What is Domain Authority?

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The term “Domain Authority” is often used on SEO blogs and Internet marketing websites, but what does it really mean?

First, the short answer. Domain Authority is a way of seeing how well a domain can be expected to perform in Google search results. As you are analyzing a website’s performance and rankings, Domain Authority is a good indicator of how well the entire domain will perform.

The more technical definition of Domain Authority, according to SEOmoz, is that it is “based off of the Linkscape web index and includes link counts, mozRank, mozTrust, and dozens more. It uses a machine learning model to predicatively find an algorithm that best correlates with rankings across thousands of search results that [SEOmoz] predict[s] against” (read entire article here). In other words, there are several factors — more than 150, in fact — that go into determining Domain Authority. While Domain Authority is a truly useful tool, the complexity of its calculation means it may be equally as complex to directly influence your site’s ranking.

How is it Scored?

Domain Authority is scored on a scale from 0-100 and, like PageRank, the scale is logarithmic. This means that increasing your score gets more difficult the higher you go. For most small businesses, a Domain Authority score in the 40-50 range is pretty good, but ultimately it depends on your industry and your competition.

How Does Domain Authority Compare to Page Authority?

When performing an analysis of a website and its competitors, both Page Authority and Domain Authority are important numbers to examine. The difference between the two is that Domain Authority looks at the stats of an entire domain or subdomain, whereas Page Authority will tell you only the strength of an individual page. Basically, Domain Authority gives you the big picture of how well a site is doing, and Page Authority allows you to drill down further and see what pages need improvement.

What About My Website?

Wondering how your website stacks up against other sites within your industry? Skyhook can provide you with a unique glimpse into your competitors’ web presence by running a competitive analysis report. We’ll research Domain Authority, Page Authority, backlink strength, blog and social media presence and much more for your website and the sites of your top competitors. Contact us to get started.