Tower Alumni - Tower Marketing

There many metrics that measure the effectiveness of SEO and internet marketing in general. For small to medium-sized businesses it can be overwhelming trying to keep track of these metrics and understanding what is driving these numbers. Domain Authority is one metric Tower Marketing uses to measure SEO progress and success of a client’s website campaigns in comparison to competitors. DA looks at a variety of broad spectrums, taking into account many of the factors Google considers important.

What is Domain Authority?

Domain Authority (DA) is scored on a scale of 0-100 and was developed by the analytics software team Moz.com. The DA metric predicts how well a website will rank on search engines. You use DA when you’re comparing one site to another or tracking the “strength” of your website and content efforts over time.

Where did the Metric Domain Authority Originate From?

Domain Authority is comprised of several metrics that are calculated to show a picture of how well a domain is likely to have its pages ranked in Google’s search results (SERPs). It is based on data from the Mozscape web index and includes the total number of links, MozRank and MazTrust scores, and dozens of other factors outside of Moz. DA uses a machine-learning model to predictively find an algorithm that best correlates with rankings across thousands of search results that Moz predicts against.

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Is Domain Authority a Stable Metric to Measure Against?

Yes, it is, but it is important to understand that the Domain Authority is affected by several organic factors that will always continue to fluctuate. DA is a slow-growing score because it is based on organic elements of marketing (unlike paid search which is almost instant).

Don’t expect to see your DA jump from 23 to 47 in just six months worth of SEO. There are too many factors involved to make the DA index move that fast.

How is Domain Authority Calculated?

Moz has calculated this metric by combining all other link metrics. These metrics include the number of domains linking to your site, number of pages linking to your site, number of total links (internal and external), ‘followed’ vs ‘nofollowed’ links (equity passing links) as well as MozRank, MozTrust, etc.—into a single score.

DA is heavily link-based, but it takes into account the quality of content and social linking signals too. So, why is there so much emphasis on links?

People link and share content they like. No one shares an ugly looking website or a website they can’t find. Links are still arguably the strongest signal of how popular a website and its pages are.

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How Should Your Business Apply Domain Authority to Its Site?

As mentioned earlier, Domain Authority uses machine-learning. This helps it build up a better understanding of Google’s algorithm, which is constantly changing, so that it can best model how search engine results are generated.

There are over 40 signals included in the calculation of DA. This means your website’s Domain Authority score will often fluctuate. For this reason, it’s best to use Domain Authority as a competitive metric against other sites, as opposed to non-industry specific websites.

If your website content is education-related, don’t compare your DA against a sports website. Compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges, capiche?

Additionally, since it’s not a precise metric, it’s not the best data to measure the success of your internal SEO efforts with. Instead, you should look to other important engagement metrics to assess your efforts.

How is DA Scored?

The Domain Authority score ranges from 0 to 100 and is a logarithmic scale (non-linear scale for large ranges in quantities). Thus, it’s easier to grow your score from 20 to 30 than it would be to grow from 70 to 80. As your DA grows it will be harder to acquire more points.

How can Businesses Influence their own Domain Authority?

Unlike other SEO metrics, Domain Authority is difficult to influence directly. It is made up of an aggregate of metrics (MozRank, MozTrust, link profile, and more) and each have an impact on this score. This was done intentionally; this metric is meant to approximate how competitive a given site is in Google’s SERPs. Since Google takes a lot of factors into account, a metric that tries to calculate it must incorporate a lot of factors, as well.

The best way to influence this metric is to improve your overall SEO. In particular, you should focus on your link profile and getting more links from other well-linked-to pages that are relevant. Links from other websites act as a vote of endorsement. The more links for relative industries that have good quality content on their sites and that are active on social media, the greater the chances of your DA growing.

What is my DA Score?

There are free tools to find out what your DA is and also what your competitors are ranking at. Moz has created a toolbar for Chrome that you can download onto your browser. You will see a new menu above your navigation bar showing you the DA authority scores as well as some other handy metrics. Click here to download the MozBar.

Now that you have a better understanding of what DA is, what will you do to improve your score? Work with our expert team to grow your DA.

When you hear the phrase parallax scrolling, what do you think of? The title of the next Star Trek movie? That’s exactly what I thought it was. When I was told that I was wrong, the next thing I said was, “Well then, what is it?”

Turns out, parallax scrolling is the next big thing in web design. Many companies have seen the benefit and the fun in these types of websites, including Tower Marketing. This trend began back in 2011 when Nike launched its website, “Nike Better World,” and it hasn’t stopped since. Basically, it is a scrolling technique in which background images move at different speeds than images in the foreground. This creates a 3D effect or an illusion of depth on your website.

Why Use Parallax Scrolling? – An Outsider’s Viewpoint

I say an “outsider’s viewpoint,” because I am in no way a designer or web developer. When I look at a website utilizing parallax scrolling, I am looking at it from the viewpoint of an end user. If I like the way a website uses parallax scrolling, it is because I thoroughly enjoyed the user experience. Parallax scrolling completely changes the way users interact with a website. Instead of simply scrolling from the top to the bottom of a flat, stagnant page, the user is taken on an eye-catching journey where shapes, pictures, and other animations morph on the screen and reveal new portions of the site.

This is all well and good, but let me reiterate the importance of user experience. Having a visually appealing site always puts points on the board, but if I’m scrolling through a beautiful website and it stutters, or I can’t locate a button to take me to the section of the site I’m looking for, then you have scored negative points.

Examples of Parallax Scrolling

Now that we have gone over what an outsider thinks about parallax scrolling, let’s look at a few examples of this trendy scrolling effect. I came across a list of 50 great parallax scrolling websites from 2014, and I have to say, some did not work well in my opinion. A few examples looked interesting, but they tended to lag on occasion. Their overall user experience was poor.

However, I did come across a few great examples of parallax scrolling (once again, this is my opinion as the end user):

1. Highway One

Screen Shot of Highway One Parallax Scrolling Website

This website takes you on an animated car ride down the coast of California on Highway One. As you scroll, your vehicle passes through the many landscapes of California, all while providing instructions on what to do if you get lost. The tour includes radio stations in the area, facts, and cameos from the likes of Sean Connery as his character from the Alcatraz movie, The Rock, and Will Farrell as Ron Burgundy.

2. Sony – Be Moved

screen shot of Sony's Parallax Scrolling Website

Sony’s site for their “Be Moved” campaign goes through many of its new products as they assemble themselves on your screen while you scroll. The animation can be a little bit choppy, but overall it provides a great experience. I played with this site for a while, as I watched how each small piece of technology came together to make their smartphones, cameras, and TVs.

3. Make Your Money Matter

Screen Shot of Public Service Credit Union's Parallax Scrolling Website

This website, done for Public Service Credit Union, also takes the user on a visual journey that flows well without any hiccups. It also does a great job of showing and telling the message, which is the importance of credit unions and how they can benefit someone. It finishes with a simple screen that tells you how to join a credit union in your area.

Do you have a website that utilizes parallax scrolling? Has it benefited your company? Tell us about your experience!