Domain Authority (DA)
Moz's 0–100 score predicting a website's ability to rank in search engines.
Definition
Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs), on a scale from 1 to 100. Like Ahrefs' Domain Rating, DA is calculated from the website's backlink profile — the quantity and quality of links pointing to it. DA is logarithmic: improving from DA 20 to DA 30 is much easier than improving from DA 70 to DA 80.
DA and DR measure the same underlying thing (backlink-based authority) but use different algorithms. Neither metric is used directly by Google — they are third-party approximations. In the startup community, Ahrefs' DR is more commonly cited, but DA is still widely used on directories and marketing platforms. When comparing directories, either metric serves as a reasonable proxy for SEO value.
Example
Crunchbase has a Domain Authority of 91, making it one of the most authoritative business directories. A listing on Crunchbase — even if the link is nofollow — is a significant brand authority signal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use whichever your SEO tool provides. If you use Ahrefs, DR is your metric. If you use Moz or SEMrush, DA is available. For most purposes, high DA and high DR correlate — an authoritative site will score highly on both. backlinks.fyi uses Ahrefs DR as the primary metric.
Moz and Ahrefs crawl different subsets of the web and weight links differently. Some sites that actively participate in link ecosystems Ahrefs crawls more thoroughly may have higher DR; others may score higher on Moz's crawler. For practical directory evaluation, a large discrepancy is usually not significant — focus on the directional signal.
Put it into practice
Browse startup directories with DR scores, dofollow status, and submission tips — everything you need to build your backlink profile.
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