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They say that pride comes before a fall, right? About 8 weeks ago I wrote a post on how I had worked hard on my blog, increasing my Domain Authority (DA) to being 28 in just 6 months. Well, it wasn’t to last. This week Moz (who are the proprietors of the DA metric) introduced the new version of DA. They did warn everyone in advance of the change, and said that a lot of sites would see a drop in their DA number. This, they claim, is to keep the DA metric in line with the Google algorithms. They say that this new number gauges the strength of a site better than before. On Wednesday I watched my chrome toolbar all day. And when it did happen I was stunned. My DA dropped after the Moz update by 9 – so what do I do now?
My DA dropped after the Moz Update – What Do I Do?
At first, my reaction was shock and sadness. It felt very personal, like all that hard work had been for nothing. If you read my post in January about how to improve your blog’s DA then you may have seen all the ways that I have working tirelessly on my blog.
I felt robbed.
Then I reread the Moz statement about the update. They claimed that a lot of my peer’s sites would also drop. And sure enough, some of the bloggers that I have come to recognise, admire and chat with regularly had also suffered drops. Some had even suffered far greater drops than mine. Yes, a few had gained, but the general trend seemed to be a fall in the number.
I was slightly heartened by this, as I didn’t feel that it had just affected me, and that others may be feeling even more disheartened. Furthermore, I do realise that I have quite a simple blog theme, am still a very new blogger, and are by no means an expert in website design. So I realised that had a lot of scope for learning how to improve my site.
Why am I Blogging?
Furthermore, it does make you ask yourself the question of what you are getting out of your blog. If you are happy with just blogging away, and aren’t really after any brand recognition or monetary recompense for your work, then the new number will be of absolutely no consequence. As you were.
But whilst I do enjoy rambling on about life in general I actually turned to blogging to see if I could make a little money doing so. I have found it a real challenge, and feel that it has brought out new skills in me. And more recently I have been receiving some very lovely collaboration offers with brands.
Will or Should this Change?
Lots of the top bloggers in the know are actually saying no. If companies are offering you less on the strength of the new metric then they are basically trying to take advantage, and it’s probably better not to work with them.
Has anything changed really? Relatively speaking, no. Nothing has altered. It is just a new metric, a new algorithm which actually isn’t comparable to the old one at all. It shouldn’t make a difference to your collaborations at all. So you could just decide to carry on doing exactly the same as before.
But What Was I Going To Do About The Drop In DA?
Even though my DA dropped after the Moz update, it just makes me want to go out and build it back once more. And so I will be using some of the techniques I have used before, plus some new ideas.
SEO or Search Engine Optimisation
Moz have always said that (and they reiterated in the statement after the latest update) that DA is just their proprietary metric and is not a measure of how well your site is ranking.
So the best way of improving your ranking in the google search engine results pages (SERPs) is still to do the best SEO job that you can.
Use Yoast or another SEO plugin. Do your keyword research.
Post Good Content – and be consistent
It is so important to make your posts the best they can be. Use a grammar and spell checker. Stick to posting on the same days and times a week so that your audience can find you. Hopefully once they have found you they will stick with you.
Be Social
Comment on other people’s blogs. Be active on at least one social media platform and engage with other bloggers in your niche. Make connections with your peers. As they can help out with improving your rankings. How? By providing backlinks.
Build Backlinks
What is a backlink? Simply put, Google sees a backlink as a kind of vote of confidence in your website from another website. It is a link from one domain to your domain. However, it really isn’t that simple. There are nofollow links and dofollow links. Some links are worth more than others.
The best thing to try and improve your DA once more is to focus on getting relevant backlinks from good quality sources. One of the best ways of doing this is by writing guest posts for other trusted sites or bloggers that are well respected in your niche. However, do ensure that they are offering a backlink back to your blog!
At the same time, check your site for broken links regularly, and fix any issues.
And finally ensure that your site loads quickly.
