Clutch
G2
Domain Authority, or DA, is a score that website owners and SEO specialists use to estimate how well a website is likely to rank in search engines such as Google. It runs on a scale from 1 to 100. If you want to know more about DA and how to improve your score, this post has the answers.
Domain Authority is a prediction, not a Google score
Domain Authority was created by Moz. It is similar in spirit to Google’s old PageRank score, though it does not work the same way. Google stopped showing PageRank scores to the public years ago, so DA became a proxy for search marketers. It is important to understand that DA is a third-party metric. Google does not use it as a ranking factor. Other tools offer similar scores, such as Domain Rating from Ahrefs and Authority Score from Semrush.
These scores estimate how credible a website is compared with others, largely based on the links pointing to it. When website X links to website Y, that link can raise Y’s score and the likelihood that its pages will rank well. It kind of works like a vote of confidence.
The number of linking websites matters, but quality is king, not quantity. Links from respected, relevant websites pass far more value than links from weak ones. Keep in mind that authority is not the only thing that determines rankings. Sites with a higher score can be outranked by sites with a lower one. What your pages need most is relevance to the searches you want to win.
How to check the Domain Authority of any website
The easiest way to find the DA of your website is to use Moz’s Link Explorer (the tool formerly called Open Site Explorer). A limited number of free checks is available, and all you do is enter a domain in the search field. You get the domain authority score along with a portion of the site’s backlink profile. To see all of the data, you will need a paid plan.
The report is simple, but it contains a lot of useful information. Remember that it applies to one domain. To understand how competitive a particular phrase is, you need to:
- Search for the phrase
- Check the domain name of each high-ranking page
Strategies that improve authority over the long term
When you choose strategies to improve your authority, pick the ones that offer long-term benefits. These are the most important ones to start with.
Review your links and deal with the harmful ones
Make it a habit to check your link profile for spam links. Google’s systems already ignore most low-quality links, so you rarely need to do anything about them. If you have a pattern of manipulative or paid links pointing to your site, though, remove them where you can, and use Google’s disavow tool only as a last resort. A regular review helps you avoid problems and spot opportunities.
Create content that other sites want to link to
Create a steady stream of linkable content, such as original research, guides, tools and useful graphics. Evergreen content is especially valuable because it keeps earning links long after it is published. Content does drive the success of many businesses online, and a few excellent pieces beat a large number of thin ones.
Build strong internal linking
A strong site needs a network of high-quality internal links. Good internal linking helps search engines crawl and understand your site, and it helps visitors find related pages. It also ties back to the previous point: the more useful content you have, the more pages you have to link to and from.
Get the SEO fundamentals right
From site structure and URLs to robots.txt, page speed and mobile usability, you need an effective overall SEO strategy. Improving your overall SEO tends to improve your authority scores along with it. Pay attention to details such as image alt text, keywords, header tags, title tags and meta descriptions, URL structure and navigation. If you do not have the time or knowledge to do it yourself, consider working with a team of NJ SEO experts. The results are well worth it.
“He is consistently dialed into our campaigns, takes ownership of results, and continually looks for ways to improve performance and generate more qualified leads that convert into business.”
Jamie WeberAnago of Nashville
