My DA Drop

[wreevesc]

Two updates ago I had a "big" drop in DA from 36 to 32 because of a drop in Followed Linking Root Domains.  Me and my competitors have taken DA hits recently, but I'm the only one to have dropped faster than the others. (see capture below for full story.)  Of course this happens right after I start focusing my efforts on SEO.

I'd be awfully grateful if y'all had any insights for me on this one.  I was hoping after the initial drop off that I would see the rank climb after my link building efforts over the last couple of months; no such luck.  Now I'm feeling like I've shot myself in the foot somehow.

Also attached is an ahrefs report showing backlinks and referring domains over time.

So did I shoot my foot off or am I seeing something else at work?

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[gslc]

I also recently had a hit in DA i lost a few links according to open site explorer

[wreevesc]

Scott, that's a really good question.  No SEO efforts were started  before this January.  And I haven't done much (2 or 3) directory submissions.  Any other directory submissions would have happened years ago,and only if we found a competitor there.  Since none of the comparison sites were hit I don't think it was that.  We launched a new site design and url structure back in July, but my old site's content still exists and is accessible through old links.  My assumption is that those were natural links.

[OrionGroup]

Going from around 45 to 75 linking domains doesn't seem unnatural at first glance. I'm wondering though, what the quality of those links are like? Was it deserved links from real people sharing your content or mostly traditional link directories and social bookmarking, etc?