Domain Authority is a funny fish. We all know we have one, we probably know what it is, but then it is shrouded in mystery. How do the powers that be come up with it? What influences it? How can I increase it? And why has it decreased? Are all questions I hear time and time again. So I decided to put together this handy little guide for all those….not in the know. So let us begin.

What the hell is Domain Authority anyway?

Quite simply Domain Authority is a metric invented by Moz which is basically a  score on a 100-point scale that predicts how well your website ranks on search engines. Each month, your DA score will be updated, and if you don’t know yours already or want to find out if it’s changed, you can do so by using Moz’s tool DA checker tool here.

What influences it?

Well lots of things really, but in a nutshell, it’s all to do with links and primarily, how many backlinks you have pointing to your site, and how authorative those websites linking to your site are.

How can I improve my Domain Authority?

Improve your SEO

DA and SEO are intrinsically linked. If you want to increase your ranking potential, then you need to entice the google bots to love your site by making it easier for them to find it but then also make it easy to stay on – so that’s all about making sure you have tip top site structure, navigability, URL structure, meta tags, header tags, word count, keywords, alt tags yadda yadda yadda. Still with me?  The better your SEO and the higher it is more likely to be ranked. Therefore sorry folks, it’s time to make sure all your posts have green lights on yoast. No idea about SEO? Read everything you need to know here.

Create high quality content (which people will want to link to)

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Content is king. In a nutshell, if you want to increase your DA, you need lots of content, and good quality, shareable content because the powers that be know what’s popular and what’s not. Also, content is a natural link builder, so the more quality content you have, the better which leads me on to….

Internal link building

Internal linking helps keep those google bots on your site for longer, giving you a better chance of higher indexing and ranking. Aim to have three internal links on each blog post to another blog post which relates to something you are talking about – however loose it may be!

Gain more quality back links

There are a few ways to generate quality back links to your site including guest posting, sharing on social media (yes, all these links count!). Commenting on other people’s blogs also helps to build links too. Each time you leave a comment where you can leave a link, that counts as a link to your blog also.

Get rid of broken links

Yes, it’s a big old pain in the butt but every broken link adds a downer to your blog DA. Ensure you have installed a plug in like Broken Link Checker and have a clear out of broken links whether they be yours or someone else’s created by a comment on your site because it all adds up. Painful, boring, but necessary.

Have patience

Let time do its thing – a higher DA often comes with a domain that has been around for longer and a couple of years can make all the difference. The older the domain, the higher the authority so you need some staying power here!

Why has my Domain Authority decreased this month?

Don’t freak! It’s normal for your DA to fluctuate and mine does a little dance month on month. It depends on what is going on in the bigger picture. You’ll often find that everyone will shimmy up or down each month and so long as you’re in line with that, fret not my friends. If you’re experiencing a big drop, whilst others have dropped only a point or two, then further investigation is needed – I’d say first port of call would be to check those broken links!

Well, I hope that’s a useful quick guide for you all. If you have any more questions then please do feel free to leave them in a comment below and I’ll try my best to answer.

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