Domain Authority (DA) is a metric developed by Moz to estimate how likely a website is to rank in search engine results pages. It is expressed as a number from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater ranking potential. Google does not use Domain Authority — it is a third-party proxy metric used by SEO professionals to benchmark and compare sites.
How Domain Authority Is Calculated
Moz calculates DA primarily using the site's backlink profile: the total number of linking domains (referring domains), the quality and authority of those linking domains, the relevance of the linking pages, and the diversity of the link profile. The score is logarithmic — it is much easier to grow from DA 10 to 30 than from DA 70 to 90.
DA is recalculated regularly as Moz crawls the web. A site's DA can fluctuate even without changes to its own backlink profile, because the score is relative — if competitors build links aggressively, a static backlink profile can result in a DA decrease.
What Is a Good Domain Authority Score?
DA benchmarks vary by industry and competition level. A newly launched site typically has DA 0-10. Local service businesses often reach DA 20-40 with consistent content and citations. National brands and established publishers often reach DA 50-70+. Wikipedia, Amazon, and major news sites approach DA 90-100.
More important than the absolute DA number is how your DA compares to the sites you are competing against for specific keywords. A DA 35 site can outrank a DA 55 site if its on-page optimization, content quality, and page-level authority are superior for a given query.
Domain Authority vs Domain Rating vs URL Rating
Moz's DA is one of several similar metrics. Ahrefs uses Domain Rating (DR) and URL Rating (UR) — DR measuring a site's backlink strength, UR measuring page-level link strength. Semrush uses Authority Score. These metrics correlate with each other but are not identical and can diverge significantly for specific sites.
None of these metrics are perfect proxies for Google's actual ranking signals. Google's algorithm considers hundreds of factors including content quality, user experience signals, technical SEO, and topical authority — all of which DA ignores. DA is a useful proxy for link-building benchmarking and competitor analysis, not a comprehensive measure of site quality.
Why DA Matters in Link Building
In link building and digital PR, DA is commonly used to set targets — for example, pursuing backlinks only from sites with DA 30+. A backlink from a high-DA site typically transfers more 'link equity' (also called PageRank or link juice) than a link from a low-DA site.
However, link relevance matters as much as authority. A DA 40 link from a highly relevant industry publication is often more valuable than a DA 70 link from an unrelated directory. Search engines reward natural, contextually relevant backlink profiles.
How to Improve Domain Authority
DA improvement is fundamentally a link acquisition challenge. The most effective strategies: earn editorial links through high-quality content that other sites want to reference; pursue digital PR — building relationships with journalists and bloggers; guest posting on relevant, high-authority sites; fixing broken links (broken link building); and eliminating toxic or spammy backlinks through disavow.
DA also correlates with technical SEO health — sites with clean architecture, fast load times, and proper indexation tend to accumulate higher-quality backlinks over time, compounding their authority advantage.
Tracking Domain Authority for Sagara's Clients
For brand clients investing in SEO, tracking DA alongside organic traffic and keyword rankings provides a fuller picture of SEO progress. DA growth is slow and non-linear — typically measured in quarters, not weeks. Setting realistic expectations and tracking the metrics that drive DA (referring domain growth, link quality) is more actionable than watching DA itself.
Real Examples
Competitor gap analysis
An agency with DA 35 is targeting SEO keywords dominated by competitors at DA 50–70. The strategy: win long-tail keywords first, build DA through content and outreach, then pursue head terms.
Backlink ROI evaluation
Securing a guest post on a DA 75 marketing publication is prioritized over 50 DA 15 directory submissions because a single high-DA link contributes more to DA growth than many weak links.