As a website designer, I notice a common theme among business owners and brand builders when it comes to designing and launching their websites…

There is a misconception that once you launch your website, you can check it off your list and not really think about it again. 

While it’s true that simply getting your website out into the world is a BIG deal and is definitely a project you can check off your list, I never want people to assume your website is a “one and done” type of thing. 

Because honestly, it’s the very opposite of that. 

I’m not just saying this because I’m a website designer, I’m saying this from business owner to business owner: your website is truly the thing that can work FOR YOU, just as an employee would, and should be something that evolves and grows as your business evolves and grows. 

It’s the thing that you should constantly be tweaking and adding to in order to boost your presence in the online space. 

But that doesn't just happen by chance. The only way it can happen is when you actively work to make your website THE place to be. 

The place where potential clients and customers feel seen and heard. The place where your audience can flock to for information and education about topics in your industry.

The place where people are pointed to from Google search to find exactly what they’re looking for.  The place where you’re displayed as an expert in your industry. 

How do you make this happen you might ask? Well, it all starts with your website domain authority and lucky for you, there’s a really easy way to build it!

What Does Website Domain Authority Mean?

If you were to think of Website Domain Authority in a real life sense, it’s kind of like Regina George in Mean Girls. The queen bee. The popular girl that everyone wants to be friends with. 💁🏻‍♀️

Just like Regina wanted to be at the top of the popularity list, as a small business owner, it’s natural to want to be at the top of website rankings.

But lucky for all of us, your domain authority is nothing like that of The Plastics.

In the technical sense, Domain Authority (DA) is a metric developed by Moz – a well known SEO company – that quantifies the perceived authority or credibility of a website on a scale from 0 to 100.

Essentially, your Domain Authority predicts how well your website is likely to rank on search engine result pages. The higher your DA, the greater the potential for your website to rank well in search engine results.

SEO Tools To Calculate Your Website Domain Authority 

Knowing this, you might be wondering… “well how do I know what my Domain Authority is?”

Good question!

Since Domain Authority is something that was created by Moz, you can use their online tool, Open Site Explorer, to check your DA.

It’s as simple as navigating to their site, entering your website URL, and reviewing the results!

Other online SEO tools that can also deliver this score, include Ahrefs, SEMrush, and my personal favorite, UberSuggest.

While these different tools may use slightly different algorithms and factors to calculate their metrics, any of these can give you a pretty good idea of where you rank!

5 Ways to Boost Your Website Domain Authority

Once you know your current website Domain Authority, you’ll likely want to take action to improve it. But before I get into HOW to do that, just know that this process takes time. 

You’re not going to go from 1 to 100 in Domain Authority overnight. That’s not how it works!

In fact, the odds are low that you’ll ever reach 100 Domain Authority as a small business owner and that’s okay.

As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to aim for a 20-40 range. 

The good news is that you have more control over your DA than you might think, which is why I always say that your website shouldn't be treated as “one and done.”

Once your website is launched, there’s a few things you can consistently do to boost your website Domain Authority little by little, including:

Infuse keywords on your website organically

If you’ve ever heard someone talk about SEO, you’ve likely heard them mention keywords, and for good reason!

For your site to effectively rank in search results, you want to make sure you’re consistently using appropriate keywords throughout your website. 

This not only means your website copy is infused with keywords, but it also means you're creating fresh and unique content on an ongoing basis that continues to tell Google that you’re relevant in a specific space. 

My personal favorite way to do this is through consistent blogging!

Many times when people hear this talk of keywords, their main question is, “but how do I know what keywords to use?”

And that’s a valid question. There are TONS of SEO and keyword tools out there, but some of the most popular ones that are the most effective and easy to use include UberSuggest, Keywords Everywhere, Keyword Surfer, Answer The Public, and Google Trends.

The KEY here is that you don’t keyword stuff, meaning you don’t overload your website with an excessive amount of keywords or key phrases in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings.

This practice is considered unethical and is against the guidelines of major search engines, including Google, which means you could actually penalize your website and do the exact opposite of what you want for your Domain Authority. 🙅🏼‍♀️

Actively work to drive traffic to your website

If you’re not working to actively drive traffic to your website, that’s kindaaaaa like telling Google and other search engines that your website isn’t useful. 

