Moz Brand Authority is the single metric SEO teams increasingly rely on to measure how strongly a brand resonates across the entire web — not just in search results. Scored from 1 to 100 on a logarithmic scale, it goes far beyond backlinks to capture branded search demand, social visibility, and press coverage in one number. Because Google now weighs brand signals so heavily, understanding — and actively improving — your Moz Brand Authority score has become one of the highest-leverage moves an SEO team can make in 2024 and beyond.
This guide covers everything the official documentation skims over: exactly how the score is calculated, how it stacks up against Domain Authority, Domain Rating, and Authority Score, a step-by-step process for checking and benchmarking your own number, and seven field-tested tactics for growing it faster. In addition, we’ve included a full FAQ section addressing every question marketers typically ask about this metric.
What Is Moz Brand Authority?
Moz Brand Authority is a proprietary score that reflects how strongly a brand registers across search engines, social platforms, news outlets, and the broader web. Moz introduced the metric to give marketers a single, actionable number representing brand-level influence — not merely website-level link equity. Unlike a traditional ranking factor, it functions as a diagnostic: a way to answer the question “how well-known and trusted is this brand, objectively speaking?”
Specifically, the score sits on a logarithmic scale from 1 to 100, similar in structure to Domain Authority. As a result, jumping from 20 to 30 is comparatively easy, while climbing from 70 to 80 demands a sustained, multi-year brand-building effort. That’s why the world’s most recognizable companies cluster near the top of the scale, while emerging and niche brands typically sit in the lower-to-mid range.
For a deeper technical breakdown of how this score relates to Moz’s other authority metrics, our complete guide to Moz Authority walks through each component individually. For a deeper walkthrough, see our Moz Keyword Difficulty Checker: Full Guide (2025).
A Moz Brand Authority score gives SEO teams one number to benchmark their brand’s online strength against direct competitors.
How Moz Calculates Its Brand Authority Score
The Machine Learning Model Behind the Number
Moz trains a machine learning model on a wide array of signals: branded search volume, backlink profile strength, social mentions, unlinked brand citations, and press coverage. Consequently, brands that appear consistently across multiple channels — rather than relying on a single tactic — tend to score higher and hold that score longer.
Why the Scale Is Logarithmic, Not Linear
In practice, a logarithmic scale means each additional point requires more absolute “brand mass” than the last. For example, doubling your branded search volume might move a low-scoring brand from 15 to 25, but that same percentage increase barely nudges a brand already sitting at 75. Therefore, established brands should expect slower, steadier gains, while newer brands can often see faster early movement.
Quick Answer: Moz Brand Authority measures the breadth and strength of a brand’s recognition across the entire internet, while Domain Authority measures a single website’s potential to rank based on its backlinks. Both metrics matter, but they answer fundamentally different strategic questions.
Moz Brand Authority vs. Domain Authority: Key Differences
Many SEO professionals confuse Brand Authority with Domain Authority, yet the two measure fundamentally different things. Domain Authority predicts how likely a specific website is to rank in search results, based primarily on its backlink profile. Brand Authority, in contrast, evaluates the recognition and reach of the brand itself, across every web property it touches and beyond.
For instance, a company might carry a modest Domain Authority yet still post a high Brand Authority if it generates substantial branded search demand and earns frequent press mentions. Conversely, a site with many backlinks from obscure sources might show a decent Domain Authority but a low Brand Authority, simply because few people actually search for that brand by name.
Above all, remember that Brand Authority is inherently multi-channel. It reflects activity on social media, news sites, podcasts, and forums — not just the link graph that Domain Authority relies upon. Our companion guide on Moz Domain Rank and why it matters for SEO breaks down the link-based side of this equation in more detail.
Comparing Brand Authority scores against competitors reveals gaps in online visibility long before they show up in rankings.
Brand Authority vs. Domain Rating vs. Authority Score: How the Major Tools Compare
Moz isn’t the only company scoring online authority — Ahrefs and Semrush publish comparable metrics, and understanding how they differ prevents wasted effort chasing the wrong number.
- Moz Brand Authority (1–100): Incorporates branded search volume, social mentions, press coverage, and backlinks — the most brand-centric of the three.
- Ahrefs Domain Rating (0–100): Purely a backlink-strength metric based on how many unique, high-quality domains link to a site. It ignores social and search-demand signals entirely.
- Semrush Authority Score (0–100): Blends backlink data with organic traffic and spam signals, landing somewhere between the other two in methodology.
In short, none of these numbers should be used in isolation. Instead, pairing Moz Brand Authority with a backlink-only metric like Domain Rating gives you both the brand-recognition side and the link-equity side of your competitive picture.
