Sales Loves MarketingPage Authority (PA) is a score from 1 to 100 that predicts how well a single web page will rank in search results. The SEO software company Moz created it, and it is based mostly on the links pointing to that page. It is an estimate by a third party, not a number Google uses.
How is Page Authority calculated?
Moz builds the score from its own web index, collected by its crawler, dotbot. It weighs more than 40 factors and calls PA a link-centric metric. Examples include linking root domains, followed and nofollowed links, the spread of anchor text and Moz's Spam Score. On-page elements such as keyword use are not part of it.
A machine learning model weighs these factors to match real rankings across thousands of search results. The scale is logarithmic, so growing a page from 20 to 30 is much easier than from 70 to 80. Moz updates the model regularly, so a score can change even when nothing on the page has changed.
What is a good Page Authority score?
There is no fixed good score. Moz recommends using PA as a comparison, not an absolute grade. What matters is how a page compares with the pages you compete against for the same search.
Is Page Authority a Google ranking factor?
No. Moz says PA is a metric it invented, not a factor created or acknowledged by Google. Google's John Mueller has said several times since 2016 that Google doesn't use domain authority, the site-level version of the idea.
Google does say it uses links "as a signal when determining the relevancy of pages and to find new pages to crawl". That is why a link-based score like PA often moves in the same direction as rankings, without causing them.
Page Authority vs Domain Authority
| Page Authority | Domain Authority | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | One URL | A whole domain or subdomain |
| Moves when | That page earns or loses links | The site's overall link profile changes |
| Best used for | Comparing pages that compete for one search | Comparing sites, for example for outreach |
Moz calculates both with the same method. Other tools have their own page-level scores, such as URL Rating in Ahrefs. Each tool uses its own link index and formula, so scores can't be compared across tools. See Ahrefs vs Moz.
How do you check Page Authority?
Enter a URL in Moz Link Explorer, which needs a free Moz community account, or use Moz's free MozBar browser toolbar.
How can you improve Page Authority?
Since the score follows links, improve the page that people would want to link to:
- Earn backlinks from strong pages. Moz says links from other high-authority pages help most.
- Use internal links. Link to the page from your own strongest pages, with clear anchor text.
- Make the page worth citing. Original data, clear definitions and useful tools give people a reason to link.
- Avoid shortcuts. Google treats buying links for ranking as link spam, and sites that break its spam policies may rank lower or disappear from results.
An example from B2B marketing
A software company wants its pricing comparison page to rank for a competitive search. The top results have links from industry blogs and review sites; its own page has almost none. Comparing Page Authority makes that link gap visible. The team adds internal links from its most-linked blog posts and pitches the comparison data to trade publications.
Related terms: link profile, link building and ranking factors.
Frequently asked questions
Is Page Authority a Google ranking factor?
No. Moz itself says Page Authority is its own metric, not a factor created or acknowledged by Google. Google does say it uses links as a signal of a page's relevance, which is why a link-based score can still be a useful rough guide.
What is the difference between Page Authority and Domain Authority?
Page Authority scores one URL. Domain Authority scores a whole domain or subdomain. Moz calculates both with the same method, so a page with many strong links can score higher than the rest of its site.
What is a good Page Authority score?
There is no fixed good score. Moz says Page Authority works best as a comparison, so check your page against the pages that already rank for the same search.
How can I check Page Authority for free?
Enter the page's URL in Moz Link Explorer, which needs a free Moz community account. Moz's free MozBar browser toolbar also shows the score.