How to Improve Domain Authority: 7 Strategies for 2025

A domain authority score above 60 ranks as excellent in the SEO field. Moz developed Domain Authority (DA) to predict a website's ranking potential on search engine result pages (SERPs). Major sites like Google, Amazon, and Apple usually score between 90-100. 

Many website owners find it challenging to improve domain authority, despite its crucial role in online visibility. Moz calculates domain authority by comparing your site’s search performance to competitors, while Semrush factors in link power, organic traffic, and spam risk. 

So, it's more meaningful to compare your DA with direct competitors than global averages. This blog covers seven strategies to increase domain authority. You'll understand how different platforms calculate authority metrics and learn practical ways to track your progress over time.

What is Domain Authority and Why Does It Matter

Domain Authority is a predictive ranking score that shows how well a website might rank on search engine result pages (SERPs) compared to its competitors. Learning about this metric helps you understand your website's competitive position in your industry.

How DA is different from Page Authority

These metrics predict ranking potential but work at completely different levels of your website. Domain Authority reviews the strength of your entire domain or subdomain and gives a comprehensive measure of your site's ranking capability. 

Page Authority focuses on individual pages within your site. These are the practical reasons:

• Scope of measurement: DA looks at domain-wide backlinks, while PA analyzes links pointing to specific pages

• SEO focus: DA looks at both on-page and off-page SEO factors, while PA mainly focuses on off-page elements

• Growth speed: Domain authority takes time to build and needs consistent effort across your site. Page authority can improve faster with targeted optimization

Why DA is not a Google ranking factor

Domain Authority's popularity doesn't change the fact that Google doesn't use it as a ranking factor. These points make it clear that:

• DA exists as Moz's third-party metric, not an official Google metric

• Google's algorithms don't use DA to determine search rankings

• Google might use site-level metrics similar to DA, but they're not the same thing

7 Strategies to Increase Domain Authority

Your domain authority grows with steady work on multiple fronts. These seven strategies will improve domain authority and rankings.

1. Build high-quality backlinks from trusted sites

Quality backlinks from authoritative websites form the core of better domain authority. You should focus on getting links from respected, relevant sources rather than chasing numbers. Research shows that links from websites with Domain Authority scores above 70 boost your site's authority.

Whereas, a link from a lower-authority site in your industry often brings more value than one from an unrelated but high-authority website. Links from trusted media outlets, educational institutions (.edu), and government agencies (.gov) pack extra punch.

2. Create linkable assets like stats and research

Linkable assets rank among the best ways to build links. These premium content pieces naturally draw backlinks. Statistical collections and original research tend to attract the most links.

32.17% of high-quality backlinks come from stats pages, though these make up just 16% of published content. BrightLocal's study about online reviews pulled in over 2,563 backlinks. Complete guides, industry statistics, and unique data studies give other websites content they want to reference.

3. Remove toxic or spammy backlinks

You should check your backlink profile often to spot and remove toxic links that might damage your site's credibility. Link farms, low-quality directories, or spammy websites usually create these harmful backlinks.

Tools like Moz's Link Explorer or Semrush's Backlink Audit help find harmful links. Try getting these links removed by reaching out to website owners first. Google's disavow tool serves as your last option. This tells Google which links to ignore when it checks your site.

4. Improve internal linking structure

Improve domain authority with an internal linking strategy that spreads link equity across your site and makes it easier to crawl. Smart internal links help search engines find and index your pages while showing how content connects.

Picture your website as a pyramid: the homepage sits at the top with other pages below. Make sure parent pages link to child pages and use context to link similar content. This hierarchy transfers authority from powerful pages to others and aids search engines in understanding the structure of your website.

5. Optimize technical SEO and site speed

Technical SEO establishes the foundation of domain authority, as search engines reward sites that users prefer. Your authority grows when you fix technical problems like crawl errors, broken links, and slow loading.

Site speed affects both user experience and search rankings; pages need to load in under three seconds. Your site also needs HTTPS security, mobile responsiveness, and clear sitemaps for better crawling. These technical upgrades show search engines your site deserves trust.

6. Publish content that ranks and earns links

To improve domain authority, create quality content to draw backlinks and high rankings. Create content that answers questions, offers fresh insights, and solves problems. This approach naturally attracts links while giving users what they need.

Put your energy into evergreen content that stays relevant and keeps earning backlinks. Show expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) to make your content more attractive to publishers and search engines.

7. Use digital PR and media outreach

Digital PR combines SEO, content marketing, and traditional PR to increase your online visibility and build quality backlinks. Build relationships with journalists, editors, and influencers who can increase your brand's reach.

Your digital PR should focus on newsworthy content like original research, expert views, or compelling stories. Build a targeted media list and write personal pitches that showcase your content's value. Moreover, strong media coverage brings high-authority backlinks while building brand awareness and credibility

How to Monitor and Maintain Domain Authority Score

SEO success depends on tracking domain authority progress. You need to watch for changes, study your competition, and update your strategy based on what you learn. Use tools like Moz, Ahrefs, and Semrush. The major SEO platforms give you different ways to check authority metrics:

Conclusion 

To improve domain authority, stay consistent with strategic efforts across multiple channels. Quality backlinks build a strong domain authority, especially when they come from relevant, trusted sources. Moreover, creating linkable assets like statistics and research proves highly effective in attracting valuable links naturally. 

On the other hand, toxic backlinks can damage your domain authority. To overcome this issue, regular backlink audits should become part of your SEO maintenance routine. Search engines recognize your site deserves authority status through improved user experience and crawlability with technical SEO optimization. 

Tools like MOZ, Ahrefs, or SEMrush are best for tracking your progress against direct competitors instead of focusing on numeric fluctuations. Prioritize internal linking and high-quality content to enhance technical SEO and naturally draw backlinks. This builds genuine authority and better search visibility.

FAQ

How to quickly increase domain authority?

Earn high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites, create valuable content, optimize on-page SEO, and promote your content through guest posts and outreach.

How to increase DR fast?

Build backlinks from high-DR websites, use link-building strategies like guest blogging and digital PR, and replicate competitor backlinks using SEO tools like Ahrefs.

Is 25 domain authority good?

A DA of 25 is average and usual for newer or smaller websites. It's not bad, but there’s room for improvement through consistent SEO and link-building efforts.