Domain Authority Checker

Free Domain Authority Checker — Check DA and PA of Any Website in One Click

If you have spent any time in the world of SEO, you have encountered the terms Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA). These scores, developed by Moz, are among the most widely referenced metrics in the SEO industry. They serve as a quick, standardized way to compare the relative SEO strength of websites — your own, your competitors', and potential link prospects.

SEOToolsN's free domain authority checker gives you instant access to DA, PA, and related metrics for any website without requiring an account, an API key, or a paid subscription. Enter any URL and get your results within seconds.

What Is Domain Authority and How Is It Calculated?

Domain Authority (DA) is a score developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine result pages. The score runs on a logarithmic scale from 1 to 100. A score of 1 represents the lowest possible authority and 100 represents the highest, achieved only by sites like Google, Wikipedia, and YouTube.

Domain Authority is calculated using a machine learning model that correlates dozens of factors with actual Google search rankings. The primary inputs are the quantity and quality of backlinks pointing to the domain. More backlinks from high-authority, relevant websites produces a higher DA score.

Page Authority (PA) uses the same methodology but applies it to individual pages rather than entire domains. A specific page's PA depends on the backlinks pointing to that page specifically, in addition to the domain's overall authority.

Competitor Comparison — Domain Authority Checker Tools

Tool	DA Score	PA Score	Spam Score	Bulk Check	Login Needed
SEOToolsN	Yes (Moz)	Yes	Yes	Limited	No
PrePostSEO	Yes (Moz)	Yes	Yes	500 URLs	No
SmallSEOTools	Yes (Moz)	Yes	Limited	10 URLs	No
Moz Link Explorer	Yes (Official)	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
The HOTH	Yes (Moz)	Yes	No	10 URLs	No
Ahrefs	DR (own metric)	UR	N/A	Paid	Yes

 

How to Interpret Your Domain Authority Score

Understanding what your DA score means in context requires comparison rather than absolute evaluation. A DA score of 30 might be excellent for a brand-new website in a competitive niche, while the same score for a 10-year-old e-commerce site suggests significant room for improvement.

• DA 1 to 20: New or very early-stage websites with few backlinks. Normal for websites under 12 months old.
• DA 21 to 40: Growing websites with an emerging backlink profile. Beginning to rank for some low-competition keywords.
• DA 41 to 60: Established websites with consistent content and a solid backlink foundation. Competitive for moderate-difficulty keywords.
• DA 61 to 80: Strong, well-established websites with significant backlink profiles. Competitive for difficult keywords.
• DA 81 to 100: Industry-leading websites with massive backlink profiles. Typically major news outlets, government sites, and global brands.

Why Domain Authority Matters for Your SEO Strategy

While DA is not a Google ranking factor, it remains one of the most practical tools for SEO strategy and decision-making for three key reasons.

1. Competitor Analysis and Benchmarking

Before targeting any keyword, check the DA scores of websites currently ranking on page one. If all top-ranking competitors have DA scores between 60 and 80, a brand-new DA 10 website will struggle to compete for that keyword regardless of content quality. Targeting keywords where competitors have DA scores closer to yours gives you a realistic path to page one rankings.

2. Link Prospect Evaluation

When evaluating potential backlink sources, DA provides a quick quality filter. A backlink from a DA 50 website passes significantly more SEO value than one from a DA 10 website. Use DA as a minimum threshold filter when doing link prospect research — most experienced SEOs target link sources with DA 30 or higher for meaningful impact.

3. Tracking Your Own Growth

Monitor your own DA score monthly. Consistent growth in DA over time confirms that your link-building efforts are working. A declining DA can indicate lost backlinks, technical issues, or the addition of toxic links — any of which requires investigation.

How to Improve Your Domain Authority

Since DA is fundamentally a measure of your backlink profile's quality and quantity, improving it requires a focused link-building strategy. Here are the most effective methods:

• Create Linkable Assets: Original research, comprehensive guides, free tools, and data-driven content naturally attract backlinks from other websites that want to reference authoritative information.
• Guest Posting on High-DA Sites: Writing articles for websites with DA 40 or higher earns direct, dofollow backlinks that meaningfully contribute to your DA growth.
• Fix Broken Links (Broken Link Building): Find broken external links on high-authority websites and propose your relevant content as a replacement.
• Earn Editorial Mentions: Public relations, digital PR campaigns, and being quoted as an expert in your field generates natural editorial links from news sites and blogs.
• Internal Linking Optimization: Strong internal linking helps distribute page authority throughout your site, even though it does not directly increase domain-level DA.
• Remove Toxic Backlinks: Identify spammy or irrelevant backlinks using the spam score metric and disavow them through Google's Disavow Tool to prevent them from dragging down your profile.

What Is Page Authority (PA) and How Does It Differ from DA?

While Domain Authority measures the overall strength of a website as a whole, Page Authority (PA) measures the ranking strength of a specific individual page. A website with DA 60 may have individual pages with PA scores ranging from 20 to 70, depending on how many backlinks point directly to each page.

PA is particularly useful when evaluating the ranking potential of specific pages rather than entire domains. When analyzing search results, checking the PA of the ranking pages helps you understand what page-level authority you need to compete. For link building, targeting high-PA pages within your niche for outreach and guest posting opportunities often delivers better results than targeting purely by domain.

Understanding Spam Score

Moz's Spam Score is an additional metric included in most domain authority checkers. It flags websites that share characteristics with websites that have been penalized or banned by Google. Spam Score ranges from 0% to 100%, with lower scores indicating cleaner, more trustworthy websites.

A high Spam Score on a website linking to yours is a warning sign. Links from high-spam-score domains may harm your SEO rather than help it. Regularly reviewing your backlink profile for high-spam-score links and disavowing the worst offenders protects your site's authority over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often does Domain Authority update?

Moz updates Domain Authority scores on a rolling basis, approximately once per month. Because DA uses a machine learning model, scores can fluctuate even if your actual backlink profile has not changed significantly — this is normal and expected.

Can my DA decrease even if I am building links?

Yes. DA is a relative score. If competitor websites in your niche are building links faster than you, your DA may remain flat or decrease even with new links. Also, if Moz recalibrates its algorithm, DA scores across the web adjust accordingly. A temporary DA drop does not always indicate a problem with your site.

What is a good Domain Authority score for a new website?

A brand-new website starts at DA 1 and gradually increases as it earns backlinks. After six to twelve months of active SEO, reaching DA 20 to 30 is a realistic milestone. Focus on consistent content creation and quality link building rather than obsessing over the number.

Is Ahrefs DR the same as Moz DA?

No. Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) and Moz Domain Authority (DA) are different metrics from different companies using different methodologies. Both measure backlink-based website authority on a 0-100 scale, but their calculations differ and the scores for the same website will often be different between the two tools.

Conclusion

Domain Authority is one of the most practical and widely used benchmarks in SEO. While it is not a direct Google ranking factor, it serves as a powerful proxy for a website's organic ranking potential and provides essential context for competitive analysis, link prospect evaluation, and tracking your SEO progress over time.

SEOToolsN's free domain authority checker gives you instant access to DA, PA, and Spam Score for any website — no registration, no payment, no delay. Use it regularly as part of your competitive research and link-building strategy, and you will always have the data you need to make informed, confident SEO decisions.