Okay, so…
is domain authority a ranking factor?
You’d think that’d be a simple yes or no, right? But nah — SEO doesn’t like straight answers. It’s like asking someone if they like you and they reply, “Well, it’s complicated.” Yeah, thanks.
So I remember this one time I spent hours—like literal hours—trying to bump up my site’s Domain Authority (DA) because I thought it’d magically shoot me up on Google. Like, poof. Page one, baby. But… nothing. Nada. I stared at my analytics like, What am I doing wrong? Thought I was cursed or blacklisted or maybe just stupid (probably that last one).
Thing is, Domain Authority is this number from Moz (not Google — I’ll say that again — not Google), and people treat it like it’s gospel. Like if you’ve got a DA of 70, you win the SEO game or something. But… here’s the kicker — is domain authority a ranking factor? Not really. Google doesn’t even use it. Like, John Mueller (he’s a Google guy, in case you’re new here) literally said, “We don’t have that metric.” Soooo… why are we all obsessed with it?
I mean, yeah, it kinda reflects how strong your site is. Like, if you’ve got solid backlinks and good content, DA tends to go up. So in that indirect sense, sure — it overlaps with stuff that does matter to Google. But Google itself? Doesn’t give a flying squirrel about your Moz score.
Anyway. I’m not here to pretend I’ve got it all figured out. But I’ve wasted enough late nights refreshing Ahrefs and Moz tools like they were slot machines. So if you’re wondering whether DA affects Google ranking, or just trying to not fall into the same dumb traps I did — stick around. This post is for you.
2. What Is Domain Authority?
Okay, so — domain authority. It sounds super technical, right? Like something only SEO nerds whisper about behind multiple browser tabs and caffeine jitters. But honestly? It’s just a number. A made-up score. But also… not useless. Let me explain.
Moz (yeah, that SEO company with all the charts and tools and stuff) came up with this thing called Domain Authority — or DA if you wanna sound cool. It’s supposed to kinda guess how likely a website is to rank on Google. Not officially, though. Google doesn’t even use it. Like, they’ve literally said, “Nah, we don’t touch that.” So this is all third-party stuff.
Still, people care. A lot. Like, I’ve seen marketers lose sleep over a drop from 42 to 39 like it was their GPA.
The number goes from 1 to 100. If you’re sitting around 10 or 20, that means you’re probably new or small. If you’re hitting 80+? Congrats, you’re basically a mini Wikipedia. But don’t freak out. Your site can still rank with a lower DA — I’ve done it. Somehow. It’s weird.
Now, how is domain authority calculated? This part makes my head hurt, not gonna lie. Moz uses a bunch of things — backlinks, linking root domains, something called a link profile, which sounds like a dating app for websites but isn’t. It’s more like: “How strong are the links pointing to your site?” And not just quantity, but quality. Because you can’t just throw a bunch of spammy links at your site and expect magic. Trust me. I’ve tried.
Also, internal linking — this is where things get spicy. People sleep on it. But if your high-DA blog post links to a lower one, that “authority juice” kinda dribbles down. I mean, not scientifically, but close enough. Moz doesn’t spell it out clearly, but it matters. That’s something most of the top-ranking guides barely touch. I read one last night that spent 400 words describing DA without once mentioning internal links. Like, what?
Anyway — the whole thing’s based on an algorithm Moz keeps tweaking. So sometimes your DA jumps or drops and you’re like, “Wait, I didn’t even do anything??” That’s normal. It’s volatile. Especially around May this year (2025), there was this weird spike. NetworkSolutions said something about Moz recalibrating their formula, but no one really explains how or why. It’s just… vibes.
So yeah. Domain authority meaning? It’s a made-up score that feels like it matters. And sometimes, it kind of does. But don’t let it boss you around.
You’re more than your number. (But also, yeah… it’s nice when it’s high.)
3. Does Google Use Domain Authority?
So, okay. Let me just say this up front — Domain Authority sounds super official, right? Like it’s this thing straight from Google’s secret vault of ranking magic. But nope. It’s not. It’s actually something Moz made up. A helpful guess, yeah, but still… it’s just a guess.
And yet, here we are. I used to obsess over it. Like, I’d check my site’s DA more than my own damn bank balance. Every Monday morning — boom — “Did it go up?” Like it was this mystical number that controlled my SEO fate. And every drop? Total panic. Like I messed something up, like Google was watching. (Spoiler: they weren’t.)
But then I read somewhere — maybe it was on Twitter, maybe a Reddit rabbit hole, can’t remember — that Google doesn’t even use Domain Authority. Not in its algorithm. Not at all. They’ve literally said this. Repeatedly.