Why Brand Authority Signals Matter for Your SEO Strategy
Brand signals have become increasingly important to Google’s ranking systems. According to research published on Wikipedia’s SEO overview, search engines now evaluate a wide range of signals beyond links to judge trustworthiness and relevance. Similarly, Google’s own guidance on creating helpful, people-first content emphasizes expertise and trustworthiness — the exact qualities Brand Authority is designed to quantify.
Furthermore, a rising Brand Authority score is often a leading indicator of improved organic performance. When more people search for your brand by name, Google interprets that demand as a trust signal. As a result, branded search volume can lift rankings for non-branded keywords as well, creating a compounding effect over time.
For historical context on how brand and authority signals have evolved as ranking factors, our complete guide to Moz’s SEO ranking factors research traces the shift from pure link-building toward broader trust signals.
How to Check Your Moz Brand Authority Score
Checking your score takes less than five minutes. Follow this sequence to get an accurate reading and immediate competitive context:
- Open Moz Link Explorer (free) or log into Moz Pro if you have a paid subscription active for deeper historical data.
- Enter your root domain into the search bar and run the report to pull your current Brand Authority alongside Domain Authority.
- Record your score and date in a simple spreadsheet so you can track month-over-month movement rather than reacting to daily noise.
- Repeat the search for your top five to ten direct competitors to establish where your brand currently stands in your niche.
- Set a recurring monthly reminder to re-check all scores together, since consistent tracking is what turns this metric into an actionable dashboard rather than a vanity number.
Seven Proven Ways to Improve Your Moz Brand Authority Score
Improving your Brand Authority score requires a consistent, multi-channel approach. Below are seven strategies that reliably move the needle over time.
1. Build High-Quality Backlinks — Improve Moz Authority
Earning backlinks from authoritative, relevant websites remains one of the strongest signals feeding into Brand Authority. Focus on digital PR, guest contributions, and partnerships with credible industry publications, since quality consistently outweighs quantity here.
2. Grow Branded Search Demand
Invest in campaigns that make people aware of your brand name specifically. Podcast appearances, influencer collaborations, and a consistent social presence all drive branded searches. Additionally, offline advertising often translates directly into online branded-search spikes.
3. Earn Press and Media Mentions
Media coverage on news sites and industry blogs generates both backlinks and unlinked brand mentions, and both types feed Brand Authority signals. Therefore, a proactive PR strategy remains one of the fastest ways to accelerate score growth.
4. Maintain Active Social Profiles
Social media activity contributes to brand visibility even when it doesn’t directly produce backlinks. Consistent posting, follower engagement, and shareable content all amplify your brand’s footprint, which in turn feeds the signals Brand Authority models track.
5. Create Consistently Branded Content
Publishing high-value content that prominently features your brand name reinforces recognition. Guides, research reports, and free tools attract links and shares while training audiences to associate your brand with expertise. For a deeper framework on building authority through content, RankAuthority offers practical playbooks tailored to this exact goal.
6. Build a Wikipedia and Knowledge Panel Presence
Entities recognized by search engines’ knowledge graphs tend to score notably higher, since a verified Wikipedia entry or Knowledge Panel signals unambiguous real-world recognition. Pursue notability-worthy press coverage first, then work with reputable editors to establish accurate, well-sourced entity records.
7. Monitor and Respond to Unlinked Brand Mentions
Set up brand-monitoring alerts to catch mentions that don’t include a link. Reaching out to request attribution converts passive recognition into a measurable signal, and even unconverted mentions still contribute to the broader footprint Brand Authority measures.
Common Mistakes That Hurt Brand Authority Growth
Even experienced SEO teams make avoidable errors when building Brand Authority. One common mistake is treating it as a purely link-building exercise. Because the score measures multi-channel presence, ignoring social media and press outreach leaves significant score potential on the table.
Another frequent error is inconsistency. Brands that publish sporadically or run short-burst campaigns rarely sustain meaningful score growth. Instead, long-term, steady activity across channels produces compounding gains that show up reliably in the metric over time.
Finally, some teams track their score in isolation rather than benchmarking it against competitors. Since the metric is most meaningful in relative terms, always compare your trajectory against your closest industry rivals. Resources like RankAuthority can help contextualize your score within your competitive landscape.
Monitoring brand signals across multiple platforms is essential for understanding and improving your overall Moz Brand Authority score.
How to Benchmark and Interpret Your Score
Scores are most useful when viewed in context. A score of 35 might be excellent for a local service business yet unremarkable for a national retailer. Therefore, always start by identifying the scores of your top five to ten competitors before drawing conclusions about your own number.
- Below 20: Limited online footprint; brand recognition is still developing.
