Domain Authority is not a Google metric and Google does not use it.
It is a score from 1 to 100, invented by Moz, a software company, as a prediction of how well a site might rank. Ahrefs has an equivalent called Domain Rating. Semrush has Authority Score. They are all third-party estimates, calculated by different companies using different data, and they disagree with each other constantly.
Google has stated repeatedly that it does not use Domain Authority. There is no such number inside Google's ranking systems.
What these scores are genuinely useful for: comparing sites, quickly, at a glance. A site with a DR of 70 is probably more authoritative than one with a DR of 5. That is a real and useful thing.
What they are not: a target, a KPI, or a ranking factor.
What Domain Authority actually is
A prediction, made by a software company, about how a site might perform.
It is calculated mostly from the link profile: how many sites link to it, how good those sites are, and how good the sites linking to those sites are.
It is logarithmic, which is the part nobody explains and which causes endless confusion. Going from DA 20 to DA 30 is far easier than going from DA 70 to DA 80. A client asking why their DA has not moved from 45 in six months is asking a question with a boring answer: because it gets harder.
And it is relative. It is calibrated against the whole web, so as the web grows, a static score can drift. A site that did nothing and lost three points did not necessarily get worse.
Why it is not a ranking factor, and why that matters
Google does not use it. It cannot. It is a number computed by a company outside Google, from an index that is not Google's, using a formula Google did not write.
And the practical consequence is real:
A high-DA site can rank badly. Plenty do. A big brand with an enormous link profile and a terrible, thin page will lose to a small site with an excellent one, for a specific query.
A low-DA site can rank brilliantly, on relevance, on intent match, and on being genuinely the best answer.
And an agency reporting DA as a KPI is reporting a third-party company's opinion as if it were a result.
Report referring domains and their trend. Report non-branded clicks. Report revenue. → The SEO metrics that actually matter
Where the scores genuinely are useful
Quick comparison. Assessing forty prospective link targets in ten minutes. The score is a fast, rough sort, and that is worth something.
Competitor context. Understanding roughly what you are up against before you commit budget.
Spotting the obviously fake. A site with a DR of 60 and no organic traffic has bought its links. That gap between authority score and actual traffic is one of the fastest ways to identify a link seller, and it is genuinely valuable in vetting.
Client shorthand. A single number a non-specialist can hold in their head has real communication value, provided you explain what it is.
How the scores get manipulated
These scores are calculated from links, and links can be bought.
Which means the scores can be manufactured, and they are, constantly.
A site with a DR of 55, no traffic, no real content and a backlink profile of 400 links from other sites with no traffic, is a link farm with a nice number on it. It will happily sell you a guest post at £250 and it will do nothing for you. → Guest posts, niche edits and PBNs
How to vet properly, and this takes ninety seconds:
Check the organic traffic, not the authority score. A real site has real traffic. Look at what it ranks for. Read the site. Is it written for humans, or is it forty unrelated articles about crypto, CBD, casinos and dentistry, sitting side by side? Check the outbound links.
The other metrics that are not ranking factors
Bounce rate. Not a ranking factor and never was. Someone who lands on a page, gets their answer perfectly, and leaves satisfied is recorded as a bounce.
Time on page. Not a ranking factor. And it is measured badly, because the timer needs a second pageview to stop.
The Lighthouse performance score. A lab number, simulated, on a synthetic device. Google uses field data. Chasing a Lighthouse 100 while real-world Core Web Vitals fail is a very common way to waste a fortnight. → Core Web Vitals
Keyword density. No.
Social shares. Not directly. They drive distribution, which drives links.
Is Domain Authority a Google ranking factor?
No. It is a score invented by Moz, a software company, and Google does not use it and never has. There is no such number in Google's ranking systems.
What is the difference between DA and DR?
Domain Authority is Moz's score. Domain Rating is Ahrefs'. Semrush has Authority Score. They are all third-party predictions calculated from different data using different formulas, and they disagree with each other constantly.
Why has my Domain Authority not increased?
Because the scale is logarithmic. Going from 20 to 30 is far easier than going from 70 to 80. It is also relative to the whole web, so a static score can drift downward without your site getting worse.
Is Domain Authority useful for anything?
Yes, as a quick, rough sort when assessing link targets or sizing up competitors, and as a way to spot fakes: a site with a high authority score and no organic traffic has bought its links.
How do I vet a link target properly?
Check its organic traffic rather than its authority score, look at what it actually ranks for, and read the site. If it publishes unrelated articles about crypto, CBD, casinos and dentistry side by side, it is a link farm.
Is bounce rate a ranking factor?
No, and it never was. It is also close to meaningless: someone who lands on a page, gets their answer perfectly, and leaves satisfied is recorded as a bounce.
Should my agency report Domain Authority?
Only with an explanation of what it is. Reporting it as a KPI means reporting a third-party software company's opinion as though it were a result. Report referring domains, non-branded clicks and revenue instead.
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