How to Increase Domain Authority and Page Authority

To increase Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA), you need more links from relevant, trusted websites. Both are Moz scores built mainly from link data. Better content, cleaner technical SEO and smart internal linking help too, but mostly because they make your pages easier to find and more worth linking to.

One thing to know up front: Google doesn’t use DA or PA. They’re third-party scores that estimate how competitive a site or page might be in search. Treat a rising DA as a side effect of earning real links, not as the goal.

If you’re new to these metrics, start with our guide on what domain authority is and how to check it. This post focuses on how to improve them.

DA and PA in 30 seconds

Two things surprise most people:

• It gets harder as you go up. The scale is roughly logarithmic, so going from 15 to 25 is much easier than going from 55 to 65.
• It’s relative. Your score can move when Moz refreshes its index or when other sites gain links, even if you changed nothing.

Other tools have their own versions, such as Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) and Semrush Authority Score. Pick one tool and track the trend instead of mixing numbers.

Step 1: Know where you stand

Before you try to raise your score, check it in context:

1. Look up your DA and PA in Moz Link Explorer (or DR in Ahrefs).
2. Check three to five direct competitors that rank for your main keywords.
3. Compare linking root domains, the number of unique sites linking to each of you. This usually explains most of the gap.

A quick SEO competitor analysis shows which sites link to your competitors but not to you. That list becomes your outreach plan.

What’s a “good” DA? One that’s competitive in your niche. A local plumber with DA 20 can beat a national brand on local searches. A DA 30 SaaS blog may struggle against DA 70 publishers. Compare against the sites you actually compete with.

Step 2: Earn high-quality backlinks

This is the step that moves DA and PA most, because links are what the scores are built on.

Focus on links that are:

• Relevant to your industry or topic
• From real sites with real readers
• Editorial, given because your content helps, not paid for or swapped
• From many different domains. Ten links from ten sites usually help more than ten links from one.

Tactics that work in 2026:

• Digital PR and expert quotes. Answer journalist requests on platforms like Qwoted or Featured.
• Broken-link building. Suggest your page as a replacement for dead links on relevant sites.
• Resource pages. Get listed on helpful “best tools” or “resources” pages in your niche.
• Careful guest posting. Real sites, real editors, one useful link.
• Unlinked brand mentions. Ask sites that already mention you to add a link.

Our full guide on how to create high-quality backlinks covers each of these in detail. If you run a store, see off-page SEO for ecommerce.

Skip the shortcuts. Sellers offering “DA 50+ backlinks,” private blog networks (PBNs) and link exchanges might bump a third-party score briefly. They’re also black hat SEO techniques that can lead to Google penalties. Google’s link spam systems are good at ignoring these links, so you end up with a higher number and no ranking benefit.

Step 3: Create content people want to link to

Content doesn’t raise DA directly, but it’s the reason people link. Good linkable content includes:

• Original data, even a small survey of your customers or a summary of your own results
• Practical tools like templates, checklists and calculators
• Genuinely in-depth guides with real examples, not word count padding
• Updated explainers that stay accurate as your industry changes

Example: a dental clinic could publish “How Much Does a Dental Implant Cost in [City]?” with a clear price range from its own records and an explanation of what affects cost. Local news sites and health blogs are far more likely to cite that than a generic “benefits of dental implants” post.

Group related posts into content clusters with pillar pages. This makes your expertise obvious to visitors and gives linkers one strong page to point to.

Step 4: Use internal linking to spread authority

Internal links help search engines and visitors find your important pages. They also share some strength from well-linked pages to newer or weaker ones.

Best practices:

• Link from your most-linked pages (often the homepage and top guides) to pages you want to rank.
• Use descriptive anchor text that matches the destination page, without forcing the same exact keyword every time.
• Keep important pages within about three clicks of the homepage.
• When you publish something new, go back and link to it from older related posts.
• Fix orphan pages, meaning pages with no internal links pointing to them.

