If you’re a blogger, chances are you’ve heard of a blog domain authority score before. And if you haven’t and don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, stick with me. Your domain authority is another metric that your blog acquires when you get your own domain. All websites with their own domain have an authority ranking. But why is it important? And why do you need to improve it?
All valid points and questions. Learning about domain authority can seem like a minefield at times. So in this post, we’re going to look at what it is, why it’s a useful metric and how you can improve your own blog domain authority:
So, what is a blog domain authority score?
DA stands for Domain Authority. Developed by a website called Moz, it’s a handy tool to see where your blog will be ranking in search engines. The Moz scoring system goes from 1-100 and it’s important to remember that only blogs with their own domain will have an accurate DA score.
So that means if your blog has .wordpress or .blogspot at the end of the URL, a DA won’t apply to you.
Websites such as Google will have the highest ranking DA scores and most blogs fluctuate between 1-50. Of course there will be some higher than this but that’s the general ballpark.
The higher your DA, the higher your blog will rank on search engines and your domain authority can determine how trustworthy your site is for potential users and readers – according to Google.
Where can I check my blog domain authority?
You can check your own DA score directly on the Moz website. It’s incredibly easy and totally free. You’ll have to create an account, which involves entering your email, a display name and password the you sign in, enter your blog URL and find out your DA from there.
You can use Moz 10 times a month to check your DA before you have to pay for premium features. But you shouldn’t ever have to check it that many times anyway. It’ll rarely fluctuate that much within just one month.
Why is my blog domain authority score important?
Well, it’s only important if you need it to be important. So if you blog as a hobby and have no interested in working with brands, building your own brand or progressing your blog to anything more than your hobby, then I really wouldn’t worry about your DA much (if at all).
But if you’re a blogger who wants to work with brands or started to work with brands and want to progress in that direction, then a DA can be important for you.
You’ll often see PR’s or brands looking for bloggers with a certain DA, usually +20 or +30. Or websites like Get Blogged work in this way too.
Related reads:
Obviously this means that they’re looking for bloggers who’s blogs will rank higher in search engines, therefore their clients or products they’re promoting through your blog, are more likely to get seen.
From a PR stand point, it’s quite straightforward and logical. Although it may seen unfair on the surface, it really is just how the industry works.
So if you’ve got this far and realised that actually, you don’t need to worry about your DA because you blog as a hobby, you have no intention of working with brands and are just peachy as you are, that’s absolutely gravy. Don’t waste your time reading any more.
If you are in a position where your DA score matters, let’s move on to how you can improve your blog DA:
How can I improve my blog domain authority score?
So you want the chance to apply for more blogging opportunities but your DA just isn’t quite high enough. It can be incredibly frustrating, I know but there are plenty of – relatively simple – ways you can improve it.
These aren’t super quick fixes. You won’t see your DA shoot up over night. But with good practice and regular care taken on your DA, you will see an improvement over time.
Time is of the essence – sometimes
This one is important to mention first as it’s one of the elements of calculating a DA score that Moz have changed in their past updates. So stick with me…
So, as long as you have your own domain name, you’ll have a DA score. But if you’re a super new blogger, your DA won’t be very high. You can’t expect to buy your domain, wake up tomorrow with a DA score of 47. It just doesn’t work like that. YOU need to work at it.
HOWEVER, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the longer you’ve been blogger, the better your DA score is either.
For example, there could be a 7 year old blog which doesn’t focus on SEO, has 0 quality back links from other sites, a ton of broken links and generally not a very user-friendly blog.
And then there could be a 8 month old blog which nails their SEO on every posts, gets quality back links etc etc. Basically what I’m saying is the second blog will likely have a higher DA despite the fact it’s a newer blog.
Fix broken links
This is an important one and for full transparency, my DA would be a lot higher had I known about broken links sooner.
I’ve been blogging for almost 10 years and have built up thousands of broken links in that time. Which I’m slowly working through (and also paid someone to help me with) but it’s an incredibly daunting task.
Basically, get on those broken links sooner so you don’t end up in the same pickle!
A broken link is what it says on the tin. A link that is broken. Say a year ago, you wrote a blog post featuring a product from a small business you were enjoying. But since then, that business has shut down and closed their website.
Any readers who click through to their website from your blog will end up at a dead end, a 404 or an error page. Because their website doesn’t exist anymore.
There’s free broken link checkers you can use which are a good place to start with this one and you can check out my beginners guide to broken links for more information on this pointer.
Internal linking
This is one of the simplest ways to boost your DA over time and that’s by internally linking your own content within your own content.
