Domain Authority (DA) is a score predicting how likely a website is to rank in search results. It is not a Google metric but a third-party estimate useful for comparison.

Understanding DA Scores

View DA Scale

0-20: New or small sites
20-40: Small businesses, niche sites
40-60: Established businesses, growing sites
60-80: Large brands, popular sites
80-100: Major websites (Google, BBC, Amazon)

DA vs DR vs Other Metrics

  • Domain Authority (DA): Moz metric
  • Domain Rating (DR): Ahrefs metric
  • Authority Score: Semrush metric
  • All are third-party estimates, not Google data

What Affects Domain Authority

  • Quality and quantity of backlinks
  • Linking domain diversity
  • Site age and history
  • Content quality signals

How to Use DA

Use DA for competitor comparison and tracking progress, not as an absolute measure. A DA 30 site can outrank a DA 60 site for specific keywords. Focus on rankings and traffic, not DA alone.