DMK Sports approached CausalFunnel with one clear objective: strengthen their website authority so their content and offerings could compete more effectively in search results. While their site was active and relevant to the sports niche, its low Domain Rating limited visibility and trust signals in Google’s eyes.

Rather than relying on short-term link tactics, our focus was on building a sustainable, repeatable system to show how to increase DR in Ahrefs using relevance, content, and clean SEO foundations. The goal was not just to raise numbers, but to ensure those gains supported long-term organic growth.

Background & Problem

When DMK Sports came to CausalFunnel, their Ahrefs Domain Rating stood at 9. Despite having niche-aligned content and a clear focus on sports-related topics, the site struggled to gain authority against stronger competitors.

The main challenges included:

• Limited high-quality referring domains
  
  
• An unbalanced backlink profile
  
  
• Pages that weren’t fully optimized to pass backlink equity effectively
  
  

Like many growing brands, DMK Sports came to us looking  to understand how to increase domain rating in Ahrefs without risking penalties or relying on low-quality links. Progress felt slow, and it was difficult to connect actions taken with actual DR movement.

Case Study

Competitor & Authority Gap Analysis

Our first step was competitor analysis. Our CausalFunnel team identified where competing sports websites were earning authority links and highlighted domains that were relevant but missing from DMK Sports’ backlink profile.

This allowed us to focus only on opportunities that made sense for the sports niche, instead of chasing generic links.

Authority Link Acquisition

Using these insights, we built backlinks from:

• Sports-related directories
  
  
• Business listing platforms
  
  
• Community and forum-based websites
  
  

Every backlink placement was evaluated for relevance and trust. Instead of increasing link volume, we prioritized context and authority, ensuring each backlink contributed meaningfully to Domain Rating growth.

Content-Led Backlink Strategy

To support link acquisition, we created informational, niche-relevant content designed to attract natural backlinks. All content was original and aligned with user intent.

This approach helped:

• Earn links organically
  
  
• Avoid duplicate or spun content
  
  
• Strengthen topical relevance alongside authority
  
  

Backlink Profile Optimization

We then refined the overall backlink mix by:

• Balancing dofollow and nofollow links
  
  
• Increasing unique referring domains
  
  
• Reducing reliance on repeated or low-quality sources
  
  

This created a healthier link profile that search engines could trust and reward.

Domain Rating Progress

Before CausalFunnel

• Domain Rating: 9

After CausalFunnel (Within a Few Months)

• Domain Rating: 18
  
  
• Growth: +9 DR points

This improvement reflected steady, consistent authority building rather than sudden, unstable spikes.

How CausalFunnel AI Fixed the Problem

On-Page & Technical SEO Improvements

Once backlinks were live, we optimized key pages to ensure the authority flowed properly across the site. This included:

• Correct heading structure
  
  
• Stronger internal linking between relevant pages
  
  
• Page-level SEO improvements to support crawlability and relevance
  
  

As a result, the new backlinks were able to do their job properly.

Smarter Content & Page Recommendations

CausalFunnel AI audited existing pages and flagged small but high-impact opportunities, such as:

• Pages needing better internal link placement
  
  
• Content sections that required refinement
  
  
• Title and metadata improvements aligned with search intent
  
  

These changes strengthened relevance and supported authority signals from off-page efforts.

Centralized Tracking & Learning

Instead of juggling multiple tools, DMK Sports used CausalFunnel’s dashboard to track:

• Backlinks created
  
  
• Pages optimized
  
  
• Changes in Domain Rating and keyword visibility
  
  

This made it clear which actions contributed directly to DR growth and allowed continuous optimization without guesswork.

Key Takeaway

DMK Sports increased their Domain Rating from 9 to 18 by focusing on quality, relevance, and consistency. The combination of authority links, content-led backlinks, and strong on-page foundations showed exactly how to increase DR in Ahrefs without shortcuts.

Every update showed which actions were driving results, allowing the team to fine-tune their strategy without losing progress.

Conclusion

This DR growth was not accidental. It was the result of a structured, AI-guided approach built around competitor insights, clean backlink acquisition, and systematic on-page optimization.

By using CausalFunnel AI to identify authority gaps, optimize backlink profiles, and strengthen site foundations, DMK Sports now has a repeatable framework for long-term authority growth. As they continue expanding content and targeting new keywords, this strategy will keep supporting stronger visibility in an increasingly competitive sports search landscape.

Looking to improve your Domain Rating the right way? Get started with CausalFunnel today.