4 Quick Ways to Check Your Website Authority

“If you want your website to rank, you’ll need authority”
– Every SEO, ever.

Authority is a cornerstone of SEO, yet somehow still so mysterious.

What *exactly* is authority, and how is it measured by Google?

Let’s explore…

What is authority?

Intuitively, you probably understand the concept of authority.

My favorite dictionary definition that applies to this particular conversation is:

“the power to influence others, especially because of one’s commanding manner or one’s recognized knowledge about something.“

Perhaps the most important word in this definition is “recognized.”

You can call yourself an authority all you want, but it means infinitely more when someone else makes the claim.

Generally, you get that recognition after you have *demonstrated* expertise on a particular subject.

This can be done in many ways. For example…

• Document your learning process and share it transparently.
• Win an award
• Teach a class or workshop
• Consistently share outstanding results over time
• Get reviews from people who have first-hand experience working with you

A key element here is that you’ll need to share in public, and interact with other humans.

What is authority in the context of SEO?

If you’ve read any articles about SEO, you’ve probably been told that authority is mostly derived from backlinks.

I guess this is true, but it feels like a shallow answer to me.

Of course you should still work to get backlinks, and high-quality backlinks will likely always be an important part of authority, but this post will mostly focus on other aspects of authority that are less commonly discussed.

I won’t bore you with a long conversation about the beginnings of Google and PageRank, but click those links if you want to dig deeper, and know that Google still admits to using these factors as a main part of ranking.

From this ETHW article:

“The core idea of the PageRank algorithm is that hyperlinks present endorsements of other web pages, and that pages endorsed by many high-quality pages are themselves of high quality.”

Google says they still use PageRank in many places across the web, and it was confirmed again in a recent court case.

Ok, I said I wasn’t going to bore you, and I could get FAR deeper into the weeds of what PageRank *actually* means, but the layman’s version is that Google uses links as a primary way to determine authority.

Google no longer makes a PageRank score public, but other tools have built systems to mimic PageRank. We’ll get to that in a few minutes.

First, let’s talk about other factors that Google might use to determine authority.

E-E-A-T

Feels like this discussion wouldn’t be complete without talking about EAT (now EEAT lol), where the A stands for authoritativeness.

If you want to read the literal textbook on the topic, check out page 26 of The Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.

TL;DR: Google wants to know whether a website/page is trustworthy, and this can be determined by the author or brand’s experience, expertise, and authority.

In this document, Google mentions that a site is authoritative when it is the *expected* source of information about a specific topic.

For a photographer, this often happens when you service a very specific niche, and are known in your area or the industry as the one who is pioneering that niche.

It could also be a specific photography technique. For example, the Brenizer method (ironically, Ryan’s current site doesn’t have an article about this and is missing out on a massive opportunity) or finding Sam Hurd when you search for “prisming.”

I believe that the volume of branded search (people searching specifically for your brand) also plays into this. In other words, finding ways to get people to search for your brand may also increase authority.

Unlinked Mentions

I know that I spent time talking about PageRank, and I understand why people get caught up on getting links from “high authority” sites, but I also believe that Google pays attention to unlinked mentions.

In other words, if your name or brand is mentioned around the web, even without a link, I believe that plays into your authority score.

Depth of topic coverage (Topical Authority)

If you’re truly an authority on a topic, it is likely that you’ve published content that covers the topic extensively.

When I’m evaluating competitors, I often check a list of their top pages to see if they have covered a topic from multiple angles. I usually use a tool like Semrush for this, but you can do this intuitively by visiting sites that rank for a specific topic.

One trick is to use the site: search operator. For example, if I want to know how well my course student Jo has covered the topic of Virginia wedding venues.

Nice job, Jo! Note that when you do this search, you don’t put a space between the site: and the domain, but you do include a space before whatever keyword you want to check.

As I was writing this section, I found that Kevin Indig has topical authority on the topic of topical authority (meta, I know). Guess I’m helping to re-enforce that here. See what happens when you take the time to write about a topic?

I also thought this article was a good roundup about calculating topical authority (with AI prompts included).

Social Profiles

Ok, I don’t have much evidence on how much impact this has on rankings, or Google’s calculation of authority. However, Google does specifically mention social profiles in the Evaluator Guidelines, and it feels logical to me that topics covered on a social profile play into your expertise on a topic.

Google indexes posts from many social platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Pinterest, and YouTube.

This isn’t an exhaustive list. Basically, if you are using a social media account, do you have proof of your authority in your profile and have you proven your expertise in the posts you are making?

Guest Appearances

Most publications and podcasts seek out experts on specific topics for collaboration.

If you’re an expert on a topic, look for relevant podcasts where you can be interviewed. Look for online magazines and publications that might interview you.

You can also seek out specific blogs where you can write articles about the topic. Often, this gives you a chance to get your content ranking on a site that is more authoritative than your own. I call this “authority hacking.”

There’s an entire module in the SEO course about guest posting, and how to find the best opportunities!

Industry/Online Participation

An expert is often active in their industry, but an authority almost always is.

I think this one can be pretty industry specific, and I even think this may matter more in some photography niches than others.

Certain types of photographers are almost always going to be found in specific industry directories. Things like PPA, NPPA, or even specific directories like AIBP, NAPCP, Fearless, or Wandering Weddings.

These can be a clear sign to Google that you’re active and willing to pay your dues to support the industry.

I also think it can be important to join relevant forums, especially ones indexed by Google. Make sure you’re using your name or business name to comment, and Google will be able to see your contributions.

Of course, Reddit and Google are still in a love affair, so that can be another great place to show you are actively answering questions about your topics of expertise.

How to check your website’s authority

If you’ve read this far, I think you can see that the real “authority score” is quite nuanced.

However, most SEOs still agree that a score based on your backlink profile is one of the best ways to get a proxy for your authority score.

As I mentioned before, there are several tools to check for a score that attempts to mimic Google’s PageRank. Here are a few of my favorites. Check them out and see which one feels most useful to you!

Moz Domain Authority (DA)

This is the classic. You’ve probably heard people talking about domain authority, and Moz was one of the first to make this concept popular. They coined the term “Domain Authority” but keep in mind that it is just one estimation, not an actual factor used by Google.

Check your Moz Domain Authority

Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR)

Ahrefs is known to have one of the best link databases on the web. I would say it is the most trusted tool among SEO professionals, so they are highly incentivized to maintain a useful score.

Check your Ahrefs Domain Rating

Semrush Authority Score (AS)

Semrush has long been my favorite tool for evaluating backlinks and keywords. It may just be a personal preference because of how much I used it early on, but I tend to find it very useful.

Check your Semrush Authority Score

Mangools Site Profiler

Mangools is one of my favorite consumer level tools for doing this kind of research. It is more affordable than Semrush, Ahrefs or Moz, and still provides very useful metrics and insights.

Mangools does have some unique competitiveness scores, but mostly leans on Moz and Majestic (another unique company that provides these metrics) to show domain level authority scores.

Check your domain on Mangools

What is your authority?

Use some of these tools and share your thoughts in the comments! It would be extremely useful to see what scores other photographers are getting to give people a reference for where they stand.

Is there any topic where you consider yourself an authority? What have you done to prove it?

If you’re in it for the long haul, and want to continue building authority over time, I’d love to have you in the SEO course, where we have weekly calls with motivated students working on building authority as photographers!