Like how I’m linking to other posts that I’ve written within this post – posts that are relevant to the topic in question and that will provide the reader extra additional helpful content and information.
Make sure you’re only linking relevant posts and try and avoid using anchor texts like “click here” or “read this post”. Make sure your anchor text is a relevant keyword too.
Related read: Why You Should Be Internally Linking In Your Blog Posts
Backlinks from other websites boost your blog DA score
This may be easier said than done but getting backlinks from other high DA websites to your blog will end up helping your own DA. Because it shows Google that your site and content is relevant. There’s a few ways you can get quality backlinks:
- Guest posting: Guest posting on other high DA blogs and linking back to your own content within those guest posts.
- Comment on other blogs: This will help by leaving your URL at the end of your comment. If you’re going to do this, it’s worth noting that it doesn’t always help to leave your comment on every single post you comment on. Especially those which are irrelevant to what you write about. And note that Google considers comments of 9 words or under spam. So make sure your comments are genuine and not just the old, “great post!” that we all know and love.
Advertise with other bloggers
Technically this is another method for getting backlinks to your site from other sites but I wanted to include this as it’s own point because it can be really helpful.
Advertising with other bloggers can be a really useful and effective way to boost your DA and get those backlinks. There are some things you’re going to want to consider though, before you book an advertising package with another blogger.
First of all, do they offer advertising packages?
Lots of bloggers do – myself included. They will often tweet about them if they do and should have a dedicate page on their blog with all the information about the packages they offer. Here is my advertising for bloggers page, where I provide the information you need.
And secondly, you’re going to want to advertise with bloggers who have a blog domain authority score which is higher than yours.
Although it’s nice to be nice and you might want to advertise with bloggers who are friends to support them, that’s fine. But you’re going to get the most benefit for your blog (and your money) if you advertise with those higher DA sites.
This is because backlinks from higher authority blogs will show Google that your blog is reliable and worthy to be a higher authority blog too.
Here is a full blog post about advertising for bloggers, if you want to know more before you commit. Make sure the blogger you’re thinking of advertising with includes PERMANENT backlinks within their advertising package.
SEO optimize your blog posts
SEO and DA can go hand in hand and a lot of things apply to both.
I find the Yoast plugin absolutely invaluable when it comes to the SEO of my posts. So if you can download plugins, I’d highly recommend that one and watching the tutorials for it.
For the sake of this post however, I’m just going to highlight some basic elements of SEO that are worth incorporating into most of your blog content. PSA, I’m far from an expert on SEO, so I’d highly recommend doing your own research as well:
- Make your blog posts longer than 300 words: Content rich blog posts show search engines it’s professional and more useful to the reader
- Key words: High search volume and low competition makes the best keyword. You’re going to want to do some keyword research or sign up for Keysearch to help with this
- Use headings where possible: This breaks the text up and makes it more reader friendly (H2 tags!) Also a great place to add your keywords
- Start your posts with text, not an image: As this is an important place to have your key word and gives you the chance to create a catchy introduction
- Make your posts as shareable as possible: Not only will easy sharing options encourage people to share your content more, the more it’s shared, the more search engines will recognize it as useful content
- Name your images and add alt text: Rename your images – even your stock images – with your keywords and add your keywords to your image alt text and description
This has been a bit of a mammoth blog post but I hope it has helped you understand what a domain authority score is, why it’s important (or not important) and what you can implement to help improve yours – if you want to.
It’s also important to note that Moz and Google often do updates which might affect your DA score. I urge you not to panic – although it is really annoying – and just keep on top of the things mentioned in this post.
It’s good to have a routine when it comes to ensuring your DA score stays high (or increases) rather than panicking and doing everything at once!
I hope you found this helpful about how to increase your blog domain authority score! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
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Hi Jenny, thank you for this helpful post. I’ve been working on improving my DA forever it seems. This was a good reminder of some of the basics I need to remember. Thanks again! Joan
You’re welcome! Glad you found this helpful 🙂
Lots of good advice and information here! As a blogger, I understand the importance of DA. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
This post is so useful- thank-you! DA is something I’ve always found so daunting, especially in terms of working through and rectifying old posts for SEO and broken links- ahhh! But you’ve inspired me to get back at it!
Kathleen / http://www.madeinthe1990s.com
Ah I’m so glad and hope this makes it a bit easier and less daunting!
Hi Jenny, this is a timely and great post for me a newbie to blogging. Your breakdown is simple and easy to understand, now I know it actually takes time, well done for what you have achieved in blogging. NB the Get Blogged link seems broken as it gave me 404 error message.
Ah thank you I’mso glad this was a helpful post for you to better understand DA scores!
