Page Authority
Page Authority (PA) is a Moz metric that predicts how likely an individual page is to rank in search engine results, based on link profile, topical relevance, and other factors, on a scale from 0-100.
What is Page Authority?
Page Authority is a proprietary metric developed by Moz that estimates the ranking strength of individual pages on a 0-100 logarithmic scale. Unlike Domain Authority which measures the overall strength of an entire domain, Page Authority focuses on the specific page's ability to rank in search results. Moz calculates PA using machine learning models trained on actual ranking data, analyzing factors including link profile strength, anchor text relevance, content quality signals, and page freshness.
Page Authority is distinct from Domain Authority because a single domain can contain pages with varying levels of authority. Your homepage might have PA of 70 while an orphan page on the same domain has PA of 15. This variation occurs because different pages accumulate different numbers of backlinks, internal links, and user engagement signals. Pages linked from authoritative sources with relevant anchor text gain PA faster than pages with few or weak links. Additionally, pages generating strong user engagement signals (click-through rate, time on page, low bounce rate) tend to build PA more effectively than pages with poor engagement.
Page Authority correlates strongly with rankings but shouldn't be treated as a guaranteed ranking predictor. The metric is useful for comparative analysis: comparing your page's PA against competitors ranking for the same keyword helps identify potential ranking obstacles. If a competitor has PA 60 and you have PA 35, this gap might explain ranking differences. However, page relevance, content quality, and user experience often matter more than absolute PA score.
Building page authority requires a combination of external and internal strategies. Acquiring backlinks pointing directly to the page builds its authority most effectively. However, internal linking from topically relevant pages also contributes by distributing link equity throughout your site. Content quality and topical depth also factor into PA calculations, as does user engagement data. Pages targeting broad, competitive keywords typically need higher PA to rank, while niche keywords can rank with lower PA if relevance is strong.
Why It Matters for SEO
Page Authority provides an SEO benchmark that helps you set realistic ranking expectations and prioritize improvement efforts. If you're targeting a keyword where the first-page results average PA 55, you know you'll need substantial link building or content improvement to compete. This prevents wasting effort on keywords where you're significantly outmatched in authority.
Understanding Page Authority also clarifies how internal linking strategy impacts your entire site. By strategically linking high-authority pages to underperforming pages you want to rank, you can distribute authority throughout your site structure. This is more efficient than trying to build authority for every page through external links alone, making internal linking a critical component of advanced SEO strategy.
Examples & Code Snippets
Page Authority Comparison
Homepage might have PA 72, main category pages PA 55-65, subcategory pages PA 40-50, and newer blog posts PA 20-35. Each page's PA reflects its link profile and visibility. Strategic internal linking can boost newer content's PA toward category page levels.
PA in Competitive Analysis
Keyword: 'blue running shoes' | Ranking pages PA: 58, 62, 55, 48, 52, 59, 56, 54, 51, 50 | Average: 54.5 | Your page: PA 35 | Insight: You need approximately 20 PA points worth of improvements (more backlinks, internal links, or better content) to be competitive.
Use Page Authority as a relative metric, not absolute; focus on improving your PA relative to competitors for target keywords rather than achieving a specific PA number, and leverage internal linking to boost PA of important pages by linking them from high-authority pages with relevant anchor text.
Frequently Asked Questions
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