John Mueller from Google? He’s basically the SEO version of “Dad said no.” He’s gone on record saying they don’t use DA. Not as a ranking factor. Not behind the scenes. Nothing. And Gary Illyes, another Google guy, said the same thing. I think he even said something like “We don’t even know what Domain Authority is,” which made me laugh a little too hard considering how many SEO tools treat it like gospel.
But then… then came that weird leak in 2024. You remember that? That massive dump of internal Google documentation — someone called it the “Google Papers” or something? Anyway, that thing had people flipping out. And yeah, there was a phrase in there that kinda looked like “domain authority.” Cue the SEO Twitter chaos. People were like, “SEE?! Google does use it!”
But here’s the thing: words like “domain” and “authority” show up in a ton of contexts. Doesn’t mean they were talking about Moz’s Domain Authority metric. Could’ve meant literally anything else. A signal? An internal label? Some old leftover term from 2008? No one knows. And Google’s response? Basically: “Yeah, those docs are real, but context is everything. Don’t read too much into it.” So… yeah.
Still, even after hearing all that, I didn’t stop looking at DA completely. I mean, it’s something. Moz built it using real data — backlinks, site strength, yada yada — so it does kind of reflect how your site compares to others. Like, if you’re at DA 15 and your competitor’s at 70, you’re probably not gonna outrank them tomorrow. That much is real. But that’s not because of DA. It’s because they have better links, stronger content, and probably more money, let’s be honest.
So, yeah — Google domain authority ranking isn’t a thing. Not in the official, algorithmic, confirmed-by-Google kind of way. DA is like a weather app. It might rain. It might not. But it helps you guess what jacket to wear.
I guess the point is… don’t treat Domain Authority like your SEO report card. It’s more like a mood ring. Fun to look at. Kinda useful. Not actually science.
4. Direct vs Indirect Effects
Okay, so let me just be honest for a second.
I used to obsess over Domain Authority like it was the final boss of SEO. Like, I’d sit there refreshing my Moz toolbar every damn week hoping the number would jump from 27 to 30 and somehow my rankings would magically go up. Spoiler: they didn’t.
And then someone told me — “DA isn’t even a Google ranking factor.” I felt stupid. Like, why the hell was I treating it like gospel?
But here’s the thing I didn’t get back then (and honestly, I’m still wrapping my head around sometimes): even if DA isn’t directly used by Google, it kinda does things… just in this roundabout, sneaky way.
Let me try to explain without going full nerd-mode.
Say you’ve got a website. You write killer content. You build links. Cool. Now, if those links are from high-DA sites — even though DA itself isn’t something Google tracks — you’re probably getting links from sites that do have trust, age, backlinks, and all that other juicy stuff Google does care about. So… your page looks good in Google’s eyes. Not because of the DA score, but because of the stuff that contributes to the DA score.
That’s one piece of it.
Now the weird, indirect part? Internal linking.
So I had this old blog post that was doing okay — nothing fancy. But one day I linked to it from another post that had a ton of backlinks (and just happened to have a higher DA score, according to Moz). Within, like, two weeks, the traffic on the old post doubled. I swear I didn’t touch anything else. Just that one internal link. Boom. It was like some SEO fairy waved a wand.
That’s when it clicked.
High-DA pages pass more… what’s the word? Link juice. Yeah, I know, that term sounds ridiculous. But it’s real. Well, kinda. It’s just SEO slang for how value flows through links. So when you link from a “powerful” page to a “meh” one on your own site, it can lift the weak one. That’s the “indirect effect of domain authority” in action. Not because of the number, but because of how strong the linking page is under the hood.
And, just side note, a lotta SEO blogs don’t explain that well. They just say “internal links are important” like we’re supposed to already know why.
Anyway. If you’re sitting there obsessing over your DA score — maybe stop for a sec. Ask yourself: Are my high-DA pages linking to the right places? That one shift changed how I think about SEO. Not gonna lie, still feels like black magic sometimes.
But hey, it works.
5. How to Evaluate DA Wisely in SEO Strategy
Alright, so… domain authority. Yeah, I used to obsess over it. Like, refresh Moz every few days, wondering if my score jumped from 37 to 38 kind of obsessed. Pathetic? Maybe. But when you’re trying to grow a site and Google won’t tell you anything directly, DA feels like the only compass you’ve got. Except—it’s not always pointing north.
I mean, evaluating domain authority in SEO is… weird. It’s not even something Google uses. They’ve literally said, “nah, we don’t look at DA,” but then you’re still judged by it. Clients bring it up. Outreach people won’t respond unless your DA is above some magic number. Like it’s your SEO credit score or something.
