How to Boost Your Domain Authority in 12 Easy Steps

Domain Authority (DA) is a metric provided by Moz that predicts how well a site will rank in Google. The DA scale runs from 1 to 100, 100 being the DA of top-ranked sites like Google and YouTube.

You can check the DA of a site using the Moz Free Domain SEO Analysis Tool. But don’t expect to achieve a DA score anywhere near 100. If the DA of your website is 50 or more, then you are doing exceptionally well.

The Moz DA score is calculated using various factors, including the number of quality links pointing to the site, social signals, and the quality of the content. So, you can influence the DA of a website. Here are twelve steps you can take to boost the DA of a website.

1. Be Patient

One of the factors used to calculate DA is the age of the domain. So, it is best to avoid switching domain names if you want to increase the domain authority of a site. But, of course, you may not want to wait ten years to see your DA score rise. Even so, patience will pay off in the end.

2. Build High-Quality Backlinks

The best backlinks to improve DA are those that come from high-quality, high DA sites. So, avoid buying cheap backlink services that could harm your search engine optimization (SEO). Instead, try to encourage natural links from high-ranking sites that won’t be counted as spam. If you can get just a few do-follow links from top sites, they could dramatically increase the DA of your site.

3. Pay Attention to On-Page Optimization

DA is a prediction of Google ranking. So, improving your on-page search engine optimization will increase a site’s domain authority. Ensuring that your content is keyword optimized, for example, will help. And proper use of title tags, meta descriptions, and image alt tags could also boost DA.

4. Improve Internal Linking

A significant element in the usability of a site is the ease with which users can find content. And one way you can guide users to relevant content is through internal linking. So, consider revisiting old content and seeing where new internal links might be added because improved usability will improve the user experience and domain authority.

3. Pay Attention to On-Page Optimization

DA is a prediction of Google ranking. So, improving your on-page search engine optimization will increase a site’s domain authority. Ensuring that your content is keyword optimized, for example, will help. And proper use of title tags, meta descriptions, and image alt tags could also boost DA.

4. Improve Internal Linking

A significant element in the usability of a site is the ease with which users can find content. And one way you can guide users to relevant content is through internal linking. So, consider revisiting old content and seeing where new internal links might be added because improved useability will improve the user experience and domain authority.

5. Ensure the Site is Mobile-Friendly

Most website traffic comes from mobile devices. So, a site must perform well on all types of mobile devices. Google also ranks mobile-friendly sites above those that are not compatible with mobile devices. So, improving the mobile-friendliness of a website is likely to increase the site’s DA score.

6. Share Content on Social Media

Social signals are another factor in domain authority. So, sharing your content on social media will help to improve your DA score. You can also gain more social signals by adding share buttons to your site and encouraging social shares. And, of course, producing high-quality content will also increase the chances of your web pages getting shared.

7. Remove Toxic Backlinks

As mentioned above, high-quality backlinks will boost the domain authority of a website. However, toxic links will lower the DA of a site and damage the site’s Google ranking. So, conduct a backlink audit using a tool like Ahrefs Backlink Checker or SEMrush Backlink Audit Tool. Then, ask the website owners to remove any links to your site that could be damaging your SEO. Or, if website owners fail to remove toxic links, you can disavow the links using the Google Disavow Links Tool.

8. Improve Page Speed

If pages take too long to load, it will adversely affect the site’s domain authority. So, check the page-load speed of a site using Google’s Page Speed Insights. Then, take steps to speed up page load time like optimizing images, implementing caching, and minifying CSS, JavaScript, and HTML code. Speeding up page load times will also reduce bounce rates, which will, in turn, improve search engine rankings.

9. Produce Content People Will Link To

The best way to get backlinks naturally to increase DA is to produce top-quality content that encourages linking. That generally means informative content that provides value. For example, content that contains statistics or survey results might be cited by other websites for reference. And pages that explain topics in detail might be linked to provide greater depth to a post on another site.

10. Reach Out to Other Webmasters

Once you have created valuable content, you can increase the momentum of backlink generation by reaching out to other bloggers and website owners. So, identity other websites with content that could be enhanced by linking your site. And let the owners of the website know that your content exists. Of course, you will be unlikely to gain a link from every website you contact. But, in time, you should be able to generate some valuable, DA-enhancing links.

11. Remove Unnecessary Promotional Links

Google will penalize a site that has too many affiliate or promotional links. So, audit our outbound links and remove any links that might be considered to be spam. And ensure that you are not linking to any toxic domains, such as gambling sites or pornography. Promotional links are Ok, so long as you don’t have too many on a single page.

12. Publish Guest Posts

Publishing guest posts on relevant sites will increase domain authority and potentially increase traffic to your site. You can find sites that accept guest posts by searching on Google. Or, you could employ the services of an outreach company. However, it will be best to choose your guest post hosts with care. What you are looking for are sites within your niche with high domain authority.

Conclusion

The best way to approach increasing the domain authority of a website is with patience. First, deal with the on-page SEO issues, like using tags, optimizing the site for mobile devices, and improving internal links. Then, work on building high-value backlinks to the site. There are shortcuts to a higher DA, like buying backlinks. However, beating the Google ranking system with blackhat methods can lead to penalties or even the site being delisted.