What is Domain Authority? Is it a Google Ranking Factor? (2023)

Yes, Domain Authority is a Google ranking factor. It is a mysterious concept for most people but it plays a very critical role in Google rankings. DA is a search engine ranking score developed by a provider of SEO tools named “Moz”. It predicts how likely a website is to rank on search engine result pages (SERPs).

A Domain Authority score ranges from one to 100 with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank. Need an example? Wikipedia has a domain authority of 94, CNN has 96, and Facebook is also 96.

By looking at domain authority, you are able to easily tell where a website is ranked on the search engine and there are plenty of tools you can use to find it for free.

In this blog, we will take a look at domain authority, why it is important and why it is used by Google to rank websites as well as how to boost it.

What is Domain Authority?

Domain Authority is a metric used to measure the power, quality, and trustworthiness of a domain. It basically denotes how authoritative, influential, and important a website is.

What are The Factors that Contribute to Domain Authority?

There are a number of factors that contribute to a website’s domain authority, including:

• The age of the domain,
• The number of inbound links (the most important factor),
• The quality of inbound links,
• The number of indexed pages,
• Quality of the content, and
• Page load speed: This is one of the most important factors for Google, slow page load speed can result in your visitors leaving your site and has been a ranking signal since 2010.

How to Check the Domain Authority of Your Website?

✔ Free domain authority checker

1. MozBar tool

One way to check the domain authority of your website is to use the MozBar tool. This tool is a free browser extension that shows you the DA of any website you visit.

To use it, simply install the extension and then visit any website. The DA will be displayed in the MozBar tool.

To access more features, you will need to use their paid plan.

2. Moz Site Overview

Another way to check the domain authority of your website is to use Moz Site Overview. This is a freemium (available for a paid plan) tool that allows you to enter any URL and see the DA for that URL.

To use it, simply enter your URL into the search box and hit enter. The DA will be displayed on the results page.

You can see your ranking keywords, the number of keywords on different pages of Google, the page authority, and domain authority. Scroll down to see more results that might be useful to you.

3. Ahrefs domain authority checker

Ahrefs domain authority checker is relatively simple to use. Visit their site using this link, then enter your domain name or competitor’s domain and search.

You can see your domain rating, number of backlinks, and the total linking websites.

You can further click see more backlinks to take a look at all websites that are linking to you and try to scale.

4. Semrush

Semrush is a paid tool that allows you to check your domain authority. Just visit Semrush.com, enter your domain or your competitor’s domain, and search.

Choose the domain overview. You can see your authority score (different from the ahrefs domain rating), the number of backlinks, and the total traffic.

You can scroll down to see each of the mentioned items in detail. This will help you when you next optimize your website so that you can improve your domain rating/authority score.

5. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a freemium tool that allows you to do three searches per day. You can do either of the following: Site audit, keyword research, or backlink checker among many other free features.

Ubersuggest provides the most results. On the site audit, you can see results like On-Page SEO, organic monthly traffic, organic keywords, backlinks, etc.

You can scroll down to see each of the mentioned items in detail but that is on my Ubersuggest Site Audit Guide. This will help you when you next optimize your website so that you can improve your domain rating/authority score.

✖ Paid domain authority checker

6. Ahrefs Site Explorer

Finally, you can also use Ahrefs Site Explorer to check the domain authority of your website. This is a paid tool, but it does offer a free trial. To use it, simply enter your URL into the search box and hit enter. The DA will be displayed on the results page.

7. Semrush

Alternatively, you can use the paid version of Semrush starting at $199 to get even more data about your website or competitor’s websites.

8. MOZ Pro

This is the paid plan because it has 10 free monthly searches. It is one of the recognized domain authority tools in the market today. You can get more accurate data using this tool.

9. KWFinder

This is a paid tool that offers only a 7-day free trial after which you will have to pay for it. It is not recognized more than the others but in my own suggestion, it is because they don’t offer a free plan making it hard for small creators to use therefore considering other options. KWFinder also has accurate data compared to some other small tools.