[…] the higher the DA score of your blog, the better chance it has of showing up in search results. DA is based off, among other things, how […]
This is so helpful, thank you! I’ve found that buying blog advertising packages have really helped to increase my DA, but I’ve learned some new ways from this post. I knew about alt text on photos but I never knew that actually renaming the photos could help too! Also, thanks for the reminder I haven’t fixed my broken links in a while! xx
Oh yes renaming the photo is great for SEO! Glad you’ve found value in blog advertising packages, too!
Such an awesome post! I’m so new and needed this! Thanks so much for sharing!✨
You’re welcome!
Really useful post. DA is such a driver these days for PR agencies. I definitely need to check my broken links, I had a plugin but apparently it was slowing my site down am saving the link you’ve given! Thanks
Yes lots of plugins can slow your site down! Glad you found this useful 🙂
Great post! I need to look into my broken links.
Definitely! They’re a nightmare!
I liked the article, however, i had initial idea of such things but how to figure out those sites which are relevant for my type of content & have high DA also! Further how to exactly find in which content category my site falls? I found few sites somewhere with v. high DA but why & how those big sites will give me a chance to write?
[…] have been a lot of great posts that explain what DA is and the importance, I personally love this one by Jenny from “Jenny in neverland” so go check that out and her blog! Also there have […]
Hi Jenny. I just found you and love you. I’m newish to blogging. I’m confused. When you say to include my blog URL and email address in my bio. Which bio do you mean? On Twitter? On my blog itself?
And thank for putting together such amazing material!
Wendy http://theinspiredeater.com/
In your social bios 🙂
[…] that are available for you to use. To improve your Domain Authority read the section called: SEO optimize your blog posts13. Guest posting – I don’t have any experience in writing guest posting and I’ve heard that […]
[…] Blog DA Score: What It Is, Why It’s Useful and How To Improve It […]
Thanks Jenny this has been both informative and useful will certainly look to using these tips a lot more
Thank you 🙂
I didn’t think so much about the domain name before I purchase it 🙂
Wow this post has really helped me. I have been struggling with my DA I was on 38 then I got hacked and it has dropped dramatically. I will follow these rules. Do you have any other tips after what’s happened to me.
Glad you found this helpful! Try and get yourself some good quality backlinks. Guest posts, link ups etc on other high authority blogs!
[…] if you want to find out more about DA and what it is then Jenny has a great […]
This is such a great post!! I have bookmarked for later. I have been working on other things so not focused much on my DA but some of these things are super simple and so easy to implement to help increase my DA.
Thank you! Hope it helps 🙂
[…] a good host. Getting a clean, professional theme. Branding your blog and social media platforms. Working on your DA. All the stuff that’ll build the framework for a successful […]
Mind-blowing article. That’s super helpful for beginners
I’m glad you found it helpful! 🙂
[…] The only thing is you will need a DA of 5+. After just two months of blogging, I was able to reach a DA score of 10. So it shouldn’t take too long to reach 5 if you are doing the right things. If you are unsure on how to go about this then Jenny from Jenny in neverland has a post on Blog DA Score: What It Is, Why It’s Useful & How You Can Improve It. […]
Great post, and you’ve reminded me that I need to check for broken links! I thought commenting on blogs didn’t really make a difference as they are usually no follow links? I do comment quite a lot but more for networking/supporting fellow bloggers than for DA purposes (and if I’ve got something to contribute to the conversation, like this!).
I don’t believe it matters if they’re no follow or not. But that’s such a small element of DA and commenting on other blogs won’t affect it too much. I guess if you’re commenting on HUNDREDS every day then it might start to impact it!
Really helpful post, really informative as well. I didn’t really know anything about this. I have a question though, if I’m using a WordPress.com would my DA change when I get a domain?
You don’t currently have a DA score, if you’ve not got your own domain. So if you were to buy your domain, you would then inherit a score.
Ok. Thanks for your help
[…] Related Read: How To Improve Your Blog’s DA Score […]
I’m still struggling with the SEO stuff to the point it affected my DA score but I do hope once I change my host domain (I need to wait 60 day-ish) I will start revamping my blog again!
Thank you for the amazing advice!
Michelle| http://www.brokebutflawless.com
You’re welcome. It can definitely be really hard!
Jenny, you have given a crystal clear explanation on how to boost DA for a blog.
Before reading your article I was little confused how to grow my DA but you have given an ultimate answer to my questions.
Thanks for sharing such wonderful blog post💖💖
Ah I’m so glad this was so helpful!
Thank you so much for this guide. Mine just dropped by 4 points, so this has been super helpful to get it back on track!
