Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partners (VARs) deal with many different marketing numbers, such as fans and followers, conversions, and click-throughs.
Some of these numbers hold more significance than others, but one stands out as the most crucial: Domain Authority.
As an analytical person, it got me thinking about the domain authority scores for these partners.
So, I started researching over 100+ Business Central Partners to learn what their site Domain Authority is.
And I was amazed by the results.
This article addresses the most important questions about this key metric.
I'll begin with an overview, share the results, and move on to practical tips.
Finally, I'll provide a list of strategies to answer the top question: How can I increase my Domain Authority?
If you're looking for quick advice on boosting your authority, scroll to the bottom.
What is Domain Authority?
Domain Authority (DA) is a score between 1 and 100 that predicts how well a website will rank on search engines.
Developed by Moz, it serves as an approximation of Google's original "PageRank" score, which rated website credibility on a scale of 1 to 10.
While public access to PageRank was discontinued in 2016, it is believed that Google still uses a similar metric internally.
DA evaluates a website's credibility based on various factors, particularly the quality and quantity of links from other sites.
For instance, if website A links to website B, it acts as a vote of confidence, boosting website B's Domain Authority and increasing its chances of ranking higher in search results.
Similar metrics exist in other major SEO tools, such as SEMrush's Authority Score and Ahrefs' Domain Rating.
How is Domain Authority calculated?
"Domain Authority is calculated by evaluating multiple factors, including linking root domains and total number of links, into a single DA score. This score can then be used when comparing websites or tracking the "ranking strength" of a website over time." - According to Moz, creator of the Domain Authority metric.
Here's a simpler way to explain it:
Moz calculates your Domain Authority (DA) using an algorithm that looks at many factors, mainly the number and quality of links from other websites. This algorithm evaluates the strength of your site's "link profile" against others in Moz's large database, resulting in a score between 1 and 100.
In general, the more high-quality, relevant backlinks your site has, the higher its Domain Authority score will be.
What is a good or average Domain Authority score?
Understanding Domain Authority (DA) is a common SEO inquiry. You might ask, "Is a Domain Authority of 30 any good, or could it be better?"
As with many SEO questions, the answer is: it depends.
There isn't a single number to aim for, so setting realistic and achievable goals based on your resources, competitors, and specific ranking objectives is key to sustainably growing your authority.
A new website starts with a Domain Authority score of one, which increases as the site earns authoritative backlinks over time. Websites with numerous high-quality external links will generally have higher Domain Authority, while small businesses and sites with fewer inbound links might have lower DA scores.
Since Domain Authority predicts a site's ranking ability within its competitive landscape, you shouldn't set your target DA in isolation.
Instead, look at the DA scores of your direct competitors in the SERPs and aim for a higher score than theirs. DA is most effective as a comparative metric when analyzing competitors with more robust link profiles in your target SERPs.
Because this metric is relative, there's no absolute "good," "average," or "bad" Domain Authority score—only scores that are "good," "average," or "bad" in the context of your specific competitive landscape.
Does the Domain Authority Calculation Formula Change? If So, How Often?
To answer this question, let's hear from Matt Peters, who works on Mozscape, the index on which Domain Authority is based.
"The algorithm used to calculate Domain Authority has changed over time, but relatively infrequently. The current algorithm has been in production for nearly five years without any major changes. We do occasionally make minor tweaks as needed. Robustness against changes in Google's algorithm and in the underlying Mozscape link index was a design principle when developing the algorithm." - Matthew Peters, Director of Data Science, Moz.
Domain Authority vs. Authority Score vs. Page Authority. What's the difference?
Feature | Domain Authority (DA) | Authority Score (AS) | Page Authority (PA) |
Scope | Entire domain or subdomain | Entire domain or subdomain | Individual web page |
Factors Considered | Quality and quantity of external links to the domain, domain-wide link profile, and other domain-wide metrics | Quality and quantity of external links, domain strength, SEO performance, and other factors | Quality and quantity of external links to the page, page-specific metrics |
Score Range | 1 to 100 | 1 to 100 | 1 to 100 |
Purpose | Assess the overall strength and competitiveness of a domain in search engine rankings | Measure overall domain strength and SEO performance | Evaluate the strength and competitiveness of a specific page within a domain |
Developed By | MOZ | SEMRush | MOZ |
Primary Use Case | Understanding domain-level ranking potential | Understanding overall domain authority and SEO health | Understanding page-level ranking potential |
Google doesn't rank entire websites; it ranks individual web pages.
