Page Authority

How the tools differ

Both metrics are produced by Moz and use similar link data, but PA isolates the influence of a single page while DA aggregates across a domain. A page with a strong link profile can score higher PA than its domain’s DA would suggest, making PA useful for comparing individual URLs. For a broader view of a site’s overall authority, use domain authority; for page-level decisions, rely on PA.

Where it changes your decision

• When prioritising pages for link-building, focus on pages with lower PA that have strong content — improving their backlink profile can yield faster ranking gains.
• When comparing two competing pages for the same keyword, the page with higher PA often has a stronger link profile, but you must also check content relevance and intent match.
• When planning internal linking, use PA to decide which pages to link to from high-authority pages, and use external linking audits to identify pages that need more link equity.

What it is not

• Belief: PA is a Google ranking factor. Correction: PA is a third-party estimate from Moz, not an official Google signal. Google does not publish or use PA.
• Belief: PA is an absolute measure of page quality. Correction: PA is relative and best used for comparison between pages on similar topics, not as a standalone quality score.
• Belief: PA is static over time. Correction: PA can change as Moz updates its index and scoring model, so historical scores are not directly comparable over long periods.
• Belief: PA alone determines rankings. Correction: Real rankings depend on content relevance, search intent, and technical SEO that PA does not capture. Treat PA as a directional indicator.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: Treating PA as a Google metric. Consequence: Misinterpreting its predictive value and ignoring actual ranking factors.
• Mistake: Comparing PA scores across unrelated topics. Consequence: Drawing misleading conclusions about relative quality because the metric is topic-sensitive.
• Mistake: Focusing on PA alone while ignoring linking root domains. Consequence: Overlooking the actual link profile strength and quality of referring domains.
• Mistake: Using PA as a substitute for content relevance. Consequence: Poor ranking performance because PA does not measure keyword targeting or user intent.
• Mistake: Assuming PA is permanent. Consequence: Making decisions based on outdated scores; check PA regularly and watch for bad backlinks that can drag the score down.