Most businesses don’t think about domain authority until something feels “off”—your site looks good, your services are solid, but you’re still not showing up where you should in search. If you’re trying to figure out how to increase domain authority, it helps to strip it down to the basics: what the score represents, why backlinks matter so much, and which credibility signals are realistically within your control.
At Local Robot, we think of domain authority as a visibility and trust problem: the more reputable sites that mention and link to you, the easier it is for search engines (and people) to take you seriously.
What Is Domain Authority (and Why the Score Matters)
Domain Authority is a third-party metric (not an official Google score) that estimates how likely a domain is to rank in search results. Different tools use different names and formulas, but most of them are heavily influenced by:
- Backlinks (links from other websites pointing to yours)
- Link quality (reputable, relevant sites matter more than random sites)
- Link diversity (links from many unique domains are usually stronger than many links from one domain)
It’s best used as a benchmark: track your score over time and compare it to competitors—not as the only measure of SEO success.
Backlinks: The Most Important Driver Behind Authority
Backlinks are like citations. When an established website links to your website, it’s a signal that you’re legitimate and worth referencing. Generally, the best backlinks are:
- Relevant to your industry or location
- Earned because you’re useful (not purchased or spammed)
- From real, trusted websites (local news, directories, associations, partners, vendors, clients)
Quick Win: Build Profiles on High-Authority Websites
If you’re a local business, one of the simplest ways to support your authority is to create (and fully complete) profiles on well-known platforms that search engines trust. Two examples:
- Yelp: a strong domain with high visibility for local services
- Nextdoor: strong local discovery and neighborhood-level trust
Why this helps: these profiles can generate brand mentions, citations, and sometimes links. Even when the link is “nofollow,” the presence of consistent business information across trusted sites can support your overall local SEO foundation.
Make your profiles count (not just “exist”)
- Use the same business name everywhere
- Keep your address and phone consistent
- Add a real description of your services
- Upload photos and keep them current
- Link to the most relevant page on your site (homepage or service page)
A Practical Trick: Use ChatGPT “Sources” to Find Where You Should Be Listed
Here’s a modern (and surprisingly effective) way to uncover visibility gaps:
- Ask ChatGPT: “Give me a list of [your service] providers in [your city/state].”
- If your version of ChatGPT shows sources (or you’re using a tool/view that cites sources), review the websites it pulls from.
- Make a list of directories, roundups, local publications, and association pages that appear repeatedly.
- Get your business included where it makes sense (claim a listing, submit your business, or reach out to be added).
This approach is useful because it focuses on the places that are already being used to compile “best of” and “who to hire” lists—exactly the kind of pages that influence both traffic and authority.
Tip: Don’t chase every directory. Prioritize reputable, relevant sites that real customers would actually trust.
Check Your Domain Authority Score (Use More Than One Tool)
Because “domain authority” varies by tool, it’s smart to check a few and track trends over time.
- Moz Link Explorer (Domain Authority)
- Ahrefs Website Authority Checker
- Semrush Backlink Analytics (Authority Score)
- Majestic Site Explorer (Trust Flow / Citation Flow)
- Ubersuggest (Domain-level SEO metrics)
Keep It Simple: A “Do This Next” Checklist
- Claim/complete key profiles (Yelp, Nextdoor, plus any industry-specific directories)
- Make your NAP consistent (Name, Address, Phone) across listings
- Ask for real backlinks from partners, vendors, clients, local organizations, and press
- Find the common “source sites” that list competitors and get included there too
- Track monthly (authority score + referring domains + leads)
Want Help Building Authority the Right Way?
If you want a stronger local SEO foundation and a website that earns trust (and links) naturally, Local Robot can help. We’re based in Providence, Rhode Island, and we build custom websites designed to grow with your business.
Contact Local Robot and tell us what you do and where you serve—we’ll point you toward the highest-impact next steps.
