You keep seeing the term “domain authority” pop up in SEO articles. But nobody seems to explain what it actually is — or whether you should even care about it as a beginner.
Here’s the good news. DA is one of those SEO terms that sounds complicated but is actually pretty simple once someone breaks it down. And by the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly what it means, where it comes from, and what to do with that information.
What Is Domain Authority in Simple Terms?
Domain Authority — often shortened to DA — is a number that tells you how “trusted” or “authoritative” a website looks compared to others on the web.
Think of it like a reputation score for a website. A brand-new blog might have a DA of 1 or 2. A massive news website might have a DA of 90+. The score gives you a rough idea of where a site stands.
Here’s the thing — this score was created to help people compare websites quickly. It is not a perfect measurement, and it is not the final word on who ranks where. But it is a useful reference point when you are doing SEO research.
| Domain Authority (DA) Meaning: Domain Authority is a score between 0 and 100 that predicts how likely a website is to rank on Google. The higher the score, the stronger the website’s overall reputation online. |
Who Created Domain Authority — and Why Does Everyone Talk About It?
Domain Authority was created by a company called Moz — an SEO tools company. They built it to help SEO professionals quickly compare the strength of different websites.
Because Moz was one of the first major SEO companies, their DA score became widely used. Other tools eventually created their own versions — Ahrefs calls theirs Domain Rating (DR), and Semrush calls theirs Authority Score. They all measure something similar but use slightly different methods.
Here is something really important to understand early on. DA is not a Google metric. Google did not create it. Google does not use it. It is a third-party score built by a private company to estimate website strength.
So when someone says “my DA went up,” they mean their Moz score improved — not that Google officially ranked them higher. Keep that distinction in mind as you learn more about SEO.
| Moz Meaning: Moz is an SEO software company that created the Domain Authority score. DA is their own metric — it is not made by Google or used by Google. |
How Is Domain Authority Actually Calculated?
Moz looks at several things to calculate a website’s DA score. The biggest factors are the number of backlinks pointing to your site and the quality of those backlinks.
Not all backlinks are equal. A link from a well-known, trusted website carries much more weight than a link from a random low-quality blog. Moz also looks at how many unique websites are linking to you — not just the total number of links.
Here is a simple analogy. Imagine your website is a restaurant. If popular food critics keep recommending your place, your reputation grows fast. But if only unknown accounts with no followers mention you, it does not help much. Backlinks work the same way.
What Are Backlinks and Why Do They Matter?
DA is also calculated on a logarithmic scale. That means it is much easier to go from a score of 10 to 20 than it is to go from 70 to 80. The higher you get, the harder it becomes to move the needle.
| Backlinks and Linking Root Domains Meaning: A backlink is a link from another website pointing to your site. A linking root domain is the unique website that link comes from — so ten links from one website still count as one linking root domain. |
What Is a Good Domain Authority Score?
Here is a rough way to think about the DA scale:
A score between 0 and 20 is completely normal for a new or small website. Most blogs start here. There is nothing wrong with it.
A score between 20 and 40 means the site is growing. It has started building some backlinks and has been around for a while.
A score between 40 and 60 suggests a well-established website with consistent content and a solid backlink profile.
Anything above 60 usually belongs to major publications, large brands, or websites that have been actively building authority for many years.
If your new blog has a DA of 3 or 5 — that is completely normal. Every website you respect right now started at zero. DA grows over time as you publish more content and earn more backlinks.
Do not let a low score discourage you. It is just a starting point.
| DA Scale Meaning: Domain Authority runs from 0 to 100. New websites start near 0 and grow their score over time as they build backlinks and publish more content. |
Does Domain Authority Actually Affect Google Rankings?
This is the big question — and the honest answer is no. Domain Authority does not directly affect your Google rankings.
Google has never confirmed that it uses DA as a ranking signal. In fact, Google’s own spokespeople have said they do not use third-party metrics like DA when deciding where to rank pages.
So what does Google actually look at? Things like the quality and relevance of your content, how many quality backlinks point to your page, whether your site loads quickly, and how well your page matches what the searcher is looking for.
How Google Works (Crawl, Index, Rank)
DA can still be useful as a research tool. If you check your competitor’s DA before targeting a keyword, it gives you a rough idea of how established their site is. But it is a reference point — not a ranking rule.
Here is the key takeaway. A site with a DA of 20 can absolutely outrank a site with a DA of 50 — if the content is more helpful, more relevant, and better matched to what the reader is searching for.
| Ranking Factor Meaning: A ranking factor is something Google officially uses to decide where a page appears in search results — things like content quality, page speed, and backlinks. DA is not one of them. |
Should Beginners Worry About Domain Authority?
