What domain authority is and why it matters

Domain Authority (DA) is a score from 1 to 100 that predicts how well a website will rank in search results. It's calculated by Moz, a company that tracks search engine patterns. A higher DA means the site has built more credibility over time through backlinks — links from other websites pointing to it.

DA is useful when you're deciding whether to link to a site, whether a competitor's site is stronger than yours, or whether a website is worth writing for. It's not a Google metric, so it won't directly change your search ranking, but it's a reliable signal of how established a domain is.

The score reflects the site's entire domain, not individual pages. A homepage might rank better than a deep page on the same site, but both share the same DA.

Key Takeaways

  • Domain Authority is a Moz score from 1 to 100 that estimates how well a website will rank in search results based on its backlink profile.
  • You can check any website's DA for free using the Moz toolbar browser extension or by visiting the Moz Link Explorer website.
  • A DA of 40 or higher is generally considered strong; anything above 60 is very competitive.
  • DA changes monthly as Moz updates its data, so a site's score may shift even if nothing on the site changed.
  • Domain Authority is one signal among many — a high DA doesn't may provide good content or trustworthiness.

Using the Moz toolbar to check DA instantly

The fastest way to check a website's DA is to install the Moz toolbar, a free browser extension that shows the score as you browse. Go to moz.com/tools/seo-toolbar and download the version for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge. Install it like any other extension.

Once installed, visit any website. The toolbar appears in your browser's top right corner. Click the Moz icon and you'll see the site's DA, Page Authority (PA — the score for that specific page), and spam score. The toolbar also shows you how many backlinks point to the site and how many linking domains it has.

This method works offline and doesn't require you to leave the website you're checking. It's the quickest option if you're researching multiple sites in a row.

Checking DA through Moz Link Explorer

If you don't want to install an extension, use Moz Link Explorer at moz.com/link-explorer. Type or paste the website URL into the search box and hit Enter. Within seconds, you'll see the site's DA, PA, and a breakdown of its backlink profile.

Link Explorer shows you which sites are linking to the domain, how many backlinks each linking domain has, and the anchor text used in those links. You can see the top pages on the site by authority and identify which external sites send the most link juice to it.

Moz gives you 10 free searches per month on Link Explorer without an account. If you need more, create a free Moz account to get 30 searches monthly. Paid plans unlock unlimited searches and more detailed reports.

Understanding what the DA score actually means

Domain Authority uses a logarithmic scale, which means the difference between a DA of 20 and 30 is much easier to achieve than the difference between 70 and 80. A site at DA 50 is not twice as strong as a site at DA 25 — it's significantly stronger.

The score is relative, not absolute. Moz recalculates DA monthly based on updated backlink data across the web. A site's DA can go up or down even if nothing changed on the site itself — it changes because competitors' profiles changed or Moz's algorithm was refined.

DA is useful for comparing sites in your industry or deciding whether a backlink opportunity is worth pursuing. A link from a DA 60 site carries more weight than a link from a DA 20 site. But DA alone doesn't tell you if a site is trustworthy, well-written, or relevant to your audience.

Checking DA for competitor analysis

To compare your site's DA against competitors, gather a list of your top three to five competitors. Check each one's DA using the toolbar or Link Explorer. Write down their scores and note which sites are linking to them.

If a competitor has a significantly higher DA, look at their backlink profile to understand why. Are they getting links from industry publications? News sites? Directory listings? This tells you what types of sites value their content and where you might pursue similar opportunities.

Use this information to inform your link-building strategy, not to panic. A higher DA doesn't mean their content is better — it means they've been building links longer or more aggressively. You can still outrank them on specific keywords if your page is more relevant and better optimized.

What DA does not tell you

Domain Authority predicts ranking potential, but it's not a ranking may provide. A site with DA 70 can rank below a site with DA 40 for a specific keyword if the lower-DA site has better content, better on-page optimization, or more relevant backlinks for that particular search.

DA also doesn't measure content quality, user experience, or whether a site is trustworthy. A site could have a high DA and still publish misinformation or have a poor layout. Similarly, a new site with genuinely excellent content will have a low DA simply because it hasn't had time to accumulate backlinks.

If you're deciding whether to link to a site or feature it as a source, check DA as one signal, but also read the content, verify the author's credentials, and confirm the information is accurate.

Free tools that show DA alongside other metrics

Several free SEO tools display DA along with other useful information. SEMrush's free plan shows DA and other domain metrics when you search a URL. Ahrefs' free backlink checker shows Domain Rating (Ahrefs' version of DA) and the top backlinks to any site. Both require you to enter a URL on their website rather than installing a toolbar.

These alternatives are useful if you prefer not to install browser extensions or if you want to see multiple metrics at once. The Moz toolbar remains the fastest option for quick checks while you're browsing, but these tools offer more detailed reports if you're doing deeper research.

All of these tools calculate authority scores differently, so a site might have a DA of 45 in Moz but a Domain Rating of 38 in Ahrefs. The scores are not directly comparable — use one tool consistently within your own analysis rather than mixing them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I check the DA of a specific page instead of the whole domain?

Moz calculates DA for the entire domain, but it also shows Page Authority (PA) for individual pages. PA works the same way as DA but measures a single page's ranking potential. Use the toolbar or Link Explorer to see both scores — the domain score and the page score.

Why did a website's DA go down even though nothing changed?

Moz updates DA monthly based on new backlink data across the web. A site's score can drop if competitors gained more backlinks, if the site lost some of its existing backlinks, or if Moz refined its algorithm. It's normal for DA to fluctuate by a point or two month to month.

Is a DA of 30 good or bad?

DA is relative to your industry and goals. A DA of 30 is above average for most websites. For competitive industries like finance or health, DA 30 is moderate. For niche topics, DA 30 is strong. Compare your DA to your direct competitors rather than using a universal benchmark.

Does a high DA may provide my site will rank well?

No. DA predicts ranking potential based on backlinks, but Google's algorithm considers hundreds of factors including content quality, relevance, user experience, and page speed. A high-DA site with poor content can rank below a lower-DA site with better content for specific keywords.

Should I only accept backlinks from high-DA sites?

No. A backlink from a relevant, lower-DA site in your industry is often more valuable than a backlink from a high-DA site that has nothing to do with your topic. Relevance and context matter more than the DA score alone.