What Is Domain Authority? (And How to Improve Yours)

Domain Authority (DA) is a 1-to-100 score that predicts how well your website can rank on Google. Higher score, better chance of ranking. It was invented by Moz in 2004, but the term has become shorthand for any "how trustworthy is this domain?" metric — Ahrefs calls theirs Domain Rating (DR), Semrush calls it Authority Score.

It's worth being clear up front: Domain Authority is not a Google ranking factor. Google doesn't use it. But it correlates well with the things Google *does* use — primarily, the quantity and quality of other websites linking to yours.

What Domain Authority actually measures

The score is built almost entirely on backlinks — links from other websites pointing to yours. Specifically:

• How many other domains link to you
• How trusted those linking domains are (a link from the BBC counts more than one from a random blog)
• How relevant the linking sites are to your niche
• How natural the link profile looks (no spammy patterns)

A brand-new website starts at DA 1. A neighbourhood plumber that's been around five years and earned a few local directory links might sit at DA 15–25. A national news site sits at 85–95.

Why it matters for small businesses

Two reasons.

1. It predicts competitive difficulty

Before you target a keyword, check the DA of the sites already ranking for it. If everyone in the top 10 is DA 70+, you're not winning that fight with DA 12. Pick a less competitive keyword — usually a longer, more specific phrase — where the top results are DA 20–40.

2. It signals trust to algorithms and humans

A site with a healthy DA tends to rank faster for new content, gets indexed quicker, and survives algorithm updates better. Visitors don't see the number, but they feel the effects: faster pages, better content, more references on other sites.

How to grow your DA from zero

There's no shortcut. DA grows when other websites decide your site is worth linking to. Your job is to make that decision easy for them.

Get the easy wins first

• Claim and complete your Google Business Profile
• List on free local directories: Yelp, BBB, Yellow Pages, your chamber of commerce, your trade association
• Get listed on supplier and partner websites ("our trusted installers")
• Submit to industry-specific directories (e.g., HomeAdvisor for contractors)

These won't make you DA 50, but they'll get you from 1 to 15 in 30 days.

Earn editorial links

• Write genuinely useful guides (like this one) that solve real problems
• Get quoted in local newspapers or industry blogs (HARO and Qwoted are free)
• Sponsor a small local event or charity that publishes a sponsor page
• Offer free templates, checklists, or calculators others want to share

Avoid link schemes

Buying links, mass guest-posting, and "link exchange networks" can tank your DA and get you penalised by Google. The 2024 Helpful Content updates were brutal on these tactics. Don't bother.

How to check your DA

• Moz Link Explorer (free with signup) — the original DA score
• Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (free) — shows their Domain Rating
• [GoogleSiteScore](/checker) — includes a domain authority snapshot in your readiness report

Check it once a quarter. DA moves slowly. Obsessing over weekly changes is a waste of time — but watching it trend up over 12 months is one of the most satisfying SEO signals you'll get.