While Domain Authority indicates how likely it is that pages on a domain will rank, the true measure lies in the authority of specific pages—this is known as Page Authority.
Consider search engine optimization as a competition:
Each search term represents a contest.
Each web page is a contestant.
Pages gain authority in two ways:
Directly when another website links to them.
Indirectly, by borrowing authority from their domain.
Where Can I Check My Domain Authority?
If you don't know what your Domain Authority is, you can use Link Explorer, a free tool from Moz, to perform a domain authority test.
Simply enter your domain, and the results will show you its Domain Authority along with a snapshot of its "backlink profile."
By using the paid version of Moz, you will gain access to the full data set.
Links play a significant role in Google search rankings. Generally, pages and websites with higher authority tend to rank higher in search results.
However, this might not always be the case.
Why Do Lower Authority Pages Sometimes Outrank Higher Authority Pages?
Don't be surprised if less authoritative pages rank higher than more authoritative ones.
While authority is important, it's not the only search ranking factor.
Google's algorithm is complex, with dozens of ranking factors, each having multiple variations.
When a page with lower authority ranks well, it often excels in other areas:
The page is more relevant for the target phrase, as it may use the phrase more frequently in key locations.
The page provides a more detailed and thorough exploration of the topic, possibly being longer or answering more questions.
The links to the page include the target keyword in the anchor text. (Exact match anchor text still matters.)
The page is more engaging, encouraging visitors to stay longer. (User interaction signals are important.)
It's actually quite common for pages with low authority to rank well because SEO involves more than just links!
What is Considered a Good Domain Authority?
It's a common question: What qualifies as a high Domain Authority?
The answer, as always, is "it depends."
It specifically depends on the level of competition for the phrase—similar to how speed matters in a race.
What's a good speed? Is 60 mph fast?
That depends on the type of race.
60 mph is incredibly fast in a bicycle race.
60 mph is the standard speed on a highway.
60 mph is too slow in a Formula 1 race.
Search engines work the same way.
Every phrase represents a competition, and every page is a competitor.
If you have a page with an authority score of 25, that might be more than enough to rank well for a less competitive, less popular phrase.
However, ranking for a highly competitive, high-value phrase won't be sufficient.
A good Domain Authority is any score higher than the authority of other top-ranking sites for your most important target phrases.
The same principle applies to authority and search rankings.
The Domain Authority Results from 100+ Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Partners Websites
MOZ Authority Score Results
Based on the research of 100+ Business Central Partner websites, 51% of partner websites had a Moz Domain Authority score of between 16 and 30. 33% were in the 31-45 range, and 16% had a score under 15.
The highest domain authority score was 43, and the lowest was 7.
This gives an average score of 26.1.
SEMRush Authority Score Results
Using SEMrush's algorithm for Authority scores, we find that 45% of partners fall within the 21 to 30 range, 21% in the 1 to 10 range, 29% in the 11 to 20 range, and 5% in the 31 to 40 range.
The top-performing website had an Authority Score of 36, while more than 10 websites scored below 10, with the lowest score being 1.
Overall, the average Authority Score was 18.06.
Ahref Authority Score Results
Even though we have not talked about Ahref, we also ran the 100 websites through that SEO tool.
Ahref calculates its authority score by looking at the number of unique domains linking to the target website, the authority of those linking domains, and the number of unique domains each of those sites links to.
Ahref Authority Score Range | % of Partner Websites in the range |
1 to 10 | 21% |
11 to 20 | 14% |
21 to 30 | 16.5% |
31 to 40 | 30% |
41 to 50 | 12.5% |
51 to 60 | 6% |
The highest-scoring website had an Authority Score of 67, while three websites managed only an AS of 1. The overall average Ahrefs Authority Score was 27.32.
Questions you need to answer are:
What is your DA Score?
What is the DA score of your top 5 competitors?
Is your DA greater than your competitors?
If not, what is your strategy to increase it?
