What Is Domain Authority?
Van Isle SEO Knowledge Hub
Domain Authority is one of the most widely quoted metrics in SEO, but also one of the most frequently misunderstood.
The score attempts to estimate the relative strength of a website based largely on characteristics of its backlink profile and other modeled signals. Higher scores generally indicate domains that the metric considers stronger relative to other websites.
Google does not use Moz's Domain Authority score when ranking pages. Similar third-party platforms also maintain their own authority metrics, each calculated differently.
DA is therefore most useful as a comparative SEO metric rather than a target that should be optimized in isolation.
How Does Domain Authority Work?
Domain Authority is calculated by Moz using its own link index and machine-learning systems. The exact model can change as Moz updates its methodology and underlying data.
The score runs from 1 to 100 and is logarithmic in nature. Moving from a very low score to a moderate score is therefore not equivalent to moving from an already strong score to an exceptionally high one.
Because the metric is comparative, a site's score can change even when the site itself has done nothing wrong. Changes to the underlying index, competitors, or calculation model can affect the result.
Does Google Use Domain Authority?
No. Domain Authority is a Moz metric, not a Google ranking score.
This distinction is essential. A website does not rank because its DA increased from 20 to 30, and Google does not receive or consult that number.
However, some of the underlying characteristics associated with stronger third-party authority metrics — such as earning legitimate backlinks and becoming widely referenced — can also be valuable for organic search.
Do not optimize for the number itself
The objective should be stronger real-world authority, relevant links, useful content, and better organic performance. If those improvements also increase a third-party authority score, the score is a secondary indicator rather than the business outcome.
What Is a Good Domain Authority Score?
There is no universal “good” Domain Authority score.
A DA of 25 may be highly competitive within a small local industry where most businesses score below 15. The same score may be weak when competing against national publishers and global brands.
The useful comparison is therefore against actual search competitors rather than arbitrary internet-wide benchmarks.
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How to Interpret Domain Authority
| Question | Useful Approach |
|---|---|
| Is my DA high enough? | Compare it with websites competing for the same searches. |
| Did SEO improve? | Review rankings, qualified traffic, conversions, and links — not DA alone. |
| Is a backlink valuable? | Evaluate relevance, legitimacy, placement, audience, and authority rather than DA alone. |
| Should I chase a DA target? | Prioritize business and organic-search outcomes instead. |
What Is the Difference Between DA and Other Authority Metrics?
Different SEO platforms calculate their own domain-level authority metrics. They are not interchangeable.
Moz uses Domain Authority. Other platforms use different names and methodologies based on their own crawlers, indexes, models, and assumptions.
A domain may therefore have a relatively high score in one tool and a significantly different score in another.
These differences do not mean one tool has discovered Google's secret ranking score. They mean each platform is estimating authority independently.
How Do Backlinks Affect Domain Authority?
Backlink profiles are central to most domain-authority metrics because links provide evidence that other websites reference a domain.
However, raw link quantity can be misleading. One website can create thousands of backlinks while representing only one referring domain.
Relevant editorial links from legitimate websites are generally more meaningful than mass-generated links from unrelated domains.
This concept belongs within the broader off-page SEO discipline.
How Do You Increase Domain Authority?
Because DA is a third-party outcome, the best approach is to improve the underlying website authority rather than directly attempting to manipulate the score.
Useful strategies include publishing resources that earn genuine references, creating original data, digital PR, developing partnerships, recovering valuable lost links, strengthening high-quality content, and earning relevant industry coverage.
Van Isle SEO's Research & Data library is designed partly around this model: original statistics and findings give other publishers a legitimate reason to cite the source.
The Google SERP research study and Victoria Maps study are examples of linkable primary research.
What Are the Limitations of Domain Authority?
Domain Authority compresses a complicated website into one number. That simplicity makes the metric convenient but also creates limitations.
A high-DA website can publish a weak or irrelevant page. A lower-DA website can outrank a larger domain when it provides substantially stronger relevance, local context, expertise, or search-intent alignment.
The metric also cannot directly measure conversion quality, brand demand, topical expertise, user satisfaction, local proximity, or whether the website actually generates revenue from organic traffic.
For local businesses in particular, DA should never replace local search measurement. Van Isle SEO's Victoria research demonstrates how geographic factors can dominate local Maps visibility regardless of simplistic domain-level metrics.
How Should You Use Domain Authority for Competitor Analysis?
Domain Authority becomes more useful when it is one column within a larger competitive dataset.
Compare competing sites across referring domains, backlinks, ranking keywords, organic traffic, content coverage, branded search demand, page quality, SERP ownership, and business positioning.
Then ask whether authority appears to be a genuine competitive disadvantage or whether another factor is more limiting.
Van Isle SEO's free SEO competitor audit is built around comparative analysis rather than evaluating a website in isolation.
What Should You Measure Instead of Domain Authority Alone?
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More Useful SEO Performance Metrics
| Metric | What It Helps Measure |
|---|---|
| Qualified organic traffic | Whether relevant people are discovering the website |
| Keyword visibility | Which searches and topics the site can compete for |
| Conversions | Whether organic visitors become leads or customers |
| Referring domains | How many independent websites link to the domain |
| High-quality backlinks | Whether credible and relevant sites reference the business |
| Topical coverage | How completely the site supports commercially important subjects |
| Revenue or lead value | Whether SEO contributes to business growth |
These metrics connect more directly to actual search performance and business impact than an isolated third-party score.
Frequently Asked Questions About Domain Authority
What is Domain Authority?
Domain Authority is a third-party SEO metric developed by Moz that estimates the relative ranking strength of a domain on a scale from 1 to 100.
Does Google use Domain Authority?
No. Domain Authority is not a Google metric and Google does not use Moz's DA number as a ranking score.
What is a good Domain Authority?
A useful DA score depends on the competitive market. Compare your domain with actual websites competing for the same searches rather than using an arbitrary universal target.
Can Domain Authority decrease?
Yes. Scores can change because of backlink changes, index updates, competitor changes, or updates to the third-party calculation model.
Does a higher DA guarantee better rankings?
No. Individual rankings depend on relevance, content, intent, authority, technical factors, geography, competition, and many other systems.
How can I increase Domain Authority?
Focus on the underlying factors associated with strong websites: useful content, legitimate backlinks, original research, digital PR, relevant references, and strong overall SEO.
Should I buy backlinks from high-DA websites?
A high third-party authority score does not make an unrelated or manipulative paid link valuable. Evaluate relevance, legitimacy, editorial context, and the reason the link exists.
Is Domain Authority the same as Page Authority?
No. Domain Authority estimates strength at the domain level, while Page Authority is designed to estimate the relative strength of an individual page.
Use Domain Authority as Context, Not as the Goal
Domain Authority can be a useful comparative metric, but it should never become the objective of an SEO strategy. Google does not rank websites according to Moz's DA score, and business growth cannot be reduced to a number between 1 and 100.
Prioritize relevant authority, stronger rankings, qualified traffic, useful content, and measurable business outcomes. You can also compare your website against competitors, review Van Isle SEO case studies, or request an SEO consultation.