Example: in a new post about ecommerce SEO strategy, link to your existing guide on keyword research for online stores, and update that older guide to link back. Both pages get easier to find. Our ecommerce SEO guide shows this approach in practice.

Step 5: Tighten your on-page SEO

On-page SEO won’t change DA directly, but it helps your pages rank and get noticed, which is how they attract links over time.

• Write clear title tags and meta descriptions. See how search engines use meta tags.
• Use a logical heading structure with one H1 and descriptive H2s.
• Keep URLs short and readable.
• Optimize images with descriptive file names and useful alt text. Our image SEO guide covers compression and formats.
• Add structured data where it fits, such as FAQ, product or review markup that matches the visible content.

Our on-page SEO checklist walks through the full list.

Step 6: Fix technical SEO problems

If search engines struggle to crawl your site, even great links lose value. Check these regularly:

• Speed and Core Web Vitals. Aim for good LCP, INP and CLS on mobile. INP replaced FID in 2024. See the fundamentals of Core Web Vitals.
• Mobile usability. Google indexes the mobile version of your site.
• HTTPS. It’s expected and builds trust, though it’s only a small ranking signal.
• Broken links and 404s. Redirect valuable old URLs that still have backlinks pointing to them, so you don’t waste that link value.
• Crawlability. Submit an XML sitemap in Search Console and avoid common robots.txt mistakes.

Our list of common technical SEO mistakes is a good place to start an audit.

Quick win: use a backlink tool to find pages on your site that have links but now return 404 errors. Redirecting those to the best matching live page recovers links you already earned.

Step 7: Promote your content and build your brand

Social shares aren’t a ranking factor and don’t feed DA. Visibility does lead to links, though. The more relevant people see your work, the more chances someone cites it.

• Share new guides on LinkedIn, X, relevant communities and your email list.
• Appear on podcasts, webinars and industry roundups.
• Build relationships with writers and site owners in your niche before you need a link.

This also helps with AEO. When trusted sites mention your brand, AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity have more reason to treat you as a credible source, even when the mention isn’t a link.

Step 8: Be patient and track the right things

Authority builds slowly. Expect months of steady work before your score moves meaningfully, especially beyond the 30s and 40s.

Track:

• Linking root domains, the leading indicator
• DA/PA or DR trend over months, not weeks
• Rankings and organic traffic for your key pages
• Referral traffic from new links

Put these in a monthly SEO report so progress (or a sudden drop) is easy to spot.

FAQ

How long does it take to increase domain authority?

Usually several months of consistent link building. New sites can move from single digits into the teens or 20s faster. Higher scores take much longer because the scale gets harder as you climb.

Does Google use Domain Authority?

No. DA and PA are Moz metrics. Google has its own systems and doesn’t use third-party scores. DA is useful as a rough comparison with competitors.

What is a good Domain Authority score?

There’s no universal number. A good score is one that’s competitive with the sites ranking for your target keywords. Compare yourself with direct competitors, not with giant publishers.

Why did my Domain Authority drop?

Common reasons include Moz updating its index or model, other sites in the index gaining links, or you losing some linking domains. A small drop with steady traffic is usually nothing to worry about.

Can I increase page authority without increasing domain authority?

Yes. PA is page-level, so earning links to one strong page can raise its PA quickly. Over time those links also help the domain as a whole.

Should I buy backlinks to raise DA?

No. Bought links might bump a third-party score, but they break Google’s spam policies and can lead to penalties. Focus on earning links instead.

Final thoughts

Raising Domain Authority and Page Authority comes down to one thing: earning links from relevant, trusted sites. Great content gives people a reason to link, internal linking spreads that strength, and technical SEO makes sure nothing is wasted.

Keep the score in perspective. It’s a useful benchmark, but rankings, traffic and leads are what actually matter. Build a site worth citing, and the authority numbers usually follow.

Want help building authority the safe way? Get in touch with our team today.

Saurabh K. has been working in SEO and digital marketing for 10+ years, helping businesses grow their search traffic.