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In SEO, sometimes you need to gauge a page’s power, such as when researching the top spot on search results pages (SERPs). This guide covers a popular solution for measuring page authority.
What is Page Authority?
Page Authority is a score developed by the SEO software company Moz. It predicts how well a page will rank on SERPs. PA scores range from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater ability to rank.
It’s important to remember that the metric is relative. A high PA score means a page is more likely to rank than pages with lower scores, but it doesn’t guarantee a high ranking.
How is Page Authority Calculated?
The metric is calculated using an algorithm using many factors, including:
- The number of linking root domains (websites that link to your page)
- The total number of links pointing to your page
- The quality of the websites that link to your page. Their authority is considered in this portion.
- The specific relevance of the content
Moz keeps the exact algorithm confidential and updates it periodically, so the factors and their weights might change over time.
How to Improve Page Authority
This involves many strategies used in broader SEO efforts:
- Create Quality Content: The foundation of any good SEO strategy is creating high-quality, relevant content. When your content is valuable, other websites are more likely to link to yours, increasing your score.
- Improve Internal Linking: Link to your pages (where relevant) to distribute link equity across your site, which can improve your score. Ensure your important pages are easily accessible via internal links.
- Earn High-Quality Backlinks: Backlinks, or links from other websites to yours, play a crucial role in calculating Page Authority. Focus on earning high-quality backlinks by reaching out to relevant websites, guest posting, and producing link-worthy content.
- Optimize On-Page Elements: Ensure your page’s title tag, URL, and header tags are optimized with relevant keywords. This helps with Page Authority and makes your content more appealing to search engines and users.
- Promote Your Content: Use social media and other promotional strategies to get your content in front of people who would find it valuable. The more your content is shared, the higher your chances of earning high-quality backlinks.
- Remove Bad Links: Monitor your backlink profile and try to remove any links from spammy or low-quality websites. These can harm your score and overall SEO.
Page Authority vs. Domain Authority
Page Authority is distinct from Moz’s other ranking metric, Domain Authority.
Page Authority focuses on individual pages, while Domain Authority measures a website’s overall strength.
In practice:
- Page Authority is a better metric for analyzing individual pages.
- Domain Authority is more appropriate for comparing website-level metrics.
Beyond that, there’s not much to differ.
Page Authority Alternatives
While Moz’s metric is a popular option, other SEO companies have similar solutions.
- URL Rating: Ahref’s metric for the page’s backlink profile strength
- Authority Score: Semrush’s metric for pages and sites
- Flow Metric Scores: Various metrics developed by Majestic SEO
These will likely show up in most reports from these tools.
Bottom Line
Page Authority is a metric that determines a page’s SEO power. Earning links from high-quality pages can benefit your domain. You can increase your Page Authority by earning more authority signals from other sites, but the requirements are not public.
Keep refining and implementing your Off-Page SEO tactics to naturally earn links and other signals. This can lead to improved search result listings and other benefits.
