Domain authority is a metric — developed by Moz and approximated by Google's own PageRank — that measures how much trust and credibility a website has accumulated over time. A domain with high authority ranks more easily for competitive keywords than a domain with low authority. For funeral homes, understanding domain authority explains why some competitors seem to rank for everything effortlessly — and why building authority on a vendor-controlled platform is one of the most expensive mistakes in funeral home marketing.
How Domain Authority Is Built
Domain authority accumulates through three primary mechanisms: Age: Older domains have more authority, all else being equal. A domain registered in 2005 starts with an inherent advantage over one registered in 2024. Backlinks: Links from other reputable websites signal to Google that your site is trustworthy. Local news coverage, chamber of commerce listings, funeral industry directories, and community organization websites all contribute. Content quality: Sites that consistently publish high-quality, original content that earns engagement and shares build authority faster than sites with thin or duplicate content.
Domain authority transferred when you leave a vendor platform
All authority built on a vendor-hosted site stays with the vendor's infrastructure
The Vendor Platform Authority Trap
When a funeral home builds its web presence on a vendor platform, any domain authority that accumulates does so on the vendor's infrastructure. If the funeral home cancels their subscription and moves to a new website, they start over at zero domain authority. Years of SEO work — backlinks earned, content published, trust accumulated — cannot be transferred. This is the single most compelling financial argument for building on a domain you own from day one.
Key Takeaway