Raise Domain Authority With These Lesser-Known Strategies
SEO is a difficult game of chess where the rules are always changing. This is because everyone is doing what everyone else is doing, and when the search engines get wise to it, they change the game.
So what can you do to raise domain authority? You gotta learn what people aren’t doing–or at least, what not everyone else is doing. So we went to our well of SEO professionals and digital marketing folks and asked: “What is an effective but lesser-known way to raise your domain authority score?”
Here is what they had to say.
Raise Domain Authority with Content Pruning
While everyone obsesses over backlinks and content creation, one overlooked gem for boosting domain authority is strategic content pruning – think of it like decluttering your digital house. I’ve seen sites jump 5-10 points in domain authority simply by removing or consolidating old, thin, or redundant content that’s dragging down their overall site quality.
Here’s why it works: A search engine looks at the whole website, not just at your big stars. You know: those dusty, old posts from 2015. Zero traffic but pulling that domain credibility down like anchors. By systematically auditing low-value pages and removing them you’re essentially telling search engines that quantity is less important than quality.
The real magic happens when you combine pruning with strategic redirects. Instead of merely deleting weak content, merge topics into comprehensive guides and send the old URLs there. This preserves any existing link equity, but it also strengthens your topical authority. For example, instead of having eight thin posts on email marketing basics, create one detailed guide and point all related URLs there.
What this means for you: Begin with pages that don’t get much traffic, have very high bounce rates, or contain outdated information. Then, instead of hitting delete, look for opportunities to consolidate and upgrade your content. This careful curation signals search engines that you’re actively working to maintain the quality of your site, which often means better domain authority scores over time.
Justin Abrams, Founder & CEO, Aryo Consulting Group
Engage with Brand Mentions
Monitoring and engaging with brand mentions across the web. It’s a pretty way to improve the DR that many overlook, but it can significantly boost your online presence and credibility.
While most people focus on backlinks as the primary way to improve domain authority, engaging with brand mentions can be just as impactful. When our brand is mentioned in articles, blogs, or social media posts even without a direct link, it’s a golden opportunity to connect with our audience. I use tools like Google Alerts and Mention to track these mentions, which allows us to stay on top of conversations about our brand.
For example, if a popular blog features our product but doesn’t link back to our site, I’ll reach out to thank the author and engage in conversation. This not only builds goodwill but can also lead to future collaborations where they might link back to us. It’s all about nurturing those relationships!
Moreover, responding to comments or questions related to our brand shows that we’re engaged and care about what people think. This kind of interaction fosters trust and authority in the eyes of both users and search engines.
The beauty of this approach is that it doesn’t just help with domain authority; it also enhances our brand reputation. When users see that we’re active and responsive, they’re more likely to view us as a credible source.
Kate Dzhevaga, CMO, Head of Growth, SYMVOLT
Leverage Unlinked Brand Mentions
One lesser-known yet highly effective way to raise your domain authority is by leveraging unlinked brand mentions. Often, brands receive mentions in articles, blogs, or news outlets without the mention being hyperlinked back to their website. These unlinked mentions present a unique opportunity to build authoritative backlinks with minimal effort.
Here’s how I approach it:
Monitor Mentions: Use tools like Google Alerts, Ahrefs, or Brand24 to track whenever your brand is mentioned online.
Assess Relevance: Not all mentions are created equal. Focus on credible websites that align with your industry or audience.
Reach Out: Politely contact the website editor or author, thanking them for the mention and requesting a hyperlink to your site. Highlight the value it adds for their readers.
For example, when a luxury client I worked with was featured in an online fashion magazine without a link, a simple outreach email resulted in a high-authority backlink, contributing to a substantial increase in their domain authority over six months.
This tactic is often overlooked but can significantly improve your backlink profile and, by extension, your domain authority.
Nelson Huang, CEO / Founder, ARKTOP
Increase Referring Domains
One of the most overlooked yet impactful strategies to raise your domain authority is focusing on increasing the number of referring domains, not just the sheer number of backlinks. Here’s why this distinction is critical:
While you can accumulate multiple backlinks from a single domain, they won’t significantly impact your authority after the first few links. Search engines prioritize the diversity of domains linking to your site-each unique domain acts as a vote of confidence in your content.
Think of it this way: if only one person keeps recommending a product, you might take it with a grain of salt. But if multiple, unrelated people vouch for the same product, your trust in it grows. Replace “people” with “domains,” and that’s the essence of building authority through referring domains.
I recently tested this theory with a client stuck at an Ahrefs domain rating of 16 for over a year. By shifting focus from accumulating backlinks to acquiring links from new, diverse domains, we saw fantastic results. In just 3-4 months, their domain rating climbed to 22! It’s a simple yet powerful shift in strategy that can yield measurable results.
Dhiren Mulani, SEO Specialist, Earningify.com
Optimize Internal Linking Structure
One effective but often overlooked way to raise your domain authority is by optimizing your internal linking structure. It’s simple, actionable, and can have a big impact without relying on external backlinks.
Identify Your High-Authority Pages:
Use tools like Ahrefs or Google Search Console to find pages on your site that already have strong link equity. These are typically pages with existing backlinks or high organic traffic. These pages are your “powerhouses.”
Strategic Linking:
Link from these high-authority pages to those that need a boost such as newer blog posts, product pages, or content that’s not ranking as well as it could. Keep the links relevant by sticking to related topics. This passes link equity and strengthens your site’s overall structure.
