Ahrefs URL Rating (UR)
Ahrefs URL Rating (UR) is a 0 to 100 score that measures the backlink strength of one specific page, rather than the whole website, using its external and internal links.
Page-Level vs Domain-Level Metrics
SEO tools measure link strength at two levels. Domain-level metrics, such as Ahrefs Domain Rating, score an entire website. Page-level metrics, such as URL Rating, score a single page. Both matter, but they answer different questions.
Search engines rank pages, not domains. When Google decides which result to show for a query, it compares individual URLs, and each of those URLs has its own set of links. A strong domain gives every page some advantages, but the page itself still needs signals of its own.
This is where the two levels can tell very different stories. A site with DR 75 might have a homepage at UR 60, a few popular guides at UR 30 to 40, and thousands of blog posts sitting at UR 0 to 5 because nothing links to them. If you only look at DR, every one of those pages looks equally strong. URL Rating shows where the link strength on a site sits.
Moz offers a similar split. Its Domain Authority covers the whole site, while Page Authority scores individual pages. The scores are not interchangeable, since each tool uses its own index and formula, but the idea is the same.
How URL Rating Is Calculated
Ahrefs calculates UR from the links pointing to one specific URL. Both external links from other websites and internal links from pages on the same site count. The approach is loosely based on the original PageRank idea: a page earns strength from the pages that link to it, and those pages pass on a share of their own strength.
Several things shape the score. The number of linking pages matters, and so does the strength of each one. A link from a page with UR 50 counts for far more than a link from a page with UR 2. Only dofollow links pass value into the calculation. The number of other links on the linking page also matters, since a page’s link equity is split among every link it contains.
UR uses a 0 to 100 logarithmic scale, the same shape as DR. Gains come fast at the bottom and slowly at the top. A new page with no links starts at or near zero and climbs as it collects backlinks and internal links. Like DR, UR is relative to Ahrefs’ index, so scores can shift slightly as the tool recrawls the web.
Because internal links count, you can lift a page’s UR without any outreach at all. Linking to it from strong pages on your own site, such as the homepage or a popular guide, passes strength across. This is one of the easiest ways to distribute link juice toward pages that need it.
When UR Matters More Than DR
UR becomes the more useful number whenever a decision is about a specific page. The most common case is choosing where a backlink will sit. A link passes value from the page that holds it, so the strength of that page affects the outcome more than the domain average.
Link insertions are a clear example. When you add a link to an existing article, the article may already have its own backlinks and a meaningful UR. Two offers from the same DR 60 site can be worth very different amounts if one article sits at UR 25 and the other at UR 0. The same logic applies to guest posts, although a new guest post always starts with little or no UR of its own. It also matters on sites where the homepage holds most of the strength. Links on deep, unlinked pages of those sites pass far less than the domain’s DR implies.
UR also matters more when analyzing search results. Pages compete with pages. If the top results for a keyword all have UR scores above 30, a new page will likely need its own links to compete, even on a strong domain. When the top results show low UR, content and relevance may carry more of the weight.
Finally, UR helps with internal decisions. Sorting your own pages by UR shows which ones have built up the most strength, so you can link from them to pages you want to push higher.
Using UR for Link Prospecting
When vetting link opportunities, check UR alongside DR. Start with DR to filter sites with an established link profile, then check the UR of the exact page that will hold your link. For link insertions, favor existing pages that already have backlinks pointing to them and stable organic traffic.
Look at the page’s context as well as its score. A page with decent UR that sits on a relevant topic, has few outbound links and gets real visits is usually a strong placement. A page with high UR but dozens of outbound links to unrelated sites passes much less value per link and may signal that the site sells placements heavily.
For new content such as guest posts, you cannot judge UR in advance. Instead, look at the UR of similar older posts on the site. If the publisher’s posts usually gain links over time, or if the site links to new articles from its homepage and category pages, your page is more likely to build strength. If most posts on the site sit at UR 0 for years, the link may pass little beyond the domain’s general authority. Making sure the page gets indexed by Google is a basic first check.
Record the UR of each placement when the link goes live, then check it again after a few months. Pages that gain strength over time are a good sign for future placements on the same site.
URL Rating shows where link strength sits on a website, page by page. Use DR to judge the site, UR to judge the page, and pay closest attention to UR whenever the exact location of a link decides how much value it can pass.