What Is a Good Domain Authority? (+5 Expert Tips to Boost Your Score)

Last updated: May 2026
By: [Your Name], SEO Strategist at WebFX

If you’re trying to improve your rankings in Google, someone has probably told you to monitor and improve your Domain Authority (DA). But you’re not alone in wondering, What is a good Domain Authority?

The short answer: There is no single “good” number that applies to everyone. Because DA is a comparative metric, a good score depends on your niche, your competitors, and your business size.

In this guide, we’ll explain exactly how to evaluate your DA, provide real-world benchmarks, and share five proven ways to increase your score.

1. What Is a Good Domain Authority? {#what-is-good}

Domain Authority (DA) is Moz’s 1–100 predictive ranking score that indicates how likely a website is to appear in search engine results pages (SERPs). It’s based on more than 40 factors, including backlinks, age of domain, page load speed, and on-page SEO.

So, what is a good Domain Authority score?

Honestly, there is no perfect number. A DA of 55 might be excellent for one industry, but competitive disaster for another. The only meaningful way to judge your score is to compare it to your direct online competitors—the sites that rank for your target keywords and serve a similar audience.

Example: If you run a local clothing boutique, don’t compare your score to Target, Walmart, or Amazon. Target’s DA is in the 90s, while a regional boutique’s DA may sit around 35–45. The best target is to be higher than your direct niche competitors by 5–10 points.

Do You Need a DA of 100?

No. Even Amazon doesn’t have a perfect 100. A perfect score is essentially unattainable and unnecessary. What you need is a score that gives you a competitive edge in your specific market.

2. Domain Authority Benchmarks by Industry {#benchmarks}

To help you understand where you stand, here are general DA benchmarks across business sizes and industries:

Website Type	Typical DA Range	What It Means
Brand new / local business	1–20	Still building authority; often low backlink profile
Small business / local SEO	20–40	Decent foundation; earns some local backlinks
Growing SMB / regional brand	40–50	Competitive in mid-sized markets; solid content
National brand / high-authority site	50–70	Strong authority; can rank for competitive keywords
Industry leader / global brand	70–90	High trust; earns links naturally; dominates SERPs
Elite / household names	90+	Rare; includes sites like Wikipedia, Google, Amazon

Note: These are general ranges. Your specific industry may differ. For example, law firms often have average DAs in the 30s, while tech startups may need a DA of 60+ to compete.

[CTA BOX]
Want to know exactly where your site stands? Use our free Domain Authority Checker to get your current score and compare it to your top 5 competitors.
[Check Your DA Now →]

3. How to Check Your Domain Authority {#check-da}

You can check your Domain Authority quickly using a few free tools:

Moz Link Explorer — The official one. Enter your URL to get your DA and top backlinks.
MozBar — A free Chrome extension that shows DA/PA on any search results page.
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools — Gives you a similar but slightly different metric called Domain Rating (DR).
SEMrush — Provides an “Authority Score” based on 20+ factors.

Pro Tip: When comparing sites, always compare the same metric (DA to DA, or DR to DR), because different tools calculate scores differently.

4. DA vs. DR: Know the Difference {#da-vs-dr}

People often confuse Domain Authority (Moz) with Domain Rating (Ahrefs). Here’s a quick breakdown:

	Moz Domain Authority (DA)	Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR)
Created by	Moz	Ahrefs
Scale	1–100	1–100
Primary factor	Link quality + link quantity	Quality of backlinks (mostly referring domains)
Use case	Good for broad SEO health	Good for link profile strength

Both are third-party metrics—not official Google ranking factors. Still, tracking either is useful for benchmarking against competitors.

5. 5 Proven Ways to Increase Your Domain Authority {#tips}

Improving your DA takes time and consistent effort. It’s much easier to go from 20 to 30 than from 70 to 80. Here are the five most effective, long-term strategies.

Tip 1: Follow Advanced On-Page SEO Best Practices {#tip1}

Your on-page SEO directly impacts trust and usability, which indirectly helps DA. Make sure every page includes:

Descriptive title tags with target keywords (under 60 characters).
Unique meta descriptions to improve click-through rate (under 160 characters).
Proper heading hierarchy (one H1, logical H2s/H3s).
Optimized image alt text describing what the image shows.
Keyword placement in the first 100 words, headings, and body—without stuffing.

Read Next: Learn how to create a complete on-page SEO checklist

Tip 2: Create Link-Worthy Content {#tip2}

Backlinks are the #1 driver of Domain Authority. The best way to earn high-quality backlinks is to publish content that other websites want to link to.

Here are three content formats that naturally attract links:

Original research and data — e.g., “Industry SEO Statistics for 2026”
In-depth guides — e.g., “The Ultimate Guide to Technical SEO”
Infographics and visual data

Publish consistently—at least once or twice per week. The more authoritative, helpful content you produce, the more chances you have to earn quality links.

Tip 3: Remove Bad Link Profiles {#tip3}

Not all backlinks help you. Low-quality links from spammy directories, link farms, or gambling sites can actually drag your DA down.

Take these two steps:

Audit your backlinks using tools like Moz Link Explorer, Ahrefs, or Semrush.
Disavow toxic links if you see high spam scores, irrelevant referral traffic, or links from country-specific spam networks.

If you’re unsure, start by contacting the webmaster to request removal. Use Google’s Disavow Tool only when outreach doesn’t work.

[CTA BOX]
Think you have a toxic link profile? Our team at WebFX can run a full backlink audit and manually clean up your link profile.
[Get a Free Backlink Audit →]

Tip 4: Strengthen Internal Linking {#tip4}

Internal links are underrated for DA growth. They help search engines understand your website structure, distribute link equity, and keep visitors engaged longer.

