Semrush Authority Score (AS)

Semrush Authority Score (AS) is a compound metric designed to measure a domain’s overall SEO strength and website authority on a scale between 0 and 100.

The score is based on:

• Backlink signals.
• Organic traffic.
• Spam signals.

Semrush’s Authority Score combines several authority metrics into one numerical score. It’s not a direct estimate of an individual backlink value, but it can indicate the overall value of a domain.

Authority Score assesses how trustworthy and influential a website is and therefore its ability to rank well in search engine results pages.

How does Semrush calculate Authority Score?

The Semrush Authority Score is calculated using the following three components when looking at a domain, in priority order:

Link power: the ratio of dofollow vs. nofollow backlinks pointing to the domain, as well as the authority of those referring domains. A quality backlink profile will contribute considerably to a strong Authority Score.

Organic strength: Semrush considers how often a domain appears organically in search and the volume of website traffic to determine how it likely it performs in search.

Naturalness of the profile: Authority Score identifies any unnatural or manipulative link building patterns, such as a large number of referring domains with the same IP address. A high volume of low quality backlinks can also raise suspicion and impact a domain’s Authority Score.

⚡ Expert Tip: Use the Semrush Authority Score checker (available within your Semrush dashboard) to evaluate multiple backlink opportunities. By comparing scores, you can quickly decide which will offer the best return on your link building efforts.

The benefits of Semrush Authority Score

Marketers and SEOs use the Semrush score as a quick way to:

• Evaluate a domain’s potential to pass link juice at a glance.
• Compare against competitors in the same niche.
• Avoid spam links that can harm your domain’s performance long term.
• Monitor the impact of link building efforts.

For example, if you’re considering a link from a site with an Authority Score of 25, you might dig deeper into its traffic and link sources, while a domain with a score above 60 is considered more trustworthy depending on the niche and its relevancy to your brand.

Keep in mind that a website with an Authority Score of 80 may sounds great on paper, but if it holds no relevance to your domain, niche or target audience, it’s unlikely to impact your website in the same way as an AS 60 website that’s hyper relevant to your core offering.

Authority scores explained: Semrush vs Moz vs Ahrefs vs Majestic

Scores vary by niche, so always compare relative to your competition.

Authority Score (AS) by Semrush

• Scale: 0–100
• Factors: Backlinks, traffic, spam signals

Domain Rating (DR) by Ahrefs

• Scale: 0–100
• Factors: Strength and quantity of referring domains

Domain Authority (DA) by Moz

• Scale: 0–100
• Factors: Overall link profile, does not consider traffic

Trust Flow (TF) – Majestic

• Scale: 0–100
• Factors: Strength of referring domains

Authority Score stands out for factoring in traffic and spam signals, offering a more holistic view when evaluating a site.