SEO

What Is Domain Authority and Why Should You Care?

By August 29, 2025September 19th, 2025No Comments

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When you want to grow your online presence, one term you’ll run into often is Domain Authority (DA). It is a third-party metric from Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search results. Search engines do not use Domain Authority as a ranking factor, but DA is a useful way to compare your site with competitors and track progress over time.

If your DA is strong, you often find it easier to compete for search visibility because strong sites tend to earn more quality links and attention. If your score is low, you have more work to do to build a trustworthy link profile and publish content people want to reference.

At Texas Web Design, we help businesses raise their authority, attract steady traffic, and turn visitors into customers. Contact us today to see how we can strengthen your website and put your business ahead of the competition.

Key Takeaways

  • Domain Authority (DA) is a Moz metric that predicts ranking potential but is not used by Google directly.
  • DA works on a 1–100 logarithmic scale, making early gains easier than high-end improvements.
  • Strong DA usually comes from quality backlinks, solid site structure, and valuable content.
  • Use DA as a comparative measure against competitors, not as an absolute goal.
  • Improving DA takes consistent effort: optimize your site, earn trustworthy links, refresh old content, and focus on user experience.
  • A higher DA helps improve visibility, competitiveness, and traffic growth.

What Is Domain Authority?

Domain Authority is Moz’s predictive score that ranges from 1 to 100. It uses a machine-learning model trained on large-scale link data to estimate how competitive a domain is in search. DA is best used as a comparative metric, not a target to “hit.”

Unlike metrics that focus on one page, DA reflects the strength of your overall domain in Moz’s link index.

Core Ideas Behind Domain Authority

Domain Authority is built on a few guiding principles that explain how the score works and why it changes. Understanding these ideas helps you see what drives your site’s authority and where to focus your efforts.

The Main Idea

Links Internet Connection Sharing ConceptDA reflects quality over quantity in your link profile. If your site earns relevant links from reputable domains, DA tends to rise. If links come from spammy or low-value sources, DA may lag or drop as Moz’s systems get better at spotting manipulation.

How the Score Is Calculated

Moz evaluates link-based signals such as linking root domains, total links, and patterns in those links, and combines them with additional proprietary inputs like Spam Score inside a machine-learning model. The result is a single comparative number on a 100-point scale.

The Logarithmic Scale

DA uses a logarithmic scale. Gains are easier at the low end and harder near the top. Moving from 10 to 20 is far easier than moving from 70 to 80, which is why only a handful of sites sit near 100.

A Relative Metric

DA is relative to your competitive set. A score that looks modest in a national e-commerce niche might be quite competitive in a local market. Use DA to compare against peers rather than chasing a universal “good” score.

Why Domain Authority Matters

Domain Authority (DA) is often misunderstood, but when used correctly, it can guide smarter SEO decisions. While it’s not a Google metric, it offers valuable insight into your site’s competitiveness.

Predictive, Not Official

Google does not use Domain Authority in crawling, indexing, or ranking. This has been stated repeatedly by Google representatives. Treat DA as a proxy for link strength that often correlates with visibility, not as a direct ranking factor.

Competitive Context

DA helps you gauge how tough a keyword space might be and where gaps exist. If a rival sits much higher than you, study their content and link sources to uncover practical opportunities.

Business Impact

Sites that earn strong, relevant links usually publish better resources, get cited more often, and are discovered more frequently. Those same efforts also support user experience work that search systems reward at the page level, such as good site speed, mobile usability, and secure HTTPS.

How to Improve Domain Authority

Improving DA takes steady work. Focus on activities that build a trustworthy link profile and produce content people choose to cite.

  1. backlinks concept on laptopStrengthen On-Site Elements: Use relevant keywords naturally, speed up your pages, and make your site mobile-friendly. A clear structure and helpful content make it easier for people to reference your pages and for search systems to understand them.
  2. Earn High-Quality Backlinks: Publish guides, research, tutorials, tools, or visuals that others will reference. Reach out for guest contributions and digital PR where relevant. The goal is to earn links from relevant, reputable sites, not to buy or trade links.
  3. Handle Risky Links the Right Way: You do not need to disavow random spam you didn’t create. Use Google’s Disavow Links tool only if you have a manual action for unnatural links or clear link-scheme issues that you cannot get removed. Otherwise, routine disavowal use is discouraged.
  4. Refresh Older Content: Update posts with new data and examples. Improve clarity, add missing sections, and link to newer resources. Evergreen, well-maintained pages are more likely to earn citations over time.
  5. Improve User Experience: Use HTTPS, keep load times low, and make navigation simple. Better UX keeps visitors engaged and encourages natural sharing and linking. While these improvements do not directly change DA, they support the kind of engagement that leads to links and better rankings.
  6. Build Internal Links: Link from established pages to newer ones. This helps visitors find related content and helps crawlers discover pages efficiently. A sensible internal structure supports growth without relying on risky tactics.

Why You Should Care About Domain Authority

DA helps you measure and compare. It gives you a clearer picture of where you stand and what level of effort you need to compete. The real wins come from publishing helpful resources, earning quality links, and improving page experience. Those are the same efforts that help rankings and traffic over time.

At Texas Web Design, we build websites and campaigns that grow real authority. From technical SEO and link development to content strategy and design, we focus on work that stands up to scrutiny and delivers results month after month.

Ready to raise your site’s authority and stay ahead of competitors? Call us today, and let’s build an online presence that drives visibility and revenue.

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