“Is my domain authority good?” is one of the most-asked questions in SEO — and the honest answer is that a score means nothing on its own.A domain authority of 30 might be excellent or mediocre depending entirely on who you're trying to outrank. Still, benchmarks help you orient, as long as you understand what the number is and isn't. This guide gives you real benchmarks from a 118-million-domain dataset, explains what counts as a good score in context, and shows how to use authority without falling into the trap of chasing a number.
There's no universal “good” score — it's relative to your competitors. Roughly: under 20 is new/small, 30–40 established, 50–60 a niche leader, 70+ a major site. What matters is beating the specific sites ranking for your keywords. Check yours and theirs in the authority checker.
What a domain authority score actually is
Domain authority is a third-partyscore, on a 0–100 scale, that SEO tools invented to predict how strong a website is likely to be in search. It is built mainly from a site's backlink profile — how many relevant, authoritative domains link to it — compressed into one comparative number. Crucially, it is not a Google metric. Google has repeatedly said it does not use any single site-wide “authority” score. So treat the number as a useful estimate for comparing sites and judging difficulty, not as a grade Google is assigning you. Seoluma computes its score from an independent index of 118 million domains and 7.1 billion links using link-graph centrality — the same idea behind the original PageRank.
Real benchmarks: what the scores mean
Because the scale is logarithmic — climbing from 60 to 70 is far harder than 20 to 30 — the bands are not evenly spaced in effort. Here is a practical read on what each range represents:
| Score | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| 0–20 | New or small site; little link authority yet. Where almost everyone starts. |
| 20–40 | Established site with a genuine link profile; can rank for real keywords in its niche. |
| 40–60 | A recognised authority in its space; competes for competitive terms. |
| 60–80 | A major, well-known brand or publisher with a large, strong link profile. |
| 80–100 | The giants. Our index found only seven domains on the entire web score 90 or above. |
And a finding that reframes the whole question: when we measured referring domains by authority band, the relationship wasn't a clean climb. Sites in the 30–39 band had a lower median referring-domain count than sites in the 20–29 band — more links did not equal a higher score. You can read the full analysis in our domain authority study. The lesson: authority reflects link quality and relevance, not volume.
Why “good” is always relative
A score only becomes meaningful next to your competition. If the sites ranking for your target keyword sit at authority 25, then a 30 is a genuine advantage. If they sit at 65, a 50 means you have work to do — on that keyword. This is why chasing an arbitrary target like “get to DA 40” is the wrong goal. The right goal is: match or beat the authority of the sites ranking for the keywords you want. To find that number, search your keyword and run the top results through the authority checker — the method we detail in how many backlinks you need to rank.
How to raise your authority (the only real way)
Because the score is built from your backlink profile, it rises as your genuine authority does — there is no shortcut that isn't also a risk. What actually works:
- Earn relevant, authoritative links. A few links from genuinely on-topic, trusted sites move the needle more than hundreds of weak ones. Find prospects fast with link intersect.
- Create genuinely linkable assets. Original data, useful tools and definitive guides earn links naturally over time — the most durable way to build authority.
- Keep the profile clean. Don't buy links or chase spam; low-quality links do nothing and at scale can hurt. Check yours with the toxic backlink checker.
- Be patient. Authority tracks real trust, which accrues slowly. Steady growth in relevant referring domains is the signal to watch.
Don't let the number become the goal
The biggest mistake with authority scores is treating the metric as the objective. Authority is a means — it helps pages rank — not an end in itself. Traffic, rankings and conversions are what matter; a higher score that doesn't come with better rankings is just a bigger number. Use domain authority the way it's meant to be used: to compare your site with competitors, estimate how hard a keyword will be, and prioritise where to compete. Check where you stand today, see who you're up against, and aim your effort at beating them — not at a round number on a 0–100 scale.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good domain authority score?
There's no universal 'good' number — it's relative to your competition. As a rough guide, a score under 20 is a new or small site, 30–40 is an established site with a real link profile, 50–60 is a strong authority in its niche, and 70+ is a major, well-known site. But a DA of 30 can be excellent if you're outranking DA-25 competitors, and a DA of 50 can be underwhelming in a field of DA-70 rivals. Judge it against who you're competing with.
Is domain authority a Google ranking factor?
No. 'Domain authority' is a third-party score invented by SEO tools to predict ranking strength — Google does not use it or any single site-wide authority metric. It's a useful comparative estimate built from link data, not something Google looks at. Use it to compare sites and gauge difficulty, not as a number Google is scoring you on.
How can I increase my domain authority?
Since authority scores are built mainly from your backlink profile, you raise them by earning links from relevant, authoritative sites over time — and by not accumulating spammy ones. There's no shortcut: it tracks real authority, so it rises as your genuine authority does. Focus on relevant referring domains, not raw link counts.
Why is my domain authority score different across tools?
Each tool computes its own score from its own web index and its own formula, so Moz, Ahrefs, Seoluma and others will all give different numbers for the same site. That's expected — the scores aren't meant to match. What matters is comparing sites within one tool, on the same scale, not comparing a score from one tool to another.
Does a higher domain authority guarantee higher rankings?
No. Authority is site-wide and predictive, not a guarantee for any specific page. A high-authority site can rank poorly for a keyword if the page doesn't match intent, and a lower-authority site can outrank it with a better, more relevant page. Authority tilts the odds; relevance and content quality decide individual results.
Every tactic here is easier when you can see your starting point. Check any domain's authority and backlinks with our free checker — no account, built on an index of 118 million domains.
We measured 118M domains: more referring domains does not mean more authority. Here is what the data says to do instead.
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