Domain Authority is a score created by the SEO software company Moz to estimate how likely a website is to rank in search results compared with other sites. It runs from 1 to 100, and higher scores suggest a stronger link profile.
It is one of the most quoted numbers in SEO, and one of the most misused. Domain Authority is a third-party estimate, not something Google calculates or uses. Treated as a rough comparison tool, it is helpful. Treated as a goal, it can lead you in the wrong direction.
What is Domain Authority?
Domain Authority (often shortened to DA) is Moz's proprietary metric for predicting a website's ranking potential. As Search Engine Journal explains, it is calculated from dozens of factors, including linking root domains and total links, and displayed on a 100-point scale.
People also use "domain authority" loosely to mean any site-level strength score. Other tools have their own versions. Ahrefs has Domain Rating (DR), which it describes as a measure of the relative strength of a site's backlink profile. Semrush has Authority Score, which blends link power, estimated organic traffic and spam signals. Each tool uses different data and formulas, so the numbers are not interchangeable.
Is Domain Authority a Google ranking factor?
No. Google does not use Moz's Domain Authority. Search Engine Journal's review of Google's public statements found that John Mueller repeatedly said Google does not use domain authority, including a 2020 comment that it is not used at all in Google's algorithms.
That does not mean the things DA measures are irrelevant. Google's ranking systems guide describes link analysis systems, including PageRank, that look at how pages link to each other. DA tries to model a similar idea from the outside. The difference is that Google uses its own signals, not a Moz score. Ahrefs puts it simply in its DR guide: Google ranks pages, not websites.
How Domain Authority works
Link data
DA is built mainly from Moz's index of links across the web: how many unique domains link to a site, how strong those linking domains are, and other link quality signals. Sites with many links from well-linked domains tend to score higher.
Machine learning model
In 2019, Moz rebuilt DA using a neural network instead of its older linear model, according to Search Engine Land's coverage. The update was designed to better detect manipulated link profiles and to factor in signals like Moz's Spam Score.
A relative, logarithmic scale
Authority scores like DA and DR are best understood as comparisons, not grades. Ahrefs notes that its DR scale is logarithmic, meaning each point gets harder to earn as the score rises. Semrush likewise says its Authority Score is most useful for comparing domains rather than judging a site as good or bad in absolute terms. A jump from 20 to 30 is far easier than a jump from 70 to 80.
How to use Domain Authority well
- Compare against real competitors. Look at the sites ranking for your target search results. If they all score far above you, you may need more links or more specific keywords.
- Use it as one filter for link prospects. A very low score can flag a weak site, but always check relevance, real traffic and editorial quality before pursuing a link.
- Track the trend, not the number. Gradual growth over months usually reflects a healthier backlink profile. Day-to-day changes often come from the tool's own index updates.
- Stick to one tool. Moz, Ahrefs and Semrush measure differently. Mixing scores across tools makes comparisons meaningless.
- Improve the inputs, not the score. Earn relevant links through good content and link building, fix broken pages that waste links, and strengthen internal linking so value reaches the pages that matter.
Domain Authority in practice
Picture a small accounting firm reviewing two guest-post opportunities. One site has a high authority score but publishes on everything from crypto to pet food, with no clear audience. The other is a regional small-business association with a modest score, real members, and articles that local business owners actually read.
A score-first approach picks the first site. A smarter approach picks the second, because the link is relevant, likely to send real visitors, and fits naturally with the firm's expertise. This is a hypothetical example, but it reflects how authority metrics should support judgment, not replace it.
Common misconceptions
- "Higher DA means higher rankings." DA correlates with ranking ability in Moz's model, but Google does not use it. Pages with lower-scoring domains outrank stronger sites all the time when they answer the query better.
- "We need to hit DA 50." There is no universal target. What matters is how you compare to the sites competing for your keywords.
- "Buying links to raise DA is harmless." Buying links that pass ranking credit violates Google's spam policies. A score can be inflated while your real search performance stays flat or gets worse.
- "A DA drop means Google penalized us." Since DA is a Moz metric, changes often reflect Moz's index or model updates, or shifts in competitors' link profiles.
How Butter approaches Domain Authority
At Butter, we look at authority scores the way a doctor looks at one vital sign: useful context, never the diagnosis. When we evaluate backlink and citation opportunities for our GEO and GEO+SEO plans, relevance and real audience come first, and third-party scores are one filter among several. We report on what actually moves the needle, like referring domains, organic visibility and traffic, through monthly delivery reports, and GEO+SEO clients can see Search Console and Analytics data in the Butter Analytics dashboard. We do not sell DA increases, because a score Google does not use is not a business outcome.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Domain Authority score?
There is no universal good score. Because the scale is relative, a good DA is one that is competitive with the sites ranking for your target keywords. A local business and a national publisher should not compare themselves to the same benchmark.
Does Google use Domain Authority?
No. Domain Authority is a Moz metric, and Google representatives have repeatedly said Google does not use it. Google does use its own link analysis systems, which is why DA can still be a rough proxy.
What is the difference between Domain Authority and Domain Rating?
Domain Authority is Moz's score, and Domain Rating is Ahrefs' score. Both run from 0 or 1 to 100 and are based mainly on links, but they use different link indexes and formulas, so the same site will usually score differently in each.
How can I increase my Domain Authority?
Earn relevant links from respected sites, create content people want to cite, and avoid spammy link schemes. Over time this tends to raise authority scores, but focus on rankings, traffic and leads rather than the score itself.