You do not need to become an SEO to understand what a buyer means by “traffic”, “DR” and “referring domains”. All three come from Ahrefs, a widely used research tool, and you can check them free in a few minutes. The short version: traffic is Ahrefs’ estimate of monthly clicks from Google, DR is a 0 to 100 score of how strong your site’s links are, and referring domains is the number of separate websites linking to you. None of them is your real traffic, which lives in Search Console.
Where can you check these numbers for free?
Ahrefs offers two free tools that cover what most buyers ask about:
- The Website Authority Checker shows your Domain Rating.
- The traffic checker shows “search traffic estimates for any website or webpage.”
Type your domain into each one and note the results with the date. Do the same for one or two competitors that are still trading, so you have something to compare against. If you plan to talk to buyers, our free website value check turns those numbers into a quick verdict without storing anything.
How do your numbers compare with a site that is still trading?
A number on its own means little. A DR of 30 or an estimate of 700 visits only makes sense next to something familiar. The simplest benchmark is a competitor in the same niche that is still trading, ideally one you used to compete with directly.
Check the same three numbers for that competitor on the same day. If your closed store still has a traffic estimate in the same range as a shop that is open, your old content and brand are still doing real work. If your referring domains include the same trade magazine or association that links to the competitor, that tells you your links came from the places that matter in your industry.
Keep the comparison honest. A trading business keeps adding content and links, so it will usually pull ahead over time. The point is not to win, but to show a buyer, and yourself, that the site still belongs in the same conversation.
What does each number actually measure?
| Metric | What Ahrefs says it is | What a buyer reads into it |
|---|---|---|
| Organic traffic | An estimate of monthly clicks from Google | Whether people still find the site through search |
| Organic keywords | Search queries where the site shows up in results | Which topics and brand terms still rank |
| Domain Rating (DR) | Backlink strength on a 100-point scale, relative to other sites | A rough summary of link strength |
| URL Rating (UR) | Backlink strength of one page, 0 to 100, logarithmic | Which individual pages carry weight |
| Referring domains | The count of unique websites linking to the target | How many separate sites chose to link |
| Backlinks | The total count of all links pointing at the target | Volume, which can be inflated by one site |
The definitions come from Ahrefs’ own pages on Domain Rating, backlink metrics, organic traffic and organic keywords. Ahrefs says its keyword database is updated a few times each month, so numbers move a little from week to week.
Why is the traffic number only an estimate?
Ahrefs cannot see who visits your site. It looks at the keywords it finds you ranking for, how high you rank and how often people search those words, then estimates the clicks you probably get. Ahrefs is direct about this: its data “is just an estimate and can’t be treated as the actual search traffic data of a website.”
The estimate can be lower than reality for sites that rank for many small, specific searches Ahrefs does not track. It can be higher for sites whose pages rank but get few clicks. That is why buyers treat the Ahrefs figure as a first filter and then ask for real data from Search Console. Our guide on proving traffic with Search Console shows how to share that safely.
What do “500 visits a month” look like in practice?
Our minimum is at least 500 monthly organic traffic visits as estimated by Ahrefs. That sounds small, and in one sense it is: 500 visits a month is roughly 16 or 17 visits a day.
What matters is what those visits represent. For a closed business, they come from people who still search for the brand, for the products it sold or for answers its articles gave, months or years after anyone last worked on the site. Illustration: suppose an old garden supply store’s blog still ranks for a few dozen how-to searches and its brand name. Nobody has posted in two years, and yet a steady stream of people arrive every day. That steady demand, without any upkeep, is exactly what keeps a dormant site from being worthless.
Below 500, a site can still be worth keeping, but it usually does not meet what we look for. Well above it, the site is worth a careful conversation.
How should you read DR and referring domains?
Domain Rating compares your link profile with every other site in Ahrefs’ database. A few practical points:
- It is relative. As the web grows, scores shift. A small change over a few months is normal and not a sign that anything broke.
- It summarizes volume and quality together. A site with a few links from respected newspapers and associations can have a modest DR and still be a strong asset.
- It says nothing about who links to you. Two sites with the same DR can have very different links behind them. That is why buyers ask to see the actual authority links, not just the score. Our guide to what counts as a strong authority link explains how to find yours.
Why do referring domains matter more than backlinks?
A backlink is one link. A referring domain is one website. A supplier that lists you in its stockist directory on every page of its site might produce hundreds of backlinks, but it is still one referring domain and one decision to recommend you.
Buyers therefore look at referring domains first, then at which of those domains are respected publications, institutions or organizations. Illustration: a site with 80 referring domains, three of them national newspapers, usually interests a buyer more than one with 300 where none are recognizable.
What do the numbers not tell you?
Ahrefs metrics do not tell you whether the site is still indexed, whether the brand name still ranks, whether the domain can be transferred or whether the site was ever hacked. Those are checked separately, and they matter as much as the numbers. Our pillar guide on how website value is measured puts traffic and links alongside age, trust and revenue history.
What to do next
- Check your DR and traffic estimate on the free Ahrefs tools and write them down with today’s date.
- Confirm the real picture in Search Console before you share numbers with anyone.
- If you are at or above 500 estimated visits a month, send us your site for a free valuation.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Ahrefs show different traffic from my analytics?
Because Ahrefs does not see your site's visits. It estimates clicks from Google based on the keywords it finds you ranking for and how often those words are searched. Ahrefs itself says its data is an estimate and cannot be treated as actual traffic. Analytics and Search Console measure real visits and clicks, so they will rarely match, and both views are useful.
What DR does an old business website need to be worth something?
There is no single cut-off. DR summarizes the strength of all links pointing at a site, so it rises with volume. A small business with a handful of respected links can have a modest DR and still be valuable, while a high DR built from weak sources tells a buyer little. Look at who links to you, not only the score.
Do I need a paid Ahrefs account to check my own website?
No. Ahrefs offers a free Website Authority Checker that shows Domain Rating and a free traffic checker that shows search traffic estimates for any website or page. Those two cover the numbers buyers ask about first. A paid account adds depth, such as full keyword and link lists, but an owner deciding what to do with a dormant site rarely needs it.
What is the difference between a backlink and a referring domain?
A backlink is a single link from one page to yours. A referring domain is a whole website that links to you at least once. If a trade association links to you from ten pages, that is ten backlinks but one referring domain. Buyers usually care more about referring domains, because the number of separate sites that chose to link says more about trust.
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