Sarah
http://www.volubleblogger.com
Ah sorry to hear that! It’ll rise again, don’t worry!
This is a brilliant post, thank you. I’m still learning everything about blogging so this is a great resource.
There is lots of good advice here for raising your DA that is important for bloggers to learn.. Thank you for sharing the site to check your backlinks! I’m going to use it today.
Thank you 🙂 Glad it helped!
As a new blogger this is so valuable! Thank you.
This is so useful! I used to have a blog with quite a good DA (still don’t know how) but rebranded a few years ago and started a new one only to let it sit there dead. Just got back into it now and going to be giving it my absolute all but definitely need to sort my DA out (it’s currently 3 😬) thanks for all the tips!!!
Eliza | http://www.elizadarlings.com
You’re welcome! You got this. If you’ve done it before you can do it again! xxx
Glad you found it helpful!
[…] Blog DA Score: What Is It? Why Is It Useful? How Can You Improve It? […]
This was incredibly helpful! Thank you so much. I just started my blog in May and only just starting to wrap my head around SEO! I had no idea what DA even was 🤦♀️
Glad you found this helpful!
[…] Blog DA Score: What Is It, Why Is It Useful and How Can We Improve It? […]
[…] Blog DA Score: What It Is, Why It’s Important & How You Can Improve It […]
This is super informative and easy to read! It’s nice to seem where I’ve been doing things right and where I need to put in the extra effort! Thanks for this! 🙂
https://www.gracebee.co.uk/
Thank you! Glad you found it helpful 😌
Hey Jenny, this blog post answered all of my doubts about DA score and I am so grateful to you for that! You also clarified my doubts about what Google means by “thin content.” Very helpful! I am going to start looking out for broken links too. Thanks a lot! 🙂
I’m so glad you found it helpful!
You’re welcome!
Thank you so much, I’ve been looking for how to build my DA so I really enjoyed and found your post helpful
[…] NO IDEA how to actually run a successful blog. I had no idea how to grow a blog following or what a DA score was. I just wasn’t aware of that side of running a blog and I plodded along, enjoying what […]
Really helpful, thank you! I have been away from blogging for 3 years, so need to get my head back in to everything and all the changes. X
Hope these tips help!
Hi Jenny, thank you so much for this post! I’ve known about DA for a while, but no one, not even the paid course that I took on blogging/creating a brand explained it as well as you. I now actually feel like I have a chance at improving my DA score further!!
Have just performed a link checker (thank you so much for including a link to the facility) and have got a clear idea of what my evening looks like and any issues on my blog!
Your content is invaluable – thank you,
Kim
Oh wow. Well I’m so glad this could be of use to you! Well done for getting around to the broken link check!
I’ve been wondering what DA has meant for a while, this was super helpful! Thanks!
You’re welcome!
Since reading this post, and taking on the advice I’ve doubled my DA, only from 3 to 6, but I’m delighted 😃
Yay I’m so thrilled! It’s a slow process for sureeee but keep at it!
Great post Jenny, I knew a little about what a DA score was, but this post was really helpful and I’ve taken a few tips from it- thank you 🙂
You’re welcome! Glad it helped 🙂
I’m a bit late to the party here, but thanks for this advice. I have been using semrush, but Moz seems like a great tool for domain analysis/research. Thanks for this!
Thanks so much for all of the wonderful information you’ve offered! I’m a new blogger and trying to build up my followers and DA! I appreciate all of the advice you share!
Kristen- https://globetrottingguiris.com/
Glad this helped!
Great info thank you! I didn’t realise that about text first before images. Going to swap it around next weeks post! Helen xo
Glad this helped!
This post is just what I needed. Great tips. I did not know that there should be text before the photo in blog posts. I have a lots of work to do now. Thanks! Cheryls-Casual-Chatter.Com
This post was just what I needed. Lots of tips. I am sitting here wondering why I never knew text before photo in a blog post. I will certainly be busy fixing things and adding things. Many thanks! Cheryls-Casual-Chatter.Com
I got a new domain in November and I’m slowly trying to rebuild my DA score! It’s slowly improving and I’m defintiely going to be using these tips, thank you!!
– charlotte / charlottesspace.com
You’re welcome!
This was a super helpful post, thank you! Although I knew what DA was, I had no idea how to improve it so this helps me out a lot!
Thanks for all the helpful tips! I love when you post blogging tips. I find them really helpful and will constantly go back to review the tips and make sure I’m utilizing my blog to the best of my ability.
I’ve been wanting to start to work with brands to make money blogging and I think this is a great place for me to start. My website (https://www.briannabenton.com/) currently has a DA score of 1 but I think these tips will really help me raise that.
