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- Judge DA against your real competitors, not against a fixed number.
- DA is a third-party estimate. Google does not use it as a ranking factor.
- The scale is not linear: moving up gets harder at higher scores.
- Traffic, leads and rankings matter more than the score itself.
What the score actually measures
Domain Authority was created by Moz to predict how likely a site is to rank in search results. It is built from link data, mainly the number and quality of other sites linking to yours, and it is recalculated as Moz crawls the web. Because it is an estimate from one company's index, your score may differ from the numbers shown by Ahrefs (Domain Rating) or Semrush (Authority Score). These tools are not interchangeable.
The scale runs from 1 to 100 and is generally understood to be logarithmic. Going from a low score to a slightly higher one is far easier than going from a high score to a higher one. Brand new domains normally begin near the bottom and rise as links accumulate. Google has said it does not use any such third-party score, so DA is a comparison tool, not a lever.
How to read a score in context
These bands are working guides, not official thresholds. Use them to orient yourself, then compare with competitors.
Score range | Usual meaning | Practical reading |
|---|---|---|
Very low | New or little-linked site | Normal for a young domain. Focus on content and basics. |
Low to moderate | Some links, early trust | Enough to rank for specific, low-competition searches. |
Moderate | Established small or mid-size site | Often competitive for local and niche terms. |
High | Strong link profile over time | Typical of large publishers, brands and well-linked firms. |
Very high | Major brands and institutions | Not a realistic target for most businesses, nor a necessary one. |
Why the score exists and why people misuse it
Link-based authority is one of the oldest ideas in search, so tool vendors built shortcuts that summarise it in a single number. That is handy for audits, outreach lists and quick competitor checks. It becomes a problem when the number turns into the goal. Agencies sell DA boosts, sellers price guest posts by DA, and business owners feel behind when a rival shows a higher figure on a browser extension.
The better use is diagnostic. If a competitor outranks you with a thinner page, a large DA gap points to a links problem. If your DA is close or higher and you still lose, the cause is more likely page relevance, search intent or technical trouble, and no amount of link building will fix it.
Check your own score against the right benchmark
Five minutes of comparison tells you more than any generic number.
- Pick the right competitorsList the sites that actually appear on page one for your five or ten most valuable searches. Ignore big directories and marketplaces unless you compete with them.
- Check each domain in MozUse Moz's free Link Explorer or your paid account to record DA for your site and theirs. Note the date, since scores shift.
- Compare with a second toolLook up the same domains in Ahrefs or Semrush. If your position relative to competitors is similar in both, the picture is reliable.
- Look beyond the domainCheck what ranks: a high-DA site with a thin page can lose to a lower-DA site with the better answer. Compare page relevance and depth.
- Decide what to doIf you trail by a lot, plan link and content work. If you are close, focus on page quality and conversion rather than chasing a few points.
Ways to raise DA that are worth your time
Because DA reflects links, the work that raises it is the work that earns real mentions.
- Publish something worth citingOriginal guides, data you collected yourself and clear explanations earn links more reliably than generic posts. See how we plan this in finding the right keywords.
- Earn links from relevant sitesIndustry bodies, suppliers, local media, partners and customer sites all count. Our link building services focus on this kind of outreach.
- Fix broken and lost linksPages that were redirected badly or deleted can leave links wasted. Reclaiming them is cheap and effective.
- Strengthen internal linkingThis does not change DA directly, but it helps authority reach your important pages.
- Build a recognisable brandBranded searches, mentions and a consistent identity make people link to you without being asked.
- Keep content updatedFresh, accurate pages attract and keep links. See how often to update content.
Common mistakes with DA
These are the errors that waste the most money.
Treating DA as a ranking factor
It is not one. Improving the score without improving pages or links will not move rankings.
Buying links to hit a number
Cheap packages may inflate the metric briefly but can attract penalties. Read whether backlinks still matter first.
Comparing across industries
A strong score in a local trade can look weak beside a media site. Always compare like with like.
Obsessing over weekly changes
Scores move when Moz updates its index. Small shifts are noise.
Ignoring trust signals
Authors, reviews, real contact details and clear expertise matter too, as explained in what E-E-A-T means for SEO.
When DA is the wrong thing to chase
For most Pakistani service businesses, a clinic in Lahore or an exporter in Sialkot, the more useful questions are different. Are you in the local map results? Do your service pages match what people search? Do visitors call or message you on WhatsApp? A modest DA with strong local relevance often beats a higher score on a poorly built site.
Treat DA as one line in a wider report next to impressions, clicks, rankings and leads. If you want help reading those together, our SEO audit services compare your site with the pages that actually rank. You can also get in touch and we will review where your authority gaps are, or browse more lessons in the SEO academy.
A simple DA review routine
Run this every quarter instead of checking daily.
- Record the baselineSave your DA and that of five rivals in a spreadsheet with the date and tool used.
- Track referring domainsThe count of unique sites linking to you is a clearer progress signal than the score itself.
- Match score to outcomesNote whether impressions, rankings and leads moved in the same period.
- Review link qualityScan new links for spam. Disavow only when you are sure of a real problem.
- Set one goalChoose a concrete action, such as earning links from three relevant sites, rather than a target score.
Junaid has worked on SEO for more than 18 years, across SEO, paid media, web development and custom software. He founded SEOnumber1, builds WordPress plugins, CRMs and web applications, has served 500+ clients in 48 countries, and holds Google Ads, Analytics and Google Blue and Green Belt certifications. He is a National Level Award Winner in Digital Marketing. Read his story or ask a question about this article.