What Is Domain Authority and How to Improve It (2026 Guide)

What Is Domain Authority?

Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website is likely to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs). Scores range from 1 to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank. Domain Authority is calculated using multiple factors — most importantly the number and quality of backlinks pointing to a website.

A critical clarification: Domain Authority is a third-party metric created by Moz — it is NOT a metric used by Google to rank websites. Google does not use DA in its algorithm. However, DA is one of the most widely used SEO metrics because it correlates well with actual ranking ability, making it a useful proxy for comparing websites' competitive positioning.

Domain Authority vs. Page Authority vs. Google's PageRank

Metric	Creator	What It Measures	Scale	Used by Google?
Domain Authority (DA)	Moz	Entire domain's ranking potential	1–100	No
Page Authority (PA)	Moz	Individual page's ranking potential	1–100	No
Domain Rating (DR)	Ahrefs	Backlink profile strength of domain	0–100	No
URL Rating (UR)	Ahrefs	Backlink strength of individual page	0–100	No
PageRank	Google	Internal link-based authority score	0–10 (no longer public)	Yes (internal)

Both Moz's Domain Authority and Ahrefs' Domain Rating are useful SEO metrics, but they measure slightly different things and can produce different scores for the same website. Neither is "correct" — they're both approximations of the same underlying concept (backlink-based authority) using proprietary data and methodologies. Most SEO professionals use both as data points alongside organic traffic data from Search Console.

Domain Authority Score Benchmarks

DA Score	Typical Profile	Competitive Ability
1 – 10	New domain, minimal backlinks	Can compete for very low-competition queries only
11 – 25	Early-stage site, some legitimate links	Low-competition keywords; local queries
26 – 40	Established small business site with content and links	Medium-competition local and niche keywords
41 – 55	Authority site in a niche; active link building	Competitive niche keywords
56 – 70	Established brand or media property	Most competitive keywords in niche
71 – 85	Major publication, industry leader	High-competition across most industries
86 – 100	Wikipedia, NYT, major platforms	Near-universal ranking ability

New websites start with a DA of 1 regardless of quality — it simply reflects the absence of backlinks, not anything about content quality. The typical growth trajectory is: DA 1–10 in Year 1, DA 15–30 by Year 2 with active link building, DA 30–50 by Year 3–4 for sites with consistent content and outreach programs. Higher DA scores require more effort to move because the scale is logarithmic — moving from DA 20 to 30 is easier than moving from DA 60 to 70.

What Factors Influence Domain Authority

Factor	Impact on DA	Notes
Number of unique referring domains	Very High	More unique domains linking = higher DA
Authority of linking domains	Very High	Links from high-DA sites boost DA more
Link relevance	High	Links from topically related sites more valuable
Total number of backlinks	High	But unique referring domains matters more
Quality of backlinks	High	Spammy links can hurt DA
Domain age	Medium	Older domains tend to have more accumulated links
Internal linking structure	Low-Medium	Affects Page Authority distribution within site
Content quality	Indirect	Better content attracts more links naturally

How to Improve Domain Authority

Since DA is primarily a function of your backlink profile, improving DA is essentially the same as building a high-quality backlink profile. There is no shortcut:

1. Earn High-Quality Backlinks From Authoritative Sites

The most direct way to improve DA is acquiring links from high-DA domains. One link from a DA 80 news publication moves DA more than 100 links from DA 10 directories. Quality and relevance of linking domains outweigh raw link volume.

2. Create Linkable Content Assets

Original research, comprehensive guides, free tools, and data studies attract links passively over time. These "linkable assets" are the most efficient DA builders because they continue attracting links long after publication.

3. Guest Post on Relevant Sites

Contributing quality content to industry publications with genuine readership generates editorial links from sites with DA typically in the 30–70 range, which meaningfully contributes to your own DA improvement.

4. Build Local Citations (for Local Businesses)

While individual citation links are not high-DA sources, building a comprehensive, consistent citation profile across Yelp, Yellow Pages, industry directories, and Google Business Profile builds a foundation of diverse referring domains.