So should you care about your domain authority score? I hate that I’m saying yes, kind of. Not because it’s actually helping you rank, but because people still use it as a measuring stick. You know when you go job hunting and they still ask for your 10th-grade marks? It’s like that. Outdated maybe, but still used to judge your worth.
Also… DA fluctuates like crazy. One day it’s 42. Next week, it’s 38. You didn’t change anything. You didn’t even publish a blog. But Moz? Moz tweaked their algorithm and now you’re questioning your entire SEO existence. It’s like… mood swings, but for metrics.
And no one talks about that enough. That volatility. That you could lose DA just because other sites improved theirs. It’s relative, right? Moz scores on a curve. So you’re not just competing with yourself, you’re in this giant invisible race with millions of websites you’ll never meet.
Here’s where it does matter (at least for me now): when I’m spying on competitors. Like, if I’m thinking of targeting a keyword and I see that everyone on page one has a DA of 60+, and my site is a baby 18… I’m probably not gonna win that fight. Unless I bring something wild to the table. That’s what people don’t say clearly—DA is just a gut-check, not gospel. It helps benchmark.
But also, keyword difficulty + your DA = your real chance to rank. Nobody’s writing that on bathroom walls, but they should. Too many folks write 3,000 words and wonder why they’re still on page 6.
And one last thing. If your DA goes down, breathe. Don’t panic. Check your links. See if Moz updated something. But don’t spiral. Trust me, I’ve been there—staring at the screen like “who unfollowed me?” but with backlinks.
Anyway. Use DA if it helps your strategy. Toss it if it doesn’t. Just don’t build your whole SEO self-worth around it. That’s exhausting.
6. Six Ways to Improve DA (Without Expecting Google Ranking Benefit)
Alright, listen.
If you’re here thinking boosting your Domain Authority is gonna skyrocket your site to #1 on Google overnight… yeah, no. Let’s not lie to ourselves. Google literally doesn’t use Domain Authority. Moz made it up. Like, not in a bad way, but it’s their thing. Google said it. John Mueller said it. We all nodded and then kept obsessing over it anyway. Because… I guess it still feels like it matters?
Anyway. I’ve been there. Refreshing Moz like it’s my blood pressure monitor. “Ooh, I gained 3 points!” As if that meant anything besides giving me a temporary dopamine hit. But okay, I’m not gonna judge you (I mean, I am you). If you still want to improve domain authority, I’ve got some ways that might help. Just… don’t expect magic.
Let’s go.
1. Backlinks. Not the shady ones.
So yeah, backlinks. The golden ticket. Everyone says it like it’s easy. “Just build quality backlinks.” Cool, Dave. From where? I’ve emailed probably 200 sites and got ignored by 195. The rest asked me to pay \$150 for a sponsored post on a dead blog with 6 visitors.
Still. If you somehow get a real backlink from a decent site—like someone actually links to your stuff because it’s good—your DA will probably nudge up. Slowly. Maybe.
I got one from an indie tech blog once after I wrote this rant about bad UI. I didn’t even ask. They just linked it. That felt kinda legit.
2. Guest posts, but only if they don’t make you cringe.
God. Guest posting. The phrase makes me twitch. But hear me out—if you find a site you actually like, and they take guest posts, do it. Not for Google. Not for the DA. Just because it’s cool to have your name out there. And yeah, it usually gets you a do-follow link.
Just avoid the ones that feel like they’re run by robots. You know the type—those blogs that post five 700-word AI-sounding articles a day and all the images are from Unsplash. Don’t waste your time. They’re not helping anyone, least of all your DA.
3. Fix your internal links. Like, actually fix them.
Okay this one… this one changed stuff for me. You know how sometimes you write blog posts and forget to link them to each other? Or worse, you change a URL and forget to fix the old links? Yeah.
I spent a weekend fixing all that mess. Linked older posts to newer ones, added relevant anchors, cleared out dead ones. No lie—my DA jumped 2 points the following month. Coincidence? Maybe. But it felt good. Like cleaning your room after a month of chaos.
Plus, people stayed on my blog longer. Bounce rate dropped. Felt… satisfying. Like untangling earbuds.
4. Audit your backlinks. Yes, the bad ones too.
Okay, this part is annoying but important. I used Ahrefs’ free trial once (and got 7 days of mild panic) and found some weird backlinks. Like casino sites and shady Russian URLs I never touched. Probably spam.
You can disavow those. Google says they mostly ignore spammy backlinks now, but… eh. I disavowed a few anyway. Felt like cleaning out my fridge.
