Definition
An API endpoint that returns domain-level authority metrics including backlink counts, referring domains, trust scores, and estimated ranking power for a given domain.
In Depth
Domain authority APIs serve as the programmatic backbone for SEO tools, link building platforms, and competitive intelligence systems. These endpoints accept a domain name and return metrics estimating that domain's ability to rank in search engines. The most common metrics include: domain authority/rating (a 0-100 score), total backlinks (raw link count), referring domains (unique linking sites), trust flow (link quality assessment), and organic traffic estimates. Major providers include Moz (Domain Authority), Ahrefs (Domain Rating), Majestic (Trust Flow), and newer entrants offering SERP-derived alternatives. Pricing models vary significantly: Moz charges per-lookup credits, Ahrefs requires expensive subscriptions, and DataForSEO offers bulk domain data at $0.0006-0.002 per lookup. An alternative approach uses SERP positioning as a proxy for domain strength. By querying competitive keywords through APIs like Scavio and observing which domains consistently rank, you derive authority signals from actual Google behavior rather than proprietary estimates. This SERP-derived approach costs $0.005/query and correlates more directly with ranking outcomes since it measures what Google actually rewards. Production integrations typically batch domain lookups, cache results for 7-30 days (authority changes slowly), and combine multiple signals rather than relying on any single proprietary score. The most reliable implementations cross-reference proprietary metrics with observed SERP performance.
Example Usage
The link prospecting agent queries the domain authority API for each potential link target, filtering out domains scoring below 30 DA and prioritizing those with 50+ referring domains in the target niche.
Platforms
Domain Authority API is relevant across the following platforms, all accessible through Scavio's unified API:
Related Terms
Agent Search Grounding
Agent search grounding is the practice of connecting AI agents to real-time search APIs so they can base their responses...
AI Overview Citation Tracking
AI Overview citation tracking is the practice of monitoring whether your web pages appear as cited sources in Google's A...
Search API Credit Model
A pricing model where each API call to a search or data service costs a fixed number of credits, with credits purchased ...