A complete guide to DA for bloggers
What does DA actually mean and why is it important for your blog?
You’ve probably heard the term DA thrown around blogging forums and wondered what on earth people are on about.
Or you know what it is and you’re maybe in a panic wondering how you can get your DA up so you can get more Google traffic.
I want this post to dispel a big myth around DA and what it actually means for your blog, plus to give you some advice on increasing DA as well as actionable tips for getting more Google traffic.
This post contains affiliate links.
What does DA stand for?
DA stands for Domain Authority. It is a metric created by Moz to predict how likely your website is to rank on search engines.
Moz uses multiple factors to calculate your DA, such as the number links pointing to your website and the quality of those links (ie what DA is the website linking to your blog).
But remember that DA is not a metric that Google uses to determine who will rank on its search engine!
What you need to do to rank on Google is a little more complicated than aim to build your DA (and we will talk about that shortly).
Why does DA matter
People often misunderstand the importance of DA and how it impacts on your ability to rank on Google.
To be clear DA is a metric that is calculated by the organisation Moz, not Google.
A high DA website, for example YouTube has a DA of 100, is representative of how trustworthy, reliable and mentioned the site is in the eyes of Moz.
But it does not mean having a certain DA will lead you to get to page one of Google. The search engine doesn’t look to Moz for advice on which sites will rank.
I have got blog posts to page one of Google with a DA of 12.
I have blog posts on my parenting blog (DA28) outranking websites with a DA of more than 50.
So my point is, having a higher DA doesn’t automatically mean you start outranking websites with a lower DA.
DA is just one metric alongside a large number of other metrics and strategies you need to use to get your website to rank on Google.
Don’t get me wrong, a growing DA is a sign you are doing things right. It means more sites are linking to your website and that your site will be seen favourably by Google.
But say you have a DA in the 20s, a website with a DA of 10 can still outrank you if their content is better and their site is better geared up for Google traffic (we will talk about this more shortly).
So as you can see, DA doesn’t matter so much when it comes to ranking on Google. It’s not gospel for getting search engine traffic.
BUT many bloggers make money by offering paid links placed on their blog. This is a practice done to increase the DA of websites – pay other sites to link back to you and increase your own DA.
If your website has a DA in the 20s or more there is regular money to be made here. Opportunities for paid links can earn you hundreds of pounds per post, or as little as £35 per post. How much you earn can largely depend on your DA.
Just a word of caution that Google looks down on this practice and this can actually impact on your ability to rank.
I do know plenty of bloggers however that do accept paid links and continue to get Google traffic.
If you are interested in getting paid for placing links on your blog then the Get Blogged site has loads of new opportunities every week.
How to increase your DA
So we’ve talked about what DA actually means for your website. What can you do to increase it?
Whether you want to increase DA to get some paid blog post opportunities or you want to see the metric grow as part of your aims to get more Google traffic, here are a few ways to improve your DA.
Before we get into it I just want to mention Debbie Gartner’s ebook Easy Backlinks for SEO – this book has a ton of ways for you to find new link opportunities for your blog. It is one of my best purchases of the last year.
Write guest posts
You can write guest posts on other bloggers’ websites or you could reach out to larger sites and offer guest posts to them.
In the parenting niche sites such as Scary Mommy accept submissions to them. Research the big sites in your niche and Google their name and “submitted posts” or “guest articles”. See if they accept submitted articles.
They may not pay you, but the backlink you get for the article is worth it in terms of pushing your website towards monetisation.
You can find websites in your niche that accept guest posts by Googling “your niche” and “guest post by” or “guest post”. This should give you a few ideas for where you could successfully pitch ideas for guest posts to.
Swap links with fellow bloggers
Reaching out to fellow bloggers is one of the best things you can do to build backlinks.
There are some fantastic Facebook groups out there that provide wonderful forums for building your backlinks AND are full of supportive fellow bloggers.
