As you apply search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to your website, you’ll find many of them are geared toward improving your domain authority. This metric is a helpful tool in planning for SEO success, but it is commonly misunderstood. Here’s how to increase your website’s domain authority.
What is domain authority?
Domain authority is a proprietary off-page SEO metric developed by Moz, an SEO technology company, to help predict how well your website is likely to rank for any given keyword. The domain authority metric primarily uses the quality and quantity of sources that link to your website to calculate the score. Websites are ranked from 0 to 100, with 0 being a site that will have a very difficult time ranking, and 100 being a site that will generally rank high among search engine results. Domain authority is a website-wide metric, associated with a domain as opposed to an individual page on a website.
How is domain authority calculated?
Moz uses backlinks to calculate the domain authority of a website. If a website has a higher domain authority than yours, it’s probably because it has been linked to by more and higher-quality sources. Although Moz’s exact formula for calculating domain authority scores is proprietary, the company has released its scoring methodology in a white paper. Other SEO tools, like Ahrefs’ domain rating tool, now offer their own versions of domain authority calculators.
What influences your domain authority score?
Both quantity and quality of backlinks matter. A website could have a strong domain authority with fewer than 100 high-quality backlinks if many of them are from very credible sources such as government websites, scientific journals, and mainstream news reports. By contrast, if a site has thousands of links, but they’re of low quality or from potential spam sites, it may have a much lower domain authority.
Moz occasionally updates its algorithm for calculating domain authority, so scores can fluctuate even without changes in backlink profiles. For this reason, domain authority is best used as a comparative metric (“Have I moved closer to or further ahead of my competitors?”) instead of raw (“How many points have I increased?”).
Why does domain authority matter?
- Domain authority correlates with higher rankings
- Domain authority provides a quick insight into a site’s backlinks profile
- Domain authority can help assess your competition
- Domain authority can track your SEO progress and efforts over time
Domain authority is not provided or endorsed by search engines like Google. It is not an official ranking factor, and a higher domain authority score does not automatically mean your site’s rankings will improve. According to Vanessa Bellanti, SEO lead at Shopify, “SEOs should still care about domain authority because it is a good indicator of a website’s overall authority and trustworthiness in relation to providing information on a particular topic.” That’s right, domain authority does matter, for at least four reasons:
1. Domain authority correlates with higher rankings
Moz’s studies, as well as third-party research, show that sites with high domain authority tend to rank higher and receive more organic traffic. This lends domain authority credibility—you can be reasonably confident as a marketer that increasing your domain authority is good for SEO.
2. Domain authority provides a quick insight into a site’s backlinks profile
Backlinks (links to your website from other sites) are a Google ranking factor. Domain authority provides a great shorthand reference for the state of your site’s off-page SEO.
3. Domain authority can help assess your competition
When you’re trying to rank for a particular keyword, looking at the domain authority of the websites that currently rank for that keyword can help you understand how you stack up against your competitors. Websites with high domain authority are more difficult to rank against.
4. Domain authority can track your SEO progress and efforts over time
As you implement SEO optimizations and build a strong backlink profile, your domain authority should increase. So, tracking your domain authority over time is a good measure of how your SEO efforts are paying off.
What is a good domain authority score?
There is no one number that necessarily indicates a good domain authority score. If a site is brand new, it will have a domain authority of less than 10, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything inherently wrong with the website. It just hasn’t built up a backlink profile yet.
Domain authority scores also tend to vary by industry and content type. Some types of websites, such as those focused on recipes or software, have high traffic volume and many high-quality backlinks. On the other hand, websites focused on niche topics may face a less competitive search environment and thus require fewer backlinks to rank. To know what a good domain authority is for your website, use keyword research to determine which queries you want to rank for, then look up the domain authority of the websites already ranking for those terms. That will give you a rough answer.
Here is a rule-of-thumb reference for what different score ranges mean:
- 0–10. This is probably a brand-new website and likely can rank only for very niche searches. If a website has been around for a while and has a low score, that may indicate it’s not deemed reliable and lacks backlinks with high page authority.
