Research

DA, DR, TF and CF for Expired Domains: What the Metrics Can and Cannot Tell You

Third-party authority metrics are useful because they compress complex link data into sortable numbers. They are dangerous when the number becomes the decision.

Updated September 13, 2026 · Independent editorial guide

Use metrics as filters

DA, DR, TF and CF come from different providers and model different things. They are not Google scores. Their best use in expired-domain research is to narrow a huge list and identify candidates that deserve manual inspection.

Look for agreement and contradictions

If several independent metrics suggest a healthy link profile but the archive shows spam, trust the underlying evidence over the scores. If one score is unusually high while other signals are weak, investigate why.

Topical relevance matters

A strong link profile earned in an unrelated topic may have little practical value for a new project. Relevance also affects how naturally you can restore old destinations, serve returning visitors and create coherent new content.

Build a decision sheet

Record metrics alongside history quality, anchor risk, live-link count, topical fit, trademark concerns, acquisition cost and intended use. This prevents one attractive score from dominating the purchase.

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Sources & verification

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