SEO GLOSSARY
What is domain authority?
Domain authority is a third-party score that predicts how strong a website's link profile is, and so how likely it is to rank compared with competitors. It matters because it tells you, in one number, whether you can realistically compete for a keyword today or need more quality backlinks first.
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Updated 23 October 2026
What is domain authority in SEO, and is it a Google ranking factor?
Domain Authority (DA) is a metric created by Moz, scored from 1 to 100. Moz itself says it is not a Google ranking factor: it is a comparative score that estimates ranking strength from backlink data.
Google does not publish an authority number for your site. What tools do is study the links pointing at a domain (how many sites link to it, and how strong those sites are) and turn that into a score. Moz calls its version Domain Authority; other platforms use names like authority score or domain rank. They measure the same idea with different data, so the numbers are not interchangeable.
Because the scale is relative, it is easier to grow from 20 to 30 than from 70 to 80, and new sites start at 1. Treat the score as a way to compare yourself with the sites ranking above you, not as a goal in itself.
How do I check domain authority?
Enter your domain into an authority checker and compare the score with the sites that rank for your target keywords. In Digimetrics, Page Technical & Domain Analysis reports an authority score in 15 seconds to 1.5 minutes.
The domain authority checker shows your authority score next to backlinks, referring domains, organic keywords, estimated monthly traffic and SSL status, so you see the cause behind the number. To judge the sites linking to you, the backlink checker scores each linking site with a domain rank from 0 to 1,000.
Example: in the official tutorial's Backlinks Explorer sample (fictional brand Brightpath), the strongest backer was a review site with domain rank 612 and 51 links. One link from a site like that is worth more than dozens from weak directories.
| Metric | Who reports it | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Domain Authority (DA) | Moz | 1 to 100 |
| Authority score | Digimetrics Page Technical & Domain Analysis | Strength of your domain |
| Domain rank | Digimetrics Backlinks Explorer, per linking site | 0 to 1,000 |
What is a good domain authority score, and how do you increase it?
A good score is one that is close to, or above, the sites ranking on page one for your keywords. You raise it by earning links from relevant, trusted sites, not by chasing the number.
A local plumber does not need the authority of a national news site. They need to beat the three or four businesses outranking them in their city.
- Publish link-worthy assets: original data, expert guides and free tools people cite.
- Win back lost and unlinked mentions by asking for a link where you are already named.
- Study competitor links and pitch the same publications with something better.
- Strengthen internal links so authority flows to the pages you want to rank.
- Avoid paid or swapped links, which Google's spam policies treat as link spam.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Frequently asked questions
Still unsure? Email support@digimetrics.ai and a person will reply.
Is domain authority and authority score the same?
They describe the same idea, the strength of a domain's link profile, but come from different tools. Domain Authority is Moz's 1 to 100 metric; authority score is what Digimetrics reports in Page Technical & Domain Analysis. Compare sites within one tool only.
What is domain authority and page authority?
Domain authority estimates the ranking strength of a whole website. Page authority applies the same idea to a single URL, so a strong page on a modest site can still rank well.
Why is domain authority important?
It is a quick way to judge whether you can compete for a keyword now and which sites' links are worth earning. It does not cause rankings by itself.
Is there a free domain authority checker?
Yes. New Digimetrics accounts get every tool free for 7 days with no card, enough to run Page Technical & Domain Analysis many times over.
See how strong your domain really is.
Check your authority score, backlinks and keywords in one report: free for 7 days, no card.