You’ve been working hard to raise your domain authority, but you’re not having as much success as you had hoped.

Since 42% of marketers evaluate a site’s domain authority depending on the calibre of its backlinks, I can appreciate your aggravation.

It’s no secret that every firm wants to outrank rivals and claim the top spot in search results.

Focus on link building rather than domain authority. Domain authority cannot be fully utilised if it is treated as a vanity statistic.

Authority cannot be feigned. So allow me to clarify where you can compete.

All right? Let’s examine what our research revealed regarding the requirements for raising domain authority.

 

What Is Domain Authority and Why Is It Important?

Even if you’ve heard the term before, you might not know what it means; all you know is that it’s significant.

You’re right, it is crucial, especially for your search engine ranking.

The quantity and quality of backlinks—links to your website from other reputable websites—that your website has are referred to as its domain authority. The relevance of the link is crucial because it affects your score.

 

The domain authority metric was developed by Moz with the goal of allowing users to compare websites or track a site’s ranking strength over time.

It appears that certain brands don’t need to try to project authority.

Dropbox is an illustration. Because of the graphic information that is exchanged between users for both personal and professional usage, it has a high domain authority. This subsequently generates distinctive domain backlinks in addition to overall backlinks, enhancing Dropbox’s domain authority.

Why is this essential, exactly?

One study discovered a link between domain authority and SERP ranking even though Google does not use it as a ranking component.

According to the study’s findings, domain authority might be a useful statistic for estimating the possible volume of Google organic traffic.

Consider your plan to raise your domain authority if you want to improve your SEO rankings.

Even if you don’t notice results immediately away, don’t give up.

Authority might take some time to establish.

 

Why Does Building Domain Authority Take Time?

Backlinks are crucial for assessing domain authority, as you may have seen. Not only that, but the quantity of backlinks is one of the two key ranking factors.

The best technique to raise domain authority is a slow process that depends on your efforts, just like SEO.

Understanding the keywords for which you are regarded as an authority can help you optimise your website more efficiently.

It extends beyond keywords, though.

Your possibilities of boosting domain authority are higher the more extensive your backlink profile is.

Domain authority is calculated using a logarithmic scale. Sole numbers won’t always have the same impact on the score. The larger the influence, the higher the metric.

So how does that impact how long it takes for domain authority to increase?

The reply is that it depends.

Although I realise that’s not what you want to hear, it’s never fun to explain why you won’t be moving up the rankings right away.

The site being new, having no previous content history, or having a small backlink profile will prevent you from reaching your desired rank, even with good content and a smart strategy.

I never stated it was impossible to rise to a high status. It will only be difficult.

So, while you’re trying to catch up, allow me to dispel some myths so you’ll know what to concentrate on to raise your domain authority.

 

What Our Data Taught Us About How Long It Takes to Increase Domain Authority

These ideas are good, but it’s crucial to see how they work in practise. My team and I dissected a few sites’ domain ratings and referring domains to see what elements contributed to their domain growth in order to discover the truth.

To track the rise of three sites’ domains, we tracked them from July 2013 to July 2022. We gained insights to identify potential correlations that may apply to growing domain authority after weighing this data against their referring domains and backlinks.

Let’s examine the data insights from Netlify, Digital Ocean, and Linode in the cloud software provider sector and the lessons we can draw from them.

 

Netlify: Why Referring Domain Quality Is Important

Tools like Ahrefs indicate that Netlify did not begin to notice an increase in domain ratings until they reached 25 with a total of 34 referring domains in March 2015. In 2015, Netlify raised their domain authority with 201 referring domains, astoundingly rising to 71.

By the end of 2017, they had a domain score of 78 and 1,531 total referring domains. In 2016, they had a domain score of 70 and 443 referring domains. As a result, we can see that it took them almost a year to gain 8 points. The significant increases in domain rating are evidence that they more than doubled the number of links pointing to the website.

They went from 78 to 83 with 3,283 referring domains in 2018. once more, somewhat increased their link-building efforts.

They kept their 83 ranking at the start of 2020 and moved up three spots to an 86 ranking with 14,479 referring domains towards the end of 2021.

They currently have 24,423 referring domains and are ranked 88 for their domain.

