How to Increase Domain Authority (and Why the Score Is Not the Goal)
To increase domain authority, earn links from more unique, relevant, well-linked websites, and stop low-value link sources from inflating the count. Domain Authority (Moz) and Domain Rating (Ahrefs) are third-party scores calculated mostly from your backlink profile, so they rise when you earn good links and fall when competitors earn more. Google does not use either score.
That last point shapes everything below. The goal is rankings, traffic, and AI visibility; a higher score is a side effect. Our link building services are built around that order of priorities.
What is domain authority?
Domain Authority (DA) is a Moz metric scored from 1 to 100 that estimates how likely a domain is to rank in search results compared with others. Moz rebuilt it as Domain Authority 2.0 in March 2019, using a machine learning model trained on link data and search results. Moz describes DA as a comparative metric: use it to compare sites against each other, not as an absolute grade.
Page Authority (PA) is the same idea applied to a single page.
Domain Rating vs Domain Authority
| Metric | Owner | Scale | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain Authority (DA) | Moz | 1 to 100 | Machine learning model using link data, predicting ranking ability |
| Domain Rating (DR) | Ahrefs | 0 to 100 | Strength of a site’s backlink profile (unique linking domains and their own DR) |
| URL Rating (UR) | Ahrefs | 0 to 100 | Strength of a single page’s backlink profile |
| Authority Score (AS) | Semrush | 0 to 100 | Link power, organic traffic, and spam signals |
| Trust Flow / Citation Flow | Majestic | 0 to 100 | Link trust and link volume |
Moz and Ahrefs both describe DA and DR as logarithmic, so moving from 20 to 30 is far easier than moving from 70 to 80.
In Editorial.Link’s 2026 survey of 518 SEO professionals, 64.1% said Ahrefs DR and UR were their go-to authority metrics, ahead of Semrush Authority Score (15.4%) and Moz DA/PA (11.6%).
Does Google use domain authority?
No. Google has said many times that it does not use third-party authority metrics, and Google’s John Mueller has said that improving them will not, by itself, improve rankings. Google uses its own signals, including links (PageRank remains part of its systems), content relevance, and quality assessments.
DA and DR are useful because they roughly reflect link strength, which does relate to rankings. They are also easy to manipulate with low-quality links, which is why sellers advertise “DA 50+” sites with no real traffic.
What is a good domain authority?
There is no universal good score. A good DA or DR is one that is competitive with the sites ranking for your target queries.
To judge yours:
- Search your main target queries.
- Note the DA or DR of the sites in the top 10.
- Compare your score with that range.
A local plumber with DR 25 can dominate local results where competitors sit at DR 10 to 20. A SaaS startup with DR 40 may struggle in a category where the top results are DR 80+.
How to increase domain authority: what actually works
1. Earn links from more unique, relevant domains
Both DA and DR reward the number of unique linking domains more than the number of links. Ten links from ten real sites are worth more than a hundred from one. Focus on sites in your topic area with real organic traffic.
2. Prioritize well-linked linkers
Ahrefs’ DR calculation weighs the strength of the linking site. A link from a site that itself has a strong backlink profile moves your score more than many links from weak sites. These same pages also matter for AI: Ahrefs found brand mentions on heavily linked pages correlated with AI Overview visibility at about 0.70.
3. Create pages people want to cite
Original data, tools, calculators, templates, and definitive guides earn links over time without constant outreach. Statistics pages are a reliable example; see link building statistics.
4. Run digital PR
Data-led campaigns can earn dozens of links from news and industry sites at once. In Editorial.Link’s survey, 48.6% of SEOs named digital PR the most effective tactic. See digital PR for SEO.
5. Reclaim what you have already earned
Convert unlinked brand mentions into links, and redirect old URLs that still have backlinks pointing to them (check for 404 pages with links in your SEO tool).
6. Get into the right lists
Best-of lists and comparison pages in your category are linkable, relevant, and frequently cited by AI engines. See listicle brand mentions.
7. Strengthen internal linking
Internal links do not raise DR, but they pass authority to the pages that need to rank, which is the point of the exercise.
8. Be patient with the score
DA and DR update as tools recrawl the web. Your score can drop even while you earn links, if the overall link graph grows or competitors gain faster.
What does not work (or backfires)
- Buying “DA 50+” packages. Many sellers sell links from sites with inflated scores and no traffic. Google’s spam systems are designed to ignore or act against these.
- Private blog networks. They can move third-party scores, but Google’s link spam policy explicitly covers them.
- Mass directory and comment links. Low effort, low value, and easy to discount.
- Link exchanges at scale. Google lists excessive link exchanges as link spam.
- Chasing the score with irrelevant links. A DR 70 link from an unrelated niche does little for topical relevance and may look unnatural.
Why your domain authority dropped
Common reasons:
- The tool updated its model or recrawled the web, changing the scale for everyone.
- You lost linking domains (sites deleted pages or went offline).
- Links to you were removed or changed to nofollow.
- Sites linking to you lost authority themselves.
- Competitors and the wider web grew faster, which shifts relative scores.
A drop in DA or DR without a drop in rankings or traffic is usually not a problem.
How to check domain authority
- Moz Link Explorer and the free MozBar extension for DA and PA
- Ahrefs’ free Website Authority Checker for DR
- Semrush for Authority Score
- Bulk checkers from these tools for comparing many domains at once
Check the same metric over time. Comparing DA from one tool with DR from another tells you very little.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to increase domain authority?
Typically months. Scores update as new links are discovered and recalculated, and higher scores take far more links to move because the scales are logarithmic.
Can I increase domain authority quickly?
You can inflate a third-party score quickly with low-quality links, but that does nothing for Google and can create risk. Real gains come from steady, relevant link acquisition.
What is a good DR in Ahrefs?
One that is competitive with the sites ranking for your target queries. Check the DR range of the current top 10 for your main keywords.
Is DA or DR more accurate?
Neither is “accurate” in the sense of matching Google. Both estimate link strength. Use the one your tools and team already rely on, and use it consistently.
Does domain authority affect AI search?
Not directly. AI engines use their own retrieval systems. Links from strong, relevant pages tend to help rankings, which helps retrieval, and mentions on heavily linked pages correlate with AI Overview visibility.
