If you run or are planning to run a website in either a personal or business capacity, domain authority is key to getting your website found. There are plenty of things that influence search engine ranking but DA or domain authority is widely considered a good indicator of how well your page will rank in Google.
What is Domain Authority?
Domain authority is a metric created by Moz. This search engine ranking score aims to predict how likely a website is to rank in Google’s search engine results page by summing up its relevance or quality according to search engines.
What is a Good Domain Authority?
When you are looking at domain authority, you’ll find that the DA ranges from one to 100. The higher the number of your DA, the higher your chances are of ranking in Google according to this metric. Typically, when working out a good domain authority, a score of between 40 and 50 is considered average whilst a score of 50 to 60 bodes well for your website and a score of 60+ is excellent. It is worth noting however that whilst your DA is a good indicator of how likely your page is to rank and is well respected in the digital marketing world, Google itself does not use it as a ranking factor and will use its own criteria to rank your content.
What is my Domain Authority?
You may now be wondering ‘what is my domain authority’? If you are wondering how your domain authority score is worked out, there are a few different factors. Moz reportedly now use over 40 factors to calculate your DA. Your DA score includes factors such as the quality of your external links, the number of unique backlinks your website has earned from different websites, the quality of your content, the SEO quality of your content and the same social signals Google uses to rank your content. You can work out your website domain authority by using Moz’s link explorer or by enlisting the help of an SEO specialist who can help decipher the results for you.
How to Improve Domain Authority on Your Website
Once you’ve found out what your domain authority currently stands at, it’s time to improve. There are a few key ways to increase domain authority with many of them related to page links.
Using links to Improve Domain Authority
For those just starting out in link building it can be tempting to find links wherever they can, regardless of whether the website linked from is relevant and useful. However, as with Google’s ranking system, thousands of insignificant backlinks will not do you domain authority any good, especially if they are from disreputable sources. When considering backlinks, prioritise ones that are relevant to your website and business rather than considering websites that do not align with your website theme and target audience. Whilst there are many sites that may contact your offering backlinks, these may not benefit your site as untrustworthy site links are not valued by the algorithm.
Quality Content Focussed on Your Core Audience
One of the key factors in getting your website found in Google and increasing your domain authority will always be quality content written with your target persona in mind. If your content topics and quality of content are haphazard, so will your site visitors. Creating high-quality content that serves a purpose and speaks to the needs of your target audience will help your website succeed by boosting your domain authority and stand more of a chance of ranking well in Google. Quality content is also a great way to build backlinks to your site as when visitors read and find your content useful, they will be naturally inclined to link to it from content they publish on their own website and social platforms.
When monitoring your content for quality, take some time to go back through older content to ensure it is at the same high standard and add useful information to pages with a low page authority score to improve its ranking potential.
Study Your Competitors
Your biggest competitors are a great resource when it comes to setting benchmarks for your website as they will show you what is possible within your industry. By looking at the domain authorities of your nearest competitors you’ll be able to see where you DA should be. You’ll also be able to take a look at the quantity and quality of links to their website and see the types of websites they are gaining links from to inspire your own link building strategies.
Optimise Your Website for SEO
Of course, it goes without saying that if you want your website to succeed online, it needs to be optimised for search engines. Optimising your website for SEO includes things such as mobile optimisation, a key ranking factor, and using targeted keywords in your website content among other SEO techniques. Optimising your website using tried and tested SEO techniques will help to increase your website’s domain authority and ranking potential.
Learn From the Best
Searching for a helping hand to increase domain authority on your website? Our SEO and trusted link building specialists are here to help with years of honed knowledge ready to help make your website succeed. To find out more about how we can help your website contact SEM Consultants now online or by calling 0121 552 6500.