How to Increase Domain Authority (DA): A Practical Guide
"How do I increase my Domain Authority?" is one of the most common SEO questions — and one of the most misunderstood. DA is a Moz metric that estimates a site's ranking potential on a 0–100 scale. You can't edit it directly; it rises as the underlying strength it measures grows. This guide covers what genuinely moves DA, what to avoid, and how to track progress without chasing a vanity number.
First, a reality check on DA
Domain Authority is a third-party score from Moz, not a Google ranking factor. Raising your DA isn't the actual goal — building a genuinely strong, trustworthy website is, and DA tends to follow. Treat DA as a thermometer, not the temperature: useful for measuring progress and comparing competitors, but not something you "optimize" in isolation. With that framing set, here's what actually raises it. (More on the myth in is domain authority a ranking factor?)
1. Earn quality, relevant backlinks
DA is largely backlink-driven, so links remain the biggest lever. But quality beats quantity every time — a handful of links from respected, topically relevant sites does far more than dozens of low-value ones. Focus on:
- Relevance — links from sites in or adjacent to your niche.
- Authority — links from sites that are themselves strong.
- Editorial placement — links earned within real content, not footers or link farms.
Earn them through genuinely useful content, original data, guest contributions on reputable sites, digital PR, and building relationships in your industry. Before pursuing any link, it's worth learning to evaluate a website before building a backlink so you spend effort on links that count.
2. Clean up toxic or spammy links
A backlink profile full of spammy, irrelevant links can drag on your authority and, in bad cases, invite manual penalties. Periodically review your link profile, and disavow clearly toxic links if they're abundant and harmful. Don't over-do it — disavowing healthy links by mistake hurts more than it helps — but cleaning genuine spam keeps your profile credible.
3. Publish content worth linking to
Backlinks are easier to earn when you've created something link-worthy: in-depth guides, original research, free tools, useful templates, or a genuinely better answer to a common question than what already ranks. "Link bait" in the good sense — content people want to cite. Strong content also improves engagement and relevance, which supports rankings independently of any authority score.
4. Strengthen internal linking
Internal links spread authority around your own site and help search engines understand your structure. Link related articles to one another with descriptive anchor text, point links from strong pages to important ones, and make sure no valuable page is orphaned. This won't single-handedly move DA, but it makes the most of the authority you already have.
5. Fix the technical basics
Technical health doesn't directly feed DA, but it supports the rankings and crawlability that authority is meant to predict. Cover the fundamentals: fast load times, mobile-friendliness, HTTPS, a clean site architecture, no broken links, and a valid sitemap. A site that's easy to crawl and pleasant to use earns and retains links more easily.
What does NOT increase DA (avoid these)
- Buying links or DA — purchased links violate Google's guidelines and can trigger penalties; "guaranteed DA" services are a red flag.
- Mass low-quality directory or comment links — these add noise, not authority.
- Exact-match anchor text spam — over-optimized anchors look manipulative. Vary them naturally.
- Chasing a round number — "get to DA 50" is the wrong goal. Compare to your competitors instead.
How long does it take?
Authority is slow to build. Because DA is logarithmic, early gains (say, 10 to 25) come relatively quickly as you earn your first solid links, while higher jumps (50 to 60) can take many months of sustained, quality link-building. Be patient and consistent — there's no legitimate shortcut.
Track your progress
Measure DA periodically rather than obsessively — monthly is plenty. Check your score and your competitors' with our Domain Authority Checker, and watch the trend relative to your niche rather than the absolute figure. If you also track Ahrefs' metric, our DR Checker covers Domain Rating, and you can read how the two compare in DR vs DA. For what counts as a healthy score, see what is a good domain authority score?
Frequently asked questions
How can I increase my Domain Authority fast?
There's no legitimate fast track. The fastest honest route is earning a few high-quality, relevant backlinks through great content — but real gains still take months. Be wary of any service promising instant DA.
Does increasing DA improve my Google rankings?
Not directly — Google doesn't use DA. But the work that raises DA (quality links, strong content) is the same work that genuinely improves rankings, so they tend to move together.
Can my DA go down?
Yes. DA can drop if you lose backlinks, if Moz updates its index or model, or if competitors gain ground. Some fluctuation is normal.
What's a good DA to aim for?
It depends entirely on your niche — aim to match or beat the sites ranking for your target keywords. See what is a good DA score?
Check your Domain Authority
See where you stand today and set a realistic benchmark with our free Domain Authority Checker — then track it as your link-building work compounds.