What Is Domain Authority? How to Increase Your DA and DR Score
Domain authority is a metric that numerically expresses a website's overall credibility in search engines and the strength of its link profile. This concept is measured under two different names by two different tools: Moz's DA (Domain Authority) and Ahrefs' DR (Domain Rating). Both metrics operate on a scale of 0–100, and a higher score indicates a stronger backlink profile. In this article, we cover both metrics, how they are calculated, and practical ways to improve your score.
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What Is the Difference Between DA and DR?
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Although both metrics appear to measure the same thing, their calculation methods and focus areas differ.
Moz DA is primarily based on the number and quality of domains linking to your site. It operates on a logarithmic scale, meaning going from 20 to 30 is much easier than going from 70 to 80. DA scores gain meaning when evaluated comparatively against your competitors.
Ahrefs DR focuses directly on your backlink profile: it accounts for how many unique referring domains link to you and what those domains' own DR scores are. The general consensus is that DR more directly reflects link strength.
Since both are third-party platforms, neither has a direct connection to Google's own ranking algorithms. High DA or DR does not guarantee rankings, but it is an indicator of a strong SEO foundation.
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Does a High DA Score Guarantee Rankings?
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No. This is a frequently repeated but misleading assumption in the industry. Google uses its own evaluation systems, and DA/DR are not among them. A page with a low DA can outrank a higher-DA competitor if it has high-quality content focused on a specific topic. DA is a useful tool for competitive analysis and benchmarking — it should not be seen as the sole criterion determining rankings.
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How Is Domain Authority Calculated?
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Moz primarily considers the following elements when calculating DA:
The number of unique domains linking to your site (linking root domains)
The authority levels of those domains
Whether the links carry spam characteristics
Internal linking structure and page indexability
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For Ahrefs DR, the core logic works as follows: backlinks from sites with high DR boost your own DR more significantly. However, if a site links out to a large number of external pages, the "link juice" it passes is divided and its impact is diluted.
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How to Increase Domain Authority
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Link Building
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Link building is the most direct path to improving DA and DR. However, quality matters far more than quantity here. A single strong, relevant backlink from a high-authority domain is worth more than hundreds of weak, unrelated links. Guest posting, press release distribution, comprehensive guides, and sharing original research data are the most sustainable methods for earning organic backlinks.
Content Quality
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To earn backlinks, you first need to produce content that deserves them. Comprehensive guides, original research, up-to-date datasets, and industry-specific analyses are the types of content other sites will naturally cite as a source. Thin, surface-level content contributes nothing to authority building.
Technical SEO
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While technical health doesn't directly impact DA, it ensures Google can crawl and index your site correctly. Broken links, slow page speed, and crawl errors can prevent your site from fully benefiting from its link profile. Technical SEO requires ongoing maintenance — it is not a one-time task.
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Disavowing Spam Backlinks
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Low-quality or spammy backlinks can harm your DA score. Reporting and disavowing these links via Google Search Console is one way to keep your profile clean. However, the disavow process must be carried out carefully — accidentally disavowing healthy links can produce negative results.
As part of Blakfy's SEO services, we provide backlink analysis, technical SEO audits, and content strategy support. Building domain authority is a long-term, disciplined process; efforts made without the right strategy can waste both time and budget.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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What DA score is considered good?
The DA scale is relative — being higher than your competitors' DA is more important than reaching any absolute number. In a local or niche sector, a DA of 30 can represent a far more meaningful position than competing against international rivals with a DA of 70.
Does a new site start with a DA of zero?
Yes. A newly registered domain starts at zero DA. The score rises gradually as backlinks are earned and the site matures. Typically, 3–6 months are needed before the first meaningful increases appear.
Can DA be artificially inflated?
Purchasing large volumes of low-quality backlinks can produce a short-term DA score increase, but this approach is both unreliable and temporary. Google's Penguin algorithm is quite effective at detecting artificial link profiles of this kind.
Does DA change constantly?
Moz updates DA at regular intervals. Unexpected drops are usually caused by Moz updating its calculation model rather than indicating a problem with your site.
