What Is Website Authority? (& How to Increase Yours)

Website authority indicates Google’s trust in your site.

When you need to quickly capitalize on a trending topic, ranking quickly will give you an advantage. Building authority increases your chances of being able to rank for those new, trending keywords.

I’ll explain the importance of website authority and outline key strategies you can use to improve the authority of your site.

Why Does Website Authority Matter?

Authority scores differ from one SEO platform to another. Most tools calculate a domain authority score based on factors like:

• Link quality
• Traffic
• Brand credibility.

I’ve noticed that a website’s authority significantly impacts its rankings in search engines—especially Google.

This can be an indicator of search result placements.

High-authority websites consistently tend to rank near the top of search engine results pages (SERPs).

Higher authority sites also become preferred targets for link building. A site with a strong backlink profile will likely build authority faster.

You can use a backlink checker to see your backlink profile and identify new link building opportunities.

Understanding Website Authority Metrics

Google PageRank was based on the idea that a website's authority is determined by the number and quality of links pointing to it. The more backlinks a site receives from other reputable websites, the higher its PageRank score.

It was a simple, elegant concept that reflected a site's popularity and influence.

Today, Google considers hundreds of ranking factors, making PageRank just one part of a broader assessment of a website's overall relevance and authority.

3 Top Website Authority Metrics

SEO platforms gather immense amounts of data to gauge how authoritative a website is. They consolidate this into a single score.

Depending on the platform you’re using, you might see:

• Semrush Authority Score (AS): Combines factors like link quality, organic traffic, and spam presence to create an accurate measure, aiming to reduce link manipulation.
• Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR): Assesses the quality and number of backlinks. Higher DR suggests a stronger link profile.
• Moz Domain Authority (DA): Estimates authority using several factors, focusing on inbound links and unique root domains.

Strategies to Increase Website Authority

If measuring authority is complex, so is the work required to increase it.

Here are four strategies you can use to boost your website’s authority score.

1. Produce High-Quality Content

High-quality content appeals to users and Google, leading to increased engagement and shares.

You can expand and improve on the content your audience cares about to build authority on that topic.

For example, you might:

• Discover trending keywords and low-competition search terms relevant to your website
• Conduct a content audit to find existing content you can optimize or repurpose
• Use an AI SEO writing tool to beef up the content on your site and broaden your topic coverage
• Use internal linking to help authority cascade down from the most popular pages on your site.

I always advise businesses to keep their most important content up-to-date. Content naturally decays if it’s not updated, so regular updates improve the freshness and signal that your website is actively maintained.

2. Earn Quality Backlinks

Acquiring backlinks from respected sites can increase authority.

The better your authority score, the easier it is to get high-quality backlinks.

Your website authority can be negatively impacted by backlinks from spammy or untrustworthy sites.

To get strong backlinks and avoid toxic ones:

• Use a backlink checker to see if any existing backlinks could be hurting you
• If you find any harmful backlinks, remember to disavow them
• Aim to get backlinks from topically relevant sites
• Identify relevant high-authority backlink opportunities with the Semrush Link Building Tool.

3. Develop a Strong Brand

Consistent branding, design, and interaction foster trust. As Google changes the way it ranks results, it seems to be putting more importance on strong, recognizable brands.

If you’re not sure how to build a strong brand, here are some places to start:

• Make sure you’re tracking the right brand metrics
• Follow the latest brand design trends, and update your branding elements as necessary
• If your branded search has a Google Knowledge Panel, make sure you claim and optimize it
• Engage in branded SEO best practices so your brand shows up the way you want it to in the SERPs.

4. Learn Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves optimizing the technical aspects of your website. For example, it includes making your site load more quickly and minimizing the number of errors.

I always use the Semrush Site Audit Tool to identify and fix technical issues. It lists them in order of priority, making it easy to tackle the most urgent problems first.

To learn more:

• Understand technical SEO best practices so you know how your website can be affected.
• Track the latest trends in technical SEO to stay on top of new developments.

Take Action to Improve Website Authority with Semrush

Increasing website authority requires consistent effort. Using Semrush tools simplifies each step.

Sign up for Semrush today to access tools that can boost your website authority, analyze backlinks, and optimize technical SEO—all in one platform.