What Is Domain Authority?
Domain Authority (DA) is a metric developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank in search engine results. It is scored on a scale from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater ability to rank. It is important to understand that DA is not a Google metric — it is a third-party prediction based on factors like the number and quality of backlinks pointing to your site.
How Domain Authority Is Calculated
DA is calculated using a machine learning model that considers:
- The total number of links pointing to your domain
- The quality and authority of those linking domains
- The diversity of linking domains (many different sites vs few)
- Other link-related factors
Note: Different SEO tools have their own authority metrics. Ahrefs has Domain Rating (DR), SEMrush has Authority Score. They all measure similar things but use different scales and algorithms.
What Is a Good Domain Authority?
| DA Score | Level | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 80-100 | Excellent | BBC, Wikipedia, Amazon |
| 60-79 | Very Good | Popular industry sites, major blogs |
| 40-59 | Good | Established small businesses, niche sites |
| 20-39 | Developing | Newer sites, small blogs |
| 1-19 | New | Brand new websites |
How to Improve Domain Authority
- Earn quality backlinks — create content that other sites want to link to (guides, research, tools, infographics)
- Fix on-page SEO issues — a well-optimised site earns more organic links. Run a site audit to find issues
- Remove toxic backlinks — disavow spammy links that drag your score down
- Create linkable content — free tools, original research, and comprehensive guides attract natural backlinks
- Internal linking — distribute authority across your pages with strong internal links
- Be patient — DA grows slowly. New sites cannot expect a high score immediately
Domain Authority vs On-Page SEO
DA reflects your off-page authority (backlinks), while on-page SEO covers the optimisation of individual pages. You need both to rank well. A high DA site with poor on-page SEO will underperform, and a perfectly optimised page on a low DA site will struggle against established competitors. Start with on-page SEO since it is within your control, then build authority over time.
Last updated: March 2026