Domain Authority: All you need to know!
Let me explain to you what Domain authority is and how can it impact SEO for any website! To start with, let me introduce myself a little, I am Ruchi Mishra and I hold 10 years of experience in the field of SEO. In this blog, I have written content purely based on my experience in the field over the past few years. I hope this helps you understand the concept of DA, learn how it’s calculated and help you to increase it for your website.
So even after employing every SEO tactic, it might happen that your website does not rank better. Sounds relatable?
Whether you’re a newcomer or a seasoned SEO expert, you might have come across the two fancy terms not directly related to SEO yet very crucial; Domain Authority (DA). Why not directly related? Because DA is not one of the Google ranking factors. So, what’s the buzz about? Well, DA is something that can improve your authority in the industry, aid in getting better rankings, and attract your potential customers!
Still not ringing any bells? No worries! Read on to learn Domain Authority and how you can improve it!
What Is Domain Authority?
The concept of domain authority owes its origin to Moz. The idea behind this was to predict how well a website will rank on a search engine. For this, the software assigned a score from 1 to 100 based on various factors.
The thumb rule here is that the higher the DA score, the better your chances of ranking higher on search engines, and vice versa.
There’s another approach to DA; it shows the relevance of your website regarding your industry. Let’s take an example:
For a search query “best cake shops in Mumbai”, we first got a few sponsored ads on top of the page followed by some recommendations of places with 4 plus stars on Google Maps. The three blogs that you see in the picture are all from travel, lifestyle, and food websites.
What’s the conclusion?
See it’s pretty clear that out of the three websites, LBB has the highest DA score. Thus, you’re more likely to find a lot of content for your particular query (cake shops/ food and beverage) on this website than any of the other two. But, why does it rank second? Remember we said that DA is not a ranking factor? Further, it might be second either due to their high spam score or some SEO issues.
Also, please don’t confuse page authority with DA. The basic difference between these two is the former tells you the ranking ability of individual pages of your website while the latter tells you the overall authority of your website.
How Is Domain Authority Calculated?
Different software uses different factors to assign your website a domain score. As for Moz, it uses 40 different variables to determine your domain authority score. Here are some important ones:
- Root domains: It identifies the number of backlinks you get from various websites and gives you a root domain score accordingly. It’s advisable to always aim for a higher root domain.
- User experience and site structure: A high DA score also depends upon these two factors. The site structure must be crawlable for search engines and the user experience must be pleasant. Also, your website must be mobile-friendly.
- MozTrust: It checks the trustworthiness of websites linking to your page. For instance, if good-quality websites link back to your websites, your chances of getting a good DA score are higher.
- MozRank: It assesses the number as well as the quality of websites linking to a web page.
- Moreover, your Social Signals as well as your website’s SEO performance matter a lot.
On the other hand, if you use Semrush, it will look out for the backlinks, referring domains, and search traffic volume, among others while assigning you a DA score.
How to Check Domain Authority?
There are a plethora of Domain Authority checker tools on the internet but a few prominent ones are:
What Is a Good Domain Authority?
One thing you must remember is that there is no good, average, or bad DA score. On the other hand, they’re simply ratings related to the context they’re measured.
If your website is new, it will have to work its way from 1 DA score. As you gather a foothold in your industry, your DA will eventually improve. Generally, domain authority between 20-30 is acceptable, 30-50 is exceptional and 60-100 is excellent.
Also, one thing to note over here is that the DA score is based on a logarithmic scale. This implies that it’s easier to go from 20 to 30 than it is to go from 70 to 80. Only a few websites like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook/Meta are in the league of 90 and above DA.
7 Ways to Increase the DA Score of Your Website
Before we delve deeper, it’s crucial to note that improving the DA score is a long-term and continuous process. It does not happen overnight and the key to achieving a high DA score is patience and consistency. With that said, let’s see some of the ways of improving your DA score.
Contribute Guest Posts
Guest posting may sound a little old-school but it still works wonders. It allows you to step out of the unhealthy competitive mindset, and share your knowledge, expertise, and insights with relevant high-DA websites in your domain. Result? You’ll get immense exposure as well as backlinks that will improve your DA score. Thus, guest posting is a win-win situation.
For instance, you’re an independent journalist regularly writing on the economic policies of the government on your website. If you get a chance to contribute to let’s say, the Economic Times, or EPW, grab the opportunity instantly. Backlinks from a high domain authority website like ET will even improve the DA of your website.
Follow the EEAT and Write Killer Content
To boost your Domain Authority (DA), it’s crucial to focus on EEAT: Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. This means providing reliable, valuable information. Expertise shows you know your stuff, Authoritativeness makes you a trusted source, and trustworthiness builds confidence.
Want to know more about EEAT? Here’s our detailed blog – What Are EEAT & YMYL?
Why does this matter? Well, search engines like Google want to promote sites that users can trust. If your content follows EEAT principles, search engines see your site as a reliable source. This leads to higher rankings and, eventually, an improved Domain Authority. So, remember, quality content and following EEAT guidelines are the secret ingredients to enhancing your site’s authority!
With these four things in mind, you can step out to create killer content! But, how will it help your DA score? Remember, the better the content the higher the social shares, and your reputation in the industry will improve. Result? A good DA score!
Make Your Website Mobile Friendly
Making your mobile friendly is no longer an option, it’s a compulsion. Why? Because most search queries come from mobiles. Further, Google follows a mobile-first index to rank websites on its results page.
That’s not it, a responsive website can also help you in achieving a higher DA score. So, make sure you put extra effort into ensuring the mobile-friendliness of your website!
Get Listed on Online Directories
Check out the following image:
That’s an example of getting listed on online directories.
If you’re a small to medium enterprise, getting listed on an online directory is one of the cost-effective ways of improving your DA score. These directories offer the contact details and website link which can not only get you clientele but also improve your DA in the long run.
Improve Your Page Speed
Remember this golden rule: in the digital world, slow and steady never wins the race.
Websites with faster loading speeds perform better, have higher chances of getting ranked on the SERP, and have a higher DA score. However, improving your page speed is a hard nut to crack and calls for expertise in technical SEO.
Here are 15 Best Website Performance and Speed Testing Tools
Audit Your Site & Remove Bad Links
Although inbound links are crucial for your SEO and your DA score, links from untrustful websites can do more harm than good. Let’s illustrate this point.
Suppose you get 100-plus backlinks from websites whose authority is doubtful or are spammy in nature. On the other hand, you get a few links from trustworthy websites like those of universities, government, established newspapers or magazines, etc. Which do you think has more value? Of course the latter one, right?
Thus, while auditing your site, make sure you do not give links to untrustworthy websites, nor do you get links from those. While the former is in your control, for the latter you can use Google Search Console to get rid of getting links from such websites.
Good quality inbound and outbound links can help you attain a higher DA score.
Update Your Old Content
Reviving old content is a powerful way to elevate your Domain Authority (DA). When you update and refresh older posts, it shows search engines that your content is current and relevant. This boosts your site’s credibility and makes it more valuable to users. Plus, it keeps visitors engaged with fresh information. So, don’t forget to dust off those older articles and give them a new shine. It’s a smart move for both your readers and your website Domain Authority.
To conclude, the DA score tells you the chances of your website’s ranking on a SERP. There are no good or bad scores, it differs from industry to industry. If you’re in the 20-30 DA range yet have more than your competitors, you’re doing good. However, DA must not be taken leniently.
We hope that this blog helped you get a better understanding of the concept of domain authority. If you’re looking for a digital marketing agency in Mumbai to help you with your brand’s online promotion, you can get in touch with us.