How to Boost Your Website Domain Authority?

There are a number of ways to improve a website’s domain authority, including:

1. Building high-quality inbound links

One of the most effective ways to boost your website domain authority is to build high-quality inbound links. This means creating links from other websites back to your own.

In order to do this, you need to create content that is worthy of being linked to. This could be a blog post, an infographic, or even just a well-designed page on your website.

Once you have created this content, reach out to other websites in your industry and ask if they would be interested in linking to it. If they are, then you have successfully built a high-quality inbound link.

This will not only boost your domain authority but also help to increase your website’s traffic and visibility.

New to Link Building? Read our guide on BEST Link Building Strategies

2. Increasing the number of indexed pages

There are many ways to increase the number of indexed pages on your website. I recommend the first three, the last is up to your choice!

The most obvious way is to submit your sitemap on Google Webmaster tools or Google Search Console and keep an eye on what pages are indexed and not. If there are pages that are not indexed, update your content and then apply indexing again for those individual pages. Do this from time to time for good technical SEO.

The second way is to simply add more content to your website. This can be in the form of new pages, blog posts, or even new products or services. The more content you have, the more likely it is that search engines will index your pages. This is mainly because your site will be active and Google crawlers are actively visiting your site.

Another way to use social media is to your advantage. Whenever you post new content to your website, be sure to share it on social media. This will help to increase the visibility of your website, and in turn, the number of indexed pages.

Finally, you can submit your website to online directories. This can be a time-consuming process, but it will pay off in the long run. The more directories your website is listed in, the more likely it is that search engines will find and index your pages.

New to Website Indexing? Read our guide on How to Index Your New Website Faster

3. Improving the quality of the website’s content

Ultimately, this has the most benefits. If you are looking to improve your website’s domain authority, one of the best things you can do is focus on improving the quality of your website’s content.

By creating high-quality, informative, and keyword-rich content, you can help to improve your website’s visibility in search engines, and ultimately, help to boost your domain authority.

New to Content Writing? Read our guides on How to Write SEO Content and How to Write Long-form Content

Why it is Important to Boost Your Website Domain Authority

Domain authority is important because it is one of the factors used by Google to determine the position of a website in the search results. Here are 10 reasons why boosting your domain authority is important:

1. Boosting your website’s domain authority can help you rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), which can mean more organic traffic and leads for your business.
2. Higher domain authority can also help your website earn more trust from visitors, which can lead to more conversions and sales.
3. Increasing your domain authority can help you to attract more backlinks from high-quality websites, which can further improve your ranking in SERPs.
4. Increasing your domain authority can help you improve your click-through rate (CTR) from SERPs, as well as your overall website traffic.
5. Higher domain authority can also help to build brand awareness and credibility for your website and business.
6. Boosting your domain authority can help you to rank for more competitive keywords and phrases, which can result in more organic traffic.
7. Boosting your domain authority can help you improve your overall online visibility and reach.

What are The Benefits of Domain Authority on a Website?

The benefits of having a high domain authority are numerous.

1. Increased traffic

A higher domain authority score will generally result in more traffic to your website as it will rank higher in SERPs.

2. Enhanced credibility and trustworthiness

A website with a high domain authority score is generally seen as more credible and trustworthy, which can lead to improved business relations.

3. Better search engine optimization

A higher domain authority score can help improve your website’s search engine optimization, leading to even more traffic and improved business results.

4. More leads and sales

The increased traffic can lead to more leads and sales for your business.

5. Better search engine visibility

A higher domain authority score will make your website more visible in search engine results, which can lead to increased traffic.

Conclusion

Domain Authority is a valuable metric for SEOs and webmasters because it is one of the factors used by Google to rank websites. By improving the quality of your website and increasing your DA, you can improve your website’s position in the search results.

Recap: Domain authority is a search engine ranking score that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). A domain authority score ranges from one to 100, with higher scores indicating a greater ability to rank.

Closing Remarks!

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