5. Remove or Disavow Toxic Links

Low-quality, spammy backlinks from link farms, PBNs, or irrelevant directories can suppress DA by making your link profile look manipulative. Use Moz's Link Explorer or Ahrefs to identify toxic links, attempt to remove them through outreach, and use Google's Disavow Tool for links you can't remove.

6. Maintain Internal Link Structure

While internal links don't improve DA directly (DA is based on external backlinks), a strong internal linking structure improves Page Authority distribution across your site, which improves the ranking performance of individual pages — which in turn makes them more likely to attract additional external links.

Common Domain Authority Misconceptions

Misconception	Reality
"Google uses Domain Authority to rank websites"	False. DA is a Moz metric. Google doesn't use it.
"A DA of 50 means you'll rank for any keyword"	False. Ranking depends on keyword competition, content quality, and many other factors
"I can improve DA quickly by buying links"	Dangerous. Bought links violate Google guidelines and bought links to DA-manipulate are often low-quality and may hurt rankings
"DA is the same as Ahrefs DR"	False. Both measure backlink-based authority but use different data and methodologies — scores often differ significantly
"Higher DA always beats lower DA in search results"	False. Individual pages compete based on Page Authority, content relevance, search intent match, and many other factors
"DA doesn't matter if my content is good"	Mostly false for competitive keywords — content quality and DA work together; very low DA sites struggle to rank for competitive terms regardless of content quality

Using Domain Authority Strategically

DA is most useful as a comparative metric, not an absolute one:

Competitor benchmarking: Check the DA of the sites ranking on page one for your target keywords. If page-one sites are all DA 50–70 and you're at DA 15, you know you need significant link building before competing for those terms — and you should focus on lower-competition keywords in the meantime.

Link building target evaluation: When assessing guest posting or link building opportunities, check the DA of the potential linking site. A DA 40+ site from a relevant niche is worth pursuing; a DA 10 site with suspicious traffic patterns is not.

Tracking your own progress: Monitoring your DA monthly shows whether your link building efforts are having the expected effect. DA changes slowly — monthly improvement of 1–3 points is realistic for active link building programs.

Content competitiveness assessment: Before targeting a keyword, check DA of pages currently ranking. This helps set realistic expectations for timeline and investment required.

How Long Does It Take to Improve Domain Authority?

Starting DA	Target DA	Timeline with Active Link Building
1 (new site)	20	6–12 months
1	30	12–24 months
20	40	12–18 months
40	50	18–24 months
50	60	24–36+ months
60+	70+	3–5+ years (requires significant authority)

The logarithmic nature of the DA scale means that each 10-point increment requires significantly more effort than the previous one. Moving from DA 10 to 20 might require 20–50 quality links; moving from DA 60 to 70 might require hundreds of high-authority links. This is why DA scores cluster heavily in the lower ranges — the top of the scale is occupied by sites with decades of accumulated authority.

The Bottom Line

Domain Authority is a useful but widely misunderstood metric. It's a third-party approximation of backlink-based authority — valuable for competitive benchmarking and link building target evaluation, but not a direct Google ranking signal. Improving DA requires building high-quality backlinks from relevant, authoritative sources over time — the same work that improves actual Google rankings. Use DA as a strategic compass, not an end goal: the underlying link building investment that improves DA also directly improves organic ranking performance, which is the actual business objective. A website with DA 35 and highly targeted content in a low-competition niche can outperform a DA 60 site targeting mismatched keywords.

At Scalify, we build websites structured to attract and pass authority effectively — with internal linking architecture, technical SEO foundations, and content structure that maximizes the ranking impact of every backlink earned.

Top 5 Sources

• Moz — Domain Authority Documentation — Official explanation of how DA is calculated and what it measures
• Ahrefs — Domain Rating Guide — DR methodology and comparison with Moz's DA
• Backlinko — Domain Authority Guide — DA benchmarks, improvement strategies, and correlation with rankings
• Moz Link Explorer — Tool for checking DA, PA, and backlink profile analysis
• Search Engine Journal — Domain Authority Explained — Common misconceptions and strategic use of DA in SEO decision-making