Page Authority
Page Authority (PA) is Moz's page-level score that predicts how likely a specific URL is to rank in search results.
Start here
- Use PA only for relative comparison, not as an absolute ranking guarantee.
- Always check linking root domains alongside the score.
- Pair PA with content relevance and search intent analysis.
- Track PA trends over time rather than fixating on a single number.
- Remember: PA is a Moz metric, not a Google ranking factor.
What I'd do first
- Check PA only for comparison. Pull PA for your page and 3–5 competitors ranking for the same keyword. If your PA is significantly lower, that's a signal to build links to that specific URL.
- Use Moz Link Explorer. It's the canonical tool. Paste in a URL and look at the score alongside linking root domains.
- Pair PA with relevance. A high PA on a page that doesn't match search intent won't rank. Always check content fit first.
- Track changes over time. PA updates as Moz recrawls. A rising PA often correlates with new backlinks or improved internal linking.
Plain-English take
Think of PA like a popularity score for a single page, based on who links to it. It's not a grade from Google—it's Moz's best guess at how that page might perform. The score runs from 1 to 100, but it's logarithmic: moving from 30 to 40 is much harder than 20 to 30. You can't game it by chasing a number; you earn it by getting relevant, authoritative sites to link to that page.
When it actually matters
- Prioritizing link-building targets. Compare PA across your own pages to decide which one deserves outreach effort.
- Competitive gap analysis. If a competitor's page outranks yours and has a higher PA, you know links are a factor.
- Internal linking decisions. Pages with higher PA can pass more link equity—link from them to boost other pages.
- Reporting to stakeholders. PA is a digestible proxy for 'ranking potential' when you need a quick visual.
What I got wrong
- Treating PA as a Google metric. I used to think a high PA meant Google loved the page. It doesn't. Google has never confirmed using it.
- Comparing PA across unrelated topics. A PA of 45 in a low-competition niche might be great; in a competitive space, it could be weak. Context is everything.
- Ignoring linking root domains. I once focused on PA alone and missed that a page had only 2 linking domains. The score was inflated by a few strong links, but the profile was fragile.
- Using PA as a content quality check. A page can have high PA and terrible content. PA measures link signals, not relevance or user experience.
Next step
Sources
Primary documentation is linked directly. Anything commercial is marked nofollow.
- Moz — Primary source for the definition, scale, and intended use of Page Authority.
- Google Search Central — Best reference for distinguishing Moz's third-party metric from Google's own guidance on ranking and links.
- HubSpot — Clear practitioner-oriented explanation that PA is third-party and page-specific.
- Semrush — Useful secondary explanation of how PA is interpreted and what typically influences it.
Notes from Callum Bennett.