DA vs PA: Domain vs Page Authority

Page Authority (PA) and Domain Authority (DA) are both Moz metrics on a 1-100 scale, but they measure different things. DA scores your entire domain’s backlink strength. PA scores one specific page’s backlink strength, independent of how strong the rest of the domain is.

The Core Difference, Explained Simply

Think of DA as your whole website’s reputation and PA as one page’s individual reputation. A site can have a solid DA of 40 overall while a specific page on it, say a thin “coming soon” page or an old, unlinked blog post, carries a PA of just 5. Meanwhile, a genuinely popular, well-linked page on that same site might sit at PA 35, close to the domain average or even above it.

Both metrics use similar underlying link-based signals: the number and quality of backlinks, but PA looks specifically at links pointing to that one URL, while DA aggregates the whole domain’s link profile into a single number.

Why PA Matters More Than People Realize

Most conversations about SEO metrics fixate on domain-level numbers because they’re simpler to compare and sell. But Google ranks individual URLs, not entire domains. If you’re trying to get one particular product page or blog post to rank, that page’s own PA (and its real, page-specific backlink profile) usually matters more than your domain’s overall DA.

A Practical Scenario

Say you run an e-commerce site with DA 35 overall. Your homepage might carry PA 30, close to the domain average, because it collects links naturally as the site’s front door. But a specific product category page, buried three clicks deep with zero direct backlinks, might sit at PA 8. If that category page is the one competing for a valuable commercial keyword, its low PA is the real bottleneck, not your domain’s DA.

Comparing PA Alongside DA When Auditing a Competitor

A full competitor audit should include PA for their specific ranking pages, not just their overall DA. A competitor with modest DA 25 but a PA 40 on their exact ranking page has concentrated real authority precisely where it counts, which is a more accurate picture of what you’re up against than the domain-wide number alone.

PA and Page Depth on Your Site

Pages buried deep in your site’s structure, four or five clicks from the homepage, tend to carry lower PA simply because fewer internal links point at them and search engines crawl them less frequently. Flattening your site structure so important commercial pages sit closer to the homepage, ideally within one or two clicks, is a free, structural way to support PA growth alongside any external link building effort.

How to Raise PA for a Specific Page

Two levers move PA: earning external backlinks that point directly at that page (not just your homepage), and strengthening internal links from other relevant, established pages on your own site. Internal linking is free and often underused. If you have a strong cornerstone page linking down to a newer page that needs to rank, that internal link passes real authority and can noticeably lift the target page’s PA over time.

Checking PA for a Specific Page

Moz’s Link Explorer shows PA for any individual URL, not just the domain-wide DA. Before investing in link building for a specific page, check its current PA against the pages already ranking for your target keyword. If your target page’s PA sits far below the competition, that gap tells you roughly how much direct link-building effort is needed before that page can realistically compete.

Do DA and PA Always Move Together?

Not necessarily. Raising your domain’s overall DA through general link building doesn’t automatically raise every individual page’s PA in proportion. A page that never receives direct links or relevant internal links can stay flat in PA even while the domain’s DA climbs. This is exactly why a deliberate internal linking strategy matters as much as external link building for pages that aren’t naturally attracting attention.

PA for New Pages on an Established Site

A brand-new page on a well-established, high-DA site still starts with a low individual PA, since it hasn’t accumulated its own direct backlinks or strong internal links yet. Domain-wide authority provides a modest baseline boost, but it’s not a substitute for the page earning its own signals over time. This is exactly why publishing a new page on a strong domain doesn’t guarantee it ranks quickly without dedicated internal linking or outreach.

A Quick Reference Point

The simplest way to remember the distinction: DA is your domain’s overall reputation, PA is one page’s individual reputation. Both come from Moz, both respond to backlink quality, but they answer different questions depending on whether you’re sizing up your whole site or one specific page’s ranking potential.

When a High-DA Site Has Weak Individual Pages

A well-established news site might carry DA 90 overall, but a specific old, buried article on that same site could have a PA of 15 if almost nothing links to that particular page. Getting a link on the homepage or a heavily-linked page of a high-DA site is worth meaningfully more than a link buried on a page with weak PA, even though both technically sit on the “same DA 90 site.”

Building Internal PA for Your Own Important Pages

Beyond earning external backlinks, internal linking from your own highest-authority pages toward the specific page you want to rank passes some internal authority too. A commercial page that’s only linked from your footer, rather than from relevant, high-traffic content on your own site, is missing an easy authority boost you already control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is PA the same as Ahrefs UR?

Conceptually similar, both measure one page’s backlink strength rather than the whole domain, but PA is Moz’s metric and UR is Ahrefs’ metric, calculated with different data and formulas. See DR vs UR for the Ahrefs-side comparison.

Can PA be higher than the domain’s DA?

Yes. A standout page with strong direct backlinks can carry a PA above the domain’s overall DA, especially on sites where most links concentrate on one popular page rather than spreading evenly.

Should I check PA before buying a guest post?

Check the specific page’s PA where your link would actually be placed, not just the site’s homepage DA. A high-DA site can still place your link on a weak, low-PA page buried deep in its archive.

Does internal linking really move PA?

Yes, meaningfully. Linking to an important page from your own strongest, most-linked pages passes real authority and is one of the few link-building levers you fully control without spending on outreach.

If a specific page on your site needs stronger authority to rank, our Domain Authority service and internal linking optimization work together to lift both the page and the domain, rather than only chasing one number in isolation.