Have you ever wondered why some websites show up on Google's first page every single time — while others stay buried on page 10? A big piece of that puzzle is domain authority.
Whether you are a blogger, a small business owner, or an SEO specialist, knowing your domain authority score tells you a lot about how strong your website is. And with a free domain authority checker, you can find out in seconds — no signup needed.
This guide explains everything you need to know about domain authority, page authority, spam scores, and how to actually improve your site's DA over time.
Domain Authority (DA) is a number between 1 and 100 that shows how powerful a website is. The higher the number, the stronger the site. It was created by Moz, one of the most trusted names in SEO.
Think of it like a school grade. A website with a DA of 90 is like an A+ student. A site with a DA of 10 is just getting started. New websites always begin with a low score, and it goes up as you build trust and earn links from other sites.
π‘ Simple explanation: Domain Authority tells you how much Google is likely to "trust" a website. More trust = better chance of ranking higher in search results. It is not an official Google metric, but it is one of the most widely used SEO scores in the industry.
Domain Authority is especially useful when you want to:
Compare your site's strength to a competitor
Find good websites to get backlinks from
Track whether your SEO work is paying off
Decide if a potential guest post site is worth your time
Our domain authority checker is very simple to use. You do not need to create an account or download anything. Here is how it works:
1 Enter your URL(s)
Type or paste your website address into the input box. You can check up to 20 URLs at the same time — one per line.
2 Click "Submit"
Hit the submit button and our tool gets to work straight away. The check usually takes just a few seconds.
3 Read your results
You will see the Domain Authority score, Page Authority score, spam score, and the number of backlinks pointing to the site.
4 Export if you need to
Save all your results as a CSV file with one click. Great for reporting or keeping track of your progress over time.
DA scores are not created equal. A score of 40 might be excellent for a small niche blog, but weak for a national news website. Here is a general guide to help you understand where you stand:
| DA Score | Rating | What It Means | Typical Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–20 | Weak | New or very young website with few backlinks | Brand-new blogs, startup websites |
| 21–40 | Average | Growing site with some good links | Local business sites, small blogs |
| 41–60 | Good | Established site with solid link profile | Mid-size businesses, popular blogs |
| 61–80 | Great | Strong, trusted site in its niche | Industry leaders, major publications |
| 81–100 | Elite | Extremely authoritative global website | Wikipedia, BBC, Amazon, Google |
β οΈ Important tip: Never compare your DA score to a completely different type of website. A local florist with DA 35 is doing great — but DA 35 would be weak for a national bank. Always compare yourself to your direct competitors.
These two scores are often confused, but they measure different things:
π Domain Authority (DA)
Measures the overall strength of your entire website. It looks at every page and every backlink your whole domain has collected.
π Page Authority (PA)
Measures the strength of one single page on your website. A page can have a high PA even if the rest of the site has a low DA.
Both DA and PA run on a scale from 1 to 100. Both are calculated by Moz. When you check your domain authority, you will usually see both scores together, which gives you a fuller picture of your website's performance.
Moz uses a complex formula to work out your DA score. The main things it looks at are:
How many other websites link to yours. More links from more unique sites generally means a higher DA score.
A link from a high-DA site like BBC or Wikipedia is worth far more than hundreds of links from low-quality sites.
Moz counts how many unique websites (root domains) link to you. 100 links from 100 different sites beats 100 links from just one site.
Links from spammy or low-quality sites can actually hurt your DA. A clean, healthy backlink profile is key.
The DA algorithm also looks at your site's age, internal linking structure, and content quality. Because DA is a logarithmic scale, it gets harder to improve as you go up. Getting from 20 to 30 is much easier than going from 70 to 80.
Growing your DA does not happen overnight — but with the right steps, you can make steady progress. Here is what actually works:
This is the biggest single factor. Reach out to other websites in your niche and ask them to link to your content. Guest posting, digital PR, broken link building, and creating shareable content (like studies, infographics, and tools) are all proven ways to earn backlinks.
Original research, detailed how-to guides, free tools, and expert roundups naturally attract links over time. Ask yourself: would another website want to send their readers to this page?
A fast, secure (HTTPS), mobile-friendly website with a clean internal link structure builds trust. Make sure your site does not have broken links, duplicate content, or slow page speeds dragging it down.
Bad links from spammy websites increase your spam score and can reduce your DA. Use Google's Disavow Tool to remove links that are hurting your profile.
DA is a long game. Keep publishing helpful content and earning links every month. Track your progress with the DA checker every few weeks to see how you are doing.
π― Pro tip: Before you reach out to a website for a backlink or guest post, use the domain authority checker to see their DA score first. Aim for sites with a DA higher than your own — those links will do the most good.
There are a few popular tools for checking domain authority. Here is a quick comparison to help you choose the right one for your needs:
| Tool | Free? | Bulk Check | DA + PA | Spam Score | No Sign-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SmallSEOTools DA Checker | β | β 20 URLs | β | β | β |
| Moz Link Explorer | Limited | β | β | β | β |
| Ahrefs Website Checker | β | β | DR only | β | β |
| SEMrush Authority Checker | Limited | β | AS only | β | β |
| DupliChecker DA Tool | β | β | β | β | β |
SmallSEOTools gives you the most complete free DA check. including bulk URLs, DA, PA, spam score, and backlink count all in one place, with no account required.
Domain Authority (DA) is a score from 1 to 100 created by Moz. It predicts how likely your website is to rank well on Google. The higher the score, the stronger the site. It matters because it helps you understand your own SEO strength and compare yourself to competitors — so you can spot gaps and opportunities.
No. Google has not confirmed that it uses Domain Authority in its ranking algorithm. DA is a third-party metric made by Moz, not by Google. However, the factors that help raise your DA — like quality backlinks and strong content — are also things that do help you rank better on Google.
There is no single "good" score for everyone. A DA of 40–50 is considered average. Scores of 50–60 are good, and anything above 60 is excellent. The key is to compare your score against the competitors in your exact niche — not random websites. If your DA is higher than your competitors, you are in a strong position.
Moz updates its Domain Authority data on a rolling basis, roughly every few weeks. That means your DA score can change as Moz recrawls the web and updates its backlink index. Improvements to your backlink profile may take a few weeks to show up in your DA score.
Yes, it can. If competitors build more backlinks than you, your relative DA can drop even if you have not done anything wrong. DA can also fall if you lose backlinks, gain toxic links, or if Moz updates its algorithm. This is why it is important to monitor your score regularly and keep building high-quality links.
Spam Score is another Moz metric that shows how many red flags your website has compared to sites that have been penalised. A high spam score means your backlink profile might contain low-quality or suspicious links. This can drag your DA down. Aim to keep your spam score below 10%. If it is higher, consider using Google's Disavow Tool to clean up bad links.
DA (Domain Authority) is Moz's metric. DR (Domain Rating) is Ahrefs' version of the same idea. Both score from 0 to 100 and both measure the strength of a website's backlink profile. They are calculated differently, so your DA and DR scores may not match — but both are useful tools for benchmarking your SEO strength.
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