DA, or Domain Authority, is one of the most talked-about and least understood metrics in SEO. It's neither the most important thing nor completely irrelevant. Understanding it properly changes how you make decisions about your digital strategy.
What Domain Authority actually is
Domain Authority is a metric created by Moz that predicts, on a scale of 1 to 100, how likely a site is to rank well on Google. It isn't an official Google metric. But it correlates with factors Google does value — mainly the quantity and quality of external links pointing to your site.
How DA is calculated
DA is based mainly on your site's external link profile. How many sites link to you, how much authority they have, what anchor text they use and how relevant they are to your sector. The scale is logarithmic — going from DA 10 to DA 20 is easy. Going from DA 50 to DA 60 takes ten times the effort.
Why a low DA isn't the end of the world
A low DA is normal for new sites. What matters isn't your absolute DA but your DA relative to your local competitors. If your site has DA 15 and your competitors in Tenerife have DA 12, you're in a good position.
How to improve your site's DA
- Get listed in relevant local directories for Tenerife and the Canary Islands.
- Get mentioned in local or sector media.
- Publish guest articles on sector blogs.
- Create content good enough that other sites link to it naturally.
- Have a technically flawless site with an active, quality blog.
The DA trap: obsessing over the number
Businesses with DA 20 rank ahead of businesses with DA 40 if they have better content, better on-page SEO and more relevance for a specific search. Obsessing over DA instead of creating useful content and optimising your site is one of the most common mistakes.
DA is an indicator, not the goal. Treat it as such.
What's actually within your control is the technical side: a fast, well-structured site with structured data in place. That's included in web design, not sold as an extra.