# Domain authority

Source: https://www.lucidmedia.co.nz/glossary/domain-authority/

SEO term

Domain authority is a third-party score that predicts how likely a website is to rank well in search results, based largely on the quality and quantity of its backlinks. It is an industry estimate, not a metric Google itself uses.

## Why it matters for your business

Domain authority is useful as a quick, comparative benchmark. It gives you a rough sense of how your site stacks up against competitors and helps you judge whether a potential backlink is coming from a strong site or a weak one. It matters because relative strength is a real part of SEO. But it should be treated as a directional guide, not a target in itself. The honest framing is that domain authority is a helpful estimate created by SEO tools, not a number Google publishes or rewards.

## How it works

### Who calculates it

Domain authority is a metric created by SEO software companies. Different tools have their own versions, such as Moz Domain Authority, Ahrefs Domain Rating and Semrush Authority Score. They all use a logarithmic scale, usually from 1 to 100, where moving from 20 to 30 is far easier than moving from 70 to 80.

### What feeds the score

The score is driven mostly by your backlink profile: how many sites link to you, how strong those sites are, and how relevant they are. It is a prediction of ranking ability built from link data, not a measurement of your actual rankings.

### How to use it well

Use domain authority to compare yourself against direct competitors and to vet link opportunities. Do not obsess over the exact number. A site with a lower score that ranks well for terms your customers search is in a stronger commercial position than a high-scoring site that ranks for nothing useful.

A common mistake

The biggest mistake is treating domain authority as a Google ranking factor and chasing the number directly. Google has stated it does not use any third-party authority score. A business can lift its domain authority and still not rank for the terms that bring in customers. Focus on rankings and enquiries for commercially relevant searches. Domain authority is a thermometer, not the thing you are trying to grow.

## Related terms

- [Backlink](https://www.lucidmedia.co.nz/glossary/backlink/)
- [Anchor text](https://www.lucidmedia.co.nz/glossary/anchor-text/)
- [SEO](https://www.lucidmedia.co.nz/glossary/seo/)

## Go deeper

See how this applies to a real business growth strategy.

[Our SEO service](https://www.lucidmedia.co.nz/services/search-engine-optimisation/)

[Back to the full glossary](https://www.lucidmedia.co.nz/glossary/)

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