Domain Authority (DA) is a third-party score, popularized by Moz, that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search results based largely on its backlink profile. A low DA isn’t a penalty — it usually just reflects a newer site or one with fewer high-quality links pointing to it — and it can be raised faster than a high score can, since the gap between low scores narrows quickly with the right work. Improving it comes down to earning better backlinks, tightening on-site SEO, and removing anything dragging the score down.
What Domain Authority Actually Measures
DA is calculated from your backlink profile — Moz bases the score primarily on the number and quality of backlinks a site has, and a site with fewer but highly credible links can outscore one with many low-quality links. It’s a comparative metric, so it’s most useful when you compare your score to competitors in your own niche rather than to unrelated large sites. As a rough guide, sites scoring 0–10 are usually brand new or lack a track record of quality backlinks, while sites in the 11–25 range are established but still building an SEO history.
Build High-Quality Backlinks
Backlinks remain the strongest lever for moving DA. Rather than chasing volume, prioritize links from sites that are relevant to your industry and already trusted by search engines.
- Create content worth linking to. Publishing content that covers topics in real depth, rather than thin or outdated pages, is what earns links search engines actually trust.
- Reach out directly. Contact relevant, authoritative sites and pitch them on linking to a specific piece of your content, rather than sending generic requests.
- Write guest posts for reputable sites. This can generate a direct link back to your site and expose your content to a new audience that may link to you independently later.
- Get listed in trusted directories. Business directories that are well-regarded and genuinely useful — not spammy catalog sites — can help establish your site as legitimate within your target market.
- Compare against competitors. Checking which domains link to sites already ranking for your target keywords gives you a realistic list of link targets.
Clean Up Low-Quality and Toxic Links
Not every backlink helps — some actively hurt your score. Improving DA means both building quality links and removing low-quality or toxic ones already pointing to your site. A backlink audit tool can flag suspicious links from spam-heavy or irrelevant domains. A spam score under 30% is generally considered healthy by Moz; above that, it’s worth reviewing which links are contributing to it. Once you’ve identified problem links, try to get them removed manually first, and use Google’s disavow tool as a last resort — Google recommends disavowing only when spammy links are extensive or you’re already dealing with a manual action or believe one is likely.
Strengthen On-Page and Technical SEO
Backlinks aren’t the whole picture. A technically sound, well-optimized site gives search engines fewer reasons to distrust it and gives visitors a reason to link to it in the first place.
- Optimize title tags, meta descriptions, and URLs around the terms your audience actually searches for.
- Improve page speed by compressing images and enabling caching.
- Make sure the site is secured with HTTPS and works well on mobile devices.
- Use internal links to connect related pages — while internal links don’t directly raise domain-wide authority, they do help pass authority between your own pages and improve how the site is structured.
- Remove or consolidate thin, outdated, or duplicate pages that dilute the site’s overall quality.
Be Patient and Track the Right Signals
Rather than fixating on the DA number itself, it helps to watch the underlying signals — rankings, organic traffic growth, and whether strong pages start lifting newer ones. Scores can dip slightly from month to month without cause for concern; a sustained downward trend over several months is the real signal to investigate. Because DA reflects long-term credibility rather than quick wins, consistent effort in content quality, backlink building, and technical SEO is what moves the number over time.
Join The Discussion
Have you managed to raise a low domain authority score, and what actually moved the needle for you — backlinks, technical fixes, content overhauls, or something else? Share what worked, what turned out to be a waste of time, and any tools or tactics you’d recommend to others working on the same problem.
