In the SEO world, Domain authority (DA) is one of the most significant indicators of how well a page ranks for a relevant query. DA is a prime metric search engines use to rank a website on Search Engine Results Pages or SERPs. A high DA score means your website is authoritative and trusted by search engines and more likely to be displayed first when a customer searches for your services. Here are nine practical tips you can use to increase your website’s Domain Authority score – which will, in turn, help improve your website’s ranking and visibility on SERPs.

What is Domain Authority (DA)?

Domain Authority (DA) is a score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). A Domain Authority score ranges from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a better ability to rank. DA is calculated by evaluating linking root domains, the number of total links, MozRank, MozTrust, etc., into a single DA score. This score compares and tracks a website’s “ranking strength” over time.

While Domain Authority is not an absolute measure of a website’s SEO success, it is valuable for comparing relative link popularity and SEO strength. Additionally, Domain Authority scores are logarithmic (i.e., each point represents 10x the previous point); it is easier to improve your score when starting from a lower base than to improve your score if you already have a high DA.

Domain Authority can be a helpful metric for tracking SEO progress over time. Here are some ways to improve your website’s DA score:

Improve the website’s loading speed

Domain Authority is partly based on how quickly your website loads. If your site takes too long to load, it will negatively impact your DA score. To improve your site’s loading speed, consider using a content delivery network (CDN) and optimizing your images.

Having a slow website can be costly. An estimated 1-second delay in page load time can result in a 7% reduction in conversions. That’s why it’s essential to improve your website’s loading speed. Here are some of the methods you can use to achieve this goal-

  • Choose a performance-optimized hosting solution
  • Compress and optimize your images
  • Reduce your redirects
  • Enable browser caching
  • Minify CSS, JavaScript, HTML, and many more.

Publish high-quality content

Domain Authority evaluates the quality of the content on your website. Search tools want to see well-written, informative articles relevant to the searcher’s query. To improve the quality of your content, focus on creating in-depth, keyword-rich articles. Examples are:

  • Reports and studies
  • Breaking news
  • Unique and intriguing Opinions
  • Useful tools and tips
  • Interesting Long-form content
  • Statistical round-ups

Get high-quality backlinks

Domain Authority is partially determined by the number and quality of backlinks pointing to your website. The highest-ranking backlinks come from high-quality and reputable sites. Keep one thing in mind when generating links – always approach a website with relevant content to your site, which means finding niche-relevant websites.

Here are some link-building strategies that you can try for your website-

  • Guest blogging
  • Building a Broken Link
  • Link Building for Resource Pages
  • Directories
  • Social Sharing

Implement Technical SEO

Technical SEO tasks are basic configuration tasks usually completed before launching a website. It’s a good idea to check your website’s basic configuration as part of routine site maintenance, and those checkpoints include:

  • Sign up for Google Search Console for your website.
  • Create an XML sitemap (and submit it to Google).
  • Examine your robots.txt file. During website development, it’s common to prevent Google from crawling your Domain.
  • Check that your website is using HTTPS.
  • Wherever possible, include structured data (schema) information.

Social Media Presence

All search engines use social media marketing; it is essential to use social media marketing to help increase your domain authority. Most companies need to create a compelling profile on the most popular social sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Google+, and others. What should you do once you’re on social media websites? You must share the content from your website on social media profiles using the URL, increasing the likelihood of referral traffic from these platforms.

Remove Bad Links

A spam score is a measurement of a website’s spam, and one of the main reasons for an increase in this scoring metric is bad links. Bad links are artificial or low-quality backlinks, preventing domain authority from increasing. There are various types of bad links, and these are some types of backlinks to avoid:

  • Incoming links from an unrelated website
  • A backlink from a low-authority website
  • The link is broken.
  • Links to gambling or adult websites
  • Links to “User-Generated Content” (Forum posting, Blog Commenting, Backlink maker tool)

Backlinks can also be identified using SEO tools such as Ahrefs and UberSuggest and should be removed as early as possible.

Optimize Website for Mobile

Most users surf the internet using mobile devices, and if your site is not mobile-friendly, it will not perform well in SERPs. To improve your rankings and DA, use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tools to optimize your website for mobile devices. Here are some pointers for creating a mobile-friendly website:

  • Use responsive website themes or designs.
  • Include images with the proper dimensions.
  • You can use AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) to make websites load faster on mobile devices.

On-site SEO

Don’t forget about on-site. Many people overlook the importance of site architecture in their focus on obtaining backlinks. Site architecture and on-site changes are constantly evolving. Best practice guidelines recommend continually researching keywords, then updating pages with relevant content using those target keywords.

Bloggers & Influencers Outreach

Building relationships with bloggers and influencers, such as by writing guest posts, is an excellent link-building strategy. It doesn’t not only improve your SEO but also establishes you as an industry expert. Obtaining high-authority backlinks will gain you Google’s trust, which will increase your domain authority. Guest posting will also raise brand awareness by driving new visitors to your website and social media channels.

Additionally, use influencer marketing to get featured on lists and round-ups. This is a quick and inexpensive way to get new backlinks to help your SEO efforts. Blogger outreach was instrumental in obtaining 150+ high-authority links in less than eight months.

Conclusion

You can do several things to help quickly grow your domain authority. While some may be easier than others, all of them will help get you one step closer to the top spot. So, what are you waiting for? Get started today! And if you need help along the way, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be happy to assist with anything related to SEO or domain authority growth.

If you’re looking for a digital marketing agency to help improve your Domain Authority and overall website performance, you’ve come to the right place. Market Tactics has a proven track record of helping our clients achieve their marketing goals. We have a team of experienced professionals ready to help you take your online performance to the next level. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you get to the top.