If you’ve spent any time exploring SEO, you’ve probably heard people talk about domain strength like it’s the ultimate secret to online success. ✨
But what does it actually mean? At its core, domain strength measures your website’s credibility and authority in the eyes of search engines, largely based on the quality of your backlink profile.
Think of it as your site’s reputation score. By using Site Explorer or Backlink Tools, you can access domain metrics that provide a snapshot of how well your domain is likely to rank and how much influence your links carry.
The concept of measuring a site’s SEO strength was originally introduced by Moz through Domain Authority (DA). Since then, it has evolved across various tools. While the names and formulas differ, the goal remains the same: to evaluate your site’s SEO footprint and its potential to rank higher in search results. 🔍
Let’s dive into what domain strength really means, how it’s calculated, and how you can improve it. Ready to get started?
What Is Domain Strength?
Domain Strength is a metric that reflects the overall SEO strength of a website. It evaluates factors such as the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to the domain, its trustworthiness, and its ability to rank in SERPs.
While the term “Domain Strength” is specific to SpyFu and SEO PowerSuite, similar concepts are used across other popular SEO tools. For example:
- Search Atlas uses Domain Power (DP)
- Ahrefs calls it Domain Rating (DR)
- Moz refers to it as Domain Authority (DA)
- Semrush uses Authority Score (AS)
- Majestic uses Trust Flow (TF)
Each platform has its unique formula for calculating this score, but they all aim to gauge a domain’s influence based on its backlink profile and SEO potential. A strong domain is generally more likely to rank well on SERPs.
What Are Domain Strength Factors?
While each tool calculates Domain Strength differently, several common factors impact it. These factors generally fall into key areas like backlinks, content, and website reputation. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Backlinks: Backlinks remain the top ranking factor. Quality matters more than quantity, search engines value links from reputable, diverse, and relevant sources.
- Content: High-quality content is essential. It should be original, engaging, optimized, and provide real value to visitors, which can be done by following Google E-E-A-T guidelines.
- Website Reputation: Trustworthiness signals, like transparent author info, active social links, and good site structure, boost domain strength. Feedback options and YMYL content require higher scrutiny for added trust signals.
- Website Age: Older sites often have more backlinks and credibility. However, a domain’s history, including past penalties, can impact rankings.
- Organic Traffic: Live organic traffic indicates strong domain performance. SEO tools can estimate this to evaluate a site’s potential.
- Social Media Activity: While not a direct ranking factor, social signals like shares and tweets enhance exposure and visibility, indirectly boosting domain strength.
What Is a Good Domain Strength?
A “good” Domain Strength score depends on your industry, niche, and competition, as the scale varies across different SEO tools. Typically, scores range from 0 to 100, with higher numbers indicating stronger authority. Here’s a general breakdown:
- 0–30: Low authority. Common for new or smaller websites with limited backlinks.
- 31–60: Moderate authority. These sites have a decent backlink profile and can compete in less competitive niches.
- 61–80: High authority. Strong, well-established websites capable of ranking for competitive keywords.
- 81–100: Very high authority. Major websites with extensive backlinks and top-tier reputations (think Wikipedia or Amazon).
A “good” DA score really depends on your industry. For example, a local coffee shop in a small town with a DA of 25 can still perform well in search results for local keywords, while a popular e-commerce brand may have a DA of 90+ due to its extensive backlink profile and large online presence.
So, while aiming for a high DA is great, it’s important to view it in context. What’s considered a strong DA varies based on your niche, competitors, and other factors.
Focus on organic growth—producing valuable content and acquiring authoritative backlinks—and your DA will improve naturally over time.
How Do You Increase Domain Strength?
Improving your domain strength involves a mix of strategies, all of which aim to enhance your website’s credibility and authority in the eyes of search engines. Here are some key tactics to boost your domain strength.
Create Valuable Content to Earn Backlinks
Great content is the foundation of strong domain strength. When your content solves problems, answers questions, or provides unique insights, other sites are more likely to link to it. This helps improve your domain authority.
For example, a gardening site could create a detailed guide on “how to plant tomatoes” with videos and a downloadable calendar. This kind of valuable content is more likely to get linked by other gardening blogs.
Build Links from Trusted Sites to Boost Authority
Backlinks from reputable websites are key to strengthening your domain. Reach out to relevant sites or create standout content that naturally attracts links. More quality backlinks lead to stronger domain strength.
If you sell eco-friendly products, consider collaborating with top eco blogs for guest posts. This can help you earn backlinks that improve your domain’s authority.
Use Social Media to Drive Traffic
Social media helps promote your content and bring in more visitors. While not a direct ranking factor, social engagement can boost exposure and increase the chance of earning backlinks, which ultimately strengthens your domain.
For a fitness blog, sharing posts on Instagram or Facebook can drive traffic and encourage shares, boosting the likelihood of backlinks and improving your domain strength.
What Are the Differences Between the Main Domain Strength Metrics?
When it comes to measuring domain strength, different SEO tools have their own metrics, each with its unique approach. Here’s a quick look at the main ones:
Domain Rating (DR) – Ahrefs
DR measures the strength of a site’s backlink profile. It ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating stronger authority. Example: A site with lots of quality backlinks may have a DR of 70, while a newer site might have a DR of 20.