I’m so glad you find my blogging tips so helpful! I consider that my job done! This is a fab place to start. I’m sure you’ve seen on Twitter, PR’s often look for bloggers with a specific DA so working on your DA is a great place to start for that. If it’s 1, the only way is up!
[…] Have you ever heard of domain authority? If not, don’t worry; I hadn’t heard of it either until not that long ago. I think the first time I heard of it (or at least paid attention) was when I read a post by Jenny in Neverland. […]
Really trying to work on my DA this year as it’s been the same for what seems like forever, so this is really helpful, thank you!
Abi | https://whatabigailsays.co.uk/
You’re welcome! Xxx
Great post to read, I found it really helpful, am just rebuilding up my new blog and this really helped refresh my mind on DA!
Came across your blog from Twitter x
Glad you found it helpful!
Super helpful! Thanks for recommending that I check out this post. My blog DA is 17 at http://books.thetechchef.net/ , but I think I can raise it over 20 with a few tweeks.
Thank you so much for this post! It’s super useful, and has inspired me to spend some time working on improving my blog DA.
Chloe x
https://www.chloeharriets.com/
I’m so glad!
Genuine thanks for writing this article, it was exactly what ive been looking for. Cant wait to get stuck into more of your work!
Glad you found it helpful!
This is BY FAR the most comprehensive and useful outline of DA and what it all means. “Thank you” isn’t enough….. but, thank you!
Thanks so much! Glad you found it helpful! x
This is actually really helpful! I recently changed my url and my DA tanked! Such a scary thing having to work back up again!
Glad you found it helpful!
This is really helpful. I think I need to spend a day or weekend just going through old blog posts and making them SEO ready and fixing broken links
Thanks for this blog post.
Adebola – http://www.mybreakingviews.com
That’d be a great idea 🙂 x
Jenny this was so helpful!! Thank you so much for the post, I was recommended by a twitter friend and I’m glad I made my way over ☺️. My DA rating isn’t great at the moment, but I will keep working on it with the tips you suggested x
Jessica | http://www.jessicacantell.co.uk
So glad you found it helpful! If you need any advice, you know where I am! x
Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! Found it a really useful and informative post.
Brought
DA onto my radar- wad pleasantly surprised by mine….i assumed or world be 1! 😂
Gonna go hunting for broken links now!
Thanks again,
Spence 😀
You’re welcome!
Thank you so much for sharing this information with us! I thought it was almost impossible to increase your DA score but thanks to you, I see there’s a lot I can do about it! Going to check my broken links right now lol.
xoxo Simone
https://beautymone.com
Certainly not impossible at ALL but there’s a lot of factors which affect it. Broken links are a big one!
Thanks for sharing! DA has always been something mysterious to me.
Hope this helped!
Well done Indeed DA is important especially when you want to get sponsored posts from brands but there is a debate to whether high DA really influences ranking in search engines.
But at the end of the day a LOT of brands still use it as an indication of whether to work with a blogger.
Such a helpful post!! I am forever looking at my DA Score and what it means for next steps for my blog!
Rosie
Love when you do these posts x
Thanks for sharing this jenny! I bet this will be so useful to new bloggers and I have to agree that internal linking is such a great and easy way to boost your da, it’s worked wonders for me in the past x
Kayleigh Zara 🌿 http://www.kayleighzaraa.com
I love internal linking – it makes a post so much more well-rounded I think!
This post is so helpful! Since the change in moz’s algorithm, my DA has been declining and I did not know how to put it back up. I will have a look at broken links and check what can be improved!
Broken links are usually the main culprit!
Really helpful post, thank you for sharing! My DA wasn’t too bad until the recent update where it dropped by a lot, so I do need to start working on it again! I think I’ll have to go back and look for any broken links – although I know that’ll take a lot of time to do.
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
It sure will! But it’s worth it!
Such a useful post! I’m so glad I discovered those broken link sites, it took me such a long time to realise that they were probably having an affect on my DA! xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Yep! By time I realised it was kinda too late!
I’m finding DA very frustrating right now. When the Moz update happened mine dropped from 32 to 17 and I was left feeling stumped as to what to do next. It crawled back up to 20 the following month which made me feel slightly better but it’s been stuck there since. I already do all of the above in terms of SEO so I’m a bit baffled right now. I’m going to check my broken links now, please pray for me…😂 x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
Broken links are probably a huge factor! The update seriously shafted a lot of people!
Thanks for the info! I definitely feel like this is more of a UK thing…I see a lot more UK bloggers mentioning it than US bloggers! I wonder if that’s actually the case?
