What Is Domain Authority?

Domain authority, domain ranking, domain relevance – perhaps you’ve come across one or more of these terms and thought, “what on earth does it mean?”

With over 1 billion websites on the internet, how do we know which ones to trust and which ones are trash?

That’s where domain authority comes in. Here, we’ll look at what domain authority is, why it is essential for the internet to function correctly, and answer all of the frequently asked questions surrounding domain authority.

What Is Domain Authority?

Domain authority is a search engine ranking metric developed by Moz. On a scale of 0-100, a website’s domain authority score predicts how relevant that website is for a given niche and how reliable and trustworthy the domain is itself.

As you’d imagine, the Facebook social media domain is very highly trusted and has a DA of 96:

On the other hand, unknown websites have lower DA scores:

The higher a website’s domain authority, the more trustworthy search engine algorithms perceive it. Thus, the higher search engines rank that website or web page in their Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

Websites with a low DA don’t rank well in the SERPs because search engines find these websites untrustworthy. Many factors contribute to a domain’s DA, which we’ll dive into later in this article.

But as a golden rule for SEO and website organic traffic, if you want to do well in the google ranking schema, then it is essential you grow your domain authority.

Read more: How to Increase Domain Authority

Why is Domain Authority Important?

Domain authority (DA) is essential for two main reasons.

Domain authority helps search engines assess the reliability and trustworthiness of any given website. Because there are over 1 billion websites on the internet, and absolutely anybody can create a website, there needs to be some system that helps us determine how valuable a website is.

Websites or domains with a high domain authority are those that many people visit, link to, and trust, which correlates to a trustworthy and authoritative domain.

Having a DA ranking system helps search engines put trustworthy, valuable websites higher in the SERPs, meaning users get to interact with good websites instead of bad ones.

Read more: Comprehensive Analysis of Domain Authority

You can think of domain authority as a review system for websites. Using several ranking factors, also known as link building metrics, other websites kind of socially regulate any given root domain’s reputation by increasing or decreasing that entire domains DA.

You probably wouldn’t trust the food at a restaurant that has a score of 3 out of 100, when you can go to a restaurant next door that has a score of 55 out of 100, would you? It’s the same principle for websites and DA rankings.

How is Domain Authority Measured?

Domain authority is measured primarily according to the backlink profile of a domain.

Backlinks are links from other websites that point back to your domain, and the more backlinks you have, the higher your DA will be. Taken from the Loganix DA checker tool:

Other website owners (known as webmasters) will link to your website if you have valuable, interesting, novel information. Because people link to your website, this shows search engines and other SEO toolset agencies (SEO tools such as Moz, Ahrefs, and SEMrush) that your website is trustworthy. They then give your website a higher DA, which moves your website up the SERP rankings.

It is crucial that website owners invest in establishing the backlink profile of their domain if they want to attract more organic traffic. Earning high-quality backlinks and backlinks from relevant websites are fundamental pillars in any campaign to grow your DA.

As more websites flood the internet, we also see topical relevance playing an ever-increasing role in determining the DA and SERP rankings of domains. Topical relevance refers to authority sites with high domain ratings sending external links to your website so that google searches can rank your website higher than your competitors.

Domain Authority FAQ

What is a good domain authority?

A good DA score depends on the industry you’re website is in. How good your DA is is relative to the DA of your competitor’s websites.

If, for example, you sell cars and your local dealership competitors have websites with DAs of 40-50, then if you had a DA of 55-60, you’re sitting on a fantastic DA.

Conversely, if you’re a plumber and create a website that only has a DA of 15 when your local competitors have DAs of 30, then your competitors will outperform you in the SERPs and get all the business.

You just want a higher score than your competitors.

Does domain authority matter?

Domain authority matters if you want to get organic search traffic visiting your website, or if you want people to trust the information you publish on your website.

So yes, domain authority matters a lot.

Running a website, hosting a website, and developing a website is an investment. And for most people, they look for a return on their investment. Once you’ve dropped significant cash on creating and building ut the material on your website, no one will find it or trust it unless you also invest in buying links and growing the DA of that website – something we at Loganix specialize in.

Does Google use domain authority?

Google uses domain authority to show searchers the most trustworthy website with the best answer to their question first. This ensures Google searchers have a good experience while using Google and don’t consume untrustworthy content.

How do I find my domain authority for free?

The best way to find your domain authority for free is with Loganix’s domain authority checker tool. This tool will give you an overall look at the health and competitiveness of your website, for free!

What is the difference between Domain Authority and Page Authority?

Domain authority and page authority are very similar metrics, both calculated according to the asset’s backlink profile. But where domain authority predicts the relevance and authority of an entire domain, page authority predicts the relevance and authority of a single page in a domain.

How important is domain authority for SEO?

Domain authority is one of two essential components for SEO – it’s known as off-page SEO.

The other component is on-page SEO, which is basically providing high-quality content on your website with which to engage, entertain, and provide value to your readers. Your on-page user experience is also an essential factor for SEO, as having a good user experience will increase visitor time on page, dwell time, reduce bounce rate.

But no matter how good your on-page SEO is if your off-page SEO (essentially your domain authority) isn’t up to scratch, then no one will find your website.

How can I improve my domain authority?

Improving your website’s domain authority isn’t particularly difficult – but it is time and energy-intensive.

Basically, you need to increase the number of links pointing to your website by getting backlinks from other domains.

You can do this with several tactics, the most popular of which are guest posting and winning links from media outlets by offering your expert advice for journalists to include in their articles.

You want to focus on getting high-value links with decent link equity, as getting bad links from poor sources or domains can actually hurt your DA. You need to focus on getting quality links to your website, and over time, your DA will increase.

What is the difference between DA and DR?

DA and DR, or domain authority and domain ranking, are the same metric, just measured by different SEO toolset juggernauts.

DA is a metric from Moz, whereas DR is a metric from Ahrefs. Both assess the backlink profile of a domain and assign a number between 0-100.

Interestingly, webmasters from different parts of the world use DA and DR more frequently than others. Webmasters in Europe and the U.S., for example, like to use DR a lot. Webmasters in Asia and the Middle East like to use Moz’s DA – it’s just a matter of protocol and preference.

Summary

Hopefully, this article has given you a better understanding of domain authority and why growing your DA is essential for online success as a small business or any other enterprise.

Link building services are considered the safest, most cost-effective and time-efficient methods for growing your DA, as links from reputable SEO agencies such as Loganix come with a quality guarantee and verifiable sources.

If you have a new website or have a website that isn’t getting the web traffic you desire, then linking building and off-page SEO services can turn your business around and start getting you the profit you deserve. Sign up to Loganix for free now, and start exploring our SEO services and increasing your profit.