Jump to:
If you search for the most common queries in your niche, you’ll discover that websites ranking on the first page are pretty much the same every time. So does this mean that their content is much superior to yours? Well, not necessarily—the longer a brand has been growing their website, the more likely it is that Google trusts them. That said, you can also enter this competition. Building domain authority isn’t the easiest of tasks, but it’s worth the effort. In this post, we’ll walk you through eight steps that will help you boost your domain authority.
What is Domain Authority?
Domain Authority (DA) is a search ranking score that measures how successful a site is when it comes to search engine results. Domain Authority scores range between 1 and 100, with higher scores indicating the likelihood of ranking on search engines.
According to Moz, Domain Authority is calculated by evaluating several factors, including the number of total links and linking root domains. It is important to note that, while this metric predicts success, it does not necessarily represent success. In short, your website’s DA will help you determine how competitive you are in your niche. This, in turn, enables you to select keywords strategically.
What Is a Good Domain Authority?
To determine how good your domain authority is, check what score your website attains on a scale of 1 to 100. When Moz developed this metric, they also created a website analysis tool. You can also check your DA ranking using Moz’s Keyword Explorer.
Here is a breakdown of what various scores mean:
- Scores ranging between 40 and 50 are considered average.
- Scores between 50 and 60 are considered to be good.
- Scores above 60 rate the domain authority as excellent.
However, it is important to note that there are several contexts when evaluating domain authority. For instance, a small business website with SEO optimizations underway and a point score of 40 can be deemed good.
On the other hand, larger company websites are expected to attain higher DA points. If the score is anything below 60, then the evaluation is not good considering the investment power.
What is the Benefit of an Authoritative Domain?
According to an Ahrefs study, even though Google does not use domain authority in their rankings, there is a correlation between domain authority and SERP ranking. The findings of this study suggest that DA may be useful in gauging the organic traffic you may receive from Google.
If you want to boost your SEO rankings, you should consider ramping up your domain authority strategy, which may take some time to develop, so don’t worry if you don’t get results immediately.
How Fast Can I Build Domain Authority?
There is no definite time for building authority. One thing is for sure though, building it takes time and it doesn’t happen overnight or within a couple of days or a few weeks. Here are two pointers for building domain authority:
- Build slowly over time: You should gradually incorporate new techniques in your strategy to build it over time.
- Monitor over time: You should use various tools to assess how well your authority is performing and make the necessary adjustments to improve its performance.
It’s not an exact “science” but is more of a combination of elements that work together with faithful adherence to best practices.
5 Things You Can Do Right Away to Begin the Process
Below is an outline of things you do to start the process of building domain authority for your website:
Test Website Responsiveness
Websites need to run seamlessly on every access device, including mobile devices. A responsive website has the likelihood of providing a satisfactory experience to all users, regardless of the device they use to access it. Slow websites tend to test the patience of website visitors.
One of the factors Google uses to rank is responsiveness. So, if your website is adaptive to any screen type, it is better placed to have great SEO. Similarly, a responsive site can also attain a high domain authority score.
Watch Page Loading Speeds
Another indicator of good domain authority is a quick loading page. As such, continuously monitoring the loading time is vital. You can do this using specialized tools such as PageSpeed Insights. The average loading time should be between 0.5 to 2 seconds. If your website’s loading time is higher than this, you need to work on optimizations.
Get Backlinks
Backlinks are vital to building an excellent domain authority for your website. You just need to exercise caution on how you acquire these backlinks. You should earn them naturally, in mentions, or by partnering with other companies in the same industry.
Here are some ways of getting good backlinks:
- Use outbound links to develop partnerships
- Find backlink opportunities with top referral sources
- Pay close attention to your competitors
- Use reports from Google Search Console to get backlinks
- Create high-quality content
- Find broken links to build backlink
Crawls and Site Audits
Crawls and site audits are typically good for sites that have been around for a while and have already amassed a load of content. A crawled and audited site is one in which the content is indexed, making it more readily found by search engines. This process ensures that pages are externally linked and accessible in queries.
Moz Pro Solutions is one of the best solutions for performing crawls and audits. It monitors various issues including broken redirects and missing title tags to ensure your site attains high domain authority, receives high-quality traffic, and ranks high on search engines.
Acquire Guest Posts
Guest posts provide an excellent way of exchanging backlinks with reputable companies in your industry. It enables you to link your brands to other companies with excellent domain authority. Guest posts enable you to capture the domain authority of another company and acquire great backlinks. Having 1 to 2 guest posts in a month can help you start gaining authority at a higher rate.
Get SEO Training
Many providers offer short webinars and multi-session programs that can help business owners gain awareness of what is needed to build domain authority. You should take full advantage of these training programs.
Conclusion
Increasing website authority is an ongoing process. As a business owner develops their online presence, these tools, and processes will prove invaluable. A few well-chosen keywords and consistent content creation over time can have a substantial impact.
Need help choosing or purchasing a domain name? Contact us. NameSilo offers the most affordable domain names anywhere.