What is page authority?
Page authority is a score that indicates where a specific page will rank on search engine page results (SERPs). It was created and developed by Moz, a marketing analytics company. The score ranges from 1 to 100.
Higher scores indicate that a page has high authority and is likely to perform better in SERPs.
How is page authority calculated?
Page authority is based on a 100-point scale. The higher the score, the easier it is for pages to rank in search results. Website owners can also use this score to compare their page performance to competitors.
A page authority score is based on three criteria:
- When the page was last updated - Out of date pages negatively impact your score. If your page hasn't been updated in some time, it's unlikely to show up on SERP. Boost your score by making frequent updates to pages, which positively affects crawl demand.
- Page trustworthiness - Pages with unreliable links and low-quality content either stagnate or decrease in authority. Always post high quality content on all pages along with solid external and internal backlinks.
- How much links contribute to the page - Link stuffing is a no-go. Filling your page with links is important, but they must be quality, relevant links. Stuffing your content with irrelevant links adds little to no value to your content and will not improve your score.
How to check your page authority?
There are many online marketing and SEO platforms that offer PA checking tools. The most reliable tool is the Moz Link Explorer.
The Moz ecosystem allows you to check your page authority score using MozBar, Link Explorer, and in the SERP Analysis section found under Keyword Explore. It never hurts to check several sources to see how your score differs. For example, you might want to check your domain rating using the Ahrefs Website authority checker.
How to improve page authority?
There are several important factors to consider when improving page authority. Here are some of the most effective ways to improve your score so that your pages (and therefore website) perform better in SERPs.
Fresh content
Posting new content on a consistent basis is crucial for maintaining a good score. Remember, page authority is calculated based on when pages were last updated. This means you’ll want to add new content to keep the pages from getting stale.
External backlinks
According to Moz, one of the best ways to influence a page’s authority is by getting external backlinks from other high-authority pages. These backlinks act as “votes of confidence.” These links show that your page (and content) is authoritative, trustworthy, and high-quality.
Internal backlinks
Not only do you want quality external backlinks, internal backlinks are just as important in boosting your link profile. Linking to your own pages helps Google and other search engines to better understand and rank your site.
Internal links have also shown to improve engagement and user experience.
When using any type of backlink, always include a descriptive anchor text. This indicates to search engine that your pages are important while also describing the page’s purpose.
What’s the difference between page authority and domain authority?
Page authority measures the ranking strength of a single page. Domain authority score determines the strength of an entire website and takes all published content and pages into account. PA and DA are calculated using the logarithmic scale and criteria.
Having good domain authority and page authority increases the chance of new website visitors as well as steady traffic to your site.