When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), it can be difficult to know how well your site ranks and how it compares to sites similar to yours. “Domain Authority” (DA) is an SEO metric you can use to understand how your site is doing on search engine results pages (SERPs) and how it compares to competitor sites.

In this article, we will look at what domain authority is and why you need it. Then we will share five strategies for improving your DA.

Let’s start

What is domain authority (and why it matters)
Domain Authority is an SEO ranking score developed by Moz , an SEO platform. It predicts how well a site will rank on SERPs by considering several indicators, including the number of backlinks to your site and the quality of the sites those backlinks are on.

Scores range from 1 to 100, with sites such as Facebook, Amazon, and Wikipedia ranking above 80 and above. However, DA is meant to be used as a comparative tool , so the goal is to score better than sites similar to yours, rather than to score high.

ASIf, for example, you have an e-commerce site that sells motorcycle accessories, comparing your Domain Authority with Facebook’s would not be an effective measure of your site’s ranking. Instead, you should research the DA scores of other online shops that sell motorcycle accessories and look for ways to raise your score above theirs.

Improving DA so that you can outrank your competitors will help your site appear before theirs within the SERPs. This means greater visibility and more organic traffic for your site. The wider the gap between your DA and your competitors, the more successful your site will be.

Building and maintaining your DA can be complicated, since changes in search engine algorithms and Internet updates can change the way Moz calculates scores. This means that your domain authority could rise or fall without any effort on your part or that of your competitors.

How to build domain authority (5 strategies)
As mentioned earlier, there are several factors that contribute to domain authority, many of which relate to the quality of your ” backlink profile.” The following tips will help you improve your profile and, consequently, your DA.

1. Perform a backlink audit to find and remove unwanted links
   Backlinks are simply links to your site from other sites. Your “backlink profile” is a summary of all the backlinks on your site, and a backlink audit is the process by which you evaluate your backlink profile. When you conduct an audit, you want to examine the quality of sites that link to your site.

Links posted in spam comments, on shady sites, and in some link directories are considered low quality. Google’s algorithm penalizes sites for these types of links by lowering their rankings. Low-quality links will also reduce your DA, so it is best to remove or disavow them after conducting a backlink audit .

To do this, you must first access your backlink profile through Google Search Console or another backlink analysis resource such as SEMRush.. Your profile will include a list of all your backlinks, as well as information such as the domains linking to your site and the anchor text of your backlinks.

Some red flags include links from untrustworthy or illegal sites and anchor text that does not match the content of the link. Although time-consuming, following each link to make sure it works and is not spam ,is worth it. You can use an automated backlink analysis tool, but they are not always accurate.

Once you have a list of your invalid backlinks, contact the sites where they are located and ask them to remove the links. If they do not respond or refuse to do so, you can disavow the links so that search engines will ignore them when determining rankings.

2. Create quality backlinks to direct users to your site
   The reverse of removing your toxic backlinks is to build good ones. Just as having low-quality backlinks can reduce your rankings in SERPs, high-quality backlinks from sites with better DA than yours can improve them.

There are several strategies for link building, but not all of them create high-quality backlinks. Buying and selling links or including them in low-quality directories will only lower SEO and DA , so be sure to spend time on good link building.

Internal linking, or linking to your own content, is an easy way to build your link profile. Guest blogging on other sites and reaching out to influencers to review your products or services are also good link building strategies.

Another factor to consider when building links is the difference between dofollow and nofollow links . Dofollow links will be considered by search engines when determining rankings, but nofollow links , such as disavowed links, will not.

When working with another site to build backlinks through guest blogging or collaborating with influencers, make sure they are using dofollow links to your site. Otherwise, all your hard work will be wasted, as nofollow links cannot improve your SEO or domain authority.

3. Create engaging content to encourage natural link building
   The best way to build a good backlink profile is through natural link building. This occurs when other sites link to yours without any effort on your part. Someone simply likes your content and decides to link to it of their own free will.

For this to happen, you must create high-quality content that people want to link to, either as a reference or to share with others. High-quality content is a broad category, as tastes vary, but there are certain characteristics that tend to produce more linkable content.

First, consider creating long-form content such as blog posts on topics relevant to your core audience. Other bloggers may use well-written posts and articles as references, or readers may share them for their informational or entertainment value.

Including images in your posts breaks up large blocks of text and provides visual interest for visitors to your site. Optimizing image files by compressing them and adding “alt” text ensures that they do not slow down your site and that it will be accessible to anyone who visits.

An engaging call to action (CTA) can draw visitors into your content and encourage them to do more on your site, such as posting comments, making purchases or signing up for your e-mail list. The simpler you make the process, the more likely users are to follow through.

Finally, don’t forget the importance of on-page SEO . It may not seem like much in the face of all the SEO work you have to do, but factors such as keyword usage and page slugs still play a role in improving your rankings

4. Make sure your pages are accessible to avoid losing new users
   Sometimes backlinks break, meaning that when a user clicks on the link they are instead directed to a 404 error page . This can occur for a number of reasons, including changes to the page name or URL or if the page has been moved or deleted.

Broken links are bad news for your site. They are a missed opportunity to drive traffic to you, so it is critical to find any broken links and replace them with working ones. This can quickly improve your backlink and Domain Authority profile, and is usually easier than building new, high-quality links.

You can find broken external links to your site by conducting a backlink audit just as we indicated in the first strategy. Google Search Console and most other link analysis tools will notice any broken links to your site. Also consider checking your site’s internal links and updating those that are not working.

After you have collected a list of all your broken links, contact the sites where they are located and ask them to replace them with working ones that you provide. If you have changed a URL, you can simply submit the new one.

Alternatively, you can redirect the broken links. This way you will send anyone who clicks on a broken link to the correct page.

5. Promote your brand on social media to increase your site’s visibility and domain authority
   Having a strong social media presence is not a ranking factor, so it cannot directly impact your SEO. Simply having a Facebook page, Instagram profile or Twitter handle will not increase your rankings or DA. However, social media can improve your SEO in other ways.

Social media offers opportunities for link building, brand promotion, and audience expansion. You can link back to your site in the About section of your profile, include relevant links in posts, and collaborate with influencers to get links to your site on their profiles.

With a larger online presence, you have more opportunities to promote your brand. Not only can you do this work yourself, but loyal visitors to your site will often do it for you. Interacting with your users on social media improves your chances of attracting new visitors.

Increased traffic to your site means more natural links as new users share your content with others. Natural backlinks are almost always of high quality and improve your SEO. They will also refine your backlink profile, as well as your domain authority.

The easiest way to manage a social media presence is to schedule your posts. Some platforms, including Facebook, allow you to do this from within your posts. Others require a social media management platform, such as Hootsuite or Later , to schedule posts.

Conclusion
Balancing all the components to optimize SEO can be tricky. Monitoring your DA-and working to improve it-makes sure your website is at its peak when it comes to SERP ranking. Using DA as a comparative tool to track how your site compares to your competitors can show you areas where your site has room for improvement.

In this article, we looked at what DA is and why it is useful. Then we explored five strategies for improving your site’s domain authority:

1.Perform a backlink audit and remove unwanted links.
2.Create quality backlinks to direct users to your site.
3.Create engaging content to encourage natural link building.
4.Make sure your pages are accessible to avoid losing new users.
5.Promote your brand on social media to improve your site’s visibility.