Domain Authority
A third-party score (developed by Moz) from 1–100 predicting how likely an entire domain is to rank across search results, based on its overall link profile.
Simple Explanation
Domain Authority (DA) is a score from 1 to 100 that estimates how strong your entire website is in search engines — not just one page, but your whole domain. A news site like the BBC might have DA 94. A brand new blog might have DA 1. The higher the score, the more likely Google is to rank pages from that site. It was invented by Moz, not Google. So while DA isn't what Google uses internally, it's a useful shorthand for comparing websites: 'How authoritative is this site compared to others in my niche?'
Advanced SEO Explanation
Domain Authority aggregates link signals from the entire domain into a single logarithmic score (1–100). Primary inputs: number and quality of unique referring domains linking to any page on the domain, the authority (DA/PA) of those linking domains, and the link profile's spam score and diversity. DA is heavily influenced by the root domain's link profile — subdomains may have different effective authority. It's calculated from Moz's web index and updated roughly monthly. Alternative domain-level metrics: Ahrefs' Domain Rating (DR), Semrush's Authority Score, Majestic's Trust Flow. All vary because they're calculated from different link indexes. DA is most useful for: estimating competitive difficulty of a niche, evaluating link building targets, and tracking overall domain-level SEO progress over 6–12 month windows.
Why Domain Authority Matters for Rankings
Predicts competitive difficulty
Entering a niche where competitors have DA 70–80+ with a new DA 10 site means you need significant link building before competing organically.
Affects page-level rankings indirectly
High domain authority means even new pages get indexed faster and start ranking sooner — sometimes called the 'domain halo effect.'
Link building target quality metric
Getting a backlink from a DA 70 site passes more authority than a backlink from a DA 15 site with similar content relevance.
Long-term SEO progress benchmark
DA grows slowly — tracking it over 6–12 months shows whether your overall link building and brand-building efforts are working.
Real-World SEO Examples
DA relative to competition
Knowing competitors' DA helps set realistic ranking timelines.
New blog (DA 5) targeting 'best project management software' with competitors at DA 70–90 → Nearly impossible to rank without years of link building
New blog (DA 5) targeting 'best project management software for 5-person startups' → Long-tail variant with competitors at DA 20–40 → achievable with 3–6 months of content + link building
Common Domain Authority Mistakes
✗ Mistake
Treating DA as a Google ranking factor
✓ The Fix
Google does not use Moz's DA. Focus on the underlying factors DA measures (quality backlinks, trusted domains) rather than the score itself.
✗ Mistake
Buying links to increase DA
✓ The Fix
Purchased links from link farms are detected and discounted by Google. DA may temporarily spike then crash when Moz detects the pattern. Earn links organically.
✗ Mistake
Comparing DA across different niches
✓ The Fix
DA 40 in a low-competition niche may outrank DA 60 in a saturated one. Always compare DA relative to your specific competitors, not absolute numbers.
✗ Mistake
Expecting DA to increase quickly
✓ The Fix
Domain Authority grows slowly, reflecting the gradual accumulation of quality backlinks. 6–12 month trends are more meaningful than week-to-week fluctuations.
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Continue Learning: Next Terms
Page Authority
A third-party score (developed by Moz) predicting how likely a specific page is to rank in search engine results, based on link data.
Intermediate🔗Internal Linking
Hyperlinks connecting one page on a website to another page on the same website, used to guide users, distribute link equity, and establish site hierarchy.
Beginner🔗Broken Links
Hyperlinks that lead to pages returning an error (typically 404 Not Found), whether internal links between your own pages or external links pointing to pages that no longer exist.
Beginner