As I said, I know I have a lot of scope to improve my site. And am willing to put in some hard work in building quality backlinks. Even though my DA dropped after the Moz update, it will just take me time to get it back up there again!
I’d love to know your thoughts on this. Were you upset at the changes? Let me know in the comments below, or comment on my social media.
Why not pin this post for later?
I think the Most update shocked a lot of people. Mine only dropped by 3, but I know others who have had huge drops. Keep doing what you’re doing it’ll be back up in no time
Yes, we can only keep on keeping on.
I feel for you my DA dropped a few points but I’m still at 39 so it’s not the end of the world. I actually don’t think it matters that much and I stop obsessing over it a long time ago great tips Thanks for linking to #Thatfridaylinky hope to see you next week
Thank you Jo, I am so grateful for this! I too was affected negatively and it is disheartening but again like you, my blog is so new and I guess this is just the worlds way of seeing if we have what it takes: perseverance!
P. S I’ve also pinned this post
Thank you for sharing.Yes, like you it only made me that little bit more determined!
It’s definitely worth trying to remember that it’s a relative thing. I have two blogs and one was down 4 and one was up 3 so I can’t complain too much! #thatfridaylinky
I’m the same. My second blog which hasn’t anything on it went up 3!
I think generally speaking, DA is starting to become irrelevant except for sites that are just looking for a back link, and with the new system in place, I think a lot of that will stop now. It’s basically a number that someone invented, convinced us was important and then use to make money. It’s kind of genius really lol.
Having said that, I did of course check after the update. My established site went down 6 and my new site (just over two months old) went up 4 which surprised me – from their explanation of the changes, I expected it to be the other way around.
Debbie
#thatfridaylinky
I am starting to come around to thinking the same Debbie. But is is annoying that companies are already taking advantage of the drops to offer less pay.
Exactly. That number should not be relevant but, when it comes to blogging opportunities, sponsorships, etc., it’s still used by companies. Hopefully they’ll realise that it doesn’t mean all that much anymore.
It is annoying that a lot of companies are already trying to exploit the change. However, I just think that nothing has changed, and yes, maybe sponsors will come to realise that it isn’t all about DA but about engagement and good content.
These are great tips – every time my score drops I do a little bit of social and it always helps!
https://lizziedrippingblog.blogspot.com/
Thank you. Yes, I will definitely be doing the same!
That is probably the best attitude to have. Trying to think that way…
That is probably the best way to look at it…
I actually have no idea what a DA score is or what mine was until I checked, it’s 31 but I’ve no idea if it’s dropped or if this number is a positive or a negative, as you can tell I spend little time on my blog other than posting regular content, joining in with linkies and leaving and receiving regular comments. Good luck with rebuilding your score, but I guess everyone’s dropped so assume we’re all still in line #pocolo
And that is probably the best way to be!
Mine went from 21 to 12 so I was genuinely disappointed. I didn’t want to complain too much about it because I didn’t want to sound entitled or anything.
I don’t guest post much and half the time I leave a comment I forget to leave my link (although I’ve heard that doesn’t matter much anymore).
I’m going to keep working on SEO and revise older posts. I was revising one of my first posts last night and I realised there was a lot of room for improvement LOL
I think that you are doing all the right things Kate. And am sorry that yours also dropped so much.
Thanks, Jo 🙂
Mine went down 6 if it’s any consolation – but what goes down can also go up! #MMBC
Exactly! Thank you Natalie.
This post was really helpful 🙂 mine dropped also which is quite frustrating as I had finally been making some pennies from being in the 20+ DA bracket. I know money isn’t everything but I do see my blog as a business and feel like my stock has just plummeted #ToughDayAtTheOffice
Thanks for sharing this post Jo. Fab content as always.
Rach x
https://rachaelhope.co.uk/
I agree, I think that was certainly a frustration with myself too. however, having read a lot about the change I can see why the DA metric needed a change. Actually there can be no comparison between the new and old numbers.
