Quality & Metrics Guide
See exactly why a domain ranks the way it does
The domains list uses a blended Quality score as its default sort. It is not a black box — it is a capped, weighted shortcut scaled onto a 0–100 range so cleaner, stronger, older, better-linked domains are easier to compare at a glance.
How the score works
Quality is a normalized 0–100 shortcut
The raw weighted score answers one practical question fast: does this look like a cleaner, stronger, more reusable domain than the names around it? It rewards cleaner structure, real authority, historical signals, and search footprint — while applying penalties for spam or messier naming. That raw total is then scaled against the 158.5-point ceiling, where 158.5 becomes 100 and negative values become 0. The stored score keeps one decimal place, while the table badge rounds it for display.
Raw score ceiling
158.5 = 100negative totals become 0Name shape
Best 5–14 chars. Numbers −8, hyphens −4.
Authority
Majestic TF and RD do the heavy lifting.
History
Older names with archive activity rank higher.
Search demand
Semrush traffic and keyword coverage, capped.
Guardrails
Moz Spam and weak TF/CF balance pull scores down.
Metric FAQ
The third-party data behind the table
These are the external services and archives feeding the Domains view. Switch between providers to see the shorthand labels you'll find in the table and expanded rows.
Majestic
Link authority, topical relevance, and backlink breadth.
Majestic's trust or quality estimate for the link profile.
A quantity-style link signal. We compare it to TF for balance.
How many distinct domains link in, not just raw links.
Total link count. Useful, but easier to inflate than RD.
Topic buckets that hint at the domain's historic niche.
How diverse the linking infrastructure looks across networks.
Moz
Authority, page strength, and spam controls.
Moz's domain-level ranking strength estimate.
Page-level authority signal that complements DA.
A popularity-style score derived from link signals.
Moz's trust-weighted view of the backlink profile.
Higher values can signal lower-quality or riskier profiles.
DomDetailer
Independent backlink and page-count perspective.
Inbound links as seen through DomDetailer's own dataset.
How much page depth or crawlable history the domain appears to have.
Count of links from education-related sources.
Count of government-related backlinks.
Followed links only, which can matter more than total links.
Semrush
Search footprint, keyword coverage, and commercial value.
Estimated search traffic from ranking keywords.
A comparative rank-like signal inside Semrush's ecosystem.
Another external backlink perspective, separate from Majestic and Moz.
How many ranking keywords Semrush associates with the domain.
Estimated commercial value of the traffic profile.
Wayback Machine
Archive snapshots and history evidence from the Internet Archive.
How many captures were seen for the domain in archive history.
The earliest capture date we have on record for the domain.
The most recent archive capture we have on record.
Source tags
Where each domain is currently surfaced from
Source tags tell you the origin of a listing — not whether the domain is inherently better. They matter for workflow, pricing, auction timing, and where the outbound listing link will take you.
GoDaddy Auctions / Closeouts
Live auction or closeout inventory coming through GoDaddy's aftermarket.
Go to GoDaddy NamecheapNamecheap Market
Marketplace listings or expiry-style listings surfaced from Namecheap's market.
Open Namecheap SnapNamesSnapNames
Aftermarket and catching-related inventory exposed through SnapNames.
Open SnapNames DropCatchDropCatch
Dropcatch and auction-related domains tied to DropCatch's release pipeline.
Open DropCatch DynadotDynadot Market
Marketplace or expiry-related listings surfaced from Dynadot.
Open Dynadot SavSav
Marketplace or pending-delete search context from Sav.
Open Sav NameJetNameJet
Expired auction inventory tied to NameJet's marketplace.
Open NameJet InternalEasy Expired Domains inventory
Domains already stored inside our expired inventory and ready for direct research.
Browse internal ExpiringExpiring feeds
Domains that are not yet dropped and may still be in registry, registrar, or deletion flow.
Browse expiringQuestions
Quick answers about the score
Six things people ask most often before they trust the sort order.
Why cap the metrics instead of just adding the raw numbers?
Caps keep the score balanced. Very large traffic or backlink counts are useful signals, but they should not automatically outrank a cleaner, older domain with a stronger overall profile.
How does the 0–100 normalization work?
The weighted raw score has a positive ceiling of 158.5. We divide the raw score by 158.5, multiply by 100, and clamp the result so 158.5 becomes 100 and any negative score becomes 0. A raw score of 50 becomes 31.5 before the table badge rounds it for display.
Why can a lower-TF domain still outrank a higher-TF one?
Trust Flow is important, but it is only one part of the picture. A domain can rank higher when it has stronger supporting signals such as age, referring-domain breadth, lower spam, better archive history, or a healthier TF/CF balance.
Does Quality replace the AI Suggester score?
No. The Quality score is designed to compare domains consistently across the main inventory. The AI Suggester also considers how closely each domain matches the keyword or niche phrase you entered.
Is a higher score always a better buy?
No. The score is a research shortcut, not a purchase recommendation. Always review price, niche fit, trademark risk, source timing, and whether the domain is genuinely useful for your project before buying.
Can the weights change over time?
Yes. We may refine the weighting as more inventory and usage patterns are reviewed. The goal is to keep the score useful, balanced, and aligned with how customers actually evaluate expired and aftermarket domains.
Use it in context
Take the guide back into the Domains list
Open the live search, sort by Quality, and read the score together with source timing, price, and the expanded metric cards.