Domain Authority (DA) – Moz
DA evaluates both backlinks and other factors like content and site structure. It also ranges from 0 to 100. For example, a blog with a strong backlink profile and well-organized content could have a DA of 60, signaling strong potential for rankings.
Trust Flow (TF) – Majestic
Trust Flow measures the quality and trustworthiness of a site’s backlinks, focusing on the authority of the linking sites. For example, a site with links from trusted sources like news outlets may have a Trust Flow of 70, while one with lower-quality links could score around 20.
Authority Score (AS) – Semrush
SEMrush’s Authority Score looks at backlinks, traffic, and trust factors to determine site strength. It’s measured on a 0–100 scale. For instance, a business website with steady traffic and reputable backlinks might have an Authority Score of 50.
Domain Strength – SpyFu
SpyFu’s Domain Strength assesses backlinks and organic traffic to estimate authority. Example: A site ranking well for competitive keywords could have a high Domain Strength, indicating strong SEO performance.
In short, while all of these metrics measure domain authority, the difference lies in their calculations and the weight given to specific factors like backlinks, content, and traffic.
How Do You Check Domain Strength?
One of the easiest ways is by using a site explorer tool. It gives you everything you need in one place, showing key metrics like Domain Authority (DA), Domain Rating (DR), and Trust Flow (TF), the most popular indicators of site strength.
Plus, it doesn’t stop there. You can also see details like organic and paid traffic, ranking keywords, competitors, backlinks, and more. It’s like getting a full SEO health check for a site.
Another option is using backlink tools, which go deeper into a site’s backlink profile. Here, you can find out about dofollow vs. nofollow links, link spam scores, and even track which new links are gained or lost over time.
This helps you get a better idea of the quality behind the backlinks.
Why You Can’t Rely on Vanity Domain Strength for Accurate Metrics
We’ve all seen it: The conventional domain metrics are great domain authority tools, but they can easily be inflated.
Many vendors out there know exactly how to manipulate these scores, often for just a few bucks. They use shady tactics like link farms, spammy backlink networks, or shallow backlink profiles that might make your metrics look better on paper, but they don’t actually help your rankings or build real authority.
At Search Atlas, we created Domain Power, a fresh approach to measuring domain strength. Unlike traditional metrics, Domain Power can’t be easily manipulated.
What Is Domain Power?
Domain Power (DP) is a metric created by Search Atlas that combines organic traffic and ranking keywords to give you a much clearer picture of your website’s authority. Unlike traditional metrics that mainly focus on backlinks or external signals, DP taps into real-world data straight from Google Search Console (GSC).
This means it’s not just about backlinks, it’s a more holistic view of your site’s true SEO performance.
Why does this matter? Well, as we all know, many metrics can be manipulated through shady tactics like link farms or spammy networks. SEOs are getting smart about this and looking for something more reliable. That’s exactly why Domain Power was created: It can’t be gamed or inflated.
Why Is Domain Power More Reliable?
Let’s be honest—legacy metrics like Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR) are based on outdated standards. They still focus heavily on backlinks, but we all know that Google’s algorithm has evolved.
Now, authority is about more than just backlinks. It’s about:
- Page Quality: Your content has to be top-notch if you want to rank.
- Topical Authority: Google wants to know if you’re an expert in your field.
These two factors are now what matter most, and Domain Power factors them in to give you a more accurate measure of your site’s strength.
Backlinks still play a part, but quality content and being recognized as an authority in your niche are what really move the needle today.
How Is Domain Power More Accurate?
We didn’t just guess at how well Domain Power works—we conducted a study, analyzing thousands of websites to see which metrics best align with top-ranking pages. We compared things like organic traffic, organic keywords, backlinks, and even legacy metrics like DR and DA. So, what did we find?
Domain Power outperforms DA and DR, providing a far more accurate reflection of what Google truly values when it comes to ranking.
Simply put, it’s a better, more reliable way to assess your site’s SEO health.
Finally, The Trustworthy Authority Metric You’ve Been Waiting For
Traditional domain strength metrics like DA, DR, TF, and AS have been around forever, but they’re not exactly cutting-edge anymore.
These tools focus almost entirely on backlinks, ignoring how much Google’s ranking system has evolved. Sure, backlinks still matter, but today, Google is looking at so much more, like how much organic traffic a site gets and how many keywords it ranks for.
The real problem? These old-school metrics are ridiculously easy to game. With link farms and spammy networks, it’s not hard for a site to inflate its scores.
You’ve probably come across websites that look great on paper but offer zero actual value for your link building strategy. It’s frustrating, right?
That’s why Domain Power was created. It’s different: It looks at relevant data like traffic and keyword rankings, making it impossible to fake. 😎
With Domain Power, you can focus on finding websites in your niche that people visit, read, and trust. Instead of wasting time on inflated metrics, you’ll build backlinks from relevant, high-quality sites that will make a real difference for your SEO.
At Search Atlas, we go beyond the basics by delivering cutting-edge solutions. Ready to see our metrics in action? Start your FREE trial today!
