Does Website Authority Really Matter in Local SEO?

Local businesses often face the challenge of understanding their competition and dominating the search results. It happens because multiple factors affect visibility, making it difficult to know which matters the most. 

One major factor that often comes into question is website authority. In simple terms, it is a third-party SEO metric that evaluates a site’s strength and credibility, giving an idea of how search engines might value it in comparison to others.

According to research, 46% of Google searches have a local intent. This means that nearly half of the users are looking for the nearby products and services. Such a high percentage of local searches makes it clear that businesses can’t ignore local SEO. But the major concern of many business owners is whether website authority plays a significant role in local rankings, or if the other elements, like proximity or customer reviews, are more important.

In this blog, I’ll explain the role of website authority in local SEO and how it affects rankings. 

Why Website Authority Matters?

Website authority means the overall strength and credibility of your website. It is not something search engines officially recognize. Third-party SEO tools use it with different names: DA (Domain Authority) and DR (Domain Rating).  It is usually measured by the number and strength of backlinks along with referring domains. The more quality backlinks your site earns, the more authority it gains. 

Authority is important because search engines take it as a trust signal. A website with strong authority is usually seen as more reliable and useful. It’s more likely to rank higher in the search results. Even in the local search results, authority can be the differentiating element that separates strong websites from weak ones. 

For Example, consider two businesses with similar profiles. Both have good product listings, reviews, and relevant content. But one outranks the other. This can be due to the strong backlink profile of one business’s site. 

When other sites link to your website, search engines view it as a signal of trust and give your site a ranking advantage.  

Role of Website Authority in Local SEO:

Authority affects the Local SEO in several ways, as explained in the following section. 

Competing in crowded markets

Some business niches are more competitive than others. Local niches like legal services, home improvement, etc, often target the same keywords. In such cases, authority can be the deciding factor that outranks one site over another. This not only improves a ranking but also shapes customer perception. They might assume that a site that ranks higher in the search results is more reliable than the one below it.

Ranking for broader local searches

Authority helps when you want to rank beyond your immediate neighborhood. Search engines look for strong signals of trust before showing your business to someone outside its closest location. This means that authority is essential when trying to appear for larger or city-wide searches. 

For example, think of a coffee shop that wants to rank not just for “coffee near me” but also for “best coffee in (city).” Even with many coffee shops in the city, the one with stronger authority is more likely to show up in the city-wide search results. 

Authority Supports Long-Term Local Success

Strong authority doesn’t just help websites rank well. It can also help websites consistently maintain their position in the search results. Search engines trust authoritative sites more, protecting them from sudden ranking drops due to competitors. So, authority provides businesses with stability in the long run and helps them keep attracting customers continuously. 

For Example, a plumbing company that keeps on building high-quality backlinks continues to show up for “emergency plumber” even when a newer company tries to compete. This strong presence shows how authority supports long-term SEO success. 

How to Measure Your Website’s Authority?

After understanding why authority matters in local SEO, the next step is to see where your site stands. Checking your site’s authority score gives you a clear insight into your site’s strength. 

This helps compare your scores to your competitors and find ways to stay ahead of the competition. But how can you measure authority score? Well, it can be easily measured with the help of online domain rating checker. It will instantly evaluate the authority score of your website and give the results within seconds. We found it reliable and accurate in our testing, and we’ll use it for the demonstrations.

Now, I’ll insert a website (https://www.gtechme.com/) in the tool to check its authority:

After pasting sites, you just have to hit the “Check DR” button, and the tool takes a few seconds to give you results. 

In the above image, you can see, this tool provides other useful stats too besides domain rating, such as URL rating and website traffic. These insights are valuable for measuring the authority of a website or a specific page. The higher the values of these scores, the more authority the site or page has. 

You don’t need to download or install anything. All you have to do is access an online authority checker like the one I mentioned above and get your site’s scores accessed within seconds. 

Final Thoughts

A large portion of the site’s traffic comes from local visitors. This adds to the importance of local SEO. While factors like the customer reviews, keywords, etc, play an important role, the site’s authority remains a differentiating factor. Strong authority signals to the search engines that your website is relevant, trustworthy, and credible. This helps Google to provide relevant results to the users, resulting in a significant boost in the site’s traffic. 

Measuring a site’s authority and improving it ensures long-term stability in rankings. This also helps you to stay ahead of the competition and maintain a higher position in the search results. 

For such informative insights, connect with GTECH, a leading local SEO agency in Dubai, UAE.