Hi Jo, thanks so much for this post. My DA has been unchanged for the last 2 months and I’ve been so discouraged that it hasn’t improved. I had no idea there was a Moz update in progress – so this info has helped me feel a little less disappointed! Thanks for the reminders on the ways to continue to grow DA!
Joan Senio
My Best Friend Adeline
https://kindness-compassion-and-coaching.com
Thank you for reading Joan, and hope that it helps!
DA has always confused me. There are things I don’t understand. I am always scared to check my DA. I am working hard to improve it by doing all the things you have mentioned. I need to look for the broken links too. 🙂
Via | http://glossnglitters.com
I think broken links are a great place to start improving your site. Hope this all helps.
The new update sound scary! We’ve just launched our site, so haven’t even got round to checking Moz yet. I used to run another site though, and it seems like things have got much more intense since this update – heard of so many people who’ve had major drops.
Yes, I think it has certainly ruffled a few feathers. Which is a shame.
I do think that my drop was probably because my site is quite new. I’m hoping with all these tips implemented that we will all soon rise again!
Mine went from 7 to 8 I have only been blogging for a few months I was so thrilled, but then last night I decided on buying my own domain, with some advice from someone else who said it would be best and I forgot about my DA and it went to 0 when it changed over, I went to bed upset all those months of work. I will start all over again. Loved your post gave me some good tips. Thanks
Oh No! So sorry to hear that. It is such a strange game. But I am sure that you will be soon back up again. Hope that these tips help.
I’m a relatively new blogger, so monitoring my DA closely isn’t on my priorities right now as I am still trying to get used to the blogging process and learning SEO. But your SEO tips and are useful – thanks for sharing!
You are most welcome, hope that they help! And thank you for reading!
I wasn’t affected. I do look after the SEO on my site and check my visitor numbers regularly, but I’ve stopped worrying about everything else. When you do have a high DA you get tons of spam in your comments and constant e-mails asking you to post their ‘brilliant’ articles on your site when they have no budget. There’s always a silver lining.
#mmbc
Like you say, every cloud and all that!
Just when you think you’ve figured out the system, they change it. I’ve seen this happen numerous times. Just keep doing what you do best. #MMBC
That is comforting to hear Carol. I just do intend to be providing good and interesting content.
I just checked my DA after reading your post and it has dropped 5 points but still over 30 so I’m happy :o)
#MMBC
I know, I do feel for those people who dropped so much more.
To start with all I saw was people saying they’d gone up, which seems to go against the Moz advice, which they’d been preparing people for. It seems people have gone down, so it doesn’t seem so bad after all – we’ll see what happens, let’s hope there’s not a general downward trend, as that would be disheartening. Thanks for sharing with #PoCoLo
Thank you!
While it’s difficult I think it’s important to remember that blogging is not all about the stats. It’s about your readers. If you are writing content your readers like they will keep coming back. That in turn will bring in the collaborations because companies will see readers return to your blog rather than having to get new readers day in day out.
Good luck with your strategies. xx
Thanks for sharing with #pocolo
Thank you Morgan.
I was expecting a drop – but I’m still disappointed. It’s given me a kick up the proverbial to try harder on the social!
Well thank you for reading, and hopefully the only way is back up again!
The DA drop was strange for me, I dropped by 12 and it made me really sit down and think about my blog, it wasn’t what I wanted anymore I didn’t enjoy it and I felt like a machine rather than it being a love so it spurred me to start again from scratch covering what I love and really bringing back what I want to do.
My new blog’s DA is now at 5 and I’m far happier than my old blog which after the update was 26
I do think it has caused a lot of reappraisal in people. But just glad it made you reassess what you really need from your blog.
My DA dropped 7 to 18. I, like many others was quite disheartened by this. It did hold me back from posting to start with, I went through a couple of days where I was like “what’s the point”. But I have picked myself up and I am back to it. I will keep plugging away and hopefully it will go back up again.
#MMBC
I think a lot of people felt the same Ali. hopefully we will rise once more!