Summary
How do I build an authoritative website? This is one of the most common questions asked by website owners. Domain authority is a great way to measure a website’s SEO success. However, you should know that authority metrics don’t actually contribute to a website’s ranking ability. With that said, you can focus on enhancing the elements that are used to calculate the authority metric of a website, such as creating high-quality authoritative content, incorporating linkable assets, establishing a strong backlink profile, and enhancing the user experience of your website through on-page and off-page optimization.
What is An Authoritative Website – An Overview
An authoritative website is all about domain authority, a ranking system created by Moz, which is one of the most popular SEO tools available. As a matter of fact, Moz is widely known as a respected indicator of search success. If you haven’t heard about the term “search success” before, you should know that this terminology refers to the achievement of desired results through SEO efforts.
In SEO, this could mean boosting organic traffic, enhancing visibility in SERPs, and ranking higher for specific keywords. Essentially, “search success” is about establishing site authority by attracting more online users who are relevant to your website through search engines, but the final goal is converting those users into sales or other valuable actions, such as sign-ups.
Now, when it comes to domain authority, it is like a scale that actually measures the probability for a website to rank on Google’s search engine results page.
How Do Metrics Work for Website Authority
Now that you have a better idea of what an authority website is about, let us explore how authority metrics work. When we refer to “authority metrics”, we are essentially referring to Moz domain authority and Ahrefs domain rating.
Whichever tool you use to check your website authority, it will show you similar things. These tools are effective in measuring how authoritative a website is and how likely it is to rank in Google. Both tools use an algorithmic scale, which indicates that it is harder to get a score from eighty to ninety than it is from ten to twenty.
Moz’s Domain Authority
Moz’s domain authority measures the total number of backlinks and the metrics that surround those backlinks.
Ahrefs Domain Authority
Ahrefs measures domain rating while assessing the number of linking domains, the domain rating of the linking websites, and the number of sites that a domain links to.
It is safe to state that the more authoritative websites are more likely to rank in Google, get more visits to their website, and drive more conversions.
Relevance of Backlinks
Another aspect that influences the ranking of a website is the relevance of the backlinks. Moz, as well as other industry-leading SEOs, acknowledge that the higher the domain authority scores, the greater the ability to rank.
Generally, the authority score is referred to as DA or DR, and it only predicts the potential ranking success of a specific domain. This aspect comes as opposition to actually contributing to a domain’s ranking position.
Domain Authority scores are also used by search engines to understand the quality of a website’s backlink profile. This aspect indicates that the higher the DA or DR of the linking domains, the more authority is passed to your website, which leads to a higher authority score. Subsequently, the more likely your website is to rank.
Website Traffic
The amount of traffic that your website receives also indicates how authoritative the website is, especially the traffic that you get organically to your site. You might want to check regularly where your website traffic is coming from. On average, a website generates slightly more than 60% of its traffic from organic search. You should aim to secure a mix of organic search, direct, and referral traffic from niche-related and authoritative sites to establish website authority.
Analyze Your Website’s Score Relative to That of Your Competitors
Now you know what you have to keep in mind when understanding a website’s authority score relative to its potential competitors, as these can be really useful when analyzing potential ranking opportunities. Let us understand this aspect with the help of an example.
Suppose your website has a domain authority of “35” and when analyzing the search results of a potential low-competition keyword, you find out that the current ranking websites have a DR of between thirty and forty-five. At this point, you know that it is likely that a detailed piece of content can push your website to rank for that specific search term.
On the other hand, if the ranking websites have a DA of 50+, then you know that it is unlikely for you to rank for that keyword unless your website’s DA is over fifty, too.
What Makes A Great Authority Score?
If you are wondering what a great authority score looks like, you should know that the answer comes down to two words, which are: it depends. The reason is that it is all relative, which is actually no surprise. Typically, an authority score that is above 60 is considered great. If the authority score of a website is above 80, it is considered phenomenal. A great authority score indicates that a website has a strong online presence and is trustworthy.
Still, you should know that there is no universal law for a good score, as the score is relative to your niche and potential competitors. Simply put, if your website’s authority score is higher than that of your competitors, then you should see it as a positive indicator of having a strong presence.
How to Build Website Authority – Best Tips and Strategies
Now, it is time to have a look at various factors that you can integrate to boost your website’s authority.
Basic SEO
If you want to build an authoritative website, you should never neglect SEO basics. A golden rule is that if you want to be considered an authority in anything, then you must be good at it. The same rule applies to your website, which means that if you want to have a good website, then you need to have the basics covered. A good starting point would be to optimize your on-page content to ensure that you are offering the best user experience, including improving the following aspects of your website:
- Page Speed
- Navigation
- Mobile friendliness
Rest assured, once you have the basics covered regarding your website and search engine optimization, you are on the right track towards building an authoritative website.
