--- title: Domain Authority DA — definition | RGM® Glossary url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/domain-authority-moz-da/ updated: 2026-06-10 source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/domain-authority-moz-da/ --- # Domain Authority (DA) D·Anoun A useful rumor about ranking power — Moz's score, comparative by design, and not a number Google has ever used. Term : Domain Authority (DA) By : Moz — with Ahrefs DR as the sibling Predicts : Ranking strength from links Is not : A Google metric or a target ## Forms & parts of speech DA · noun Moz's link-strength proxy. "The prospect list filtered at **DA** 50+ - a proxy threshold, useful exactly as long as nobody mistook it for Google." ## Definition in plain terms Domain Authority (DA) is Moz's 1-100 score predicting how well a domain is likely to rank, computed from its link profile — referring domains, link quality, link patterns — against the rest of the web. Ahrefs' Domain Rating (DR) is the sibling metric most teams use interchangeably. Two facts anchor honest use: the scores are comparative (logarithmic scales where 20→30 is easy and 70→80 is mountainous, meaningful mainly against competitors), and they are third-party proxies — Google has repeatedly said it uses no 'domain authority' metric, whatever the rumor mill insists. ## The mechanics The mechanics explain the limits. Moz and Ahrefs crawl the web, index links, and model what link equity tends to produce in rankings — machine-learned correlation with real SERPs, refreshed as the web and the model change (Moz's DA 2.0 update in 2019 re-scored swaths of the web overnight, a reminder the number is a model's opinion, not a property of the site). The legitimate uses are triage and trend: filtering DIGITAL-PR and LINK-BUILDING prospect lists (a DA-8 directory and a DA-78 newspaper deserve different effort), benchmarking authority growth against competitors over quarters, and sanity-checking a domain's league before content investment — the same job BACKLINK profile review does in detail. The abuses are where the metric earns its bad name: DA as a KPI invites Goodhart's law (the score is gameable with links Google would discount or punish, so chasing it optimizes the proxy and not the ranking); cross-tool comparisons confuse models (DA and DR disagree by design); absolute thresholds ignore category reality (DA 35 leads some niches); and 'guaranteed DA 50+ guest posts' is the spam economy's favorite invoice line. The discipline is proxy posture: use it to sort and trend, verify with real rankings and traffic, and never let a vendor's model become the goal. ## When it matters DA matters as a working shorthand wherever link sources get triaged at volume — PR prospecting, competitive authority benchmarks, due diligence on domains. It matters most when held lightly: trends against competitors mean something; the absolute number means little; and any strategy that 'targets DA' has confused the speedometer with the road. The discipline is to report it beside the metrics that pay — rankings, organic traffic, referring-domain growth — and to keep the office honest about whose number it is. **Worked example.** An SEO lead inherits a quarterly report whose headline KPI is 'grow DA from 42 to 50' - and a link vendor invoicing against exactly that promise. The audit tells the proxy story: DA rose four points over the year while organic traffic fell 12%, because the vendor's directory-and-guest-post links inflated the model and impressed Google not at all. The rebuild repositions the metric: DA/DR stays as a prospect-triage filter (editorial targets sorted into effort tiers) and a competitive trend line (the brand against five rivals, quarterly), while the KPIs revert to what pays - rankings on money terms, organic revenue, referring-domain growth from coverage-grade sources. The digital-PR program replaces the vendor; eighteen months later DA has risen three points as a side effect, and nobody in the building mistakes the speedometer for the road anymore. **Failure modes to watch.** DA as a KPI inviting exactly the links Google discounts; cross-tool score comparisons confusing different models; absolute thresholds ignoring that DA 35 leads some categories; 'guaranteed DA 50 placements' purchased as if the number transferred; and reports headlining the proxy while rankings and revenue go unmentioned. ## Synonyms & antonyms ### Synonyms Domain AuthorityDAdomain rating (sibling metric) ### Antonyms PageRank (Google's own)ranking performance ## Origin & history Moz introduced Domain Authority in the late 2000s as a PageRank-era proxy for link strength, and rebuilt it as DA 2.0 in 2019 with machine-learned scoring; Ahrefs' Domain Rating became the parallel currency, and both outlived Google's visible PageRank to become the industry's shared — and chronically misread — shorthand for authority. Etymology: [source](https://moz.com/learn/seo/domain-authority). ## Usage trends Search interest for this term over the last five years: [View interest-over-time on Google Trends →](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=domain%20authority&date=today%205-y) ## Common questions What is Domain Authority? : Moz's 1-100 score predicting a domain's ranking strength from its link profile — comparative, logarithmic, and a third-party model rather than anything Google uses. Is Domain Authority a Google ranking factor? : No — Google has repeatedly said it uses no domain-authority metric; DA and Ahrefs' DR are vendor models correlating link profiles with ranking outcomes. How should DA be used? : As triage and trend — filtering link prospects, benchmarking authority against competitors over time — verified against real rankings and traffic, never as a KPI in itself. ## Related tools & calculators - tool[SEO audit tool](/tools/seo-audit/) - tool[Keyword-prominence checker](/tools/keyword-prominence/) ## Resources & people to follow - reference[Moz — what is Domain Authority](https://moz.com/learn/seo/domain-authority) - referenceAhrefs — Domain Rating documentation - referenceRGM analysis — sort and trend with the proxy, pay attention to what pays; don't let a vendor's model become the goal Curated, non-competitor resources verified per term. ## Related training - module[Performance marketing](/training/performance-marketing-foundations/) ## Disciplines Areas of marketing where domain authority (da) is a core concern: [Performance marketing](/training/performance-marketing-foundations/)[Growth strategy](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/) ## Read next ## Related terms [Backlink](/glossary/backlink/)[Link building](/glossary/link-building/)[Digital PR](/glossary/digital-pr/)[Topical authority](/glossary/topical-authority/)[SEO](/glossary/seo/) ## Sources 1. trends[Google Trends — "domain authority"](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=domain%20authority&date=today%205-y)