It’s no secret that higher Domain Authority (DA) websites rank better on search engines like Google. But what if you’re just starting with a low DA site? Well, you learn how to find low-domain authority websites.
I call them gateway websites! And then, you need to create a better version with powerful content and more. You can follow the free SEO checklist for that.
But first, you need to understand how DA, PA, DR, and Google’s PageRank work!
Authority Metrics: DA, PA, DR, CF, PageRank of a Website
Search engines like Google rank web pages based on content quality. Because there are billions of web pages on the Internet, Google has to use tons of factors to rank them. One of them is PageRank, which was invented in 1998.
Google’s PageRank is a link analysis algorithm that uses links to web pages as votes. It’s a way of measuring the importance or authority of website pages.
The more important the webpage is, the more links it will get from other websites. However, it considers many other factors as well. Today’s PageRank is much more complex and sophisticated.
Google is working on something more significant now. That’s why they let the PageRank patents expire in 2019. But the industry was ready to adopt new link-building and authority metrics.
These are Domain Authority (DA), Page Authority (PA), TrustRank (TR), Citation Flow (CF), and Domain Rating (DR). They’re not influenced or approved by Google’s updates. And they mainly use links as a ranking factor.
You can use any of these metrics to measure website authority at your disposal.
Moz Domain Authority (DA) & Page Authority (PA) of a Website
Domain Authority is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on SERPs.
A Domain Authority score ranges from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a more remarkable ability to rank. Page Authority (PA) is a score developed by Moz that predicts a specific page’s power.
DA and PA are a part of Moz’s Link Explorer Tool. But you can also check them by installing a Moz Bar. I will help you do that later in this article. Let’s focus on the metrics used in the SEO industry nowadays.
Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR)
Domain Rating (DR) is a metric developed by Ahrefs. It predicts how strong a website is in terms of backlinks. An Ahrefs DR score ranges from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank.
Majestic TrustFlow (TF) & CitationFlow (CF) of a Website
Trust Flow (TF) is Majestic’s indicator to analyze and show a site’s trustworthiness based on its quality. Citation Flow (CF) is their metric to measure the number of links on a site without considering the quality.
As you can see these metrics are not 100% accurate. Look at Ken Mcgaffin explaining TF and CF of a website in this video:
But it’s still helpful to measure the authority of a website. You can use these metrics to find low domain authority websites that you can rank on Google fast!
How Do Sites with Low Domain Authority Compete?
You need to be very strategic when starting and have a low DA site because it’s not easy to compete with high authority sites in your industry.
The sites with low DA sites can compete with other low DA sites.
Does that make sense? Of course, it does.
And then, gradually, you can build your site’s authority by following white hat SEO methods. It will help you rank on Google and other search engines better.
Why Finding Low DA Websites Important for You?
Google doesn’t reveal all its ranking factors. Although links are one of the most important ranking signals, many other factors exist.
So if a site with a low DA site is ranking for keywords that you want to rank for, it means that it has something else to enjoy the ranking. And it also means your low DA site can focus on those factors.
You just need to be better than your competitors! And that’s not hard if you provide more value and a better user experience.
Have more questions? Scroll down, and you’ll find their answers. For now, let’s start finding low-DA sites in your niche.
How to Find Low Domain Authority Websites in Your Niche?
In this 6-step process, you can quickly find low DA sites in your niche so you can target the same keywords that they are ranking for.
I’ll show you how to do this quickly and clearly, as well as my essential criteria so that you may create a work plan.
1/ Install Moz Bar Extension on Chrome and Pin it.
First, you must have the MozBar extension installed on your Google Chrome browser.
Here’s how to do it:
- Go to Google Chrome Web Store.
- Search for ‘Moz’ in ‘Extensions’.
- And hit the ‘Add to Chrome’ button.
After that, click on the three dots at the top right corner of your browser. Go to “More Tools” and then “Extensions.” Locate MozBar and click on the pin icon to pin the MozBar in your browser. Easy-peasy!
2/ Log into Your Free Moz Account or Create a New One
If you don’t have a Moz account yet, create one here. It’s free and only takes less than a minute to sign up. After that, log in to your Moz account. Ensure the MozBar’s icon shows the brand color that indicates you are ready.
3/ Start Doing Keyword Research
Enter any seed keyword related to your niche in the free-forever H-Supertools Keyword Research Tool. It quickly spits out all the terms associated with your seed keyword. For example, I searched ‘hiking for beginners’ on H-Supertools.
And it showed that the ranking difficulty is medium for that keyword. But it showed more keywords with low difficulty as well. One of them was ‘Hiking safety tips for beginners.’
Now is the time for you to check the domain authority of the website ranking for this keyword.
4/ Check Domain Authority of Top 10 Ranked Websites
Checking the DA of websites ranked on the SERPs is easy with MozBar. All you need is to search for your keyword on Google. And look at the little bar below each website’s meta tag. It will show you the DA & PA of that site.
5/ Set Your Criteria for Finding Keywords
You need to have a set of criteria for finding low DA sites and keywords with low KD (Keyword Difficulty). This will help you save time and energy when finding new keywords later.
