Let’s explore the best ways to check blog domain authority, along with tips on increasing it safely…
Whether you’re new at blogging or not, chances are you’ve heard about domain authority (DA). This is a system designed by Moz to measure your website’s overall standing relative to others.
Note, however, that domain authority by itself does not drive success. Perhaps Dr. Peter Meyers from Moz said it best, stating that DA is merely a general indicator of your website’s success but it is not the main driving force.
So why would you want to increase your blog’s domain authority? This is what today’s article focuses on, along with listing the best domain authority checkers available out there.
Domain Authority: Potential Benefits
DA allows for relative comparison: If you think about it, a big benefit is the ability to see where your blog stands (or where you are) relative to your competitors.
This enables you to make more informed decisions about your niche in knowing how to manage it. This serves as a roadmap to where you want to be and how close you are to surpassing the competition.
Higher DA helps promote trust: Since DA is directly affected by high-quality backlinks, this implies that other websites (the ones who have linked to yours) consider your blog safe enough for a mention.
This also means that savvy audiences are more likely to trust your blog and would remain more loyal – so long as you keep publishing the content readers crave.
More potential opportunities: With higher trust and overall authority, you are bound to see better opportunities from others.
This includes sponsorships in the form of blog posts, lucrative ad space deals, guest blogging requests, and other offers from third-parties.
Tips & Caveats
Google has nothing to do with DA: Remember, this system was designed by Moz and Google does not take it into consideration when ranking your website.
There is an indirect correlation between rankings and higher DA, but this is mainly due to the high-quality links your blog has attracted over time, not a direct result of your current domain authority.
A lower DA does not make your blog “lesser than” others: Having useful content does not automatically lead to quality backlinks or immense recognition.
For example, many small business websites tend to have a lower DA due to not having many links pointing back to them (however, they’re still pretty helpful to their customers). Therefore, keep focusing on the audience you serve without feeling discouraged by a lower number.
Increasing domain authority is a long-term endeavor: In other words, don’t be upset if your DA hovers around the same digits for longer than you’d expect.
Keep focusing on high-quality content and connecting with fellow bloggers. This can naturally lead to your content being shared and linked to, while not placing too much focus on this metric alone.
How to increase Domain Authority
Increasing your blog’s domain authority involves a straightforward process, but it’s not “easy” by any means. Here’s what I mean:
Obtain high-quality backlinks: As you may already know, obtaining backlinks takes a lot of effort. My best advice is to *always* network and get to know other bloggers. This may be done by befriending them on social media and through guest blogging opportunities.
This may lead to them sharing your content with their audience, which may result in additional links to your content later down the road.
Don’t chase the low-hanging fruit: It may be easy to obtain a link from a brand new blog that’s hungry for guest posts. It’s also easy to obtain links from broad directories that seemingly accept just about anything…
However, did you know that Moz’ DA looks at the very websites that link to yours? If they determine such sites are spammy in nature, you will not see significant rankings (if any) and your overall reputation may suffer as well.
The Best Domain Authority Checkers
Finally, here is a relatively small list of websites to check your domain authority. While there are several more out there, they pretty much all function in a similar fashion.
I personally recommend those that let you check multiple blogs at the same time if you happen to own more than one domain.
Moz Domain Analysis Tool
SureOak
Small SEO Tools
The Hoth
SEO Review Tools
Linkgraph
Clickminded
Conclusion
As you can see, DA doesn’t necessarily mean the ticket to blog traffic riches, but it does give your site an extra layer of authority.
As stated earlier, a higher number can potentially lead to better opportunities ranging from paid sponsored posts and better trust in general.
Have you ever been particularly interested in increasing your own blog’s DA? Can you share additional tips on what’s working for you? Let us know what you think from our official Twitter page. Enjoy!
Author: Elvis Michael
Elvis Michael is an avid blogger and e-trepreneur, endlessly exploring new ideas and effective ways to inspire.