SEMrush Domain Authority: A Complete Guide to Growing Your Website’s Authority

Author: salimpk – Marketing Edge Online
Published on: June 18, 2025

When it comes to ranking in search engines, one term frequently mentioned by SEO experts is Domain Authority. While Moz popularized the phrase, other tools like SEMrush offer their own version known as the Authority Score.

But what exactly is SEMrush Domain Authority? How does it affect your SEO? And more importantly, how can you improve it?

This article breaks down everything you need to know, with a step-by-step plan to grow your Authority Score fast and effectively.

What Is SEMrush Domain Authority?

Domain Authority (DA) is a scoring system that predicts how well a website will rank in search engine results. It’s not an official metric used by Google, but rather an SEO industry standard that estimates the “ranking potential” of a domain based on several link-related and technical signals.

While Moz coined the term, other platforms such as SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Majestic offer similar metrics under different names. SEMrush’s version is called the Authority Score, which is increasingly being used by marketers and professionals.

What Is Domain Authority Score?

The SEMrush Domain Authority Score is a proprietary metric that reflects a domain’s overall SEO strength and trustworthiness. It’s calculated using a combination of:

• Backlink quality and quantity
  
• Organic traffic volume
  
• Traffic engagement signals
  
• Referring domains and domain trust
  
• Toxic backlink risks
  
• Historical performance trends
  

This score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher numbers indicating stronger authority and better SEO health.

Unlike Moz’s DA, SEMrush updates its Authority Score more frequently, making it a better indicator for real-time domain performance.

How SEMrush Calculates Authority Score

SEMrush doesn’t disclose every detail of its algorithm, but the following factors are confirmed to influence Authority Score:

1. Link Power (Backlink Profile)
   
   • Number of total backlinks
     
   • Number of referring domains
     
   • Link authority of referring sites
     
2. Organic Search Data
   
   • Amount of monthly organic traffic
     
   • Visibility in the top 100 search results
     
3. Spam & Toxicity Signals
   
   • Presence of harmful backlinks
     
   • Domain trust levels
     
   • Ratio of follow vs nofollow links
     
4. Traffic Behavior
   
   • Bounce rate
     
   • Time on site
     
   • Return visits
     

This multi-layered calculation provides a more holistic view of a domain’s online reputation than metrics based solely on backlinks.

Why Authority Score Matters in 2025

Although Google doesn’t officially use Authority Score or SEMrush Domain Authority as ranking signals, both reflect key SEO principles:

• Trust and credibility
  
• Backlink quality
  
• Organic traffic trends
  
• Competitive standing in your industry
  

In 2025, when search algorithms prioritize trust signals, having a high Authority Score means your site is more likely to rank on Page 1, attract backlinks, and outperform low-authority competitors.

SEMrush vs Moz: Key Differences

Verdict: While both are useful, SEMrush offers a broader, more up-to-date perspective, especially valuable for serious SEO strategists.

7 Smart Strategies to Boost Your SEMrush Authority Score

1. Earn High-Quality Backlinks

Backlinks remain one of the strongest SEO signals. SEMrush gives weight to links from domains that are:

• Relevant to your industry
  
• Authoritative themselves
  
• Contextually placed (within content, not footers or sidebars)
  

Try:

• Guest blogging on reputable sites
  
• Getting listed in trusted directories
  
• Creating shareable content (e.g., infographics, surveys, original research)
  

2. Audit and Remove Toxic Links

Too many low-quality or spammy links can damage your Authority Score. Thankfully, SEMrush includes a Backlink Audit Tool that identifies suspicious links.

Once found:

• Disavow them using Google Search Console
  
• Avoid shady link-building practices going forward.
  

3. Focus on Content Depth and Relevance

Google favors helpful, original content. The more your content answers user intent, the longer visitors stay—and the better your authority looks.

Tips:

• Publish long-form content (1500+ words)
  
• Cover niche topics in depth.
  
• Use schema markup and structured data. a
  

4. Improve Technical SEO

Authority Score also takes technical performance into account. Make sure your site is:

• Fast (optimize Core Web Vitals)
  
• Secure (HTTPS-enabled)
  
• Mobile-responsive
  
• Free from broken links and crawl errors
  

Use SEMrush’s Site Audit Tool to scan for issues.

5. Increase Organic Traffic

The more traffic you get from organic search, the more SEMrush will boost your authority. This means focusing on:

• Keyword optimization
  
• On-page SEO
  
• Answering real user questions
  
• Consistent publishing
  

A steady traffic increase over time is a strong signal of domain growth.

6. Grow Your Referral Domains

Instead of just more backlinks, SEMrush values more referring domains. Try to get new websites to link to you instead of repeating links from the same site.

Some quick ways:

• HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
  
• Interviews and expert roundups
  
• Partnership or collaboration content
  

7. Monitor & Compare

SEMrush allows you to track your Authority Score over time and compare it to competitors. Use this insight to:

• Adjust your SEO strategy
  
• Benchmark against industry leaders
  
• Spot traffic or backlink drops early.
  

What’s a “Good” SEMrush Authority Score?

There’s no universal good or bad score—it’s relative to your niche. For example:

• A local plumbing website may do well with a score of 30–40
  
• A national ecommerce brand might aim for 60–80+
  

Instead of chasing a number, compare your Authority Score to similar websites in your industry or location.

FAQs About SEMrush Domain Authority Score

Q1. Can Authority Score affect my Google ranking?
Not directly. But the factors that influence Authority Score (traffic, backlinks, technical health) are all ranking signals used by Google.

Q2. How often is the Authority Score updated?
It is updated frequently, often daily or weekly, based on crawling activity and data refreshes.

Q3. Can I fake or artificially boost my score?
No. SEMrush detects manipulative backlink schemes and penalizes spammy behavior. Long-term success comes from ethical SEO practices.

Final Thoughts

In today’s competitive digital space, building domain authority is essential to success. SEMrush Domain Authority Score gives you a data-backed way to track your SEO strength and optimize for better results.

Focus on building high-quality backlinks, publishing meaningful content, and keeping your website technically clean. Over time, your Authority Score—and your Google rankings—will rise together.