- 20–40: A developing brand presence with room to grow across channels.
- 40–60: An established mid-market brand with solid multi-channel visibility.
- Above 60: Well-known industry leaders or nationally recognized companies.
From there, track your score monthly rather than daily. Because the metric aggregates signals over time, short-term fluctuations are normal and not cause for alarm. However, a consistent downward trend across three or more months warrants a strategic review of your brand-building activities.
RankAuthority vs. Moz: A Simpler Way to Track Brand Authority
Moz’s Brand Authority score is powerful, but interpreting it alongside Domain Authority, spam scores, and link metrics can quickly become overwhelming for smaller teams. That’s precisely why we built a more streamlined alternative. Our detailed comparison, Moz vs. RankAuthority: Simplicity Over Complexity, walks through exactly where Moz’s depth helps enterprise teams and where a simpler dashboard serves growing brands better.
Conclusion: Making Moz Brand Authority Work for You
Moz Brand Authority is one of the most forward-looking metrics available to SEO professionals today. Because it captures the full breadth of a brand’s online presence — not just its backlinks — it aligns closely with how modern search engines evaluate trustworthiness and relevance. Brands that invest consistently in PR, content, social presence, and link building will see their score rise as a natural byproduct of that work.
In summary, treat your Moz Brand Authority score as a long-term health indicator for your brand’s digital presence. Track it monthly, benchmark it against competitors, and use it to guide where you invest your brand-building resources. Over time, a rising score is one of the clearest signals that your broader SEO and marketing strategy is genuinely working.
Frequently Asked Questions About Moz Brand Authority
What is Moz Brand Authority?
Moz Brand Authority is a metric that measures the strength and visibility of a brand’s online presence on a scale from 1 to 100. It evaluates how prominently a brand appears across search results, social platforms, and the wider web, giving marketers a single benchmark for brand health.
How is Moz Brand Authority different from Domain Authority?
Domain Authority focuses on a website’s likelihood to rank based on its backlink profile. Brand Authority, however, measures the broader recognition of the brand itself across the entire web, including social media, press coverage, and branded search demand.
What scale does the score use?
The score runs on a logarithmic scale from 1 to 100. Because of this, improvements become progressively harder to achieve at higher levels, and the gap between a 70 and an 80 represents far more effort than the gap between a 20 and a 30.
How can I check my Brand Authority score?
You can check your score using Moz Pro or the free Moz Link Explorer. Enter your domain to see your current Brand Authority alongside Domain Authority, backlink counts, and other key metrics.
What factors influence the score?
Key factors include branded search volume, backlink quality and quantity, social media presence, press and media mentions, and overall web visibility. Consistent multi-channel brand activity tends to raise the score over time.
Is a higher score always better?
Generally yes, but the metric is most meaningful when compared against direct competitors in the same industry. A score of 45 might be excellent in one niche and below average in another, so context always matters.
How long does it take to improve the score?
Improvement is a long-term effort that typically takes months of consistent activity. Building quality backlinks, earning press coverage, and growing branded search demand all contribute, but significant score changes rarely happen overnight.
Can small businesses achieve a high score?
Yes. Small businesses can achieve competitive Brand Authority scores within their niche. A local brand with strong community recognition and consistent online presence can score well relative to its industry peers, even without a massive marketing budget.
Does Brand Authority directly affect Google rankings?
Moz Brand Authority is a third-party metric and isn’t used directly by Google’s algorithm. However, the underlying factors that raise the score — backlinks, branded searches, and mentions — do positively influence organic rankings in practice.
What is considered a good score?
There is no universal benchmark, but scores above 40 generally indicate a well-established brand presence. Scores above 60 are considered strong, and scores above 80 typically belong to nationally or globally recognized brands.
How does branded search volume affect the score?
Branded search volume — how often people search for your brand name directly — is a strong signal of recognition and trust. Higher branded search volume typically correlates with a higher Brand Authority score because it signals genuine public awareness.
How does Moz Brand Authority compare to Ahrefs Domain Rating?
Ahrefs Domain Rating is purely a backlink-based metric, while Moz Brand Authority incorporates broader brand signals including search demand and web mentions. They measure related but distinct aspects of online authority, and using both together gives a more complete competitive picture.
How often does Moz update Brand Authority scores?
Moz refreshes its index and recalculates scores on a regular cycle, typically every few weeks. Consequently, you shouldn’t expect real-time changes; instead, plan on monthly checks to see meaningful movement reflected in your score.
Is Moz Brand Authority available for free?
Yes. The free version of Moz Link Explorer lets you check your own score and a limited number of competitor lookups per month, while a Moz Pro subscription unlocks unlimited lookups, historical trending, and deeper competitive tracking.