But you and I both know that’s not true. So, it’s time to change your ways!

Many times as business owners it’s easy to get caught up in the world of social media and put a lot of your focus there. While you SHOULD have a social media presence, make sure that you’re social media and other avenues to direct people to your website as much as you can.

A few ways to do this can include:

➡️ making sure your social posts directly correlate to content on your website and use links in your stories to direct people there

➡️ linking to your website in your newsletters or other marketing emails

➡️ ensuring your link in bio features a page on YOUR website, not LinkTree or something similar

Fix broken links

One of the best ways to DECREASE your Domain Authority? Have a site with a lot of broken links. 📉

This is one of the most important website maintenance tasks you can do on a consistent basis because it directly impacts the way people can (or can’t) find you on Google.

And if you aren’t sure how to know if your website features broken links? There’s a tool for that!

Most of the SEO tools I mentioned above have a way to help you determine if your website has any broken links, giving you clear direction on what to fix!

Optimize your website for mobile

Mobile optimization is a HUGE overlooked component of website design and it’s not something you want to skip! 📱

In fact, Google predominantly uses the mobile version of a site’s content for indexing and ranking! Google recommends responsive website design because it’s the easiest to maintain, and keeps things consistent between mobile AND desktop formats.

While mobile use for websites can vary from person to person, generally speaking, mobile makes up over half of global internet traffic, meaning if your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you could be missing out on a LOT of traffic.

Not only does this impact the user experience, but it also directly impacts the way your website ranks, so if you want to boost your Domain Authority as soon as today, take a peek at your mobile view and make tweaks accordingly!

Grow your backlinks 

Lastly, one of the best ways to boost your Domain Authority for your website is to grow your backlinks. 

In the website world, there are internal links and there are backlinks. 

Internal links are hyperlinks that point from one page to another within the same website domain. So, let’s say you were to write a blog post and link to another page on your one website – that’s an internal link!

Backlinks, on the other hand, are links that come from one website to another.

Both types of links work to grow your SEO and Domain Authority, but backlinks hold a higher importance because they tell Google that OTHER people also find your website to be useful. 

Similar to keywords, however, you don’t want to manipulate backlinks. Many people use sketchy platforms to pay for backlinks, thinking it will boost their DA. But guess what? Google is smart and can tell when you’re being inauthentic!

Some of the most effective ways to grow your backlinks include:

➡️ Guest podcasting – have a friend in the industry with a podcast? Ask if you can be a guest! Not only do you get the opportunity to share your expertise with their audience, but you’ll also likely gain a backlink from their digital show notes.

➡️ Guest blogging – similar to guest podcasting, guest blogging is a great way to get in front of another audience and gain a backlink along the way.

➡️ Member directories – want a lower effort option? Consider what member directories you could potentially land yourself on simply by joining for a low fee or even creating a free profile. Your chamber of commerce is a GREAT place to start!

➡️ Resource / referral pages – if your past clients or close colleagues have a resource or referral page, ask if you can land a spot on their list! 

Overall, simply designing and launching your website isn’t enough. 

YES, it’s the first step, but in order to truly be found, you always want your website working for you. 

Once you’ve launched your website into the world, make sure you implement these techniques to ensure search engines view your site as useful and your Domain Authority continues to grow overtime. 

And if you NEED a website before you can focus on these things? I can help with that. 👋

With my website design service, you’ll receive:

• 1:1 strategy session to provide clarity and direction for the content, calls-to-action and conversion goals
• Customized messaging and visuals to give your audience a first impression that will knock their socks off
• A focus on taking a visitor on a journey through your website to maximize buy-in
• Competitor research so your audience finds you first
• Keywords, linking strategies, SEO titles, descriptions, heading tags and more to ensure your website has a healthy relationship with Google
• Navigable page designs for simple usability
• Coaching call so you can get prepare and plan for your audience to get excited about your new website
• Post launch support after your big launch
• Annual hosting, security certificate and an email support line that goes straight to me for added peace of mind
• A simple user log-in to edit your website along with training video tutorials so you have the freedom to make updates anytime

CLICK HERE to connect to see if a website design project is a good fit for you!

Your designer friend always,