There is a long-standing, pervasive myth of domain authority in the SEO community.
Why do we refer to it as a myth, you ask? Because in point of fact, Google doesn’t actually use it as a metric for valuing websites at all.
They have mentioned this on more than one occasion.
This was recently discussed on Twitter, when John Mueller was called upon to reinforce the issue once more.
What’s interesting about this Twitter thread is that they are discussing domain authority metrics from Moz.
Chloe, a blogger, was looking to get her domain authority up. John Mueller joked about the fact that domain authority isn’t an important metric and that Google does not actually use it.
You can read the Twitter thread here.
She responded, “I know it’s not important for Google ranks but it is the biggest metric that brands examine for collabs.”
Here’s the issue. Whenever brands look for collaborative blogging opportunities, they look at DA (domain authority).
Sadly, DA is so important as a metric between bloggers that many who are uninformed assume it is equally important to Google.
The thing is, bloggers like Chloe know how things work in SEO. Especially when it comes to DA, blogging, and so on. The myth is perpetuated by people who don’t understand SEO.
DA is a commodity among bloggers. When you have to talk business, you have to talk about the commodities of that business.
Most misunderstandings about DA are formed when lay people and business owners are exposed to these conversations through social media.
How Does Domain Authority Work?
Domain authority was created by third parties, to be used by third parties.
Moz created DA. AHREFs, a link analysis program, uses DA. In this case, they call it DR, or the domain rating. Majestic uses something similar.
These third-party programs created a technical-sounding term that can be confusing.
Anyway, Google often has to speak out on this issue to make sure that people know that domain authority does not impact Google rankings in any form whatsoever.
The Problem With Domain Authority
The main issue with domain authority is that the metric is being used to gauge the value of links—and it’s used to BUY links.
Google’s Webmaster Guidelines expressly forbid this practice, and have for years.
Placing too much emphasis on DA can seriously hurt any positive performance you’ve gained in the Google SERPs.
