Two websites can publish the same article on the same day and get completely different results. One ranks on page one within a week, the other never appears. The difference is usually authority, the trust a domain has built over time. Knowing your authority, and your competitors, helps you choose battles you can actually win.
What is website authority
Website authority is a way to measure how trusted and established a domain is. Google does not publish an authority number, but it clearly trusts older, popular and well linked sites more. SEO tools create their own scores to estimate this trust.
How our authority score works
The Website Authority Checker gives a Smartooly Authority Score from 0 to 100 using real, public signals:
- Global traffic rank from the Tranco list, which ranks the most visited domains in the world. Sites in the top list score much higher.
- Domain age from official registry records. Older domains usually carry more trust.
- HTTPS to confirm the site is secure.
- Business email setup through MX records, a small trust signal for real businesses.
The tool shows each factor separately so you can see exactly why a domain scores high or low.
How to use it
- Open the Website Authority Checker.
- Enter a domain, for example yoursite.com.
- Click Check Authority.
- Compare your score with the sites ranking above you.
How to read the score
- 0 to 20: new or small websites. Focus on long-tail keywords.
- 20 to 40: growing sites with some history. Medium difficulty keywords become realistic.
- 40 to 70: established sites with real traffic.
- 70 plus: major brands and very popular websites.
Remember that a new site with great content can still beat stronger sites for specific, local or long-tail searches.
How to increase your authority
- Publish consistently. Helpful content attracts visitors, links and mentions.
- Earn relevant backlinks. Find opportunities with the Backlink Generator.
- Get mentioned locally. Business directories, local news and partner websites in your city all help.
- Fix technical issues. A clean site keeps visitors and crawlers happy. Run the Technical SEO Checker.
- Be patient. Authority grows with time and real popularity, not tricks.
Use it for competitor analysis
Check the authority of the sites ranking for your target keyword. If they all score above 70, the keyword may be too hard for now. If they score close to yours, you have a fair chance. The Keyword Difficulty Checker does this automatically for the whole top ten.
Authority is earned slowly
It helps to think of authority like reputation in a market. A shop on Hall Road that has served customers honestly for twenty years gets recommended by everyone, while a new shop has to prove itself first. Websites work in a similar way. Every helpful article, every genuine mention on another site and every happy visitor who returns adds a little to your reputation. Shortcuts like buying hundreds of cheap links usually backfire and can even lead to penalties. Track your score every few months instead of every week. If it slowly climbs while your content and traffic grow, you are on the right path. Compare yourself with direct local competitors rather than giant international brands, because those are the sites you actually need to beat.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my new site not ranked in the traffic list
The list includes only the top million most visited domains worldwide. Most small sites are not in it yet, which is normal.
Is this the same as Domain Authority from other tools
No. Every tool uses its own formula. Use one tool consistently to compare sites.
Does domain age alone help rankings
Age helps only when combined with real content and links. An old empty domain has little value.
Check any domain now with the free Website Authority Checker.