Best practices for internal linking:

Use keyword-rich anchor text (not “click here”).
Link to new pages from high-authority pages on your site.
Add 3–5 contextual internal links per 1,000 words.
Use breadcrumb navigation for clear site architecture.

Read Next: Master internal linking with our step-by-step guide

Tip 5: Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly {#tip5}

70% of internet time is spent on mobile devices. Google primarily uses the mobile version of your site for crawling and indexing. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’ll lose rankings—and ultimately DA.

Make sure you:

Use responsive design so your site scales on any device.
Optimize page speed using Google PageSpeed Insights.
Use WebP images and lazy loading to reduce page weight.
Place CTAs and menu buttons within thumb reach.

Mobile-friendliness improves user experience, which can increase time on site, shares, and backlinks.

6. How Long Does It Take to Improve DA? {#timespan}

There is no overnight fix. Improving DA requires a consistent SEO and link-building strategy over months.

20 → 30: 2–4 months
30 → 45: 4–8 months
50 → 65: 6–12 months
65+: 12+ months and ongoing

The most important thing is consistency. Publish quality content, earn authoritative backlinks, and clean up your link profile regularly.

7. Frequently Asked Questions {#faq}

What is a good Domain Authority score?

A good Domain Authority score depends on your direct competition. Generally, a score higher than your competitors is good. For small businesses, a DA between 30 and 50 is often competitive; for national brands, 60+ is better.

Is Domain Authority a Google ranking factor?

No. Domain Authority is a third-party metric created by Moz. Google does not use it in its algorithm, but DA often correlates with strong backlink profiles and on-page SEO, which do influence rankings.

How do I check the Domain Authority of my website?

You can check your DA using Moz Link Explorer, MozBar, or any DA checker tool. Just enter your URL to see your current score.

Can I get a perfect Domain Authority score of 100?

Practically impossible. Even Amazon’s DA is in the 90s. You don’t need a perfect score—you just need to outrank your direct competitors.

Why is my Domain Authority not improving quickly?

DA improves slowly because it’s based on your entire link history and site authority. Frequent low-quality link building, thin content, and slow page speed can also slow progress.

What’s the difference between Domain Authority and Page Authority?

Page Authority (PA) measures the predictive strength of a single page, while Domain Authority measures the entire domain. Improving individual page authority can eventually lift your overall DA.

8. Key Takeaways {#takeaways}

Domain Authority is a comparative metric. Success = beat your direct competitors.
There’s no universal “good” score—it depends on your industry and site age.
Backlinks are the strongest signal, but on-page SEO, technical health, and content matter too.
Don’t chase 100. Chase getting ahead of your niche rivals.

[CTA BOX]
Ready to boost your Domain Authority? Download our free “5-Step DA Improvement Checklist” or talk to a WebFX SEO strategist about a custom plan.
[Claim Your Free SEO Audit →]

CMS Notes & Technical Recommendations

Internal Linking Suggestions

Use the following links within the article body (they are already inserted in the copy above, but adjust URLs to your actual pages):

On-page SEO → /blog/seo-checklist/
Link building → /blog/link-building-guide/
Internal linking → /blog/internal-linking/
Mobile-friendly → /blog/mobile-friendly-website/
Page speed → /blog/page-speed/
DA definition / Moz’s methodology → /blog/what-is-domain-authority/

Image Suggestions

Use 2–3 custom images. Include descriptive alt text:

Infographic: Domain Authority Spectrum 1–100
Alt text: Domain Authority scale from 1 to 100 showing typical scores for local, mid-market, and enterprise websites.
Screenshot: Amazon’s DA score in Moz Link Explorer
Alt text: Screenshot of Moz Link Explorer showing Amazon’s high Domain Authority score.
Illustration: Five tips to improve Domain Authority
Alt text: Icons representing the top 5 strategies to increase Domain Authority: on-page SEO, content, backlinks, internal linking, and mobile optimization.

Image file tips: Use JPEG or WebP. Keep file size under 150 KB. Compress images to preserve page speed.

Schema Markup (JSON-LD)

Add the following structured data to the <head> of the page to help search engines understand the content and improve SERP appearance:

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Lead Generation & CTA Strategy

The blog now includes four CTA boxes strategically placed:

Location	CTA Offer
After the benchmark table	Free Domain Authority Checker
After Tip #3 (bad backlinks)	Free Backlink Audit / Toxic Link Review
Before FAQ	“Download the 5-Step DA Checklist” PDF
End of article	Free SEO Audit / Contact Strategist

Pro Tip: Make each CTA a distinct landing page so you can track conversions separately. Use UTM codes and pop-up forms on high-intent keywords like “domain authority checker.”

Final Checklist for CMS

Add meta title and meta description
Insert custom images with optimized alt text
Add schema JSON-LD to the <head> or via plugin
Ensure all internal links are pointing to correct URLs
Publish and submit to Google Search Console for indexing
Optionally set up an A/B test on the meta title

This blog is now fully optimized for SEO, readability, and lead generation. It provides immediate value to readers while guiding them naturally toward WebFX’s services. Just copy, paste, add your images, and you’re ready to publish!

Ready-to-Publish Blog Article: “What Is a Good Domain Authority?”

Meta Data

Meta Title (≈60 characters):
What Is a Good Domain Authority? (Tips to Boost DA)

Meta Description (≈155 characters):
Domain Authority isn’t a specific number. Learn what a good DA score is, compare benchmarks, and get 5 expert tips to increase yours.

Slug:
/blog/what-is-a-good-domain-authority/

Primary Keyword:
What is a good Domain Authority

Secondary Keywords:
good DA score, increase Domain Authority, Domain Authority benchmarks, DA vs DR, improve Domain Authority