What Is Domain Authority
If you’ve ever asked yourself how to increase domain authority, it helps to know what that score really is. Domain Authority, or DA, is a metric created by Moz to estimate how strong a site looks compared to others. The score runs from 1 to 100, and the higher it is, the more likely a site is to rank well against competitors. The higher the score, the easier it usually is to rank.
The way Moz calculates DA is similar to how Google’s original PageRank worked. Every site passes a share of its authority through outbound links. If a trusted site links to you, and doesn’t link out to thousands of others, more of that “link juice” flows your way. If the same site links everywhere, the effect is weaker.
Domain Authority, or DA, is Moz’s attempt to package this into a single score from 1 to 100. The higher the score, the stronger your site looks compared to others. But here’s the limitation: Moz’s index is smaller than tools like Ahrefs or Majestic. That means it doesn’t always see the full backlink picture.
Here’s the limitation: Moz’s index is smaller than tools like Ahrefs or Majestic, so it doesn’t always see the full backlink picture. That’s why many SEO pros track Ahrefs’ Domain Rating (DR) or Majestic’s Trust Flow (TF) instead, DR especially has become the most commonly used benchmark today. Still, DA remains the most recognized metric outside hardcore SEO circles. Clients, managers, and marketers know the term “Domain Authority”, which is why it’s still widely used as shorthand.
Just keep in mind: DA is a relative metric, not a gospel truth from Google. A low Moz score doesn’t mean Google thinks your site is weak. Often, Google just ignores junk links rather than punishing them. As mentioned in Forbes, backlinks are a crucial part of improving the domain authority of a website and, therefore, increasing visibility in search results. That’s why white-hat link building remains the core strategy for DA in any tool.
Factors That Influence Domain Authority
People like to say DA comes from a mix of things — site speed, clean code, fresh content, domain age. Truth is, those don’t move the DA score in any real way. The only thing that actually shifts it is backlinks.
DA was built around links. That’s the whole game. If strong, trusted sites point to you, the number goes up. If they don’t, your score stays flat. You can spend months tweaking page speed or polishing internal links, but without backlinks, nothing changes.
One solid backlink from the right site is worth more than all the technical fixes combined. That’s why so much of SEO still revolves around link building. For example, the entire tier 2 backlink building thing exists just to amplify the authority of links you already have.
At Novo, this is exactly where we focus. We don’t sell tricks or filler. We grow DA by building clean, white-hat backlinks on sites that actually carry weight, then reinforce them with tiered strategies that make every placement stronger. It’s about earning trust and authority that lasts. So if your goal is to raise DA, stop chasing side fixes. Put your energy into backlinks that matter. Content, outreach, relationships, that’s what we do, and that’s what moves the number. Everything else is background noise.
How On-Site SEO affects Domain Authority
On-site SEO doesn’t directly raise domain authority SEO, but the state of your site affects how likely others are to link to you.
If your site is slow, broken, or messy, people won’t share it. Nobody wants to link to a page that takes forever to load, looks bad on mobile, or is full of errors. Clean technical SEO makes your content easier to use — and that makes it easier to earn backlinks.
- Speed – A fast site gives visitors a smooth experience. Slow pages get abandoned, and abandoned pages don’t earn links.
- Mobile – Most browsing is mobile. If your layout breaks on a phone, your chances of natural backlinks drop.
- Internal links – A logical structure helps search engines understand your content and helps users stay longer. That improves the odds that someone will reference you.
- Clean tech – Broken pages and duplicate content make your site look untrustworthy. A solid, maintained site looks worth citing.
At Novo, we see on-site SEO as the groundwork. It won’t move DA on its own, but it makes your site “linkable”. Pairing that foundation with strategies like SaaS link building services is what actually drives DA upward.
Building High-Quality Backlinks
According to Entrepreneur, 56% of SaaS marketing departments use a mix of in-house and outsourced staff to hit their marketing goals. If you want to build domain authority, you need links that actually count. Forget the spammy stuff, Google’s seen it all. One solid backlink from a site that people trust is a worth way more than a hundred throwaway mentions on dead blogs.
How do you get them? You put out content people care about, guides, case studies, even a sharp opinion piece, something another site wants to reference. The other route is hustle: reaching out, pitching, trading value for a link. That’s where services like link building outreach fit in, because they’ve already got the connections.
Don’t get stuck in one lane. A healthy profile mixes guest posts, organic mentions, citations, maybe even a few forum drops that actually make sense. Too much of the same pattern and Google smells a rat. The goal isn’t just more links, it’s links that feel real.
Removing Toxic Links
Not every backlink helps you. Some drag your score down. If you’re trying to improve domain authority, clearing out bad links is just as important as building good ones.
Toxic links usually come from spammy directories, hacked sites, or random pages with zero relevance. You don’t always choose them, sometimes they just appear. But if you leave them sitting there, they mess with your profile and make your site look shady.
The fix is simple but tedious: audit your backlinks. Spot the junk, reach out to webmasters if you can, and use Google’s disavow tool when you can’t. It doesn’t feel as satisfying as landing a fresh high-quality backlink, but it keeps your foundation clean. And when you’re stacking new links, through methods like tier 2 backlink building, you don’t want toxic ones canceling out the gains.
Remember, a messy profile full of spam links will drag your score down, no matter how many “good” ones you build. A clean slate makes every new backlink work harder.
Tracking Domain Authority Progress
Domain Authority doesn’t spike overnight — it’s a slow climb. To keep momentum, you need to track changes and understand what’s driving them. That way, you’re not just chasing numbers but tying the score back to real results.
Use the right tools
Since moz domain authority is Moz’s metric, their checker is the most direct way to measure it. Ahrefs and SEMrush use their own versions, which are fine, but pick one and stick with it. Jumping between tools only creates confusion because each calculates authority differently.
Track against competitors
Your score on its own doesn’t mean much. A DA of 40 could be great in one niche and weak in another. That’s why you should always compare it with the sites ranking above you. If they’re sitting at 55 while you’re stuck at 30, you know the gap you need to close.
Connect DA to real outcomes
A higher DA feels good, but it’s not the end goal. What matters is whether rankings and traffic are moving too. If your DA ticks up after publishing new content, check if your organic visibility also improved. That’s the real test.