You want search visibility that compounds, and you keep hearing you should improve domain authority. Domain authority is a third‑party score that predicts how likely your site is to rank relative to others in your space.

You care because higher authority often reflects a cleaner technical setup, stronger content, and more trusted sites citing your work. While Google doesn’t use DA directly, the signals that improve domain authority closely track what search engines reward.

In this post, you learn what DA is, how it shapes trust and performance, where it drives ROI, which mistakes to avoid, and the practical steps you can take to improve domain authority steadily and sustainably.

What Is Domain Authority and How Do You Use It

Domain Authority (DA) is Moz’s comparative score (1–100) that estimates how likely your domain is to rank versus others. You use it as a benchmark against competitors, not as a vanity goal.

For context, many small U.S. business sites sit around 10–30, while major publishers often exceed 80. Because the scale is logarithmic, moving from 20 to 30 is far easier than jumping from 50 to 60.

You improve domain authority by earning relevant backlinks and by removing crawling and indexing friction. When you tighten site architecture, fix errors, and publish helpful pages, you make it easier for authoritative sites to link and for bots to understand your content.

Moz’s model analyzes link signals across billions of pages; in general, more unique, high‑quality referring domains nudge your score upward. As a rule of thumb, you should compare your DA to 3–5 direct competitors monthly so you can prioritize link gaps you can realistically close.

How Does a Higher Authority Score Shape Trust and Perception

You build credibility when respected sites reference your work, because users equate frequent, top‑of‑page visibility with trust. One industry study reports the #1 organic result earns about 27.6% CTR, so signals that improve domain authority can indirectly raise perceived reliability.

You also improve domain authority by turning unlinked brand mentions, podcast features, and expert quotes into actual backlinks. Even five new high‑quality links from relevant publications can move the needle for a smaller site.

Tip: You strengthen E‑E‑A‑T when you add expert bios, cite primary data, and include bylines with credentials. Those credibility cues help readers vet your content and encourage journalists and bloggers to link to you.

Aim to secure at least 10–20 solid referring domains early, then diversify sources so no single site accounts for more than 10% of your link equity.

How Does Domain Authority Influence Your SEO Performance

Domain authority correlates with visibility because link equity flows through your internal links to deeper pages. When you earn authoritative backlinks, you make it easier for new or updated URLs to rank faster.

Google doesn’t use DA itself, but better‑connected sites tend to be crawled more efficiently and indexed more reliably. Speed matters too: the probability of bounce jumps by 32% as load time goes from 1s to 3s, so performance wins can amplify the links you earn.

Targets: keep LCP under 2.5s, CLS under 0.1, and TTFB under 800ms on key templates. You improve domain authority outcomes when you pair fast pages, crawlable navigation, and content that answers intent clearly.

Track 404s, soft 404s, and redirect chains weekly so you don’t leak link equity. Even reclaiming a handful of broken backlinks with 301s can lift long‑tail rankings within weeks.

How Does Domain Authority Drive Business Growth and ROI

Higher authority brings more qualified organic traffic, which reduces blended acquisition costs and boosts assisted conversions across channels. After sustained link growth, you often see organic sessions rise in parallel with new leads in analytics.

For example, when you lift a domain from DA 15 to 30, you can often double the number of long‑tail keywords that reach page one, expanding your addressable demand without increasing ad spend.

You improve domain authority by building topic clusters, earning local citations, and converting brand mentions into links—activities that compound by supporting both search and sales pipelines.

Tip: Tag outreach with UTMs and use multi‑touch attribution. When you correlate referring domains with pipeline value, you can defend budget and forecast ROI with more confidence.

What Mistakes Lower Your DA and How Do You Avoid Them

Risky link patterns, thin content, and slow pages weaken the signals that improve domain authority. A preventative audit helps you catch issues before they suppress growth.

• Buying links or using private networks risks manual actions; one penalty can suppress visibility for months and erase hard‑won authority.
• Ignoring technical SEO harms crawl efficiency: keep critical pages within 3 clicks, ensure fewer than 10% duplicate titles, and remove orphan pages.
• Publishing low‑quality or overlapping pages dilutes equity; prune, merge, or refresh URLs that receive zero traffic for 90 days to improve domain authority.
• Letting broken backlinks linger wastes equity; reclaim 404s with 301s and ask referrers to update the target URL after migrations.

Set a monthly review cadence, document fixes in a changelog, and monitor DA, referring domains, and Core Web Vitals together so you see the whole picture.

What Steps Should You Take to Improve Domain Authority

1. Benchmark: check your domain authority in Moz, compare against 3–5 competitors, and record referring domains in your link tracker. Note topically relevant sites that link to rivals but not to you.
2. Technical foundations: fix indexation, sitemap, and robots issues; compress images; lazy‑load below‑the‑fold media; and keep LCP under 2.5s to improve domain authority outcomes.
3. Content hubs: map keywords into clusters, publish a pillar page with internal links to 6–10 supporting articles, and update quarterly with fresh data, visuals, and examples.
4. Link earning: publish data studies, PR angles, and expert guides; aim for 5–10 new referring domains per month from relevant sites, with at least 50% containing branded or partial‑match anchors.
5. Outreach: personalize pitches with a value add (a quote, statistic, or graphic). Short, tailored emails can double reply rates and help you improve domain authority faster.
6. Internal links: route equity from high‑traffic pages to new content using descriptive anchors; reduce crawl depth and surface high‑intent pages in nav and breadcrumbs.
7. Clean profile: audit toxic domains quarterly, remove spam where possible, and disavow only when necessary; a healthier profile helps you improve domain authority over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is domain authority a Google ranking factor?

No. DA is a Moz metric. You still improve domain authority to align with real signals search engines value, such as quality backlinks, helpful content, and crawlable architecture.

What is a good domain authority score?

You judge DA relative to your niche. If peers sit at 20–30, crossing 30 is a solid near‑term target; enterprise or publisher sites may live above 70.

How do you check your score?

You can use Moz’s DA, Ahrefs DR, or Semrush Authority Score. A free toolbar or browser extension will display the metric for any page or domain.

How long does it take to improve domain authority?

Most sites see meaningful movement in 3–6 months with consistent publishing and link earning; a handful of authoritative links can accelerate progress.

Can internal linking help you?

Yes. Strategic internal links spread equity to new or updated content, help bots discover pages faster, and can improve domain authority over time.

Key Takeaways

• You improve domain authority by earning relevant, high‑quality backlinks consistently.
• Treat DA as comparative; track competitors, link gaps, and referring domains monthly.
• Fix Core Web Vitals: target LCP < 2.5s and CLS < 0.1 for retention and crawl efficiency.
• Publish content hubs and reinforce them with thoughtful internal links.
• Set monthly goals: 5–10 new referring domains and zero unresolved toxic links.

If your organic visibility isn’t compounding, it may be time to rethink how you improve domain authority and allocate effort. Start strengthening your authority today.

Your site deserves to be trusted, visible, and competitive. Call Strategic Websites to learn how we can help you improve your domain authority and organic performance—sustainably.