When Corda analyzes your website, it doesn’t just hand you a score. It shows you where your authority is strong.
The score also shows where you’re falling behind, and why that matters for the goal you’re working toward. Now, let’s check out how to read that analysis so you know what to act on first.
Start With The Authority Intelligence Score
The Authority Intelligence Score combines many signals. It’s not only DA and DR added together.
Because it’s a single number, it’s a useful starting point. But remember that it’s never the full answer by itself. Use it as a starting point to explore, not a final decision to act on.
Look At Each Authority Area Separately
Underneath the overall score, Corda breaks your authority into six areas:
| Authority area | What it tells you |
| Website Authority | The overall strength of your site as a whole |
| SEO Authority | How well your site is set up to rank |
| Topical Authority | How deep your coverage is in the topics that matter to your goal |
| Link Authority | The strength and relevance of the links pointing to you |
| Editorial Authority | How your brand is treated in earned, editorial coverage |
| Brand Authority | How recognized and trusted your brand is on its own |
A site can be strong in one area and weak in another. As a result, don’t assume a high overall score means every area is in good shape. Check each one before you decide where to focus.
Understand “Gap”, “Watch”, And “Strong”
For each area, Corda labels your position as one of three states:
- Gap: a meaningful weakness compared to where your goal needs you to be
- Watch: not a problem yet, but it could limit progress if left alone
- Strong: a healthy starting position
Here’s the part that’s easy to miss: a Gap isn’t automatically something to fix first. A “Gap” only matters as much as it affects the goal you’re working toward right now.
A “Watch” on a page central to your campaign can matter more than a Gap somewhere peripheral.
Check The Gap Against Your Baseline
Every number in your analysis is compared to a Baseline. Again, the Baseline is the starting position everything else gets measured against.
When you come back later to check progress, you’re comparing today’s numbers to that same Baseline, not to last week’s numbers. This makes the comparison meaningful, not just a snapshot.
Remember The Target Page, Not Just The Domain
Authority Gaps can exist at two levels: your domain overall, and the Target Page, which is the specific page a campaign is meant to support.
A strong domain can still have a weak page. So when you’re reading your analysis for a specific campaign, check the Target Page’s numbers, not only the domain-wide score.
Read The Competitor Comparison The Same Way
Corda also benchmarks you against your competitors’ domains, showing their authority strength, their estimated backlink volume, and how many authority points they’re ahead of you by.
As with your own score, the size of that gap matters less than what’s behind it. Use it to prioritize where to invest, not as a ranking to chase for its own sake.
Turn The Analysis Into Action
Once you know where your real gaps are, the next step is to look at the Publisher Opportunities Corda recommends for closing them, and prioritize using the five questions:
- Does it connect to the goal?
- How large is the competitive difference?
- Does it affect later actions?
- Is there evidence across multiple signals?
- Can you take a clear action?
From there, you’re ready to build a campaign
