What Is Domain Authority (DA)?

Domain authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs). It scores websites on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater likelihood of ranking.

DA is calculated based on multiple factors, but the most important is the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to your website. When high-authority sites link to you, your DA goes up. When you have few or low-quality backlinks, your DA stays low.

It's important to understand that domain authority is not a Google metric — it's a third-party score created by Moz to estimate ranking potential. Google has confirmed they don't use DA in their algorithm. However, DA measures many of the same signals Google uses (backlink quality, referring domains, link diversity), making it one of the most reliable predictors of search ranking ability available to SEOs.

Think of domain authority like a credit score for your website. It doesn't directly determine your ranking (just like a credit score doesn't directly determine your interest rate), but it's a strong indicator of how search engines view your site's authority and trustworthiness.

Moz calculates domain authority using a machine learning model that evaluates multiple factors and compares them against thousands of actual Google search results. The algorithm is proprietary, but the key factors are well understood:

Linking Root Domains: The number of unique websites linking to you is the most important factor. One link from 100 different websites is far more valuable than 100 links from one website. Each new referring domain signals to search engines that another independent source considers your content valuable.

Total Number of Backlinks: Beyond unique domains, the total count of individual backlinks matters. More links generally indicate broader recognition and authority. However, quality outweighs quantity — 10 links from DA 80+ sites outperform 1,000 links from DA 10 sites.

Quality of Linking Sites: A backlink from Yahoo Finance (DA 94) carries far more weight than a link from a random blog (DA 15). The authority of the sites linking to you directly impacts your own DA. This is why digital PR — which earns links from DA 70–94 news sites — is one of the fastest ways to increase domain authority.

Link Diversity: A natural backlink profile includes links from various types of sites — news outlets, blogs, directories, forums, educational institutions, and industry publications. Over-reliance on one type of link source can limit DA growth.

Spam Score: Moz evaluates the spamminess of your backlink profile. Links from spammy, low-quality, or penalized sites can actually harm your DA. A clean backlink profile with links from legitimate, authoritative sources is essential for DA growth.

Logarithmic Scale: DA uses a logarithmic scale, meaning it's much easier to grow from DA 10 to 20 than from 70 to 80. Each point becomes progressively harder to earn at higher levels. This is why consistent, long-term link building is more effective than one-time efforts.

Domain authority (DA) and domain rating (DR) are similar metrics from different companies that measure the same concept — a website's backlink-based authority. Understanding the differences helps you use both effectively.

In practice, both metrics tell a similar story. A website with high DA almost always has high DR, and vice versa. The exact numbers may differ — a site might have DA 45 and DR 52 — but the relative positioning compared to competitors is usually consistent across both metrics.

Many SEO professionals use both. DA is more widely recognized (especially in client-facing reports), while DR from Ahrefs updates more frequently and is often considered more accurate for link-based analysis. For a deeper comparison, see our guide on DA vs DR differences.

There's no universal "good" DA — it depends entirely on your industry and competitors. The goal is to have a higher DA than the sites you're competing against for search rankings.

The most useful approach is to compare your DA against your direct competitors. Search for your target keywords, check the DA of sites ranking on page one, and use that as your benchmark. If competitors ranking above you have DA 35–45, that's your target range. Reaching or exceeding their DA significantly improves your chances of outranking them.

While DA isn't a direct Google ranking factor, it matters because it accurately predicts ranking ability. Here's why every business should care about their DA:

Ranking Potential: Higher DA correlates strongly with better rankings. Studies consistently show that sites with higher DA rank above sites with lower DA for the same keywords. Improving your DA effectively increases the ranking ceiling for every page on your site.

Competitive Benchmarking: DA lets you objectively compare your site's authority against competitors. If your competitors have DA 50 and you have DA 25, you know exactly the authority gap you need to close. This makes DA invaluable for planning SEO strategy and setting realistic goals.

Link Building Prioritization: When evaluating potential backlink sources, DA helps you prioritize. A link from a DA 80 site is worth far more than a link from a DA 20 site. This guides your outreach and link building efforts toward the highest-value opportunities.

Client & Stakeholder Communication: DA provides a simple, understandable metric for communicating SEO progress. Telling a client "your DA increased from 25 to 35" is more meaningful than discussing abstract ranking factors. It's become the standard shorthand for SEO health across the industry.

Partnership Evaluation: When evaluating partnerships, sponsorships, or advertising opportunities, DA helps you assess the SEO value of potential partners. A guest post on a DA 70 site delivers measurably more value than one on a DA 15 site.

Since DA is primarily based on backlinks, increasing it requires earning more high-quality links from authoritative websites. Here are the most effective strategies:

1. Digital PR & Press Coverage: The fastest way to increase DA. Getting featured on news sites with DA 80–94 generates the highest-value backlinks available. A single press release distribution campaign can produce hundreds of backlinks from authoritative outlets, creating a measurable DA increase within weeks.

2. Quality Content Creation: Create content that naturally earns backlinks — original research, comprehensive guides, unique data, and tools. Content that provides unique value gets referenced and linked to by other sites over time, steadily building your backlink profile and DA.

3. Strategic Link Building: Actively pursue backlinks through guest posting, broken link building, resource page outreach, and directory submissions. Focus on quality over quantity — target sites with DA 40+ for the most meaningful impact on your own authority.

4. Remove Toxic Backlinks: Spammy or low-quality backlinks can suppress your DA. Use Moz's spam score analysis or Google's Disavow Tool to identify and neutralize harmful links pointing to your site. Cleaning up your backlink profile can result in immediate DA improvements.

5. Internal Link Optimization: While internal links don't directly increase DA, they help distribute link equity across your site, improving the page authority of individual pages. A well-structured internal linking strategy ensures that backlink value flows effectively throughout your site.

6. Consistency Over Time: DA growth is a marathon, not a sprint. Regular, ongoing link building and digital PR efforts compound over time. Businesses that earn quality backlinks consistently see steady DA growth that compounds with each campaign, making it progressively easier to rank for competitive keywords.

Myth: DA is a Google ranking factor. DA is a Moz metric, not a Google metric. Google does not use DA in their algorithm. However, DA measures signals that correlate strongly with Google rankings, making it a useful predictive tool.

Myth: Higher DA always means better rankings. DA is one factor among many. A site with DA 30 can outrank a DA 60 site if it has better content relevance, on-page optimization, user experience, or topical authority for a specific keyword. DA predicts ranking ability but doesn't guarantee it.

Myth: You can buy domain authority. Services that promise to "sell" you a specific DA number are scams. DA is earned through legitimate backlinks from real websites. Buying spammy links or using link schemes can result in Google penalties that destroy your rankings entirely.

Myth: DA is the only metric that matters. DA is important but it's one piece of the SEO puzzle. Content quality, technical SEO, user experience, page speed, mobile-friendliness, and on-page optimization all influence rankings. The best SEO strategy addresses all of these factors, with DA/backlink building as a core component.

Myth: New websites can't compete on DA. While new sites start at DA 0, strategic approaches can build DA quickly. Digital PR campaigns that earn backlinks from DA 80–94 news sites can create rapid DA gains. Many startups reach DA 30–40 within their first year through consistent, quality-focused link building.