What is domain authority? Domain authority (DA) is the relevance and reputation of your website in relation to your area of expertise. It’s a search engine ranking score that helps to establish the success of your site. Several factors go into scoring your domain authority.

Google’s algorithm for its search engine results page (SERP) ranking is notoriously intricate and secretive. Google sheds light on only a few factors influencing ranking, and domain authority isn’t one of them.

That being said, some of the elements that determine your domain authority are used to establish ranking, making your DA a helpful reference number.

To understand where your website ranks, compare your website’s score to your competitors. Having a similar or higher domain authority score than competing websites means your website is considered a credible resource.

If your site doesn’t rank as well as others, you can work to improve your website’s score.

It’s also important to remember that there’s no good or bad score. It’s just a comparison metric to see where you sit among competitors.

What determines domain authority?

Domain authority considers several factors, including:

Unique backlinks refer to the number of websites that link back to yours. It’s important to note not all backlinks are considered equal. The links have to be organically placed, and no-follow links won’t help as much as do-follow links. The best backlinks are ones that showcase your authority: acknowledgments, guest posts, or comment backlinks, for example.

The quality of your content speaks for itself and is the catalyst for social interaction. Shares, likes, and comments can help boost your score. Make sure your site follows SEO standards to rank better on search engines.

You also need to ensure that your site is user-friendly. This means more than just optimizing for mobile! Consider accessibility as well. Use an easy-to-read font, alt text for images, and sufficient color contrasts.

How to improve domain authority?

If your DA score is lower than you hope, don’t fret. There are ways to improve your site’s score, but keep in mind it won’t happen overnight.

  • Create quality content: The basis of your website’s success will always be the content you offer and the value it provides to your visitors.

Create content that educates your target audience, explaining how your product or service is valuable to them. Make your content easy to read, no matter what device your audience is using. Publish content regularly, and make sure content is easily shareable.

Quality content increases the likelihood of other authoritative sites sharing your site, increasing your backlinks.

  • Build your backlinks: This takes time, work, and patience. For others to link back to your website, you need to establish yourself as an authority in your industry. Aside from producing consistent quality content, you can guest post on other relevant websites. Make sure to use internal links where applicable as well. This helps visitors discover more of your content.
  • Include keywords: Keywords directly related to your industry are how your target audience finds you. Research which main keywords are popular in your industry, and find related keywords as well. Integrate these keywords throughout your content, but be sure to do it organically. Keyword stuffing negatively affects your site. Using high-performing keywords throughout your content can help make your site easier to find for users searching for information.

Improve your domain authority with exceptional content that gets high-quality backlinks. Talk to a content specialist at ClearVoice today to get started.