SEO Learning Center
Page Authority Explained: What It Is & Why It Matters
Page Authority is a score that predicts how well a specific page is likely to rank in search results. It's based on the strength of the signals pointing to that individual URL. Unlike metrics that describe an entire website, Page Authority looks at just one page at a time.
Moz Metric
1–100 Scale
Backlink-Driven
Not a Google Ranking Factor
If you have ever compared two pages on the same site and wondered why one ranks higher than the other, Page Authority is one of the metrics built to explain that difference.
Definition
What Is Page Authority?
Page Authority (PA) is a third-party metric developed by Moz. It scores a single web page on a scale of 1 to 100, with higher numbers indicating a stronger likelihood of ranking well in search results.
It's important to understand one thing clearly: Page Authority is not a Google ranking factor. Google does not use Moz's scoring system. Page Authority does not appear anywhere in Google Search Console or Google's own documentation. It is a predictive, comparative score created by an SEO tool provider to help marketers estimate ranking potential.
Think of it this way
Think of it as an educated forecast, not a guarantee. It's most useful when comparing pages against each other, not as an absolute measure of quality.
Why It Matters
Why Page Authority Matters
Even though it's not a direct Google metric, Page Authority still serves a practical purpose in SEO work.
Competitive Analysis
When you research competing pages for a target keyword, compare their Page Authority scores. This gives a quick sense of how much link-building effort you'll need to compete.
Internal Prioritization
Site owners with hundreds of pages can use Page Authority to identify which pages already carry strong signals. It also flags pages that need more support through internal linking or content updates.
Backlink Strength Proxy
The quality and quantity of links pointing to a page heavily influence Page Authority. That makes it a rough snapshot of a page's off-page profile, without requiring a full backlink audit every time.
The Model
How Page Authority Is Calculated
Moz calculates Page Authority using a machine learning model trained on Moz's Link Explorer index. The model evaluates a wide range of link-related signals associated with the URL — such as the number and quality of linking root domains. It then produces a single predictive score.
Moz has not published a simple formula where one specific factor produces a predictable point increase. The score is the output of a broader model, not a checklist that adds up to a total.
Because Moz regularly retrains the model on updated data, Page Authority scores can shift over time even if nothing on the page itself has changed. A score of 40 today does not mean exactly the same thing as a score of 40 a year ago.
Logarithmic, not linear
Page Authority also uses a logarithmic scale, not a linear one. That means raising a score from 20 to 30 is considerably easier than raising it from 70 to 80. For this reason, never read a PA score like a percentage — a PA of 60 does not mean a page is "60% optimized."
Comparison
Page Authority vs. Domain Authority
People often confuse Page Authority and Domain Authority because they use the same 1-100 scoring approach and come from the same provider. But they measure different things.
Page Authority
One URL
Focuses on a single URL and how likely that specific page is to rank.
VS
Domain Authority
Whole Website
Predicts the ranking strength of an entire website.
A site can have a high Domain Authority overall while individual pages on that site carry a much lower Page Authority. This is especially true for newer pages or ones with few backlinks.
We cover how Domain Authority works and how it's calculated in a dedicated article on our Learning Center.
Ranking Signals
What Influences Page Authority?
Backlinks are the primary driver, but Moz weighs several link-related signals rather than a single input:
- Quality and quantity of links pointing to the page, with links from well-established, relevant sites carrying more weight than links from low-quality or unrelated sources
- The number and diversity of linking root domains, meaning links from a range of different sources rather than a few repeated ones
- Other link-related signals contained in Moz's index, which the model factors in alongside the two points above
Moz does not publish a simple formula for this. A single factor — such as anchor text, page age, or the strength of the domain a page sits on — does not produce a predictable, guaranteed increase in PA. It's more accurate to think of these as related to a page's overall link profile than as confirmed individual inputs to the score.
Tools
How to Check Page Authority
You can check Page Authority through Moz's own tools, including the Moz Bar browser extension, Link Explorer, and the Moz Pro dashboard. Simply enter or navigate to a URL. The tool then displays the current Page Authority score alongside related metrics like linking domains and top backlinks.
Several third-party SEO platforms display a similarly named "authority" style metric. It's worth confirming whether they're referencing Moz's actual Page Authority score or a different, proprietary metric of their own design — the numbers are not interchangeable.
Benchmarking
What Is a Good Page Authority Score?
There is no universal "good" Page Authority score. A PA of 25 might be perfectly competitive in one niche and weak in another.
The most useful benchmark is the actual PA of the pages already ranking for a relevant target keyword. If competing pages mostly sit in the 20–30 range, a page with a PA of 28 is likely in reasonable shape. If the top results consistently score above 60, that same PA of 28 points to a meaningful authority gap worth addressing.
Chasing a specific target number is less useful than comparing your page against the pages it's actually competing with.
Action Steps
How to Improve Page Authority
Since backlinks are the primary driver, most improvement strategies center on earning better links:
- Publish content genuinely useful enough that other sites want to reference it.
- Build internal links from strong, relevant pages already on the site.
- Reach out for links from reputable, topically relevant websites rather than pursuing volume alone.
- Avoid manipulative or spammy link-building practices. The goal is to earn relevant, editorially valuable links, not just accumulate links to move a metric.
- Keep the page updated and relevant, since outdated content is less likely to attract new links over time.
Improving a page's actual backlink profile and internal link structure will move Page Authority naturally, without needing to chase the number directly.
Set the Record Straight
Common Misconceptions
Myth
"Page Authority is a Google ranking factor."
It is not. Google has confirmed it does not use Moz's Domain Authority or Page Authority in its ranking systems. These are independent, third-party estimates.
Myth
"A higher Page Authority guarantees a higher ranking."
Page Authority is a correlation-based prediction, not a cause-and-effect guarantee. A page can have a lower score and still outrank a page with a higher one. This often happens when content quality, search intent match, or technical SEO differ significantly.
Myth
"Page Authority is fixed."
Scores update as Moz refreshes its index and retrains its model. The same page's score can rise or fall even if nobody changes the page itself.
Myth
"A PA of 50 means the page is 50% optimized."
It doesn't. Because PA runs on a logarithmic scale, you can't read it as a percentage of "how done" the SEO work is.
Myth
"A PA of 60 is automatically better than a PA of 40."
Not necessarily. The score is most meaningful when comparing pages that are actually competing for the same query, not as a standalone ranking of quality.
Summary
The Takeaway on Page Authority
Page Authority is a Moz-created metric that estimates how likely a single page is to rank well in search results. The estimate is based largely on the page's backlink profile. It's a useful comparative tool for competitive research and internal prioritization. But it is not a Google ranking factor, and you should never treat it as a precise or absolute measure of quality. Used correctly, alongside content quality and technical SEO, it becomes one more helpful data point in understanding how a page is likely to perform.
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