Mandi S
http://www.booksandwildflowers.com
Maybe? It’ll apply to US bloggers too!
I’m going to share this post as so many helpful tips for people x
Thank you!
I’m so happy that you have shared this blog post sweetheart, thank you so much! 💜
With love, Alisha Valerie x | http://www.alishavalerie.com
You’re welcome.
Mine dropped from 4o to 36 months ago and I need to try and increase it x
36 is still better than most x
This was very informative and from reading this I am now confident that I am well on my way to building my DA score. I’m on month 5 of blogging and have a DA score of 12 so far. It’s not great, but I’m working on it.
Thank you for the clarity and information!
12 is a great place to start, keep at it!
This was so useful, thank you. I always wondered why I cannot find a DA score, but now it makes sense. 🙂 I never understood that broken links bit, but everything is clear now. Again, thanks for explaining all this.
Glad it was helpful!
Well writing and I have learnt a few things
I’m glad x
Gosh, I didn’t know about the 9 words thing! Writing this sentence to fix that, ha! I’ve actually been blogging for more than 4 years now and worked hard on seo recently but yet to see that reflected. The update wasn’t kind to me so more commenting is my current MO…
The update wasn’t kind to a lot of people sadly! A lot of people’s DA’s really suffered. Mine went down a few too!
I have been trying to understand DA for a while and this has helped clear up how I can work on improving my score.
So glad it was clear and helpfulB
This was extremely helpful for me! I was seriously wondering what DA was. And I just found out that I had a huge broken link! So, thank you very much for taking the time to explain this all so well 🙂
You’re welcome! Glad it helped 😌
Thank you for this post Jenny! I have always heard of DA and never understood what it was. I am highly considering changing my domain name but the money part scares me.
You’re welcome, glad it was helpful 😌
Thank you, this is such a useful post! I didn’t actually know that DA is inaccurate when not self-hosted. I’m really looking forward to going self-hosted but dreading all those broken links that will come from it… Guessing I should make that a priority?
Definitely! It’s such a boring task but don’t let them build up. You don’t have to wait until you’re self hosted to check broken links though!
This is genuinely SUCH a helpful post, thank you so much for writing it and sharing your wisdom Jenny! I’m still recovering from the Moz update in March – I lost 11 DA points and it hurt so much I basically stopped blogging, so your tips will be incredibly useful for getting me back to it. Thank you!
Beth x Adventure & Anxiety
Ahh no! It can be disheartening definitely but so many people saw theirs drop!
These tips are amazing my darling!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Thank you x
This has reminded me that I really need to sort out my broken links xx
Such a tedious job but needs doing!
Excellent advice well worth remembering, Jenny! Love how you’ve including extra tips for bloggers still on WordPress accounts too – great words of wisdom! 🙂
You’re welcome! As long as you have your own domain – even if you’re on a WP plan – then you’ll have a DA!
Yes, I’ve certainly found that keeping a regular schedule and being consistent in my content has definitely helped me build a small but consistent audience who enjoy what I write about. 🙂
I am aware of DA, but it’s always worth refreshing my (very poor) memory. Thanks for the nudge into sorting out my SEO!
You’re welcome!
This is a great post, Jenny! I’ve been learning about DA for quite a while but there were still some bits in here that I didn’t know would help. I remember when I first downloaded the broken link checker and was completely overloaded, that certainly wasn’t fun. I try and keep on top of it all as regularly as I can now!
Alice Xx
I don’t blame you! I’m still not on top of mine – I’m working through them MANUALLY!
This is super useful Jenny – thank you so so much for taking the time to make this post (I know I’m one of the bloggers from Twitter that have been asking). I’ve already written down an action plan to hopefully improve my DA and I am psyched that one of my keywords ranks in the top 50 :-O I just wish I knew which one XD
How often do you recommend checking for broken links? Monthly?
You’re welcome! Glad you’ve now got an action plan – how exciting! I’d recommend checking as often as you can. Once you’re on top of them, they’ll be easier to manage. But I currently still have thousands and thousands of them and I can only check like 5 or so posts a day because it takes so long. Just don’t get into a position like me, basically!
I ran the link checking site you recommended and I’m finding most of the broken links I have are in comments….I’m now in a bit of a conundrum wondering if I ought to delete those comments for DA reasons, while wanting to keep them because engagement and community 🙁 do you have advice for this situation?
Most of mine are too – I’d delete them. It’s annoying but if there’s so many it’ll be impacting your DA!
That is very true. Le sigh. Thanks again Jenny!
I used to be higher in DA but now it’s only if you own the domain it’s fallen.
