promising a fast DA boost usually rely on manipulative links that add risk without improving real rankings.
Why does my site have no Tranco rank?
Tranco lists only the most popular domains on the web. Most small and new websites are not on it, which is completely normal.