90% of the backlinks in their profile come from websites with a distribution of 0 to 10 URLs. Although it makes up the majority of their backlink profile, their high domain authority of 88 attracts numerous sites in that range to link to them.

They only distribute 4% of their URLs from websites with a domain authority of 50 or more. a wide range of URLs, the majority of which are dot coms. They have 88% do-follow links, which helps spread link equity.

One thing to keep in mind is that, despite their importance, the scores of your referring sites are not everything. Prioritize quality over quantity.

 

Digital Ocean: The Referring Domain Leader

According to our data pull from Ahrefs, Digital Ocean didn’t see a domain rating score until they hit 12,644 referring domains on March 31, 2015. With 17,878 referring domains, Digital Ocean’s initial score of 87 slowly increased to 89 at the end of 2015.

Digital Ocean’s domain rating at the start of 2016 was 89, with 18,884 referring domains. Through the end of 2019, their domain rating remained stable.

In 2017, Digital Ocean gained 25.6K referring domains and remained at position 89. It takes till the middle of 2018 for Digital Ocean to obtain 1 point and pass the 90 threshold with 31,690 referring domains.

For the entirety of 2019 and most of 2020, Digital Ocean maintains a 90. They reached 91 in September 2020 with 57,973 referring domains. They ended 2021 with a 91 and 59.5K referring domains, nearly tripling the number they had when they attained 90 for domain rating.

Digital Ocean declined to 90 at the beginning of 2020 and to 58.8K for referring domains. This suggests that either a website they were connected to is no longer operating or that Digital Ocean was taken down from several places where they were linked.

Over the course of 2021, they fluctuate between 91 and 90 and back to 91 a few times before finishing the year with 72,344 referring domains.

With an incredible 86,822 referring domains, Digital Ocean has successfully maintained its 91 domain rating to this point.

71% of the sites in their backlink profile have a 0-10. Although it makes up the majority of their backlink profile, its high domain authority of 91 will attract numerous sites in that range to link to them. They only distribute 4% of their URLs from websites with a domain authority of 50 or more. a wide range of URLs, the majority of which are dot coms. They have 73% do-follow links, which helps spread link equity.

 

Linode: Evidence On Site Authority

You may also find a very similar tale involving Linode here. On March 31, 2015, they began having a domain rating of 85 and 6,824 referring domains. With 9,031 referring domains and an 85 domain rating at the end of 2015.

In 2016, Linode was still 85 years old. At the end of 2016, Linode was at position 84 and had received 9,967 referring domains.

As 2018 comes to a close, Linode finally reaches 85 once more with 11,572 referring domains.

2019 begins with a domain rating of 85 and decreases to 10,915 referring domains. Shortly after, Linode drops to an 84 and starts to rebuild its referring domains. They reached 11,469 referring domains before hitting an 85 once more in the beginning of 2019. Midway through 2019, they break through their plateau and reach 14,546 referring domains and a domain rating of 86. They reach 86 and 15,957 referring domains before the end of 2019.

Although 2020 remained largely consistent, Linode anticipates some adjustments in 2101. 2021 sees them start at 86 and drop to 85 by year’s end with 19,882 referring domains. Beginning in 2022, 86 for a domain rating and 20,462 referring domains are reclaimed. The current state of 2022 is 86 and 23,666 referring domains.

92% of the sites in their backlink profile have ratings between 0 and 10. Although it makes up the majority of their backlink profile, their high domain authority of 86 attracts numerous sites in that range to link to them. Their distribution of URLs is just 3% from websites with a domain authority of 50 or more. a wide range of URLs, the majority of which are dot coms. They use do-follow links in 77% of their links, which helps spread domain authority.

 

What Advice Did Data Give Us Regarding How to Boost Domain Authority?

Based on information from these three websites, it takes between 23,000 and 25,000 referring domains to achieve a domain rating in the mid- to high-80s.

There is a correlation between the number of referring domains and the higher domain rating score.

Compared to its rivals, Digital Ocean has more than three times as many referring domains. They have maintained an incredible 86,822 referring domains while maintaining a domain rating score of 91. When compared to Digital Ocean, Netlify has 24,423 referring domains and a domain rating of 88, whereas Linode has 23,666 referring domains and a domain rating of 86.

Linode had the most difficulty developing and sustaining its domain rating score out of the three.

