Domain Power (Domain Authority) is not an official Google metric. It is a third-party metric independently calculated by SEO tool companies like Moz and Ahrefs. Google employees have repeatedly denied its use, and it does not appear in any official Google documentation.
Domain Power: Used as If It Were Obvious
'Higher Domain Power means easier top rankings.' This claim appears frequently in Japanese SEO articles, including those from major media and SEO tool providers. Many SEO tools offer Domain Power scores, and users aim to increase them.
Our own tool (SEO_CHECK) also displays a 0-10 Domain Power score from Open PageRank. This follows standard industry practice. But how reliable is this metric? Does Google even use 'Domain Power'?
What This Article Verifies
We verify 'Is Domain Power a Google metric?' by examining Google's official sources (employee statements, official documentation) and tool vendors' own official positions.
Domain Power Is 'Industry Jargon,' Not a 'Google Metric'
Domain Power (DA/DR) is a number independently calculated by Moz and Ahrefs, a third-party metric unrelated to Google's ranking algorithm. It may be established as common industry language, but that doesn't mean Google uses it officially. We verify this hypothesis using official sources.
Fact-Checking with Google Official Sources
We organize Google employee statements, official documentation, and tool vendors' own positions chronologically.
Google Employee Statements
Gary Illyes（Google, 2016）
“we don't really have overall domain authority”
Google's Senior Analyst explicitly stated that nothing like an overall domain authority score exists.
Original post on XJohn Mueller（Google Search Advocate, 2020）
“Google doesn't use Domain Authority at all when it comes to Search crawling, indexing, or ranking.”
Google's Search Advocate categorically stated that Google does not use Domain Authority for crawling, indexing, or ranking.
Search Engine JournalDanny Sullivan（Google SearchLiaison, 2024）
“It's not a ranking factor. It's not a thing that's going to factor into other factors.”
Google Search's official liaison clearly denied it as a ranking factor and stated it doesn't influence other factors either.
XTool Vendors' Own Official Positions
Moz Official
“Domain Authority is not a metric used by Google in determining search rankings and has no effect on the SERPs.”
Moz, the creator of Domain Authority, officially states that DA is not used by Google for search rankings and has no effect on search results.
Ahrefs Official Help
"Search engines don't use DA or DR"
Ahrefs also explicitly states in their official help that search engines do not use Domain Rating (DR).
Ahrefs Help CenterGoogle Official Documentation Check
Google Ranking Systems Guide
The terms 'Domain Authority' and 'Domain Power' do not appear anywhere in Google's official document that comprehensively lists all ranking systems.
Google Ranking Systems GuideGoogle Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines
The 'Authoritativeness' in quality evaluator guidelines is not a single score assigned to an entire domain. It's evaluated per-topic: 'Is this site/author authoritative on this topic?' This fundamentally differs from Domain Power's single cross-topic score.
Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (PDF)About E-E-A-T
“E-E-A-T itself isn't a specific ranking factor”
Google officially states that E-E-A-T itself is not a specific ranking factor. E-E-A-T is a 'quality evaluation perspective,' not a number directly embedded in the algorithm. A domain-wide score is even less relevant.
Google Search Central: Creating helpful contentAddendum: 2024 Google API Leak
In May 2024, Google's internal API documentation leaked, revealing a 'siteAuthority' attribute. Some articles interpreted this as 'Google does use Domain Power.' However, the facts need careful examination.
Confirmed Facts
- A 'siteAuthority' attribute existed in internal documentation
- However, whether it is used for ranking is unknown
- It could be experimental, historical, or for internal analysis only
Google Official Statement
“We would caution against making inaccurate assumptions about Search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information.”
Google itself warned against 'making inaccurate assumptions about Search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information.' The existence of an attribute and its use in ranking are separate issues.
What Actually Affects 'Site-Wide Evaluation'?
Google doesn't ignore site-wide signals entirely. But the mechanism differs fundamentally from DA/DR.
Helpful Content System
Google's Helpful Content System uses 'site-wide signals.' Sites with many low-quality pages may see their good content affected too. It was integrated into the core ranking system in March 2024.
Difference from DA/DR
“Having some good site-wide signals does not mean that all content from a site will always rank highly”
As Google officially states, having good site-wide signals doesn't mean all content ranks highly. DA/DR carries an implicit assumption that a single domain-wide score means all pages rank better. Google's system doesn't work that way.
What Google Officially Acknowledges
- Content helpfulness: Content that satisfies user search intent
- E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust): Quality perspectives evaluated per topic
- Page Experience: Core Web Vitals, mobile-friendliness, HTTPS, interstitials
- Links (PageRank): Per-page link evaluation, not a domain-wide score
Why the Industry Keeps Using Domain Power
Despite not being an official Google metric, Domain Power persists in the industry because each stakeholder has rational reasons.
For Tool Vendors
Proprietary scores are core product features. Users tracking score trends creates motivation for continued use. DA and DR aren't just features — they're business model foundations.
For SEO Agencies
It makes 'results' easy to visualize. 'Domain Power went from X to Y' is easy to explain to clients. Since Google rankings involve many factors, a single-number metric that shows progress is invaluable.
For Site Owners
The desire to understand complex SEO through a single number is natural. DA/DR provides a clear answer to 'What's my site's SEO strength?' The barrier to understanding is low.
Structural Problem
Domain Power persists because each stakeholder has rational reasons. But as a result, a structure emerges where improving the metric itself becomes the goal, rather than the original purpose — delivering valuable content to users. Buying backlinks or joining link farms to increase DA/DR scores is a typical consequence of this structure.
SEO_CHECK's Position
SEO_CHECK's View
Our tool also displays a Domain Power score from Open PageRank. We provide this as a 'reference value for relative comparison with competitors,' not as a Google ranking metric.
Rather than making Domain Power score improvement the goal itself, the essence is focusing on elements you can control — technical SEO, content quality, structured data. SEO_CHECK is designed as a diagnostic tool for these elements.
If backlinks increase and site credibility improves as a result, Domain Power naturally rises. The causal direction is not 'raise Domain Power then rankings improve,' but 'improve site quality then Domain Power rises as a consequence.'
