Domain Authority: Does Google Trust Your Website?
Simply put, Domain Authority is how much Google and the other search engines trust your website. It is a score that can be used to predict how well a website will rank in search results. Domain Authority is not an official Google term, but was actually coined by the SEO experts over at Moz. Moz created a unique search algorithm that gauges the quality of a website. The algorithm evaluates a complex array of metrics that results in a score out of 100. This score represents the overall strength of how much the search engines trust your website. The more trust, the higher the PageRank.
There are many factors that contribute to your Domain Authority score. The main 3 can be categorized as Age, Size, and popularity.
Domain Age
This one is really very simple and there’s not much you can do but wait. It is recommended to make sure your domain’s expiry date is at least 5 years out. Many spammy and fly-by-night websites will only register a domain for a year because it will probably get shut down in 6 months. If your domain’s expiration date is 5 years out, then it shows that you plan to be around for awhile.
If you have to change your domain for whatever reason, make sure the new domain is purchased for at least 5 years, and then create a 301 Redirect to forward traffic and Domain Authority from the old domain to the new domain.
Website Size
In the end, it all boils down to content. Remember that one way to draw traffic to your website is by creating amazing content? The more content you have on your website, the more industry keywords you will probably have within that content. The more pages, news information, and blog articles you have on your website, the more you prove to Google that your website is legit and actually about your particular industry. So, when you think about starting a blog on your website, the answer should be “absolutely”!
Popularity of Your Website
This one is a little less tangible and more difficult to affect directly. There are a couple different components that help determine the popularity of your website.
Social Media
Social media marketing is a great way to engage your customers and create brand evangelists. By posting relevant and interesting information to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and others, you not only create discussions, but you show the search engines that you are relevant with real people. And of course, you should be promoting your blog on social media, as well, to help create quality backlinks to your website.
Stickiness
How long do people hang out on your website? Are they staying and browsing, or hitting the back button after 10 seconds? Google tracks how long people stay on your website. That information is readily available in your Analytics account (you have Analytics installed, right?).
If people are not sticking around, how can you increase your website’s stickiness? Promotional videos are one great way to keep people planted. Everyone loves video, especially if it provides something entertaining or useful. Put a “Did you know” video on your website that will capture people’s attention.
Content Marketing
This is another important aspect of off-site SEO. Remember from above that the more content (and keywords) you have on your site, the more Google will trust you? In the same manner the more quality content on other sites that link back to your website, the more Google will trust that your site is legitimate.
For example, let’s say we want to increase the trust level for a handyman’s website. We would place high-quality content on a home improvement website (with its own high Domain Authority) and then within the content, place meaning links back to the handyman’s website. By repeating this process on many websites, it increases the validity of our target website and Google will trust that this website is what it claims to be.
One of our newest services at King Web Agency is Inbound Marketing. Our team will perform deep keyword research to determine the best keywords for your industry and budget, and then syndicate high-value content to our distributors around the Internet. All our content is keyword rich and links back to your website, increasing your Domain Authority.
Conclusion
Google wants to provide meaningful and relevant results for searchers. By increasing your Domain Authority, you can build trust with Google and prove that your website is relevant and worth ranking. You can build your trust level by ensuring your domain is registered for at least 5 years, by adding a blog and quality content to your website, and by marketing your website on social media and with Inbound marketing. By following these steps, you can take your web presence to the next level.
