Domain Authority

By Kat Child

Domain authorityĀ (DA) is a metric created byĀ SEO siteĀ MozĀ to help businessesĀ understandĀ where they may rank on search engine result pagesĀ (SERPs). The DA score, which ranges from one to 100, isĀ determined byĀ using the number of relevant backlinks (links to your website from other reputable sites) and the relevancy of those backlinks.Ā Basically, it is a quick way to determine the quality or trustworthiness of aĀ site, butĀ should not be your only consideration.Ā Ā 

For digital PR professionals, DA isĀ a great tool. Did you know there are about 1.5 billion websites out there? SomeĀ are well-known and carry a wealth of content, like Buzzfeed (which isĀ consideredĀ a ā€œtoptier siteā€Ā and has a high DA), and others are lesser-known and more niche, lowering their DA scoreĀ (but there is stillĀ great value in them—more on that, below).Ā  The PR pro knows thatĀ attracting the right mediaĀ isn’tĀ about targeting millions of sites—it’s about curatingĀ aĀ pitch to be highly relevant to a smaller, best-of-the-best, target audience. So, how do you decide what sites to target?Ā Ā 

DAĀ is a great toolĀ to help you decide. The score lets you assess a site with your client in mind: how valuable would it be if this piece of content got up on thisĀ site? What is the quality and relevancy of other sites that would potentially link to this piece of content, if itĀ wereĀ placedĀ here?Ā 

IfĀ you’veĀ been following along thus far, you may be thinking this means you should only pitch media withĀ theĀ highestĀ DA scores. To which we say: not necessarily. Here’s aĀ condensedĀ guideĀ weĀ sourced fromĀ FractlĀ on Search Engine WatchĀ that explainsĀ the type of content suitable forĀ each site tier: toptier,Ā mid-tier, and lowtier.Ā Toptier sites tend to have the highest DA scores.Ā 

  • TopTier Sites:Ā the holy grail of media coverage, with an extremely large audience online and on social; super exclusive.Ā High DA scores, usually above 90.Ā Be ready for scrutiny. (Fractl’sĀ internal studyĀ found aĀ linkĀ between the DA of a site and the type of response receivedĀ from journalists and content creators—the higher the DAĀ of a site, the less positive the response).Ā Keep these pitches highly relevant and brief.Ā 
    • What to offer them:Ā extremelyĀ unique,Ā newsworthy content.Ā Ā 
  • Mid-TierĀ Sites:Ā a sweet spot for digital PR pros—not as challenging to get placed here compared with toptier sites,Ā plusĀ theyĀ stillĀ have a large audience and are more responsive to content pitches. DA scoresĀ rangeĀ between 66-89.Ā 
    • What to offer them:Ā unique, engaging and newsworthy content.Ā Ā 
  • LowTier Sites:Ā not to be underestimated, lowtier sites are often very niche and can be a great place to target more precise audiences. They also may be an opportunity to get your content featured on other, higherĀ tier sites (like Money-ish, which originally had a DAĀ scoreĀ of 1 and was later absorbed as a part of financial conglomerate MarketWatch).Ā 
    • What to offer them:Ā niche content thatĀ fits the interest ofĀ their smaller community, or content that hasĀ greatĀ potential and may have been overlooked by higherĀ tier sites.Ā Ā 

In Conclusion:Ā DA is a valuable metric for PR pros, helping you increase outreach efficacy, customize your pitches to be well-suited to varying DA levels, curate content to fit the needs of target publishers and anticipate the outcome of content campaigns based on placement.Ā It’sĀ also not everything—but it is a valuable piece of the puzzle.Ā 

Curious how to calculateĀ anyĀ site’s DA? Here areĀ Moz’sĀ resources:Ā 

Sources:Ā 

Study: How to use domain authority for digital PR and content marketing (searchenginewatch.com)Ā 

https://neilpatel.com/blog/boost-your-domain-authority/Ā