Fix Orphaned Page:
Orphaned pages are any pages on your site with no internal links pointing to them. They’re like dead ends for search engines. Run a crawl of your site using tools like Screaming Frog to find these pages and link to them from relevant content. This helps search engines find and index them properly.
Use Anchor Text Wisely:
Don’t just write “click here.” Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text that tells search engines what the linked page is about. For example, instead of “Read more,” write “Learn about internal linking strategies.”
Keep the User in Mind:
Internal linking isn’t just for search engines. It’s for your visitors. Make sure your links guide readers naturally through your site, helping them find related content and stay engaged. This improves session duration and reduces bounce rates which are two behavioural signals that help with rankings.
Why This Works
Internal linking gives search engines a clear map of your site’s hierarchy and content relationships. It also helps distribute ranking power across your pages, making your site more competitive overall.
It’s easy to implement and pays off over time. Get started today and your domain authority will thank you.
Tom Sargent, Founder & CEO, Marketing with Tom
Collaborate with Local Directories
Raising domain authority can feel like chasing shadows sometimes, but one lesser-known trick that worked for me is collaborating with local directories, not the spammy kind (ugh, learned that the hard way) but niche, community-focused ones. Back when I was optimizing for a mid-sized B2B, we reached out to a local manufacturing network and got listed. Not only did it drive legit traffic, but the backlink juice was gold!
Another hack? Contributing to industry-specific Q&A forums like Quora or niche Reddit threads. It’s time-intensive (and yeah, sometimes it feels like shouting into the void), but when done right, those mentions and links pack a punch.
Honestly, it’s not just about links; it’s about showing Google you’re part of a trustworthy ecosystem. And hey, learning from my missteps, quality always beats quantity here every time.
Damilola Ademuyiwa, SEO Specialist, Dammy Ade
Gain Links from Relevant Lower Authority Sites
I have been in the SEO and link building field for 8 years now, and I will tell you this – Never ignore the sites with lower authority scores if they are highly relevant to your niche. It is indeed great to collaborate and link to authoritative sites, but you should also pay attention to the relevance of the site to your niche and not just the DA score alone. Google tries to provide value in search, so their algorithms will always bring the most relevant link where context is needed. So let’s assume that you have the choice between one link of DA 60 from a site that has nothing to do with your niche and another highly relevant link of DA 40 – I’d suggest you pick the latter.
Regardless of where you are positioned, when increasing your domain authority score, you need to build relationships and gain links from sites closely related to your industry and the niche it gathers. Although you won’t a DA score from these links, because they will be more relevant to your content, they add much more value from the eyes of Google. You may also want to have guest posts published on subject-related sites or cooperate with influences and thinkers in your area of expertise. This helps to increase your domain authority and overall search engine visibility by linking with relevant and powerful thematically similar sites. Keep in mind that quantity is good, but the quality and relevance of the links matter to the search engines.
Ron Evan del Rosario, Demand Generation – SEO Link Building Manager, Thrive Digital Marketing Agency
Submit Website to News Outlets
One effective but often overlooked way to boost your domain authority score is to leverage media exposure by submitting your website to news outlets. This strategy can yield high-quality backlinks from reputable sources, which are gold in the eyes of search engines. Start by crafting a compelling story or angle about your brand that would resonate with journalists-think product launches, community initiatives, or unique insights that showcase your expertise. Utilize press release services like PR Newswire to distribute your news widely and engage with journalists through platforms like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) to position yourself as a valuable source. By actively seeking media coverage, you not only enhance your backlink profile but also elevate your brand’s visibility, ultimately leading to a stronger domain authority and improved SEO performance.
Chris Raulf, International AI and SEO Expert | Founder & President, Boulder SEO Marketing
Request Link Insertions
Link insertions are the low-hanging fruit of backlinking. There’s no content to write, no new ideas to pitch, and almost no effort on the publisher’s part. Here’s how it works:
- Find a website in your niche that you want to link to your website.
- Choose a specific blog article or page on their website where your website (e.g., product page, services page, article, etc.) would be a natural fit.
- Reach out to the website publisher/editor to request a link insertion. Include the URL on their website, the page you want them to link to, and the anchor text they should use.
- Give the editor a good reason to comply — for example, your content can add context to the topic they’re already talking about.
Every link insertion gives you a new backlink. Rather than spending time creating content and pitching ideas, you’re giving publications a ready-made way to make their existing content more valuable to their readers. It’s a win/win.
Alli Hill, Founder and Director, Fleurish Freelance
Create Social Profiles on High Authority Platforms
There are a few ways to increase domain authority. You can go to Fiverr and pay for a gig that will increase your authority overnight, however, those inflated domain authority metrics are very artificial. They are manipulating the domain authority which results in no real added “authority”. The easiest way to increase authority effectively, is by creating a lot of social profiles from high authority social platforms or online directories and linking to your website. It’s even better when you can find social platforms and directories that are specifically related to your niche. For example, getting listed in GoodFirms or Justia for a law firm. Those types of links increase domain authority, but also do one far more beneficial thing – they increase the relevance of your domain towards your core business’ entity or focus. People only look to increase domain authority to increase rankings, so looking for high-authority and niche-relevant domains like that are a far better use of time.
Chris Castillo, Owner, Propel Digital Marketing
Want To Raise Domain Authority? Contact The Experts
Okay, there’s a lot to parse here. But here’s the easiest tip: call the experts. We here at Mandel Marketing are ready to get your domain up, up, up into the stratosphere of domain authority. And hell, we all know that organic search traffic is a lot better than paid, no?