Guide · Links and authority

How to improve domain authority, and why page-level links matter more

By Giovanni Rasulo Updated 20 October 2026 Sources checked October 2026

Short answer

Domain Authority is a 1 to 100 score made by Moz, and Moz itself says it is not a Google ranking factor. Google's ranking systems work mostly at the page level, and PageRank, its link analysis system, is still a core one. So the way to "improve DA" is to improve what it measures: earn links to pages worth linking to, keep your own pages well linked together, and win back links you lost. Measure the result in Search Console, not in a third-party score.

This is a documented guide, not a test. Facts come from Moz's explanation of Domain Authority and from Google Search Central's ranking systems, link and spam-policy pages, read in October 2026. The "stuck rankings" section answers a question that comes up often in r/SEO discussions; the answers there are opinions, and we use only what matches documentation. CheaperStack has not measured any DA change from these steps.

What Domain Authority is, and what it is not

Common claims about Domain Authority compared with what Moz and Google document
The claim	What is documented
"DA is a Google ranking factor"	Moz says Domain Authority is not a direct ranking factor and has no effect on the results. It is Moz's own metric.
"DA is the same as PageRank"	Moz says they are separate: DA is a Moz metric, PageRank is Google's link analysis system.
"Google scores my whole domain"	Google says its ranking systems are designed to work at the page level, with some site-wide signals also used, and that good site-wide signals do not guarantee every page ranks.
"Links stopped mattering"	Google says PageRank is one of its core ranking systems and continues to be part of them, though how it works has evolved a lot.
"A high DA is a goal"	Moz calls it a relative score for benchmarking your link profile against competitors, and notes it moves when other sites' scores move.

From Moz's Domain Authority page (updated March 2025) and Google's ranking systems guide (updated December 2025). Links still matter; the third-party score is the part that does not.

When rankings stall after you optimized everything

A common question is "I fixed the technical SEO, the content and the local profile, and I am stuck." Documentation points to a short list of checks:

Checks to run when rankings stall after on-page optimization
Check	Why	How
Links to the ranking page	Ranking is mostly page-level, so the page matters more than the domain	Compare the links pointing at the top three pages for one stuck keyword with yours
Search intent	A page can be optimized for the wrong job	Read what the top results actually are: guides, products, tools
Map results vs organic	Local ranking uses relevance, distance and prominence	Check whether the stuck term is in the map results; distance cannot be fixed by new pages
Prominence	Google says it comes from how many websites link to a business and its reviews	Earn relevant local links and reviews
Near-duplicate location pages	A page with only the city name swapped adds nothing	Give each page real local value, or merge them (our advice, not a Google rule)

Local ranking factors from Google's Business Profile help page. For a local business, add the Business Profile before more content.

Seven steps that earn the signals DA measures

1. Make your own links crawlable and meaningful

Google generally follows only a elements with an href, wants descriptive anchor text rather than "click here", and says every page you care about should be linked from at least one other page. Internal links are the cheapest authority you control.

2. Compare the links to the page, not the domain

Pick one stuck keyword, take the top three results, and list who links to those pages and why: a data page, a tool, a guide. Your own view of who links to you is in the Search Console Links report, which shows top linked pages, top linking sites and top linking text. It is a sample, not a complete list, with up to 1,000 rows per table, and it does not show which links are nofollow.

3. Win back links you already earned

Pages that move or disappear leave links pointing at an error. Log them, then redirect each to the closest live page. Where a site links to a dead URL of yours, a polite note pointing to the replacement is the usual approach; replies are rare, so treat it as a bonus.

4. Build one thing worth citing

Links follow data, tools and strong opinions backed by numbers. The methods are in How to get backlinks the legal way.

5. Earn relevant links from your own community

Suppliers, associations, local chambers and partners link for reasons that make sense to readers, and relevance beats volume.

6. Skip the shortcuts

Google's spam policy defines link spam as creating links primarily to manipulate rankings and lists buying or selling links, excessive link exchanges, automated link creation, low-quality directory links and widely distributed footer links. Paid links are acceptable when qualified with rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". A big jump in a third-party score after a package of "links all over the place" is a reason to audit what was built.

