Domain Authority is a comparative metric that predicts ranking strength based on your backlink profile's size and quality relative to all other sites in Moz's index. A low DA—anything under 30 for most commercial sites—usually signals one or more of these issues: you have very few total backlinks, the links you do have come from low-authority sources, or your site is new and hasn't accumulated link equity yet. Moz's algorithm weighs linking root domains heavily, meaning ten links from ten different credible sites matter far more than fifty links from the same three domains. If you're stuck at DA 15, you likely have under twenty referring domains or your backlinks come primarily from directories, blog comment sections, or other low-trust sources that barely move the needle. You can't directly control DA—it's a third-party score—but you can improve the inputs. Focus on earning editorial links from Canadian news outlets, industry publications, university resources, or established businesses in your sector. A single link from a DA 60+ site can raise your score more than dozens of weak directory listings. Guest posts on niche-relevant blogs, digital PR campaigns that land media mentions, and creating linkable assets like original research or tools all build authority over time. Expect slow progress. A brand-new domain might take six months of consistent link building to reach DA 25–30. Sites that jump quickly usually either acquired an aged domain with existing equity or executed aggressive outreach at scale. At Ottawa SEO Inc., we track referring domains and organic traffic as leading indicators rather than obsessing over DA itself, since Google doesn't use Moz's metric in rankings. If your DA is climbing but traffic isn't, your links may be topically irrelevant or your on-page SEO needs work. Context matters more than the number.