Domain Authority

Moz's 0–100 score predicting how well a website will rank in search engines based on its backlink profile.

Domain Authority (DA) is a metric developed by Moz — not Google — that predicts how well a website is likely to rank in search engines. It's scored from 0 to 100 on a logarithmic scale, where higher scores indicate greater ability to rank. It's calculated primarily from the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to the domain.

Domain Authority is often confused with Domain Rating (DR), which is Ahrefs' equivalent metric. Both measure backlink authority at the domain level, but use different methodologies and scales. Neither is a Google metric — they are third-party approximations of authority. Ahrefs' DR tends to be more widely used in the B2B SEO industry.

Domain Authority matters for practical planning: it helps B2B companies assess whether they have the backlink foundation needed to compete for their target keywords, and benchmark their authority against competitors.

Building domain authority is a long-term process that requires consistent link acquisition over time. It cannot be significantly moved in weeks — sustainable growth requires earning backlinks through content quality, digital PR, and relationship building over months and years.