Authority Score is a compound metric from Semrush that it describes as grading the overall quality of a website or webpage. It runs from 1 to 100, with higher being better. Unlike purely link-based scores, it also takes in estimated organic traffic and spam indicators. Semrush says it works best for comparing domains with each other. The score is a vendor's model and has no role in Google's ranking.
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What goes into the score
Semrush's knowledge base says the score is calculated from eight weighted factors grouped into three areas. The article does not disclose the weights, so the exact recipe cannot be checked from outside.
- Link Power: the number and authority of follow referring domains
- Organic Traffic: estimated from the keywords a site ranks for and the click potential of those positions
- Spam Factors: signs of an unnatural profile, such as many referring domains on the same network, or links out of balance with organic traffic
Google does not use it
Authority Score is a Semrush product, and Google does not use it to rank pages. Its traffic input is an estimate from Semrush's own data, and it does not reflect anything Google has shared about a site. Semrush's own knowledge base notes that a site's score will not change immediately after it receives a penalty, which shows the distance between the two systems.
Google's ranking guide describes page-level systems supported by some site-wide signals. Those signals are internal to Google and are not this score.
Where the score helps
Use it for comparison inside Semrush: a quick look at the competitive set, or a first pass through a long list of possible link partners. Because it includes spam indicators, an unusual gap between a site's links and its traffic can prompt a closer look. Semrush says it updates scores regularly, so small changes between checks deserve little attention.
Example
A score used as a filter
Hypothetical compliance SaaS Ambleford was reviewing candidates for a partner listing program. The team used Authority Score to sort a long list, then a reviewer read each site and looked at its relevance to compliance buyers.
A few high-scoring sites were dropped because they had nothing to do with the field. The score saved time on the first pass, and the decision stayed with a person.
Common mistakes
Reporting it as an SEO outcome
A higher score does not prove search performance improved. Report clicks, conversions and pipeline as well.
Comparing it with Domain Rating
Authority Score includes traffic and spam signals, while Domain Rating is purely link-based. The same number means different things.
Assuming the score can tell you about a penalty
Semrush says the score will not change immediately after a penalty. Check Search Console's manual actions report instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. It is a third-party metric built from Semrush's own data and has no role in Google's ranking.
Semrush's knowledge base says it updates scores for all domains every two weeks. Check its documentation for the current schedule.
Semrush says the score works best for comparing domains. Judge yours against the sites you compete with, in the same tool.
Keep reading
- Domain Authority: Domain Authority is a third-party score, created by Moz, that estimates how likely a site is to rank based on its links. Google does not use it.
- Domain Rating: Domain Rating is an Ahrefs score from 0 to 100 showing the relative strength of a site's backlink profile. Google does not use it.
- Spam Score: Spam Score is a Moz metric estimating how much a site resembles sites Moz found penalized or banned. It is a vendor heuristic, not a Google signal.
- Referring Domains: Referring domains are the number of unique websites that link to your site, counting each linking domain once no matter how many links it sends.
- Backlink: A backlink is a link from another website to a page on yours. Search engines use backlinks to find pages and as one signal of which pages are worth ranking.
- Blogger Outreach: Blogger outreach is contacting writers, editors and site owners to tell them about a resource, story or expert that could be useful to their readers.
- Citation Building: Citation building means listing a business in directories and data sources. Useful for local and niche visibility; poor directories add nothing.
- Co-Marketing Links: Co-marketing links come from joint campaigns with partner companies, such as shared reports, webinars and guides that both sides publish.