Most of these Facebook groups work like this. A blogger writes that they are looking for posts on a particular topic, for example craft ideas for toddlers or recipes involving apples. They will link back to websites in a roundup posts on this topic, and may also want to use the original images from the posts.
In the Bloggers DA Builder Facebook group it works in kind of the reverse. Bloggers post that they are looking to build their DA and ask for links back to their site in exchange for linking to others. So it’s a link swap.
Write amazing content
Writing brilliant content that people naturally WANT to link back to kills two birds with one stone.
It both appeals to your audience, because you are providing them with detailed content that helps them, and it will inspire others to link back to what you’ve created.
Think about what content in your niche could naturally lead to backlinks for you.
Posts with statistics often do very well when it comes to getting mentions on other sites. So how can you use numbers in your next post? Can you compile data that’s already out there to produce a post that gives people important information or can you do your own analysis of a particular topic and produce your own data?
Patience
The number one thing to do is be patient. Building a good DA does not happen overnight.
Keep writing new, quality blog posts that have been built for search engine traffic. Keep reaching out to other bloggers and websites to build those links.
So how do you get your website to rank on Google?
As we’ve discussed above, a high DA is an indicator that your site has some chance of ranking on Google.
But it is not a case of job done, sit back and watch that Google traffic roll in to your blog!
This is how you can set your blog up for success when it comes to ranking on Google:
- Pick a niche. Set your site up as a go-to hotspot for information in one area. Some sites are able to rank for multiple subject matters and there may be crossovers between topics such as parenting and recipes for example.
- Go self-hosted. This means purchasing your domain name and getting it hosted by a company such as SiteGround. If your blog is hosted then this is extremely limiting in terms of monetisation.
- Set your website up for speed. Get a web host that is able to cope with the volume of traffic you are getting – I recommend BlueHost if you’re getting started with blogging. A good blog theme that is geared up for speed is essential too – a pretty theme is all very well and good BUT if it slows down your website that will hit your Google traffic. I recently got a super fast theme on my parenting blog and Google traffic has more than doubled.
- Find keywords relevant to your niche. Think about what information your audience needs. What are they searching for? These are the keywords you need to target. You can research keywords with a paid keyword search tool or by using Google itself. Simply type in some search terms related to your niche and see what pops up. Scroll down to look at the related searches section for more inspiration.
- Write epic content. Create blog posts that fully answer someone’s question! Make it easy to read with H2 headers breaking up the content, nice graphics and images.
- Build backlinks. And this bit takes us back to DA! Having more links and mentions about your site will improve your standing in Google’s eyes.
PRO TIP! What if your site gets a mention on a big website but no backlink? Do not panic! Google is smarter than this and will not miss it. I recommend setting up a section on your About Me page on your blog that specifically lists the big name sites that have linked to you or mentioned you. Google can go away and confirm you are indeed mentioned by these sites. You don’t HAVE to have gotten a backlink – although of course that would be ideal.
You may also find these posts useful:
How to get your blog into MediaVine
Final thoughts on DA and what it means for your blog
I hope this has given you an idea of what DA really means for your blog.
Having a high DA is an indicator that your blog will be seen favourably by Google, but it is not a metric that Google uses!
How important DA is to you partly depends on how you want to monetise your website and your goals.
If you want to get more traffic to your blog, then DA is not the be all and end all to this as described above. By getting more traffic to your blog you can monetise through adverts placed on your site by a company such as MediaVine, selling your own products or using affiliate links.
If you want to make more money from sponsored posts (people paying you to provide links to their site) then DA will be more important you.
Neither of the above options are the “right” way to go about making money with your blog, and some bloggers do a mixture of both!
But if you are just starting out then you may wish to focus on one over the other depending on how much time you have to grow your blog.
I recommend gearing your site up for search engine traffic with a focus on writing amazing content, because that really is what matters to Google and its users!
You may also like: How to set up a money-making blog