They lost referring domains more frequently and had a lower percentage of domains that were average or good, with a domain rating score of 50 or higher. Linode has 3% of its URL distribution from sites with a domain authority of 50 or above, compared to 4% for Netlify and Digital Ocean.

The 2-point disparity between Linode’s 23,666 and Netlify’s 24,423 referring domains, however, can be explained by the fact that Netlify has a higher proportion of referring domains with a domain rating of 50 or above.

Why does this matter?

Their domain rating score has increased as a result of more high-quality sites transferring their authority to Netlify.

Using Netlify as an example, it takes approximately 34 referring domains to reach a score of 25 in terms of how long it takes to increase your domain rating. Netlify went from a 25 to a 71 with 304 referring domains in a year. However, it took Digital Ocean a whole year to go from an 87 to an 89.

This shows that increasing your authority gets harder and takes longer the closer you get to a domain rating of 100.

It is simple to move from 0 to 10, but it becomes more difficult to enhance a site year after year after it reaches the higher domain rating numbers.

What else can you do to speed up the process besides doing it well?

 

Can You Do Anything to Speed Up the Process?

The process of boosting domain authority requires patience.

But there are several pointers that can help you get there more quickly.

Consider beginning with a link audit. You may identify which links referring to your website are legitimate and not created using subpar black-hat SEO methods using this methodology.

But after that, there are still more things to accomplish. What if I told you there was a tool that would enable you to discover more information about your domain score, the current status of the number of backlinks, and referring domains?

Make use of Ubersuggest.

Although not all backlinks are created equal, as they are links from other websites to yours, they all have an impact on SEO outcomes.

Gather links of the highest calibre to hasten the process. Use Ubersuggest’s Backlinks function to get started for a free study. You will learn about the importance of backlinks, which websites are related to those of your rivals, and other ways to hasten the rise of your domain authority.

 

You can examine the page authority and domain authority directly from the source by looking at my website. By looking at this data, I may pivot or, if I see fit, double-check any alarming findings.

Using this tool, you may check your links’ authority and do the same.

 

Common Myths About Domain Authority

 

There are grey areas when it comes to domain authority.

We can, however, distinguish some domain authority misconceptions from the truth.

Myth 1: Backlinks aren’t all that important.

This one is intriguing because more links equate to greater traffic, which improves rankings.

This is preferable to having many useless backlinks, even though you will still get seen if you only have a few high-quality ones.

When the links are pertinent to your niche and are seen as reliable sources by online searchers, it is time well spent.

Myth 2: You should never obtain links from websites with lower domain authorities than your own.

Receiving a link from a page with lower domain authority doesn’t harm you because domain authority is about all metrics.

You might be dealing with a new website here. Local connections or sites with few links are fine.

Don’t be concerned that someone’s domain authority will hinder your progress or result in little to no value being delivered. They are still helpful if they are high-quality websites that also editorially distribute links and connect to other reliable websites.

Myth 3: Rapid link acquisition could be suspicious

Google focuses on links that appear to be spam. If the activity on that page prompts them to investigate further, they can decide to penalise the site.

Black hat link building and link purchasing are two practises that alert Google to suspicious activity.

There is nothing wrong with accelerating the rate at which you gain links. After all, raising domain authority is your major objective.

Just make sure the websites linking to you are reliable and trustworthy. Moreover, never, ever use bulk buy URLs.

 

Conclusion

Growing domain authority could appear difficult if you approach it aimlessly and without a strategy.

Although it is feasible to increase your domain authority, it will take time, especially when taking the advice you choose to utilise into account.

It may be challenging to analyse all the factors that influence your evaluation because there are so many of them.

However, it’s beneficial to track and optimise for domain authority once you have a handle on it.

By integrating this in your SEO toolkit, you could be able to gain a firm grasp on your entire online presence and website health.

As I previously stated, all indicators are taken into account and add to your domain authority.

Verify the links you follow or don’t follow. Observe the audience’s keyword search intent when using Ubersuggest. Your content marketing plan has to be reviewed and updated. All of these elements help you build your domain authority.

Your domain authority will increase if the content you post is of high quality and receives more backlinks.

Although it’s easier said than done, I hope that all of these data and insights will enable you to achieve your desired domain authority position.

 

Thanks to Neil Patel for the images.