What is Domain Authority?
Domain Authority (DA) is a proprietary score developed by Moz, ranging from 1 to 100, that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine results pages. It is calculated based on the number and quality of backlinks pointing to the domain, among other factors. Domain Authority is not used by Google — it is a third-party metric. However, it correlates strongly with actual Google rankings and serves as a useful benchmarking tool for comparing your site's link profile against competitors. Similar metrics include Ahrefs' Domain Rating (DR) and Semrush's Authority Score.
- Domain Authority is a Moz metric, not a Google metric — Google does not use DA in its ranking algorithm.
- DA is most useful for benchmarking against competitors, not as an absolute target number.
- The only reliable way to increase DA is to earn high-quality backlinks from authoritative domains.
- A new site starts at DA 1 — growth is slow at first and accelerates as your link profile compounds.
- High DA does not guarantee rankings; page-level authority and content relevance matter equally.
DA vs Google's Actual Signals
A common misconception is that founders should 'increase their Domain Authority' as an SEO goal. DA is a useful proxy, but it's a third-party estimation of authority, not a Google signal. Google uses its own internal version of PageRank, which is not publicly available. What DA does well is approximate how Google perceives your domain relative to others. If your DA is 20 and your competitor's is 60, that gap roughly reflects a real difference in how much authority Google likely assigns each site. Use DA for competitive analysis and to track whether your link-building is working — not as a goal in itself.
What Moves Your Domain Authority Score
DA is calculated primarily from your backlink profile: the number of unique referring domains, the authority of those domains, and the diversity of your link sources. Adding one high-authority link from a DA 90 site can move your score more than 50 links from DA 20 sites. DA also factors in your internal link structure and how well your site's pages are interconnected. Because DA is a logarithmic scale, moving from 10 to 20 is easier than moving from 50 to 60. Most sites plateau in the 30-50 range without sustained, intentional link-building efforts.
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Increasing DA requires a long-term backlink acquisition strategy. The highest-leverage tactics: publish original research or data that journalists and bloggers cite, build free tools that earn links passively, pursue digital PR to land features on industry publications, and systematically pitch guest posts to authoritative sites in your niche. Quantity matters less than quality — a single link from a DA 80 site has more impact than 100 links from DA 10 sites. Track your referring domains monthly in Ahrefs or Semrush; steady growth of 3-5 new referring domains per month is a healthy pace for an early-stage site.
| DA Range | What It Means | Typical Site Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1-20 | Low authority, early stage | New sites, personal blogs |
| 21-40 | Growing authority | Established niche blogs, small businesses |
| 41-60 | Moderate authority | Industry publications, mid-size businesses |
| 61-80 | High authority | Major publications, well-known brands |
| 81-100 | Top-tier authority | Wikipedia, BBC, major news sites |
Google has explicitly confirmed it does not use Domain Authority or any Moz score in its ranking algorithm. Never report DA to stakeholders as a direct SEO performance metric — use it only for competitive benchmarking and to track link-building progress over time.
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Run Free Audit →Frequently Asked Questions
Domain Authority (DA) is a score from 1-100 created by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search results. It's based on backlink quality and quantity. DA is not used by Google — it's a third-party benchmarking tool. Similar metrics are Ahrefs' Domain Rating (DR) and Semrush's Authority Score.
Domain Authority increases when you earn high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites. The most effective strategies are: publishing original research that earns natural links, digital PR to get featured in industry publications, guest posting on relevant authoritative blogs, and building free tools that attract passive links.
A 'good' DA depends on your competitive landscape. In a low-competition niche, a DA of 30 might be enough to rank for most terms. In a highly competitive industry like finance or SaaS, you may need DA 50+ to compete. The most useful benchmark is your direct competitors' DA scores, not an absolute number.
Not directly — Google doesn't use Moz's DA score. However, DA correlates strongly with actual ranking ability because it approximates the quality of your backlink profile, which Google does use. Sites with higher DA generally rank better because they have stronger, more authoritative link profiles.
- 1.Moz — Domain Authority Documentation
- 2.Ahrefs — Domain Rating Explained
- 3.Google — How Search Works
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