Glossary
Page Authority
A metric that predicts how well a specific page (not an entire domain) will rank in search results.
Definition
Page Authority (PA) is a proprietary metric developed by Moz that predicts how likely a specific individual web page is to rank in search results, scored on a scale of 1 to 100. Unlike Domain Authority (which measures an entire domain), Page Authority focuses on the ranking potential of a single URL based on the backlinks pointing to that specific page.
Why It Matters
Page Authority helps content teams evaluate which specific pages on their site (and competitors' sites) have the most ranking power. A page with high PA will generally outrank a page with lower PA for the same keyword, all else being equal.
Examples
High PA pageA comprehensive 'Ultimate Guide to SEO' that has earned 200+ backlinks from industry sites
Low PA pageA newly published blog post with no backlinks yet
Common Mistakes
Confusing Page Authority with Domain Authority.
Neglecting internal linking to high-priority pages.
Treating PA as a Google metric — it is a third-party Moz estimate.
Optimizing for PA score rather than genuine content quality.