If you want to drive traffic to your website and generate leads, you need to know your domain authority and how it compares to your competitors.
If not, then there is a greater probability that they are taking your website traffic and leads!
Why is My Domain Authority Decreasing?
If your Domain Authority has dropped recently, there's no need to panic. The actual standing of your website's authority might not have changed at all.
Let me explain...
Moz faces a significant technical challenge in accurately capturing all the links on the Internet. Updating Domain Authority data isn't always a regular process—sometimes, it happens every few weeks, and other times, it may take several months.
This means the frequency of updates can be inconsistent.
The metric itself can fluctuate as well.
For example, you might see everyone's DA go up or down at the same time.
But don't let this frustrate you.
It's important to remember that DA is a relative metric.
What truly matters is how your authority compares to the authority of other sites you're competing with on Google.
Is Tracking and Measuring Domain Authority Challenging?
Let's see what Matthew Peters of Moz has to say about this…
"Tracking Domain Authority against all 150+ billion pages in the Mozscape index is nearly impossible, so we focus on tracking Domain Authority on a subset of a few hundred thousand pages over time. Among other things, we monitor correlations vs Google rankings and the overall values of Domain Authority." - Matthew Peters, Director of Data Science, Moz.
How Can I Boost My Domain Authority
Enhancing your site's overall SEO health, especially by focusing on building high-quality links and plentiful external links, is the most effective way to boost your domain authority.
Tips to improving your DA.
Step 1: Identify Your Competition
When working with Domain Authority, the first step is pinpointing your competitors and ensuring you're comparing yourself to the right ones.
If you're not sure who your competitors are, tools like Moz and SEMRush can help.
Pro Tip: Focus on sites that are categorically like yours. If a site consistently ranks for similar keywords, it's likely a good competitor to monitor.
Once you've identified potential competitors, double-check that their site size, content, and DA are comparable to yours. This will give you a more accurate benchmark.
---
Step 2: Analyze and Compare Link Profiles
After pinpointing your competitors, it's time to dive into your link profiles.
The more followed links you have in your backlink profile, the better. Think of followed links as open highways for link equity to flow through, while "nofollow" links act like roadblocks that can stop link equity in its tracks, preventing it from reaching your site.
Step 3: Create Great Content to Attract Links
You might be asking: How do I get more followed links?
The key is to create outstanding content (blog posts) that people want to link to. Start by checking your top-performing pages and those of your competitors.
This will give you valuable insights into the kind of content that resonates with your audience and the market.
Step 4: Check the Status of Your Top Pages
Another crucial step in improving your Domain Authority is ensuring all your top pages are active and accessible.
If you have pages with valuable external links pointing to them, make sure they aren't returning 404 errors and are accessible to anyone trying to visit them.
If you discover any of these top pages are inactive, consider fixing them or redirecting those links to a more relevant, active page on your site.
Alternatively, you could reach out to the sites linking to those dead pages and ask them to update the links to the correct live versions.
Step 5: Promote Your Top Pages and Content
Don't forget the tried-and-true method of building your backlink profile through good old-fashioned link building!
By securing more quality links from authoritative sites, you can continue to boost your Domain Authority.
Since Domain Authority pulls together so much data, it can be tough to influence directly.
This metric is designed to predict how competitive a site will be in Google search results.
And because Google uses so many ranking factors to determine its rankings, a metric that aims to mirror Google's decisions has to account for a similar range and complexity of factors.
So, what boosts your Domain Authority? Effective marketing.
"My top advice is to create and share high-quality, engaging thought leadership content that resonates with your target audience. Alternatively, do something truly innovative and newsworthy."
- Jon Rivers, COO Marketeery
Ready to boost your website’s visibility and drive more traffic? Our SEO experts can help you climb the ranks and attract the right audience! Discover how tailored SEO strategies can make a difference for your business. Contact us today to get started!
Jon Rivers
Jon Rivers is the Co-Founder and COO of Marketeery. His technical background and sales and marketing skills allow him to understand solutions out of the gate and help drive better marketing campaigns.
He's an international top-rated speaker and the author of "The Ultimate Guide to Hashtags for the Microsoft Dynamics Ecosystem" eBook. You can find Jon on LinkedIn.