Yep, you only have a DA if your blog doesn’t have .wordpress at the end! 🙂
Now I know what a DA is. This is such a valuable informative post, thankyou
You’re welcome!
This is a really helpful post. I’ve been trying to up my DA the last few weeks (I know it doesn’t happen instantly). I’ve just gone onto the broken link detector thing and currently going through all the links and deleting them.
Thanks so much for this post!!
Yes, exactly like that! It doesn’t help DA if you leave your link like that on every post you comment on. Especially on blogs which aren’t relevant to yours (i.e if you’re a beauty blogger commmenting on a gaming blog!)
Great post, Jenny! It is so thorough and helpful to any blogger. I, for one, had no idea what a DA score was until reading your post, and I’m a blogger. Granted, it’s more of a hobby for me, but one never knows. Plus, it would be nice to have more people view my content.
Again, very helpful! I’m going to bookmark this post so u can refer back to it.
Roger
Mind and Love
So glad you found it so informative!
This is such a valuable post about DA! You’ve explained it all so clearly and made it so easy to understand, every new blogger or experienced blogger should read this! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I’m so glad it came across clearly! 🙂
This is such useful post. Explains DA really well. I don’t have my own domain yet, I’m working on getting one. But yeah I would definitely work on my DA once I own one. Thanks for the overview.
At least you have the information for when you do have one! 🙂
Thank you for this. You’ve taught me a lot since I started my first blog in May.
I’m so glad 🙂
Thank you so much for this! I am new to blogging and had never even heard of DA! I just checked my score, and although it’s not zero, I still have some work to do! I greatly appreciate the tips 🙂
You’re welcome!
So useful! I “get” DA but mine is terrible and I didn’t know where to start.
Hope this has helped!
This was really useful – particularly, for me, the bit about broken links! I knew broken links were bad, but I a) had no idea they were linked to DA and b) had no idea how to check if links were broken, short of clicking on them all, which seemed pretty unappealing. I have now bookmarked the broken link checker, so thank you!! 🙂
That’s how I’ve got to do them at the moment because I have so many!
Oh my goodness, that is horrifying and I wish you luck!
This was a super informative post that I’m honestly so glad I read, as I had no idea this existed haha!! Going to go check my DA score right now xx
Glad it helped!
Sometimes DA confuses me so much I try to do so many points without compromising my creative style but sometimes it’s tough thank you for making it clearer. https://www.mimiprentice.com
You can quite easily work on DA without compromising writing style. Fitting in keywords can sometimes be a little tricky!
Thank you for explaining this Jenny. I have wordpress just now, but been thinking about getting a domain name as a writer it might be better. x
I definitely think so!
This was seriously so helpful & informative! I’ve read a few posts about DA before, but it’s never been broken down quite like this, and I feel like I learned more reading this than those other posts. I still don’t have my own domain, and blogging will always be “just a hobby” unless my fate were to change or something :’) However, I still want to grow my blog, gain traffic, and know that my DA is relatively good. I’m going to be referring back to this when I do get my own domain!
twinklexthoughts.blogspot.com
So glad you found it helpful!
This is something I’m currently working to improve with my blog so this is super helpful! Thank you for sharing!
Ashleigh | http://www.ashmosphere.com
You’re welcome 🙂
This post doesn’t apply to me yet but I’m looking to go self hosted in the future so I’m trying to learn it all now so I can hit the ground running! Thanks for sharing! I’ve been going back and fixing SEO and broken links.
That’s a very smart idea!
Bookmarking this, it’s so useful 🙂 Thanks for such a helpful post!
You’re welcome 🙂
This is a great post and contains so many useful tips. I know I have a few broken backlinks but never knew where and how to find them.
I’ll be sure to keep your helpful tips in mind. As always you are super supportive in the community. Thank youuuuuu ♥
Awh thank you so much!
This is one of the most helpful post ever and it couldnt have gotten in the better time. Lets improve that DA score now!
Thanks so much!
I have not checked my DA scores since they changed the rules but I know mine dropped drastically but I’m looking to get it back up and this is the perfect post for it! Thank you for sharing all!
Jessica | http://www.foodandbaker.co.uk
A lot of peoples dropped quite a bit sadly!
This post could not have come at a better time, it’s a great post with so much information about DA which I haven’t been able to get to grips with. I’ve been going through my dead links for a couple of weeks and it’s never ending haha. Amazing post, Jenny! x
Samantha | https://samanthajblogs.co.uk
It really is.. the most boring task of all time haha!
