If you have ever shopped around for SEO help or used a tool like Moz to analyze a website, you have probably seen a score labeled “Domain Authority.” It sits there, a number between 1 and 100, quietly suggesting how powerful or weak a site is. But what does it actually mean? Does it matter for your rankings? And if your score is low, can you do anything about it? The short answer to all three is yes — with some important nuance. Here is everything you need to know about Domain Authority and how to move the needle on yours.
What Is Domain Authority?
Domain Authority (DA) is a proprietary metric created by Moz. It predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs) relative to other websites. The score runs from 1 to 100, and higher is better. Brand-new domains typically start around 1, while established giants like Wikipedia or the New York Times sit in the 90s.
It is important to say this clearly: Domain Authority is not a Google metric. Google does not use DA in its ranking algorithm. DA is Moz’s model — a third-party estimate built by analyzing backlink data, link quality, and other signals. Other tools have similar scores under different names (Ahrefs uses Domain Rating, Semrush uses Authority Score), but the underlying idea is the same.
What makes DA useful is that it correlates with real-world ranking ability. Sites with higher DA tend to rank for more keywords and more competitive terms. That correlation is why marketers pay attention to it, even though it is not a direct ranking factor.
How Is DA Calculated?
Moz calculates DA primarily based on the backlink profile of a domain. The main inputs include:
- Linking root domains — how many unique domains link to your site
- Link quality — the authority of those linking domains
- Link spam signals — whether your backlinks look natural or manipulative
- MozRank and MozTrust — Moz’s internal link analysis scores
The score is logarithmic, which means moving from 20 to 30 is relatively easy, but moving from 70 to 80 requires significantly more effort. This is worth keeping in mind as you set expectations.
Why Does DA Matter (Even If Google Ignores It)?
Even though Google does not use DA directly, you should still care about it — here is why:
- It benchmarks your authority against competitors. If your DA is 25 and your main competitor sits at 55, that gap explains a lot about why they outrank you on target keywords.
- It guides link building decisions. When you are pitching for guest posts or editorial mentions, DA helps you quickly assess whether a site is worth pursuing as a link source.
- It reflects backlink health. A rising DA generally means your backlink profile is growing with quality links — which does impact real rankings.
- It attracts partnerships. Other websites often use DA as a quick filter when deciding whether to collaborate, accept guest posts, or feature your content.
Think of DA as a proxy metric. It is not perfect, but it points in the right direction.
What Is a Good Domain Authority Score?
Context is everything here. A DA of 40 might be excellent for a local landscaping company and weak for a national tech publication. Instead of chasing an abstract number, compare your DA to the sites you are actually competing against for your target keywords.
General benchmarks:
- 1–20: New or low-authority sites
- 21–40: Developing authority, decent for niche topics
- 41–60: Solid mid-tier authority, competitive on many keywords
- 61–80: High authority, competitive across most industries
- 81–100: Elite sites with massive link profiles
If your DA is within range of your competitors, you can compete. If there is a large gap, you have a roadmap for what to work on.
How to Improve Your Domain Authority
Improving DA is really about building a stronger, cleaner, more authoritative backlink profile. There is no shortcut, but there are clear, proven tactics.
1. Earn High-Quality Backlinks
This is the single biggest lever. One link from a DA 70 site is worth more than a hundred links from DA 10 sites. Focus on:
- Guest posting on reputable industry blogs
- Digital PR — getting mentioned in news articles, roundups, and expert quotes
- Link insertions — reaching out to existing content that could naturally reference your pages
- Creating linkable assets — original research, data studies, tools, and in-depth guides that people want to cite
If you want a structured approach, our guide on link building strategies covers the most effective methods in detail.
2. Fix Technical SEO Issues
A messy site hurts your crawlability and can dilute link equity. Before you invest heavily in link building, audit for:
- Broken internal and external links
- Redirect chains that waste link equity
- Duplicate content that splits authority across multiple pages
- Pages blocked from crawling by robots.txt or noindex tags
3. Disavow Toxic Backlinks
If your site has accumulated spammy or low-quality backlinks — especially from link farms, private blog networks, or irrelevant directories — they can drag your DA down. Use Moz’s Link Explorer or Google Search Console to identify these, then submit a disavow file to Google to neutralize their effect.
4. Build Internal Links Strategically
Internal links distribute authority (often called “link juice”) across your site. When a high-authority page on your domain links to a newer or lower-ranking page, it passes some of that equity along. Review your top-performing pages and look for opportunities to add internal links pointing to pages you want to strengthen.
5. Create Content Worth Linking To
Backlinks do not appear out of nowhere — they come from content that earns them. Publish:
- Original data and research
- Comprehensive how-to guides
- Expert interviews and roundups
- Free tools or templates
The more genuinely useful your content is, the more naturally other sites will reference it.
6. Be Patient and Consistent
DA does not move overnight. It typically takes months of consistent effort before you see meaningful changes. The sites with the highest DA scores did not get there with a single campaign — they built authority steadily over time through content, outreach, and technical discipline.
DA Is a Compass, Not a Destination
Domain Authority is one of the most useful proxy metrics in SEO, but it is a means to an end, not the goal itself. The goal is ranking for keywords that bring qualified traffic and ultimately drive business outcomes. DA helps you understand where you stand and what you need to do to close the gap on competitors.
Focus on earning quality links, fixing technical issues, and publishing content that genuinely deserves to be cited — and your DA will follow. Done right, improving your Domain Authority is the same work as improving your actual search visibility.
If you want expert help building a sustainable SEO strategy around these principles, explore our SEO services or reach out to the team at blogthememachine.com. We would love to help you grow. Subscribe to our newsletter below for more actionable guides like this one delivered straight to your inbox.
