In a recent interview, I’ve been asked about how to improve the domain authority.
The more specific question was “what are the ways to enhance the domain authority of particular website” and “how long will it take for a new website to have a good domain authority”
To be honest I was not able to answer these questions properly. It does not mean I was not aware of DA but I’ve never dug deeper into it. So I’ve decided to explore it more.
After exploring more I figured out that improving the DA is nothing but properly optimizing your website, writing engaging content, and working on getting high-quality backlinks.
So, I’m putting here my understanding of domain authority and why it is considered an important factor in Search engine optimization.
Want to learn what it is, how it is calculated, how long it takes, and does it really matter ? then read on.
What does domain authority mean
Domain authority is a ranking prediction score developed by Moz. Moz is a software company that develops tools for SEO and inbound marketing. Moz Domain authority score is widely accepted and it predicts and tells how likely a website is to rank on the Search engine result page (SERP).
Is domain authority really important?
Although Google does not consider Moz DA score as a ranking signal this score is important for an overall improvement of your website SEO performance. The DA score just tells you how likely your website will rank in SERP.
It is not mentioned by Moz exactly which factors it considers while calculating the score but it is discussed in the SEO community that On-page SEO, Backlinks, and Content quality are the key factors considered.
This means working for a better DA score will have you work towards improving the SEO of your website which is a good thing.
How does domain authority is calculated?
Domain authority score is calculated on the 100-point logarithmic scale. As per Moz DA score is calculated based on 40 factors.
Moz calculates the score with the help of a Machine learning model that helps them predictively find the “best-fit” algorithm. Based on the data from their Link Explorer web index and also uses various other factors while calculating the score.
Moz says that its DA score is logarithmic meaning when you reach the DA score of 60 then it is harder to increase it to 80 while it is likely easy to increase the DA score from 10 to 30.
What is good domain authority?
As we discussed, the Domain authority score is relative. There is no fixed number. Instead of increasing the number you just need to focus on having higher domain authority than your competitors.
Moz never gives a score above 100 to any website. When a high authority website gets more backlinks instead of increasing its DA score it reduces the score of its competitors.
So your DA will always be relative to your competitors, if your competitors gain more quality backlinks you are likely to lose your DA score.
This helps SEO professionals to always focus on creating quality content and getting more high-quality links.
As it is said, use DA as a comparative parameter rather than a ranking parameter.
How do I check my domain authority?
You can use MozBar which is a chrome extension. It also helps you understand what keywords your websites will probably rank. Helps you measure the domain authority of visiting websites.
Other tools include Ahref’s website authority checker, SmallSEOTool’s Domain authority checker, this also allows you to bulk check the score. Websiteseochecker is also a good tool.
How to improve the domain authority
Here are three steps to improve the domain authority.
1. Do an audit of your link profile
Google prefers strong link profiles. Link profiles must be backlinks from a variety of websites and high-authority websites.
You should keep in mind three things while building your link profile – Lots of high value, high domain authority, and high authority linkbacks. Also no spammy backlinks at all.
There are tools like SEMRush Link analytics and moz link explorer which help you analyze your link profile.
Google’s disavow tool can help you strengthen your link profile.
2. Create engaging content
It is the backbone of SEO. You might already be aware of how important it is to have compelling content in place. You should have E.A.T (Effectiveness, Authoritativeness & Trustworthiness) factor in your content.
Google considers visitor engagement as a ranking factor. So make your content more engaging
3. Get high-quality backlinks
Once you create engaging content, it is time to go out and spread your work. Reach out to different people who would like to backlink you.
Backlinko’s skyscraper technique is one of the best to follow. The idea is to create the best content for your keyword and creating even better content. Once you create slightly better content than what is already ranking reach out to people who are linking to it.
Ask those people if they want to link to your page as well since you have better in-depth content. Few get ready to do so.
I’m going to discuss more link-building strategies do check out my post here.
Domain authority vs page authority, which has more weight
Page authority (PA) score predicts how likely is your single page to rank in a SERP whereas DA score is given to the entire domain or subdomain.
The metrics to decide the DA and PA are the same so these two scores are more likely the same than different.
How long does it take to increase the domain authority?
There is no time frame we can consider to improve the DA score.
When you properly SEO optimize your website and work on getting high-quality backlinks you will see an improvement in your DA score.
Can you manipulate domain authority?
It is almost impossible to manipulate the domain authority neither it is advised to do so. This score depends on how well optimized your website is and what quality backlinks you get.
The only good way to manipulate domain authority is to work towards creating quality, engaging content, and getting high-quality backlinks.
Final thoughts
Domain authority score by Moz is the best way to work towards optimizing your websites. You’ve to play long-term goals with domain authority, you can’t control the DA of your website in a short term.
You should keep on creating compelling content and improving the link profile. Eventually, you will see a rise in your DA score which will be worth the efforts.
Check out SEO posts and keyword research posts as well.
I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below.
Cheers 🙂
Very well written. To the point. People often misunderstood that DA directly affects the SERP but that is not the case. DA is just a prediction. Thanks for this article.
DA is a prediction score that pushed you to do better SEO for your website. Thanks for your interest in this post.
Domain authority should always be considered as a comparing factor rather than ranking factor. I liked the way you put it. Cleared all my doubts about domain authority. Also the three ways everyone is aware. Content, links and well optimized site.
That’s true. Thank you for your reply shirish.