Originally published on feed-pulse.com.
What Semrush Authority Score is
Semrush's Authority Score (AS) is their composite domain-strength metric — a 0-100 score combining:
- Backlink profile strength
- Estimated organic traffic
- Spam score
- Natural profile signals (link diversity, anchor variety)
It was launched as a competitor to Moz DA + Ahrefs DR. Today it's one of the three industry-standard domain-authority metrics. Semrush's free public Authority Score Checker lets you look up any domain without an account — but you only get the AS number, no breakdown.
How AS compares to DA and DR
| Metric | Owner | Composite? | Free public lookup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authority Score (AS) | Semrush | Yes (links + traffic + spam) | Yes |
| Domain Authority (DA) | Moz | No (link-graph only) | Via our free DA checker |
| Domain Rating (DR) | Ahrefs | No (link-graph only) | Via our free DR checker |
If you want a single composite score across all three perspectives, our free Trust Score combines DA + DR + age + HTTPS + Lighthouse signals into one 0-100 grade.
When AS matters (and when it doesn't)
AS matters most for organic-traffic-focused SEO work — guest posting, content partnerships, organic link building. It matters less for technical SEO (where Lighthouse score + Core Web Vitals dominate) or for paid placements (where direct traffic + audience match dominate).
Free alternatives we recommend
- FeedPulse Trust Score — Composite 0-100 grade combining 7 SEO signals
- Semrush AS public checker — Official, free, no account
- Moz DA via our checker — Free, unlimited, embeddable badge
- Ahrefs DR via our checker — Free, unlimited, embeddable badge
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