Domain Authority (DA)

Domain Authority (DA) is Moz's proprietary score predicting a website's ability to rank in search engine results pages. Like Ahrefs' DR, it runs on a logarithmic 0-100 scale based on the quantity and quality of backlinks pointing to the domain. DA is often confused with Domain Rating (DR) from Ahrefs—they measure similar things but use different methodologies and rarely produce identical scores. Neither is a Google ranking factor directly, but both correlate with ranking ability because high-authority sites have the backlink profiles that Google rewards. DA fluctuates as Moz updates its web index, which means your DA can drop even if you haven't lost any links—it's a relative score based on all domains Moz tracks. Don't obsess over small movements. Where DA matters practically: when evaluating guest posting opportunities or partnership sites, DA provides a quick benchmark. A DA 50+ site is worth more than a DA 15 blog for link-building purposes. That said, always look at the actual traffic and relevance of the linking site—a DA 40 site in your exact niche often outperforms a DA 65 site with irrelevant content.

• 1Check DA before accepting a guest post exchange to ensure it's worth the effort
• 2Competitor analysis showed their DA 65 was driven by a handful of high-authority editorial links