What is domain authority
Domain authority (DA) is a score from 1 to 100 from the SEO software company Moz.
It predicts how likely a website is to rank in search results compared with other sites. When people ask what is domain authority, they mean this Moz score. Moz calculates it from the links pointing at a domain. Google doesn't use it, so it's best read as a way to compare sites with each other.
Domain authority defined simply
DA is Moz's estimate of a whole website's strength in search, given as a single number. A higher number means a better chance of ranking. New sites start at 1, and the score rises as other websites link to them. In plain terms, domain authority means a site's ranking strength compared with the rest of the web. Google doesn't award it as an official grade.
What the DA score measures
DA counts how many separate websites link to a domain and weighs how strong those linking sites are. Moz runs that link data through a machine-learning model and checks the model against real search results. The scale is logarithmic. In Moz's words, it's "easier to grow your score from 20 to 30" than from 70 to 80. A site with strong content and few links will still score low.
Why DA affects search visibility
DA follows the links that help pages rank. John Mueller, Search Advocate at Google, has said Google doesn't have "anything like a website authority score". A rising DA tells you your link profile is getting stronger, and a flat one tells you new links aren't coming in. To measure visibility itself, check your rankings and traffic.
DA vs domain rating
Domain rating (DR) is Ahrefs' version of the same idea. Ahrefs builds DR from followed linking domains on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100. Moz and Ahrefs crawl the web separately and use different formulas, so the same site will get a different number in each tool. Never compare one site's DA with another site's DR. Pick one tool and use it for every comparison.
Authority signals in AI answers
AI assistants such as ChatGPT don't read a DA score either. They cite sources they can retrieve and trust, and those are pages that already rank well and brands that other sites mention. The links and mentions that raise DA help here too. Track whether assistants cite your brand on your topics as a separate measure.
Good DA score ranges
A good DA is one close to or above the scores of the sites that already rank for your target searches. A local plumber and a national news site compete in completely different ranges. Look up the top results for your main queries and note their scores. If you're close to them, your content and how well it matches the search will decide who ranks higher. If you're far below, you need more links first.
Raise your domain authority
You raise DA by earning links from relevant, trusted websites over time.
- 011Publish pages that other sites want to cite, such as original data or detailed guides.
- 022Ask relevant sites for links through outreach and digital PR.
- 033Redirect deleted pages that still have backlinks so you keep the value of those links.
- 044Skip paid link schemes, because they bring a risk of Google penalties.
- 055Check your score every few months. DA is relative, so it can fall when competitors grow faster than you.
Related SEO terms
DA sits among several third-party link metrics, and each one measures something slightly different.
Page authority
Page authority is Moz's score for a single URL. It uses the same 1 to 100 scale as DA but rates one page instead of the whole domain.
Domain rating
Domain rating is Ahrefs' score for a whole domain. It's built only from followed linking domains, so it reads close to DA but rarely matches it.
Authority score
Authority score is Semrush's 1 to 100 metric. It combines link strength with organic traffic. It also factors in spam signals, so it measures more than links alone.
Backlinks
Backlinks are links from other websites to yours. Every metric above is built on them. Count your linking domains and compare them with your competitors' before you spend effort on the domain authority score.