- 11–25. This is a legitimate website in Google’s eyes, but one without a history of SEO performance. It has an opportunity to rank for targeted industry keywords but will need to accumulate more links.
- 26–40. A site in this range is not yet top-tier, but it has an established brand and/or quality backlink profile.
- 41–60. A high-authority site. This site is well on its way to becoming a leader in its industry and likely has a successful SEO strategy.
- 61–80. A top-tier backlink profile, a website with this score is able to rank for most terms in the industry, is trusted by others, and has content relevant to commonly searched keywords.
- 81 and higher. This is generally reserved for very large brands and websites in the world, such as YouTube and Wikipedia.
Free keyword research template
Use this free keyword research template to unlock opportunities and manage your SEO strategy. Drive targeted traffic to your website by tracking search volume, ranking difficulty, user intent, and content ideas.
How to increase domain authority
- Develop high-quality, linkable content
- Acquire high-quality backlinks
- Optimize on-page and technical SEO
- Promote your content
- Maintain content freshness and user experience
Increasing your domain authority requires a strategic approach focused on building a strong backlink profile and ensuring overall site health. Here are five steps you can take:
1. Develop high-quality, linkable content
Focus on creating unique and authoritative content other websites will want to link to. These are often called “linkable assets” because they serve as valuable resources that attract backlinks naturally.
- Original research and data studies: Conducting your own research or analyzing unique data related to your industry positions you as a credible source. Sharing these insights makes your content a valuable reference point for others. A great example is Shopify’s Commerce Trend report.
- Comprehensive guides: Create in-depth, detailed guides that cover a topic thoroughly. When your guide becomes a go-to resource for complete information, other content creators are likely to link to it.
- Infographics and visualizations: Present complex data or processes visually in an easy-to-understand format. Infographics are highly shareable on social media and often linked to as helpful visual aids in articles.
- Tools and calculators: Developing interactive tools that provide practical value to users—like a profit margin calculator or a business name generator—can attract consistent links over time as people find and recommend the tool.
Colleen Echohawk, CEO of Eighth Generation, knows the importance of consistently creating content that attracts high-authority links. “We create new blogs pretty often, because we want to get SEO content out there,” she says. “When British Vogue searched for native artists, our content came up, and they reached out. We sent them all these products, hoping to get in the magazine. Instead of just including us, they put us on the cover!”
2. Acquire high-quality backlinks
While creating great content is essential, you also need to actively work on earning backlinks from reputable sources. This involves focusing on getting links from domains that have higher authority than yours, as these links carry significant weight.
There are several ways to acquire high-quality backlinks:
Backlink audit and disavowal
It’s a good practice to regularly audit your backlink profile. This helps you spot any low-quality or “toxic” backlinks that could potentially harm your site’s authority and search engine rankings. Toxic links often come from spammy or irrelevant websites.
You can use SEO tools to find these, and if you can’t get them removed directly, look into disavowing them using tools like Google Search Console. Disavowing tells Google to ignore these specific links when they evaluate your site. Always prioritize quality over quantity; a few relevant, high-authority links are much more valuable than many low-quality ones.
Guest posting and outreach
Writing guest articles for other reputable websites in your industry helps get your content in front of a new audience and gives you opportunities to earn quality backlinks. A simple way to find opportunities is to search for industry keywords plus phrases like “guest post” or “contribute.” Once you find a good fit, reach out to the site’s editor with content ideas that you know will appeal to their audience.
Digital PR strategies
Consider using digital public relations to earn mentions and links from authoritative news sites, prominent blogs, and industry publications. Send out press releases about company news, offer expert commentary on industry trends to journalists, or share unique data your company has gathered.
Mentions and links from highly respected media outlets can significantly boost your site’s authority.
Free: Press Release Template
To help you get started, we put together this template to help you structure your story using a common press release format. You can replace each component with your own information and adapt it according to your needs.