The short answer? No. Not right now.
When you are just starting out, obsessing over your DA score is one of the least productive things you can do. Your DA will naturally be low. That is not a problem — it is just where every new website begins.
What actually moves the needle early on is simpler than most people think. Focus on writing genuinely helpful content for your readers. Target keywords that do not have massive established sites competing for them.
How to Do Keyword Research for Beginners
And over time, as you publish consistently and start getting a few backlinks, your DA will slowly climb on its own.
Link Building for Beginners – How to Get Your First Backlinks
Think of DA as something to glance at occasionally — not something to chase. It is a side effect of doing good SEO work, not the goal itself.
| Low-Competition Keywords Meaning: Low-competition keywords are search terms that fewer websites are trying to rank for — making it easier for newer or smaller sites to appear in search results. |
How Can You Check Your Domain Authority for Free?
Checking your DA is quick and free. Moz offers a free domain analysis tool at moz.com/domain-analysis.
Here is how to use it:
- Go to moz.com/domain-analysis
- Type your website URL into the search bar
- Click the search button
- Your DA score will appear at the top of the results
You do not need to create an account for a basic check. The free version shows your DA score, the number of linking domains pointing to your site, and a few other helpful details.
You can also use this tool to check competitor websites. If you are planning to target a keyword, it can be useful to look up the DA of the pages already ranking for it — just to get a sense of how established they are.
| DA Checker Tool Meaning: A DA checker tool is a free website where you type in any URL and instantly see its Domain Authority score, along with other basic information about that site’s backlink profile. |
What Should You Focus On Instead of Domain Authority?
DA is a useful metric to be aware of — but it is not what you should spend your energy on, especially early on.
Here are the three things that actually build long-term SEO success for a beginner:
Publishing consistent, helpful content. Google rewards sites that keep showing up with relevant answers. One post a week beats three posts one month and nothing the next.
Targeting the right keywords. Writing about topics that real people are searching for — with low enough competition for a new site to compete — is what actually brings organic traffic. DA alone will not help you if you are targeting keywords that giant sites dominate.
Earning backlinks gradually. You do not need hundreds of backlinks overnight. A few quality links from relevant websites, earned naturally over time, will steadily push your DA up — and more importantly, will help your pages rank.
Do the three things above consistently, and your DA will grow as a natural result. That is the right way to think about it.
| Organic Traffic Meaning: Organic traffic is the number of visitors who find your website through unpaid Google search results — not through ads. Growing organic traffic is the main goal of SEO for most bloggers. |
Important FAQs
Is domain authority the same as page authority?
No — they measure different things. Domain Authority looks at the overall strength of your entire website. Page Authority (also made by Moz) looks at the strength of a single specific page. A site can have a low DA but still have individual pages with decent Page Authority if those pages have earned strong backlinks.
Can a new blog have a good domain authority score?
Not immediately — and that is completely normal. New websites almost always start with a DA of 1 or 2. DA grows over time as your site earns backlinks and builds history. There is no shortcut, but there is also no reason to panic about a low starting score.
Does domain authority go down as well as up?
Yes, it can. If websites that previously linked to you remove those links, or if Moz updates their scoring algorithm, your DA can drop even without you doing anything wrong. Small fluctuations are normal and not a sign that something is broken.
How long does it take to increase domain authority?
It depends on how consistently you publish content and how actively you build backlinks. Some sites see growth within a few months. Others take a year or more. There is no fixed timeline — focus on the inputs, and the score will follow.
Is Ahrefs Domain Rating the same as Moz Domain Authority?
They are similar in concept but not the same. Both measure website strength based on backlinks, but they use different data and different formulas. A site might have a DA of 30 on Moz and a DR of 40 on Ahrefs. Neither is more “correct” — they are just different tools measuring the same general idea.
Should I check my competitor’s domain authority before writing a post?
It can be helpful as a quick reference. If a keyword is dominated by sites with a DA of 80+, that gives you a heads-up that it may be harder to compete for right now. But DA alone should not stop you from going after a keyword — content quality and keyword matching matter more than DA scores.
Ready to Start Building Your Site’s Authority?
DA might sound like a big, intimidating number — but now you know it is really just a reference score. It is useful. It is worth knowing about. But it is not something to obsess over when you are just getting started.
Go check your site’s DA using the free Moz tool. See where you stand today. Then set it aside and focus on what actually moves things forward — writing helpful content, targeting the right keywords, and building backlinks one step at a time.
Want to understand backlinks better? Read this next: What Are Backlinks and Why Do They Matter?