Smart Select

In 2025, not always.

Google’s algorithm now focuses heavily on relevance, user engagement, and content quality, meaning a site’s Domain Authority (DA) doesn’t always reflect its ranking power. DA, a metric developed by Moz.com, estimates a site’s authority but is just one of many factors. Google’s own authority scores are private.

It’s common to see lower-DA sites outranking higher-DA ones, showing that while DA is still useful, it’s not the sole indicator of SEO success. Smart Select goes beyond DA, prioritising factors during the prospecting phase like traffic quality, site relevance, and popularity, to discover great opportunities that contribute meaningfully to your SEO strategy.

Both strategies involve outreach and securing high-quality backlinks, but they take different approaches.

DA Targeting focuses on acquiring links from sites within specific DA ranges, offering precise control over the DA of the websites. This is ideal when DA is a primary concern, and it can secure placements on sites with very high DA, depending on your budget.

Smart Select prioritises site relevance, traffic quality, and popularity before considering DA. While it often secures placements with DA ranging from 55 to 65, the focus is on finding sites that provide the best mix of relevance and authority for your SEO needs. This approach ensures you get the best value from your backlinks, aligning with modern SEO practices.

Smart Select is perfect when you want the freedom to focus on overall SEO value rather than being limited by specific DA ranges. It allows us to prioritise factors like relevance, traffic quality, and site quality, giving us the flexibility to secure placements that offer the best SEO impact—whether the site falls slightly above or below a particular DA range.

This strategy ensures you're not missing out on valuable opportunities due to rigid DA targeting, making it ideal for those looking to maximise long-term SEO results.

DA Targeting is ideal when you need guaranteed DA minimums for your backlinks. It’s designed for situations where hitting a specific DA range is critical, such as working with clients who have strict requirements for link placements.

This strategy works best when:

• You require links from highly authoritative sites (DA60+), where Smart Select may cap at ~ DA65, DA Targeting could acquire placements up to DA99.
• You're a link reseller or agency needing to guarantee specific DA ranges for your clients.

Yes, you can mix Smart Select and DA Targeting within the same campaign. This allows for a flexible approach where you can secure guaranteed DA links while also benefiting from placements that prioritise relevance, traffic quality, and overall SEO impact.