Are you familiar with Domain Authority (DA)? It is a metric developed by Moz, a well-known SEO software company, that assesses the credibility and expertise of a website or domain name on a scale ranging from 1 to 100. The greater the score, the more authoritative the source.

If you are a blogger, SEO specialist or webmaster you must have heard about Domain authority, but what makes this domain authority very important and why do SEO specialists rely on this authority factor that is not even owned by Google we will cover all of this in this tool article.

Domain Authority (DA) is indeed not owned or developed by Google; it's a metric created by Moz, a third-party SEO software company. However, Domain Authority can still be valuable for several reasons in the world of search engine optimization (SEO) and website management

In the early month of Jan 28 2022 a random Twitter (x) user asked John Mu if there was anything such as link building in mathetical order, or algorithm attached to link building and domain authority, John mu replied that " We don't count links on a domain level. " This means that Google doesn't recognise DA by Moz as a ranking factor, Google seems to do their own calculation per individual linking instead of Bulk calculation by Moz. Nevertheless, let's take a look at what other factors DA can be used to impact an SEO journey.

1. Relative Comparison: DA provides a relative comparison of a website's authority compared to other websites. While it's not a direct measure of how Google ranks a site, it gives website owners and SEO professionals an idea of how their site stacks up against competitors or other websites in their niche.

2. Link Building: DA can be used as a guideline for identifying potential link-building opportunities. Websites with higher DA scores are often seen as more authoritative, and getting backlinks from such websites can be beneficial for SEO.

3. Content Strategy: DA can help inform content strategy. Websites with higher DA scores often have a better chance of ranking for competitive keywords. Understanding the DA of competing websites can guide content creation and keyword targeting.

4. Monitoring Progress: Over time, tracking changes in your website's DA can help you monitor the effectiveness of your SEO efforts. If your DA is increasing, it's an indicator that your website's authority is growing, which can lead to better search engine rankings.

5 Selling Advertising or Services: Website owners often use DA as a metric to showcase the authority of their site when selling advertising space or services like sponsored posts. Advertisers and businesses may use DA as one of many factors to evaluate potential partnerships.

6. Evaluating SEO Performance: SEO professionals and agencies use DA to assess the overall health of a website's backlink profile. A high DA score can suggest that the website has a strong backlink profile, while a low DA may indicate the need for link-building efforts or improvements in content and SEO.

Just like we said above It's important to note that while Domain Authority is a valuable metric, it should not be the sole focus of an SEO strategy. Google uses its proprietary algorithms, which consider hundreds of factors, to determine search engine rankings. DA is just one external metric among many. Nevertheless, it can be a helpful tool for understanding and improving your website's online authority, especially when used in conjunction with other SEO metrics and best practices.

What is the best approach to increase Domain authority other than DA by Moz?

The word "domain authority" shouldn't just be about link building, there are over 200 algorithms attached to the word SEO and DA is nothing closer to 50 out of them. Just like John Mu has mentioned earlier, If you rely 100% on DA metrics then you might likely be doing SEO right at the very early stage but at some point, you might begin to get too comfortable just building links for DA increment while disregarding other ranking factors which might trigger a drop to your search engine ranking. When considering a proper approach to domain authority always think of the User first/UI/Content Quality/Internet linking/External Linking/Domain age/ and many others but let's break this down into a summary for you

1. Focus on Quality Backlinks: Rather than solely relying on DA, pay attention to the quality of backlinks pointing to your website. High-quality, relevant, and authoritative backlinks can have a more significant impact on your website's authority and rankings.

2. Page Authority (PA): Moz also provides a Page Authority (PA) metric, which assesses the authority of individual pages on your website. Paying attention to PA can help you identify which pages are performing well and which may need improvement.

3. Search Engine Rankings: Monitor your website's rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords. An improvement in rankings for target keywords can be a more direct indicator of SEO success.

4. Content Quality: High-quality, valuable, and engaging content is crucial for building authority. Content that attracts natural backlinks and keeps users engaged can indirectly improve your website's authority.

5. User Experience (UX): A positive user experience, including a user-friendly interface, clear navigation, and mobile responsiveness, can improve visitor engagement and indirectly impact your authority.

6. Brand Building: Building a strong brand presence and reputation can contribute to your website's authority. Consistency in branding, positive reviews, and a strong online presence can enhance your authority.

7. Social Signals: While not a direct ranking factor, social media signals can influence website visibility. Active and engaging social media profiles can help promote your content and attract visitors

8. Local SEO: If your website serves a local audience, focusing on local SEO strategies, such as Google My Business optimization and local citations, can boost your local authority.

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Most SEO experts today are self-taught experts and this is cool but taking extra steps to ensure that what you're becoming an expert is cooler. 

Don't learn from someone who says you can build a website without a backlink, and then you check the person's website and find 2,000 links pointing to the person's website. That's a cheat lie. Remember one thing SEO is a diversifying process you must learn to embrace, examine and expand before you can put the final result into practice.