7. Measure in Search Console

Watch impressions, clicks and indexed pages, and the Links report. Use DA only to benchmark against competitors, which is the use Moz recommends. For where the AI-search reports fit, see Search Console and Bing AI reports.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you sign up through one and later make an eligible purchase, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Where Rank Math fits

Steps 1 and 3 are the on-site half, and Rank Math covers them on WordPress. Its Link Counter in the Posts list shows each post's internal, external and incoming link counts. Its Link Suggestions work from pillar content you mark, in Advanced Mode, in the Block Editor. Its 404 Monitor records requests for missing pages, and in Advanced Mode it logs the referrer, which shows where a visitor came from to a dead URL. You then create a redirect with the Redirections module. AI Link Genius, which suggests internal links while you write, is a Pro feature. None of it builds links from other sites; it protects and spreads the ones you have. The free plugin covers the basics. Get Rank Math (affiliate link).

Where GrowGanic fits, and where it does not

Page-level authority needs pages. GrowGanic is an autonomous SEO engine: add a domain and it researches the keywords, writes and scores the articles, publishes them to your site or a hosted blog, and tracks the rankings. On a paid plan it publishes every weekday, which suits the supporting pages around one linkable asset. It is not a link-building tool. It has no backlink index, and, by GrowGanic's own account, the hosted copy of the free article stays out of Google until the plan is paid (connecting your site or a subdomain first avoids that), so it cannot show you who links to you or your competitors. Use a link research tool for step 2 and Search Console for step 7, and read every draft before it goes live. Try the free plan (affiliate link).

Who should skip this

Sites with indexing or content problems. Links to a page Google has not indexed or a thin page help little. Fix that first; see the 90-day plan.
Anyone chasing the number. If the aim is a higher DA for its own sake, you are optimizing a Moz score; ask what the client or the business actually needs.
Local businesses with no Business Profile. Start there.

The verdict, by situation

What to do about domain authority by situation
If you are…	Do this
Asked by a client to raise DA	Explain that it is a Moz benchmark, and report Search Console results alongside it
Stuck on one keyword	Compare the links to the top three pages, then check intent
A local service business	Business Profile, reviews and relevant local links before more city pages
Sitting on old links to dead pages	Log the 404s and redirect them
Offered a package of "links all over the place"	Audit it against Google's link spam list before paying

Frequently asked questions

Is Domain Authority a Google ranking factor?

No. Moz, which created Domain Authority, says it is not a Google ranking factor and has no effect on the results. It is a 1 to 100 comparative score based on link data. Google's ranking systems guide describes systems that work at the page level, with PageRank still part of its core ranking systems.

Does a high Domain Authority mean I will rank?

Not by itself. Moz describes DA as a relative benchmark that predicts how likely a site is to rank compared with others. Google says good site-wide signals do not mean all content from a site will rank highly, so the page-level picture still decides.

How can I increase Domain Authority quickly?

There is no safe shortcut. Link blasts can move a third-party score without helping rankings, and Google lists buying links, automated links and widely distributed footer links as link spam. The durable route is to earn links to pages worth linking to.

What should I track instead of Domain Authority?

Impressions, clicks and indexed pages in Search Console, and the Links report there for the pages and sites linking to you. Use DA only as a benchmark against competitors, as Moz suggests.

My on-site SEO is done and rankings are stuck. What next?

Compare the links pointing at the ranking page for your stuck keyword with the top three results, check whether the page really matches the search intent, and for local searches separate map results from organic ones, because distance affects the first and cannot be fixed by new pages.

Sources

Moz's Domain Authority explanation; Google Search Central's ranking systems guide, spam policies and link best practices; Google's help pages on the Links report and on local ranking; plus Rank Math's documentation for its Link Counter, link suggestions, AI link tools and 404 Monitor. Rank Math's and Moz's pages change, so check the current ones.