Treat scores as labels from a provider
Domain Authority is Moz's metric. Domain Rating is Ahrefs' metric. They use different systems and should not be substituted for each other in a report. Neither is a Google-issued score for your website.
A threshold such as "only contact sites above 50" can hide useful niche opportunities and admit unrelated sites with a large metric. We would require an editorial reason before applying any numerical filter.
Compare sites that serve a similar purpose
If you use a metric, compare relevant sites using the same provider and check date. Look at the actual page as well as the domain. One useful specialist article can be worth investigating even when the site is small.
A provider's score may also change as its index and calculations change. That is another reason not to promise a customer a specific increase.
A simple qualification order
- Confirm the site covers the audience you serve.
- Read the article where the mention could appear.
- Check the accuracy and usefulness of the proposed destination.
- Review available metrics as context, using one source consistently.
- Record why the opportunity is worth the work.
Suppose you sell software for music teachers. A specialist teaching guide may be a better editorial match than a general business site. The important question is whether its readers could use your product, not whether its score crosses an arbitrary line.
Use a checker for the right question
The free Domain Rating Checker answers what Ahrefs currently reports for that domain. It does not establish that the domain is safe, that its audience fits, or that a link will move your rankings.