Regularly Audit Your Backlink Profile
Google states that at the time of ranking websites, it checks whether other prominent websites in the niche are linking to the page. If yes, then Google treats it as a good sign that the information is of high quality and deserves ranking. When it comes to establishing a good backlink profile, it means building quality backlinks. It also means the monitoring of existing backlinks and linking domains.
When auditing your backlink profile, you may find the need to balance out your backlink profile to mimic something that appears more natural to Google. Keep in mind that the relevance and authority of the linking domains can have a massive impact on how your website is perceived by Google. Improving relevance and authority can improve your website’s authority score.
Learn from Your Competitors
To boost the authority score of your website, we encourage you to check out what it is that your competitors are doing that you might be missing. If your competitors have an authority score closer to what you are aiming for, then there is a good chance that you can pick up a few things to incorporate on your website.
When analyzing your competitors, you might want to understand the importance of authoritative content by looking for the following aspects:
- Is their content fresh and updated?
- How many good-quality backlinks do they have pointing to their website?
- How are they optimizing their content?
- How are they addressing user search intent?
Now that you understand why build authoritative content for building an authority site, you must note down any key takeaways during your analysis and form a strategy regarding how you can apply these to your very own website. It’s important to mention here that you must consider the timeline during competitor analysis as well, so you can gauge how long it took for these websites to build these authority scores, and plan your strategy accordingly.
Focus on Brand Equity
Brand authority and domain authority go hand in hand, which means that to build website authority, you need to build brand authority, too. You can achieve this by enhancing brand awareness and creating a positive experience for your potential customers. One effective way to build brand authority is by increasing the number of branded anchor texts within your backlink profile.
Subsequently, make sure to distribute your brand name on relevant authoritative websites, as this is a great way to increase visibility with your target audience. Don’t forget to gather positive reviews about your potential products and services, as customer feedback is the digital equivalent of “word-of-mouth” marketing.
This strategy for brand recognition will come full circle and lead to more brand trust, which will almost definitely translate to more natural brand mentions. In turn, the natural brand mentions will improve the quality of the backlink profile and your website’s authority score, which makes it a win-win situation.
A Few More Things to Consider…
There are a few more things to consider when improving your website authority score and measuring authority metrics. For instance, you should know that Ahrefs’ domain rating only considers backlinks; however, there are so many other factors that can potentially affect a website’s Google ranking.
This aspect indicates that it is in your best interest not to get caught up in the DR number unless you are specifically analyzing your authority in relation to your backlink profile.
Also, keep in mind that Moz’s domain authority doesn’t take into account any Google penalties. You can also use Semrush’s authority score when analyzing your competitor’s backlink profile and measuring authority metrics.
When measuring authority metrics, you should know that Google’s ranking algorithm is more complex than any of the calculations used to assess a website’s authority. Nonetheless, the authority metric should only be used as a guide and as a great comparative measure between your competitors and to measure a website’s SEO performance over time.
With that said, if you want to boost your website’s rankings, you will need to optimize those specific elements of the website that are relevant to the Google ranking factors. Ultimately, the authority score will naturally increase as a result of following the strategies that we mentioned above.
Final Thoughts – Your Website Authority Matters for SEO
When it comes to establishing an authoritative website, you should know that Google wants to rank websites that provide their online users with the most accurate, relevant, and trustworthy results. As an authoritative website, you will be ticking off all the boxes that Google has established, such as the key aspects that define website authority.
By creating quality content, securing high-quality backlinks, and providing value to your target audience, you can increase your website’s credibility and online visibility. Performing a backlink profile audit regularly enables you to set the foundation right for higher Google rankings, which in turn can help you build trust with online users. Subsequently, your website authority will lead to more website traffic and a higher conversion rate.
FAQs
What is an authoritative website?
An authoritative website is trusted and recognized as a reliable source of information on a specific niche or subject. An authoritative website is preferred by users, industry experts, and search engines because it offers accurate and up-to-date content, which establishes it as an expert in its field.
How to create an authoritative website?
You can integrate several strategies, such as improving your website design and making it mobile-friendly and user-friendly. Focusing on keyword research and SEO will build the foundation of your website’s authority. Make sure that your content is updated, informative, and high-quality so that other authoritative websites will naturally want to link to it.
What is domain authority and domain rating?
Domain authority and domain rating are also referred to as DA and DR. These two metrics assess the authority of a website. Essentially, DA was developed by Moz. This metric predicts the ability of a website to rank in Google results by giving it a score from one to a hundred. Ahrefs, on the other hand, is the founder of DR. This metric focuses on the potential strength of a website by analyzing its backlink profile and giving it a score from one to one hundred.
