It’s important to know a thing or two about digital marketing if you truly want your business to succeed. A strong digital presence is often your first (and sometimes only) impression for your customers, so it’s key that you get it right.

However, if prospective customers are struggling to find you online, you’re likely going to fall behind your competition. That’s why it’s crucial that you have a solid understanding of your website’s domain authority and how it influences your chances of success.

Domain authority defined

Domain authority is a concept developed by a company called Moz. It uses a 1-100 scale that predicts how likely it is for your site to rank on a search engine results page. While it’s not a hard and fast guarantee of ranking success, it’s a great tool for getting a quick snapshot of your website’s general health. There are a few key factors that go into calculating domain authority and if you’re looking to improve your overall score, you need to better your efforts in these areas.

Primarily, domain authority is determined by the amount of quality inbound links your site receives. The key word in that sentence is “quality.” In the past, it was enough to purchase spammy links from less-than-reputable sites to give you a rankings boost. However, this is considered “black hat” SEO and is punishable by ranking penalties as well as de-indexing, which makes your website nearly impossible to find. As long as you’re receiving links from well-regarded websites, you’re in good standing with the search engines.

A fighting chance

If you were to look up your website’s domain authority score right now, you might not be entirely pleased with your results. However, it’s important to keep in mind that domain authority is comparative, not definitive. This means that, even if you have a 30 on that 1-100 scale, as long as you’re performing well compared to your direct competitors, you stand a chance of outranking them on the results pages.

So, if you’re hovering around a 30, it’s good to verify that your direct competitors are around the same spot on the scale. This is where a bulk domain authority checker comes into play. Simply plug in a competitor’s URL and view their score. If you’re underperforming, you know that you need to work on a quality link-building campaign to raise your score and your ranking possibility. If you’re scored higher than your competitors, continue your SEO efforts to maintain your lead. Otherwise, you risk losing your advantage.

A helping hand

If the world of SEO seems a little intimidating, that’s because it’s notorious for being easy to break into but difficult to understand. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level and really gain an advantage over your competitors, you might want to consider reaching out to a third party to help you exceed.

Depending on the agency you use, you’re saving a large amount of money over what you would spend on an in-house marketing specialist. It’s important to take reputation and case studies into account when choosing an agency. You want to partner with an organization that has proven success in helping raise domain authority scores and conducting quality link-building campaigns.

Market yourself to the top

While domain authority is a great indicator of how your website is performing, it isn’t the be-all and end-all of your chances at success. You need a holistic marketing campaign that addresses every aspect of your business and pushes you above your competition. If you’re pairing with the right agency, you’re setting yourself up for great returns.