3. Optimize on-page and technical SEO
While domain authority is primarily an off-page metric, strong on-page and technical SEO foundations are crucial for overall site health, user experience, and the ability to rank, which indirectly supports your authority.
On-page optimization best practices
Ensure your content is well-optimized for your target keywords. This includes using keywords naturally in headings (H2, H3, H4), the introduction, and throughout the body text. Write compelling meta titles and descriptions that encourage clicks from the search results. Ensure your content is easy to read and understand, using formatting like bullet points and short paragraphs.
Technical SEO factors that impact authority
Technical SEO focuses on optimizing your website’s infrastructure for search engine crawling and indexing, as well as user experience. Factors like site speed, mobile-friendliness, a logical site structure with clear internal linking, and a secure HTTPS connection all contribute to a positive user experience and signal to search engines that your site is high-quality and trustworthy.
JJ Follano, founder of Zero Waste Store, knows from experience the importance of technical SEO—especially when going through a rebrand. “A lot of brands aren’t redirecting their URLs from their old domain to the new one,” says Follano, “and you actually get a lot of dead links in Google search. You could potentially lose a lot of the traffic you’ve gained from your prior branding.”
A fast, secure, and easily navigable site is more likely to rank well, which in turn can support your perceived authority.
Free Download: SEO Checklist
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4. Promote your content
Even the best content won’t attract links and traffic if no one knows it exists. Actively promoting your content is key to increasing its visibility and potential for earning backlinks.
Social media promotion
Share your content across relevant social media platforms to drive traffic to your website. Engaging with your audience and encouraging shares can increase your content’s reach and expose it to individuals and websites that may link back to it.
Other content distribution channels
Beyond social media, consider promoting your content through email newsletters, online communities and forums, relevant industry websites, and even paid promotion if it aligns with your strategy. The more visibility your content has, the higher the chance of earning valuable backlinks.
5. Maintain content freshness and user experience
Keeping your website’s content fresh and ensuring a great user experience show search engines that your site is valuable. Regularly update your existing content to make sure it’s accurate and still relevant. When people have a positive experience on your site, they’re likely to spend more time there and explore other pages, which signals value to search engines.
Beyond domain authority: Understanding E-E-A-T
While domain authority is a helpful metric, Google uses E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) to figure out how trustworthy and authoritative websites are. To build E-E-A-T, your content needs to demonstrate real-world experience, showcase your unique knowledge and skills, and be recognized as a go-to source in your niche.
How to increase domain authority FAQ
What types of websites have the highest domain authority?
Domain authority is based on backlinks, so the types of websites with the highest domain authority are the ones that receive a high volume of quality backlinks. These are typically news sites and well-established sites, like Wikipedia, that offer a wealth of information.
Does Google look at domain authority?
No, Google does not directly look at a site’s domain authority. Domain authority is a metric generated by Moz, an SEO technology company. However, since Google’s algorithm factors in the quality and quantity of backlinks when determining a site’s SERP ranking, domain authority can be a helpful proxy for analyzing how Google views your site.
How long does it take to see improvements in domain authority?
It typically takes at least one month to see improvements in a website domain authority score, though it may take a good deal longer, depending on the competitiveness of the keyword you want to rank for and the effectiveness of your link building and SEO efforts.
How do I check my domain authority score?
You can check your domain authority score using various SEO tools. Moz offers a free domain authority checker on its website. Other popular SEO platforms like Ahrefs (which uses Domain Rating) and Semrush (which uses Authority Score) provide similar metrics to evaluate a website’s authority based on its backlink profile and other factors.
What is a toxic backlink?
A toxic backlink is a link from a low-quality, spammy, irrelevant, or potentially harmful website. These links can negatively impact your website’s authority and search engine rankings, potentially signaling to Google that your site is associated with low-quality sources. Identifying and disavowing toxic backlinks is an important part of maintaining a healthy backlink profile.
