For new businesses or companies that have not dedicated the needed time and resources to building their online presence, outranking their competitors may feel like an uphill battle. The good news is, even if you are a brand new business or are just now beginning to explore SEO strategies to rank higher on search engines, with dedication and an effective marketing strategy, it is possible to outrank your competition online.
There are multiple factors you will need to be aware of when understanding how difficult it will be to gain a highly coveted top position online. First of all, you will want to look at your competitors to determine their domain authority, the amount of effort they are putting in to their marketing, and how long they have been around.
What is Domain Authority and why is it important?
Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine result pages (SERPs). Domain Authority scores range from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to greater likelihood of ranking.
Domain Authority is based on data from our Link Explorer web index and uses dozens of factors in its calculations. The actual Domain Authority calculation itself uses a machine learning model to predictively find a “best fit” algorithm that most closely correlates our link data with rankings across thousands of actual search results that we use as standards to scale against.
How is Domain Authority calculated?
Domain Authority is calculated by evaluating multiple factors, including linking root domains and total number of links, into a single DA score. This score can then be used when comparing websites or tracking the “ranking strength” of a website over time. Domain Authority is not a Google ranking factor and has no effect on the SERPs.
As of the Domain Authority 2.0 update in early 2019, the calculation of a domain’s DA score comes from a machine learning algorithm’s predictions about how often Google is using that domain in its search results. If domain A is more likely to appear in a Google SERP than domain B is, then we would expect domain A’s DA to be higher than domain B’s DA. Learn more about the Domain Authority update and how to discuss it with your team with this presentation, or explore how to use DA 2.0 metrics with this comprehensive whitepaper.
Since DA is based on machine learning calculations, your site’s score will often fluctuate as more, fewer, or different data points become available and are incorporated into those calculations. For instance, if facebook.com were to acquire a billion new links, every other site’s DA would drop relative to Facebook’s. Because more established and authoritative domains like Facebook will have increasingly larger link profiles, they take up more of the high-DA slots, leaving less room at the higher end of the scale for other domains with less robust link profiles. Therefore, it’s significantly easier to grow your score from 20 to 30 than it is to grow it from 70 to 80. For this reason, it’s important to use Domain Authority as a comparative metric rather than an absolute one.
Checking Your Domain Authority
In order to determine your competitors domain authority, you can copy their URL and check it here: https://moz.com/domain-analysis#index
The higher the domain authority is, the more difficult this website will be to outrank.
At Houston Small Business Marketing we perform extensive keyword research for your industry and also on your competitors. By doing this we are able to determine which specific keywords we need to focus on to yield you the best results and the most traffic on your site.
We know how frustrating it can be when you offer the best product or service in your area but are missing out on clients due to a lack of visibility online. Our team works with you to boost your search engine rankings and ensure you have a user friendly and aesthetically pleasing website.
SEO Marketing For Businesses in Houston, TX
If you are not making efforts to optimize your website, you are falling behind because your competitors already have begun implementing SEO design strategies to their websites. As the gap grows between how much effort your competition puts into their online marketing and how little work you put into your website, the more difficult it will become to engage with customers online. The Houston Small Business Marketing team works hard to help your business stay relevant in this online-focused world by tracking the latest strategies in online marketing for businesses.
Don’t lose potential customers and become a force within your industry! From excellent web design to social media management, the team at Houston Small Business Marketing is here to help you broaden your reach and grow your audience! If you are tired of giving away potential customers to your competition, contact us today! We dedicate ourselves to working closely with business owners to come up with a marketing plan that helps them succeed. We provide each customer with a free consultation for your website and social media to let you know how you can improve your placement online and grow your engagement with local potential customers looking for your services.
Houston Small Business Marketing
713-492-0025
1415 North Loop West #950
Houston, TX 77008
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