Domain Authority: Making Online Marketing Results Measurable

In this article, we’ll explain what Domain Authority is, how to use it, and what you can do to improve your score.

What is Domain Authority?

Domain Authority is a score ranging from 0 to 100 that predicts how well your site will rank on Google (or Bing). The higher your score compared to competitors, the greater the likelihood that your site will appear at the top when someone enters a search term.

However, Domain Authority doesn’t mean much by itself. It only makes sense to use it in comparison with your main competitors. A Domain Authority of 30 is nothing to be ashamed of, but if your competition averages 40, you’re facing a significant challenge.

This is especially challenging for new brands since Domain Authority operates on a logarithmic scale (think decibels), making it much harder to grow from 30 to 40 than from 20 to 30.

What is your Domain Authority?

You can check your Domain Authority by entering your site’s URL into the Link Explorer. Be sure to also check your main competitors before making any judgments.

Not by Google

Although nearly every SEO expert uses Domain Authority, it’s not a metric published by Google. Google keeps the actual factors determining a site’s position in the search engine a secret.

SEO specialist MOZ developed Domain Authority to approximate this as closely as possible, and it has since become an industry standard.

How Is Domain Authority Determined?

Like Google, MOZ keeps the exact algorithm for Domain Authority a secret. However, it clearly indicates that it can be improved through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and quality content, which shouldn’t come as a surprise.

The key factors agreed upon by experts include:

• Number of links
• From different domains
• With high Domain Authority themselves
• Number of links from domains with a high Spam Score (negative impact)
• Internal linking within your own site
• Technical optimization

MOZ, like Google, crawls the web and maintains a database of websites and content. Their algorithm determines your Domain Authority based on this database. Behind the scenes, the company continuously works on refining this model and regularly releases updates.

Significant updates are often announced separately. For example, a major Domain Authority update was released in March 2019, which, according to MOZ, further improved the precision of the algorithm.

How Do You Use Domain Authority?

In practice, Domain Authority is used as the KPI for the success of an online marketing strategy.

Firstly, because a single, easily explained number resonates well with management or the board. You can compare apples with apples without needing to spend an hour explaining the details.

Secondly:

• It offers a long-term perspective rather than focusing on short-term actions
• Every future publication benefits from a higher Domain Authority
• It makes the value of a website tangible
• It’s not affected by seasonal variations (like fewer visitors during the summer holidays)

In summary, centering your strategy around Domain Authority benefits both the responsible party and the company, making it the industry standard.

Assistance in improving Domain Authority

Many companies find it worthwhile to seek expert help. Depending on where the opportunities lie (and identifying them), the following expertise is crucial:

• Online marketing strategy
• Developer/programmer
• Front-end specialist
• SEO specialist
• Content marketer
• Analytics and Tag Manager specialist

Merkelijkheid has all this expertise in-house and works for a variety of companies to increase their Domain Authority. As a permanent partner in online marketing and SEO, we help devise a strategy, determine the actions, and ensure their realization. One of our central tools is, of course, the professional package from MOZ, the author of Domain Authority.

Increasing Domain Authority

How can you ensure your Domain Authority increases? In a nutshell: by acquiring more good links and removing bad ones.

But you probably already knew that.

The question is: How do you do that?

Improving Domain Authority by Removing Bad Links

Removing bad links is the simplest step: analyze which links you don’t want and request their removal. If there’s no response, you can ask Google Search Console for a ‘Disavow Links’ action, which means Google will no longer consider these links. See for more at: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/disavow-links-main

Increasing Domain Authority through Technical Optimization

 

Search engines (and the Domain Authority algorithm) use a crawler—a robot that views and stores web pages in a database. Therefore, it’s crucial that your website is designed in such a way that the robot can quickly find what you consider important.

This is the foundation of SEO and thus the first step towards a higher Domain Authority. A complete list of factors goes beyond the scope of this article, but key factors for a well-indexed website include:

• Structure (how pages and posts relate to each other)
• Clear navigation (buttons with the right text, functioning menu)
• URL structure
• Proper use of H1 and H2 headings
• Word count per page or article
• Choice of clear keywords
• Correct alt tags for images
• Meta descriptions and titles
• Improving existing links or having mentions linked
• Your own link profile based on Domain Authority

Generating New Links: Unique Content

In almost all cases, there are already links pointing to a website. Sometimes these links are outdated or point to the wrong page, and there’s a lot to gain from correcting them. Send an email to the site administrator and ensure they can fix it.

Sites that mention your company or product without providing a link are a potential quick win. Email the administrator suggesting a suitable purpose for their link to your site.

Suppliers or other existing relationships are often relatively easy to persuade to place a link to your site.

Generating New Links: Unique Content

In practice, you often only get new links if there is something on your site worth linking to, which is why they say: Content is King.

Therefore, regularly create articles, photos, videos, or whitepapers that stand out significantly above the competition and share them in the best way with your entire network. Encourage colleagues to forward them and submit your articles to trade magazines. Especially in the beginning, a single link can make a difference and raise your Domain Authority by several points.

Slow and steady wins the race

The most important factor for a higher Domain Authority is patience. It takes time for Google and MOZ to count new links, and even more time before they fully weigh in the search results. Any large jump will be tempered because the algorithm suspects foul play.

So, make sure you regularly:

• Produce new, high-quality content,
• Keep your site technically up to date,
• Remove bad links,
• Continue sharing your content through various channels.

Then I can promise you one thing: your Domain Authority will rise.