What is Domain Authority?

When you talk to an SEO consultant or agency, one of the first things they will do is check your website’s Domain Authority (DA).

This “DA” is a number from 1 to 100, with 100 being the best. Sites with a DA  of 100 are practically non-existent – even hugely popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia rank around the 95 mark.

Every website URL starts out with a Domain Authority of just 1.

Why is Domain Authority Important?

Domain Authority is the best predictor we have, of how well a website is likely to perform in the search engines.

So a site with a DA of 45 is much more likely to be on the front page of search engine results for a keyword (search term), than a site with a DA of 25.

It’s not linear either; the higher your Domain Authority, the harder it is to get to the next level.

If you want to find out your site’s Domain Authority, head to the Moz website and enter your URL for a free domain analysis. You might be asked to set up an account, but don’t worry – there’s a free version.

And if you’re really intrigued, you can download the Moz Bar extension from the Google Chrome store so you can see the Domain Authority of each and every site you visit!

What Sort of Domain Authority Do We Need?

A few years ago I attended a workshop conducted by Sharon from Digital Nomad Wannabe, where she suggested that a DA over 30 is when things really start to happen – ie your site starts getting a good flow of traffic from Google and other search engines. She was mostly referring to “niche” or “affiliate” sites – websites that were created to target a very specific niche, and then generate income from sales they refer to their advertisers.

With almost a decade of SEO experience, I can say with confidence that it doesn’t have to be that high, particularly here in Australia. Of course it depends very much on the industry, but I’ve seen great results from sites with a DA of 10 or over.

Back in the day, Moz updated Domain Authority scores only once every month or so, and those in the SEO or blogging industries would await the results anxiously; nowadays, it is constantly updated.

Case Study: Our Own Domain Authority?

The Domain Authority of this website was 24, when this article was first published back in 2016.

At the moment it’s a lot lower than that, mainly as a consequence of re-branding from Front Page SEO to Front Page SEO at the beginning of 2021 (the joys of change!). Although we knew this would happen, it was a case of doing it strategically so we can recover our DA as soon as possible.

The good news however is that we’re off the starting blocks, and have jumped from a Domain Authority of 1, to 3 in just one month … watch this space!

There are many ways to improve your DA, and your chances of ranking in Google.

However it’s important to remember that the goal of SEO is NOT boosting your Domain Authority. Rather, it’s about:

• making sure your website ranks for relevant keywords;
• preferably on the front page of search results because 99% of users will click through to a website listed there;
• so you get website traffic that is interested in what you have to offer!

Knowing your Domain Authority is a great place to start when assessing your site’s SEO; the next step is to contact us to arrange your free SEO Snapshot (audit) and complimentary Zoom session!