Also, if you bought some of those spammy links back in the day (I did, regretfully, during my desperate phase)… maybe… undo that. If you can.
5. Crawlability matters more than you think.
I didn’t even know what crawlability was until someone casually mentioned “broken sitemap” in a Facebook group. Turns out half my blog wasn’t showing up to bots.
Fixed that. Installed a better sitemap plugin. Indexed everything properly. Submitted the sitemap to Google Search Console and Moz’s Link Explorer too. I don’t know what fixed it exactly, but I do know Moz’s crawler finally started picking up more links. DA moved a little again.
Bots are picky, man. Treat them like fussy cats.
6. Social signals: don’t fake it.
Look, I’m not gonna pretend to understand exactly how Moz treats social signals. But I do know that when my post randomly got shared by someone big on LinkedIn, my traffic went up and so did my mentions.
More people found it. A few linked to it. Which probably helped DA. Eventually.
So, yeah. Post your stuff. Share it. Ask friends to share it if it makes sense. Don’t force it. Don’t buy fake Twitter retweets from that dude with 0 followers.
Real quick — local vs niche DA comparison
Okay, last thing. If you’re in a niche or targeting local SEO, don’t compare your DA to Buzzfeed or Forbes. Like, come on. If you’re a bakery in Hyderabad and your DA is 19 while all your competitors are 13? You’re fine. Chill. You’re not losing because your DA is low—you’re winning because your stuff is actually useful.
So yeah. That’s all I’ve got. Improve domain authority if you want, sure. Just don’t chase it like it’s the only number that matters.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do is write something people care about—and let DA figure itself out later.
Or never. That’s okay too.
7. Common Misconceptions & FAQs
Okay, so — this part’s gonna be kinda messy because honestly, domain authority (DA) messes with a lot of people’s heads. Mine too, once. Like… I used to obsess over it. Checking it every week like it was my GPA. “Is DA score important?” I mean, yeah, kinda — but also… not really? Depends what you’re using it for.
Let me back up.
I remember one night — it was like 2 AM, I had three tabs open: Moz, Ahrefs, and some random SEO Reddit thread where everyone was fighting over DA vs Page Authority. I was sitting there wondering why my domain authority dropped from 34 to 29 in one week. I hadn’t changed anything. No broken links. Nothing shady. Just… boom. Down. Felt like someone erased five years of effort with a backspace key.
Turns out? It wasn’t even me. Moz updated their algorithm. That’s it. That’s the answer no one tells you. Like, sometimes your DA drops because the tools changed their minds. It’s not you. It’s them.
Anyway — people think a “good DA score” is like 70+. Lol. Nah. If you’re in a niche market or your site’s kinda new, 20 is fine. Seriously. You’re not Google. You’re not Forbes. Don’t compare your DA with giants. It’s a relative score — not some universal SEO gospel.
Oh — and DA vs Page Authority? Basically:
- Domain Authority = how powerful your whole site looks.
- Page Authority = how strong one page is.
Kinda like: your house’s location vs your room’s furniture. Dumb analogy, but you get it.
And another thing — if your DA suddenly crashes? Check for spammy backlinks. I had this one spam directory randomly point 50 weird .xyz links at my site once. No idea why. Took me weeks to figure out that’s what messed up the score. Spam links can mess with Moz’s brain.
So yeah. TL;DR?
- DA isn’t a Google ranking factor.
- It’s a hint — not a rule.
- It fluctuates.
- Don’t panic.
- Breathe.
- Keep building good stuff.
And if someone tries to sell you backlinks “to increase DA fast” — run. Just run.
8. Conclusion & Final Recommendation
Man, I used to obsess over Domain Authority like it was gospel. I’d refresh Moz like… 3 times a day? Waiting for that number to jump like it meant I finally “made it.” Spoiler: it didn’t. Not once did I see my traffic explode just because DA ticked up two points. Felt good? Yeah. Changed anything? Not really.
So here’s the thing I’ve learned the messy way: Domain Authority is not a direct Google ranking factor. Never was. Moz made it. Google doesn’t care. Like at all. But it can help… in weird, indirect ways. Like when other people look at it and decide you’re “legit” enough to link to. Or when a high-DA page links to your post and boom—your page jumps a few spots. So yeah, it’s… kinda useful, but only if you treat it like a side dish, not the main course.
If you’re still chasing that score? I dunno—maybe stop. Build real backlinks. Not those shady Fiverr ones, I mean real ones. Fix your broken links. Speed up your site. Write stuff that doesn’t suck. That’s what’s worked for me—slowly, clumsily—but it’s worked.
Anyway. Don’t stress over the number. Google won’t. So why should you?