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Domain authority, also called Domain Authority, is a key indicator for evaluating the overall credibility of a website. It is expressed on a scale of 0 to 100 and makes it possible to estimate the ability of a site to position itself well in search engines.
However, beware of a common misconception: Domain authority is not a direct ranking factor used by Google. It is a comparative indicator, useful for measuring your SEO performance against your competitors, and not an official Google rating.
On the other hand, This score is widely recognized by the SEO ecosystem and by artificial intelligences. Today, being visible on the Internet no longer depends only on search engines, but also on artificial intelligence. The principle is clear: the more your content provides a relevant response, the more likely it is to be highlighted.
A good ranking on Google or Bing increases the likelihood that your site will be mentioned or recommended by tools like ChatGPT. So links from other sites, the reputation of your brand, and the trust you inspire count enormously.
But How can you sustainably strengthen the credibility and authority of your website?
This is what we are going to explore in this article, through 8 concrete actions, designed for entrepreneurs who want to build a reliable and recognized online presence over the long term.
Even though Google indicates that it does not rely directly on “domain authority” to rank sites, web experts have noted a clear trend: sites deemed more reliable generally get better positions in search results. And their observation involves the analysis of thousands of sites.
Domain authority is a score that assesses the overall credibility of a site and its ability to rank well on Google and other search engines. It is between 1 and 100. The higher the score, the more trust the site inspires, which increases its chances of appearing high on the results pages (SERPS).
The scoring works gradually: going from 20 to 30 is easier than going from 70 to 80.
Your site's score gives you an idea of its ability to appear among the top search results.
For web and marketing professionals, this indicator is used to compare the strength of a site with that of competitors and to identify areas for improvement.
Even though the exact calculation is not public, several factors clearly come into play. The most important thing is the links from other sites: their number, but especially their quality. The more reliable and recognized these sites are, the more they reinforce the credibility of yours.
Other factors also matter, such as the overall quality of your site. Clear and useful content, a well-thought-out structure, consistent descriptions, and a healthy technical base all contribute to sending good signals to search engines.
Strengthening the authority of your site does not happen in a single action. It is a gradual process that requires regularity and consistency. Everything is based on the trust that your site inspires, both in search engines and in visitors.
The fact that a site has existed for a long time plays a role, even an indirect one. A domain that has been active for several years, with content updated regularly, is generally perceived as more reliable than a brand-new site.
That said, age is not everything. What really matters are:
An old but abandoned site, or without links, remains invisible. On the other hand, a recent site can quickly gain credibility if it is built on a good foundation and maintained properly.
Backlinks from other sites remain one of the key elements in strengthening the authority of a domain. But not all links have the same value.
It is therefore essential:
Quality will always take precedence over quantity.
A link from a very well known but irrelevant site will have less impact than a link from a site specialized in your field of expertise.
Examples:
La thematic relevance strongly reinforces perceived authority.
The Guest blogging remains an excellent strategy, provided it is used well.
A good guest post:
Choose a few solid sites over dozens of low-quality blogs.
SEO alone is no longer enough. Today, the combination of SEO + press relations (PR) is a powerful accelerator of authority.
Press relations make it possible to:
Each mention in credible media reinforces your reputation... and often your SEO authority via links or quotations.
Appear on:
sends a very strong signal to search engines and AIs: you are a legitimate source.
Even without a direct link, brand mention contributes to overall credibility.
Authority is not only built through relationships. What people say about you online matters a lot.
Customer reviews play a key role, including:
Authentic, regular, and well-managed reviews build brand trust and legitimacy.
Forums, partner sites, comparative articles, specialized platforms...
Wherever a review can be left, your brand exists. The more consistent and positive these reviews are, the more your perceived authority increases.
It is essential to know:
Social networks have become public spaces of influence. An active, cited and committed brand inspires more trust.
Before looking for external links, your site should be flawless internally.
Even if the score Domain authority gives a useful idea of the ranking potential of a site, you should know that it is not part of the official criteria used by Google, unlike PageRank. PageRank is an internal Google measure that assesses the popularity and importance of a page.
Title tags, meta-descriptions, Hn structure, clear semantic content...
Good on-page SEO allows engines to accurately understand your content.
A well-structured site:
Internal networking is a lever that is often overlooked, yet very powerful.
Charging time, mobile compatibility, smooth navigation...
The user experience directly influences the perception of the quality of a site.
Again: fewer strong links are better than many weak ones.
A healthy relationship profile is gradual, varied, and natural.
Content that is useful, clear, thorough, and up-to-date is the basis for everything.
AIs, like search engines, favor content that actually answer user questions.
Articles, social networks, podcasts, interviews, webinars...
The more you diversify your formats, the more you multiply the points of contact and visibility.
To monitor your progress, there are several recognized tools that give an estimate of the credibility of a site.
Moz popularized the notion of Domain Authority (domain authority) with a comparative score that makes it possible to assess the solidity of a site compared to others.
Ahrefs uses Domain Rating, an indicator that is mainly based on the quality and strength of the links pointing to your site (the famous backlinks).
Semrush offers an overall score that takes into account several elements, such as backlinks, traffic, and various SEO signals.
The main thing is not to dwell on a specific figure, but to observe how each indicator changes over time and compare trends.
There is no ideal score that is valid for everyone. A domain authority can never be judged in isolation: everything depends on your sector of activity and the level of your competitors.
To know where you are, the most relevant thing is to compare your score to that of sites similar to yours. If you're doing better than they are, that's generally a good sign.
However, here are some points of reference, based on the analyses shared by Moz:
Context is essential: a DA of 30 may be excellent in a niche that is not very competitive, while it will be insufficient in a very competitive market.
To remember : If your score is lower than that of your direct competitors, it is a sign that you have room for improvement and that it is time to act to strengthen your visibility.
All sites start with a very low score and then the score changes over time. It can increase or decrease depending on the development of the site, the backlinks obtained, the recognition and the reputation gained.
It is therefore essential to monitor your score in real time (several times a month), as it can vary due to various events: getting links from sites with high authority will increase it, while losing important links can cause it to drop. By monitoring these variations, you can react quickly and adjust your strategy to improve your visibility.
Artificial intelligences analyze the credibility of a site using various signals such as:
Strong authority is not built overnight. It develops gradually, over several months, even several years.
Monitoring its evolution allows:
Even if links from social networks do not have a direct impact on SEO, a visible and active brand inspires more trust.
Social networks make it possible to generate traffic, shares and mentions. All of these elements send positive signals, even indirect ones, to your entire online presence.
Search engines pay attention to what's going around, what's being shared, and what's generating interest. A regular and consistent social presence thus contributes to strengthening your overall visibility.
Increasing the authority of your site is not about applying a ready-made formula or checking a simple box. It's a global job, which affects your entire online presence.
In particular, this involves:
It is this coherent, progressive and sustainable approach that will allow you not only to strengthen the authority of your site, but also to build a credible, visible and recognized brand over the long term.
What if you took stock of the domain authority of your website? 425PPM refers to the best tools for auditing your site and guides you in your progress. Our objective: to implement a truly effective visibility strategy by combining our SEO, AI, PR know-how. So, are you ready to reach more prospects?
