Page Authority or PA is a score that was created and developed by marketing analytics company Moz, to indicate how well a specific page ranks in the SERPs. Page Authority scores vary from 1 to 100, with higher scores corresponding to greater ability to rank.
Page Authority is different from Domain Authority (DA), which measures the authority of an entire website.
When it comes to digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), there are so many different elements to remember.
Sometimes it's easy to think you've covered all the bases of what an optimized page needs, only to find out later that you forgot something crucial.
Other times, you may not even know that a specific aspect of your page is important.
That's where the page authority score comes in.
This unique system makes it easier to determine where you have technical SEO issues and what you need to do to fix them.
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What Is Page Authority in SEO?
Page Authority in SEO is the value a search engine assigns to a web page. The higher this value, the more likely the search engine is to make a web page appear in the top organic search results.
Page Authority is a website scoring system developed by Moz, an industry leader in digital marketing analytics.
By looking at the specific Page Authority score, you can determine how likely it is to rank well in the SERPs.
The higher the authority score, the more likely it is to appear on the first page of Google.
Many marketers use page authority as a checklist to determine which areas should be changed or updated on a specific page.
Domain Authority vs Page Authority
It is important to note that there is a big difference between domain authority and page authority.
Domain authority takes into account the authority of the entire website, while page authority only scores the page itself.
The good news?
The more pages you have with a higher page authority score, the more your domain score will improve.
This is why many people focus on improving page authority rather than overall domain authority ranking - by making small changes to each page, the entire website becomes more powerful in terms of SEO.
How Is Page Authority Calculated?
When it comes to calculating a page authority score, Moz uses over forty different ranking factors.
These include things like the number of quality backlinks pointing to the page and the overall quality of the content.
Other elements such as keyword density, traffic, and user behavior are also taken into account.
Based on a specific algorithm, a page authority score is generated using a 100-point system.
Any page that scores 90% or more is considered to be A+ in terms of page authority.
Similarly, a low page authority score means that additional SEO work is needed, both in on-page areas like content quality and in off-page aspects like link building.
The page authority is also a comparative measure, which allows a website to analyze its performance compared to its competitors.
It is based on three criteria:
1. The degree of trust in the page
Pages with low-quality content and unreliable spammy links will not see their authority increase. Focus on high quality at every level of your web page.
2. The contribution of your links to the page
It's all well and good to fill your page with links, but if they are not relevant to your content and add little value, they will not have a positive impact on your page authority score.
3. The date of the last update
If your page is outdated and neglected, it will suffer in the rankings. Frequent updates, on the other hand, will have a positive effect on crawl demand.
Why Is Authority Important in SEO?
The authority of your website in the eyes of Google influences your ranking in search engine results. Google is interested in providing its users with reliable information and results. This translates into the more authority you have, the more customers you can attract from organic search.
Some digital marketing experts say that page authority doesn't matter.
The truth?
It's something that needs to be used in conjunction with other elements to ensure your website is optimized in the right way.
Since the MozBar tool takes into account different components of your website, it can be a good way to determine if there are areas you need to pay more attention to in terms of SEO.
It's also great for creating a snapshot of where a specific page is currently and where you can go with a little extra work.
For example, a low page authority score today that moves to a high score in the future is a good way to show growth, change, and improvement over a specific period of time.
So, does page authority matter for SEO? Yes and no.
Page authority can give you insight into the effectiveness of your optimization efforts, but it has no impact on your rankings. In fact, Google doesn't even look at PA.
How Can You Improve Page Authority Score?
Although page authority is global and influenced by a variety of factors, there are some things you can do to indirectly improve your page authority score. Here are some of them:
1. Get more backlinks
One of the easiest ways to improve your page authority score is to get more backlinks from reputable websites.
Read that last part again... reputable websites.
This means that signing up for a link exchange may not be the answer if their page rank is exceptionally low.
In fact, it could hurt your optimization.
Instead, look for those in your niche or in a closely related industry that have a high page authority or domain authority. Then offer to work with them on link exchange.
This will become easier as your page authority increases and your return link to their content creates a backlink that will also improve their optimization.
This is a very reciprocal process that benefits both parties as you optimize together.
2. Write tons of quality content
Good content almost always generates additional traffic and natural backlinks.
After all, if you provide informative and engaging articles, videos, and other media, chances are other websites will naturally want to link to them and share them with others.
Learning to regularly publish professional or well-written content takes some practice, but it's not impossible.
In addition, regular posting is also beneficial for search engine optimization in several ways.
First, Google tends to prefer new posts. Second, additional content offers more opportunities to rank for different keywords.
If necessary, create an editorial calendar that outlines the dates and topics for which you want to create content on your website.
3. Check your competition
One of the best things about Moz is that it allows you to check the Page Authority and Domain Authority of any website.
This means that you can easily look at your competition to see where they are performing better than you.
Using this information, you can develop your own strategies to increase your page authority and create content that is better than what they are offering.
4. Update older content
If you're looking to improve your overall domain authority, it's a good idea to go through each page and check those with low page authority scores.
Update content, add new keywords, include backlinks, and generally update the information to current standards.
You may even choose to expand shorter articles to a longer form or add an accompanying video or other interactive content pieces.
This is a great task to undertake when you have a gap in your editorial calendar, but still, need to share something with your audience.
5. Share your content
Remember, a reputable backlink can come from almost anywhere. And that includes social media channels.
Be sure to share any new blog posts or articles on your favorite platforms.
Every time someone shares the article or adds their own, it counts towards your backlink count.
Over time, this can dramatically increase your overall domain authority and page authority scores, making it easier for individual pages and your website as a whole to appear in the SERPs.
6. Avoid Black Hat SEO techniques
Finally, do all you can to avoid what are called "black hat" SEO techniques.
These never work the way you want them to and often hurt your overall position in the SERPs.
What's worse is that they can even result in your page being blacklisted by Google.
This process means that your visitors will see a warning before accessing your website, which is often enough to scare them off completely.
So always make sure you follow SEO best practices and handle things like backlinking in a way that isn't spammy or shady.
7. Quality link building
Quality link building is always essential for good SEO. By reaching out to companies with a similar purpose or mission, a page can build its authority and perceived legitimacy.
The authority of a link is based on a few factors:
- Its no-follow attribute
- The number of external links
- The place where the link is placed on the page
- The authority of the page
Keep these factors in mind when building links to maintain and improve your own page authority.
Increase Page Authority Score Summary
Checking your page authority score is a good way to see where your website stands and what its chances are of ranking well in the SERPs.
By keeping track of your score, you can make changes to individual pages, which will ultimately improve your overall domain authority.
