Backlinks are some of the most critical metrics search engines use to rank websites. These links are used to compute the domain authority (DA) score of a website. Several factors are considered when calculating this figure. Some of these are the size of the site, the backlinks, and its age. Previously, Moz used a full link profile analysis tool known as Open Site Explorer to determine the DA scores of websites. This tool is still popular among SEO experts, but Moz recently developed a new and improved tool for this same purpose: the Moz Link Explorer.
What is Moz Link Explorer?
Domain authority scores have changed with the development of this new tool. This is because the new Moz Link Explorer has multiple features that make it a lot more accurate. For this reason, website owners can get better feedback on their SEO efforts and allocate resources accordingly. The new link profile analysis tool is also a lot faster and has additional functionalities.
Link Explorer Updates
The old site explorer tool makes updates every month, and consequently, new links are not considered when computing the domain authority score. This is not the case with the new Moz Link Explorer. This one has been developed to update the links every 24 hours, meaning new changes you make on any day will reflect in your domain authority score the following day.
As you would expect, the score from the old tool and the new one would differ by a few points. An advantage of these updates is the fact that you can observe your progress on a daily basis and make adjustments to your approach faster.
The Index Size
SEO is not just determined by the quality of links; it also depends on the quantity. Open Site Explorer was known for its high-quality links, but the index size was very small. To improve the accuracy of the domain authority score, the developers of the new Moz Link Explorer tool designed it to scan a much larger index size.
In fact, the index size is now about 20 times more than that of the old link profile analysis tool. Now, it can search billions of pages on the internet and trillions of links, although the focus will still be on high-quality websites.
What Factors Affect Your Domain Authority Score?
Your domain authority score is determined by the number of links pointing back to your site, and the quality of those links. Presently, you can get the DA score from the old Open Site Explorer and the new Moz Link Explorer tool. Because of the changes made to this tool, you should expect the scores to differ.
It is worth noting that more links don’t always improve your ranking on Google. Sometimes, they can even lower your ranking on the search engine. It is better to improve the quality of your content. At the end of the day, high-quality websites will naturally link back to you.
Conclusion
Domain authority scores are changing because of the updates made to the Moz link analysis tool. Until recently, the Open Site Explorer tool was one of the most important SEO tools on the internet. The company’s new Link Explorer gives more accurate scores since it scans a lot more domains and also updates the links on a daily basis. Your Google rank will now correlate better with the Moz Link Explorer DA score. That way, you will be able to implement changes and improvements to your site faster.