Such a helpful post Jenny thanks!! 😊
You’re welcome 🙂
Great post with so many fab tips! 😀
Funny enough I spent the last 4 days going through all my blog posts SEO, and now they’re all good. It was such an arduous task but really glad I did it.
I also use a broken link checker plug in for WordPress so thankfully I only ever have to deal with one or two broken links, here and there. 😀
Sarah 🌺 || Boxnip || Latest Post
What’s the broken link checker plugin called?
Interesting post I never thought of DA before! Have pinned your post. Thanks!
You’re welcome 🙂
Such a helpful post with lots of useful info Jenny x
Thank you 🙂
Thanks for the tips, Jenny! Wouldn’t it be great if we all woke up to DA’s of 47, though? Haha!
Sure would haha!
What a helpful post! I guess the best thing to do to improve your blog DA is by post guesting on popular blogs but to do so seems hard. I could barely write articles for mine more so to guest posting on other blogs lol
I wouldn’t say it’s the best thing. It helps but you’ll have to guest post quite a bit. The best thing is SEO, broken links and internal linking!
Ah, I was wondering if something had changed as my DA went from 27 to below 20 recently which is really frustrating! I think it may be partly due to low quality back links I’ve had lately from less established sources, but I’m also going to have a sweep through any dead links. Really useful post, thanks!
Could very well be the update!
This is such a helpful post! I blog as a hobby so haven’t really cared in the past about DA but it is interesting to see what can effect it xx
Thank you x
Such great tips! I am so bad with stuff like this and any other technical aspect but this has been such an eye-opener. Thank you for this hun and I’ll def stay on top. Although I’m not sure if other bloggers have noticed but the interaction and traffic has been relatively low since the algorithm changed on here. The comments, likes and feedback has been an all time low 😖
I can’t say I’ve noticed too much but my views have been a bit lower the last few months than normal!
Hmm yes I have noticed the same too. I hope it doesn’t stay this way for too long 😞
Never heard of DA before, and since I’ve switched to hosting on WordPress.com I’ve had to actively remember good SEO, as the blogger plan doesn’t allow you to add plugins that can help!
Ah I know, that’s the huge benefit of the business plan!
This is SUCH a good post Jenny! It’s like the ultimate guide to improving DA score with everything we need to know. It is so detailed, clearly written and easy to understand, awesome job! I went on a fixing broken links spree sometime last year and it took forever. I feel like I need to spend some time on it again, especially as it’s such an important thing to do – great reminder 🙂 Definitely taking all these tips on-board, fab post and thanks for the suggestions! <3 xxx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
Thanks so much! I still have literally thousands of broken links to check!
Thank you so much for this! I found it so helpful and it’s given me plenty of pointers so I can start looking at building my DA. Thanks for sharing 😊
Amy | sassycatlady.com
You’re welcome, glad you found it helpful!
This was so useful! Thanks to Moz’s reshuffle my DA lowered and is now at 6. It is slowly growing back up again bu it does take a long time. Thanks for this Jenny x
It sure does – mine lowered too annoyingly!
hopefully it will start to work back up!
Fab post, Jenny, so easy to read and so well broken down. I check my broken links every month so it’s more manageable but this is such a good tip.
Another way of building up DA is to link swap but a three way link swap. So blogger A links to blogger B;s post, Blogger B links to Blogger C’s post, Blogger C links to Blogger A’s post. Google isn’t as keen on mutual link swaps, 3 way ones are better. Facebook groups are a good way of finding this kind of link swapping activity.
But DA building is definitely a marathon, not a sprint, just like SEO. The fun never ends, haha XX
Lisa | http://www.lisasnotebook.com
Thanks so much and that’s a good idea. I’ve heard to avoid link swapping directly x
I stayed and read the whole thing! I really needed this and I will go ahead and start looking into how to get mine higher. Thank you so much for this article!
Awh yay, thank you!
This post couldn’t have come at a better time! My DA score is embarrassingly low and I’ve been researching how to improve it, so this is great. I do everything you mentioned except for guest posting. Need to get on that!
So glad it helped!
Oh I’ve been waiting on this! It’s a really great post Jenny. It certainly makes sense now.
Although I’m not sure I believe that mine is so high! I’m not self hosted and I use a free domain through WordPress, although it doesn’t say wordpress in my URL.
You’re going to help a lot of people with this x
I don’t believe you have a domain if it’s a free domain! Usually if you have your own domain, you pay for it through a WP plan or an external site!
Now that makes sense! I knew my DA could never be that high. I’m thinking of giving it up anyway.
Thank you for clarifying it’s so clear once I’d read your post what it’s all about x
Thanks for the advice. I have been thinking about buying a domain name but I want it to be special before choosing