Page Authority explained: what PA means and how it differs from DA
Updated
The short answer
Page Authority (PA) is a score from 1 to 100, created by Moz, that predicts how well one specific page can rank in search results. It's calculated like Domain Authority but from the links pointing at that page rather than the whole site. Use DA to compare websites and PA to compare the individual pages you compete with.
Key facts
- PA scores one URL; DA scores the whole domain.
- Scale: 1 to 100, logarithmic, just like DA.
- Moz says PA uses more than 40 factors, almost all of them link based.
- PA ignores on-page content, keywords and page speed.
- Moz suggests good PA scores often fall between 30 and 70, depending on the industry.
What page authority measures
Page Authority looks at a single URL and asks how strong its link profile is compared with other pages. A homepage with thousands of links might sit at PA 60, while a blog post from last week on the same site sits at 12.
Moz lists the kinds of inputs it uses: linking URLs, linking root domains, followed and nofollowed links, anchor text distribution, redirects, link age and Spam Score among others. Notice what's missing. Keyword use, content depth and user experience aren't in the model at all.
You can see a site's homepage PA in any report from our page authority checker, right beside its domain authority and Spam Score.
Page authority vs domain authority
The two are built the same way but answer different questions:
| Page Authority (PA) | Domain Authority (DA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | One page (URL) | A whole website (domain) |
| Based on | Links pointing to that page | Links pointing anywhere on the domain |
| Use it to | Compare the pages ranking for a keyword | Compare the overall strength of sites |
| Moves when | That page gains or loses links | The site as a whole gains or loses links |
| Typical on a new post | Low (10 to 20) | Unchanged by one new post |
Here's why both matter. A fresh article on a strong site often ranks quickly even with a low PA, because the domain's strength carries it. So when you size up a search result, look at the PA of the ranking page and the DA of its site together. Our domain authority guide covers the site side in depth.
What is a good page authority?
Like DA, PA is relative, so a good score is whatever beats the pages you're competing with. Moz's own guidance puts good scores typically between 30 and 70, depending on how competitive the industry is.
These are the rough bands we use when reading PA:
| PA | Typical page |
|---|---|
| 1 to 20 | New posts, product pages and pages with few or no external links |
| 21 to 40 | Pages with a handful of good links, or homepages of small sites |
| 41 to 60 | Well linked guides, tools and homepages of established sites |
| 61 and above | Highly cited resources and homepages of large brands |
How to use page authority in real decisions
Sizing up a keyword
Look at the top five results for your keyword and note each page's PA and site DA. If several pages have low PA on mid range domains, there's room for a strong page from a site like yours. If every result is a PA 50 page on a DA 80 site, choose a narrower keyword first.
Choosing where to get a link
A link from a page that already has its own links passes more value than a link from a page nothing points to. If a site offers you a placement, ask which page it'll be on. A sidebar link on a PA 1 archive page is worth far less than a mention inside a well linked resource.
Measuring your own content
Track the PA of your most important pages every month or two. Rising PA on a page tells you your promotion and internal linking are working, even before rankings move.
Why a low PA page can still rank
People are often surprised to see a page with PA 12 outranking one with PA 40. It happens for a few good reasons, and knowing them stops you from over valuing the number.
- The domain carries it. A new page on a DA 70 site inherits trust through internal links that PA doesn't fully reflect yet.
- It matches intent better. PA ignores content. If searchers want a quick answer and the low PA page gives it, Google rewards that.
- Moz hasn't found its links yet. New links can take weeks to appear in Moz's index, so a fresh page looks weaker than it is.
- Freshness matters for the query. For news and fast moving topics, a recent page can beat an older, better linked one.
The takeaway: use PA to understand the link strength you're up against, then win on content and relevance where you can't match the links.
How to increase page authority
Because PA is link based, the playbook is the same as for DA but aimed at one page. Earn external links to it, point internal links at it from your strongest pages, and keep its URL stable so links don't break.
- Make the page the best resource on its topic so people want to cite it.
- Link to it from your homepage or other high PA pages with clear anchor text.
- Redirect old or duplicate versions of the page to one canonical URL.
- Fix external links pointing to a broken version of the page.
- Promote it to the writers and sites that cover that topic.
For the full site wide plan, see how to increase domain authority.
Limits worth knowing
PA fluctuates. Moz updates its model and index regularly, so scores can shift a few points without anything changing on your page. PA also only reflects what Moz's crawler has discovered, so a page with links Moz hasn't found yet will look weaker than it is.
Use PA as a comparison tool, alongside rankings and traffic. When you need to check many sites quickly, the bulk checker shows DA and homepage PA for up to 10 domains at once for free.
Common questions
What is the difference between DA and PA?
Domain Authority scores a whole website from all the links pointing at the domain. Page Authority scores one page from the links pointing at that page. Both use Moz's 1 to 100 scale.
Can page authority be higher than domain authority?
Yes, it happens, usually on the homepage of a smaller site where most external links point to the homepage. On larger sites the domain score is typically higher than most individual pages.
Does page authority affect Google rankings?
Not directly. Google doesn't use Moz's Page Authority. PA correlates with rankings because it is built from links, which Google does use.
Does every page on a site have the same page authority?
No. Each URL gets its own score based on the links pointing at it. The homepage usually has the highest PA because most external links point there.
Why is my page authority 1?
Moz hasn't found any links pointing to that page yet, or the page is new. It will rise as Moz discovers links to the page.