Here are my basic criteria
- Keyword difficulty should be low on H-Supertools Keyword Research Tool.
- The monthly Search Volume should be around 500 or more.
- And DA for the sites ranking for those keywords should be less than 30.
Or the DA of those sites should be equal to or less than the DA of your site.
Of course, you can set your criteria. But make sure they are realistic, so you don’t miss any great keyword opportunities.
6/ Collect More Competition Keywords With Low PA and DA Sites
Make a list of all the keywords that you want to target. And then start googling those keywords one by one. Note the under 30 or 20 DA sites that are ranking on top. And then make a filtered list of keywords.
Repeat the process and prioritize keywords with low DA & PA sites. This way, you can quickly find the right keywords to target and start ranking fast on Google.
7/ Start Creating Better Content to Rank on Google Fast
Links are an important ranking factor, without a doubt. But if you don’t want to put effort into manual link building, you can still rank with quality content.
If you find low-domain authority websites and create content to target them, you’ll find positive results quickly.
What makes high-quality content?
The content is high quality readable, engaging, and provides unique insights to the readers. Also, it should be optimized for search engines like Google.
A. Readable & Engaging
Your content should be readable and engaging enough to keep your readers hooked till the end.
B. Thorough Research & Unique Insights
It should value your readers by teaching them something new or helping them solve their problems.
C. Well-Optimized for Rankings
Your content should be well-optimized for the target keyword. But don’t stuff keywords in your content unnaturally. Use H2 & H3 headings and bullet points to break down your content and make it easy to read.
Use relevant keywords throughout your post to signal to Google that your content is relevant to that keyword.
In addition to quality, you may also want to focus on quantity. You must write blog posts fast to target more keywords to increase your site’s authority and traffic. That’s all for this section.
Coming back to domain authority, you can check the DA of any site using MozBar. But there are many other website authority-checking tools as well. Let’s get to know them now.
Top Domain Authority Checkers in the Market Right Now
No domain authority checker is accurate 100%. But they are close enough to give you a good idea of the site’s authority.
Here are some of the best domain authority checkers that you can use:
- MozBar (Best Overall)
- Ahrefs Website “Authority” Checker
- SEO Analyzer’s 100% Free Backlink Checker
- WebsiteSEOChcker’s DA Checker
And the list goes on. You can use any of these tools to check a site’s authority. I prefer MozBar because it’s free and easy to use. But feel free to try out other tools if you want to.
FAQs for Domain Authority or Domain Rating of Websites (2022)
Time for some FAQs about domain authority or domain rating of websites.
1/ How is a Website’s Domain Authority (DA) Calculated?
Moz’s DA is calculated based on several factors, including linking domains and the total number of backlinks. It’s a logarithmic score from 0-100 that is used to track the ranking strength of a website over time. Read more about Moz DA here.
2/ What is a Good Domain Authority?
Domain authority is relative. A site with DA 30 may be considered reasonable in one niche, while a site with DA 50 in another. But a DA of 50 and above is considered good if we talk about general niches.
A site with DA 60 and above is considered very good. Of course, the higher, the better. But if you are looking for a good DA site to target, you need to collect under 30 or 20 DA sites for fast results.
3/ How to Increase the Domain Authority of a Website?
You can increase the DA of your site by improving the quality and quantity of your content, acquiring high-quality backlinks from other websites, and optimizing your website for search engines. You can also increase the DA of SaaS and different types of websites.
4/ Can Small Websites With Low Domain Authority Outrank Large Sites?
Small websites with low DA can outrank big websites with high DA by producing better content than gateway websites. The gateway websites are the ones with low DA that are ranking for keywords in your niche. That’s why you must find low-domain authority websites ASAP!
5/ Do Large Websites Dominate Google Search Results?
There’s no denying that large websites dominate the Google search results. But it doesn’t mean that small websites can’t outrank them. With the right SEO strategy, any website can rank high on Google regardless of size or DA.
All you need is to focus on creating better content than your competitors. And remember that your competitors are a little ahead of you, not way ahead.
6/ What is the Difference Between a Website’s DR and DA?
A domain Rating (DR) metric is used by Ahrefs to calculate the strength of a website’s backlink profile. It’s similar to DA but not the same.
DA is a metric used by Moz to track the ranking strength of a website. It’s based on many factors, including linking domains and a total number of backlinks.
7/ Can Moz Domain Authority Decrease?
Yes, Moz domain authority can decrease. Your DA score may go down if you get a lot of low-quality backlinks or lose some high-quality backlinks. And it is subject to change because of the Moz DA algorithm updates.
8/ How to Check the Domain Authority of a Website?
You can check the domain authority of a website using MozBar (a free Google Chrome extension). You can also use other website authority-checking tools like Ahrefs, Majestic, and SEO Analyzer.
Wrapping Up: Find Low Domain Authority Websites to Rank Fast
Domain authority is a metric used to track the ranking strength of a website. A site with a high DA is more likely to rank higher on search engines.
To find low DA sites in your niche, you can use the MozBar Chrome extension. After turning it on, you can do keyword research on Google. And under each result, you’ll find the PA and DA of the ranked site.
Focus on creating better content than your competitors.