Page authority is a metric developed by SEO software companies to estimate an individual web page’s ability to rank in search engine results. While domain authority measures overall website strength, page authority evaluates specific pages based on factors like the quantity and quality of backlinks pointing directly to that page, the authority of linking pages, and other signals that correlate with ranking performance for individual URLs. The score typically ranges from 1 to 100, with higher numbers indicating stronger ranking potential. Like domain authority, page authority is a third-party metric not used by Google in its algorithms. It serves as a comparative tool for assessing individual page strength, evaluating link building priorities, and understanding why certain pages outperform others within the same site or across competitors.
Ten people who analyze, build, and make decisions based on page-level authority metrics. One question. Their answers reveal why understanding page-specific strength matters even when domain-level metrics get most attention.
R. Lindqvist, SEO Tool Engineer
I help build page authority algorithms, and the key distinction from domain authority is granularity: we’re measuring signals at the URL level rather than aggregating across an entire domain.
Page authority captures link equity flowing to a specific page. A page might exist on a high-authority domain but have few direct backlinks itself, resulting in lower page authority despite the strong domain. Conversely, a single viral article on a modest domain might accumulate substantial direct backlinks, giving that page high authority even when the overall domain remains moderate.
The calculation examines links pointing to the specific URL, the authority of pages providing those links, anchor text patterns, and how link equity distributes through the site’s internal linking structure. We’re modeling how much ranking power concentrates on that particular page versus spreading across the domain.
What practitioners should understand is that page authority and domain authority interact but aren’t redundant. A page benefits from domain-level strength as a foundation, but its individual authority determines how it competes against other pages targeting the same keywords. Two pages on domains with similar authority can have vastly different page authority scores depending on how backlinks distribute.
M. Okafor, Link Building Strategist
Page authority tells me whether link building efforts are reaching the right pages or dissipating across a site without concentrating where it matters.
When I audit link profiles, I compare page authority across a site’s key pages. If the homepage has page authority 55 but important product pages sit at 15-20, link equity isn’t reaching conversion-critical pages. Either external links point predominantly to the homepage without internal distribution, or internal linking fails to pass equity to priority pages.
This diagnosis shapes link building strategy. Sometimes the answer is acquiring more direct links to priority pages rather than the homepage. Sometimes it’s restructuring internal linking to better distribute existing equity. Sometimes it’s creating linkable assets closer to commercial pages that can pass authority through internal links.
Page authority helps prioritize where to build links. A page with authority 40 competing against pages with authority 60+ needs more direct link investment than a page with authority 50 competing against pages at 45. The metric guides resource allocation toward pages where the authority gap is largest relative to competitive requirements.
J. Andersson, Content Strategist
Page authority reveals why some content outperforms despite similar or even inferior quality: the page has accumulated strength that newer or less-linked content hasn’t.
I’ve analyzed situations where clients wonder why a competitor’s mediocre content outranks their comprehensive guide. Often, page authority provides the answer. The competitor’s page has accumulated backlinks over years, building authority that newer content hasn’t had time to match. Quality alone doesn’t instantly overcome accumulated authority.
This insight shapes content strategy in two ways. First, when competing against high-authority pages, content must be substantially better to overcome the authority gap through quality signals alone. Marginal improvements won’t displace entrenched pages with significant authority advantages. Second, investing in building authority to new high-quality content through promotion, outreach, and link building helps close the gap that quality alone can’t bridge immediately.
Page authority also helps identify internal competition. Multiple pages targeting similar keywords with similar page authority can cannibalize each other. Understanding which page has accumulated more authority helps decide which to consolidate around versus deprecate.
A. Nakamura, Technical SEO Consultant
Page authority depends significantly on internal linking architecture, which gives you more control over page-level authority distribution than external factors alone.
External backlinks are hard to control directly. But internal linking is entirely within your control, and it substantially affects how authority distributes across pages. A page buried deep in site architecture with few internal links receives less authority regardless of domain strength. A page prominently linked from the homepage and throughout the site accumulates more internal authority even without external backlinks.
I use page authority differentials to diagnose internal linking problems. If important pages have lower authority than their strategic value warrants, internal linking often explains the gap. Perhaps the page lacks navigation visibility. Perhaps content silos don’t connect to it. Perhaps the internal anchor text doesn’t reinforce topical relevance.
Restructuring internal links can meaningfully improve page authority for priority pages by directing more equity flow toward them. This is particularly valuable when external link building resources are limited: maximize the authority you already have by ensuring it reaches the pages that need it most.
K. Villanueva, Competitive Intelligence Analyst
Page authority enables page-level competitive analysis that domain metrics can’t provide, revealing exactly where competitors have strength advantages on specific keywords.
When analyzing why a competitor ranks for a target keyword, I examine the ranking page’s authority rather than just their domain. A competitor might have lower domain authority than my client but higher page authority on the specific page ranking for the keyword. They’ve concentrated link building and internal equity on that particular page more effectively.
This granular view shapes competitive strategy. If a competitor’s page authority is 60 and my client’s competing page is 35, that gap must be addressed through either direct link building to the page, internal linking improvements, or potentially creating new content positioned for better authority accumulation.
Page-level analysis also reveals competitor vulnerabilities. A competitor might have high domain authority but low page authority on specific pages where they’ve neglected link building. Those pages present more realistic competitive targets than attacking their well-fortified pages.
S. Bergström, E-commerce SEO Specialist
For commerce sites, page authority distribution determines whether product pages can compete or whether all authority pools on the homepage and category levels.
E-commerce sites face a structural challenge: product pages often receive few direct external links because they’re transactional rather than linkable. Authority accumulates on the homepage, about pages, and blog content that actually earns links. Product pages depend on internal linking to receive any authority at all.
I analyze page authority across the site hierarchy to assess whether internal linking effectively distributes authority to product pages. If category pages have authority 35 but product pages sit at 12-15, the architecture isn’t moving equity deep enough. Strategies like related product linking, breadcrumb optimization, and category-to-product internal linking can improve this distribution.
The sites that rank product pages for competitive commercial keywords typically have either direct backlinks to those products through PR or reviews, exceptional internal linking distributing authority deep into the catalog, or both. Page authority metrics reveal which approach is working or failing.
T. Santos, Local SEO Specialist
Page authority matters for local businesses because location pages and service pages need individual strength to compete for locally-modified queries.
A local business might have reasonable domain authority overall, but if their service area pages all have minimal page authority, those pages struggle to rank for “[service] in [city]” queries. Each location or service page competes against competitors’ equivalent pages, and page-level authority affects that competition.
I build internal linking strategies that direct authority to important local pages. The homepage links to main service categories. Service categories link to specific service pages. Location pages receive links from relevant content. This intentional internal architecture ensures priority local pages accumulate authority rather than leaving them orphaned with minimal internal support.
For businesses with multiple locations, page authority comparison across location pages reveals which have accumulated strength and which need attention. A location page with authority 25 likely outperforms one at 12 for otherwise similar local rankings.
C. Oduya, Link Quality Analyst
Page authority helps evaluate incoming link value because links from high-authority pages pass more equity than links from low-authority pages.
When assessing backlink profiles or evaluating link opportunities, I look at the linking page’s authority, not just the linking domain’s authority. A link from a page with authority 65 passes more value than a link from a page with authority 15, even if both pages exist on domains with similar overall authority. The page-level equity transfer matters.
This affects link building targeting. A guest post placement on a high-authority site provides little value if it appears on a newly created, low-authority page that nobody links to. A link from a well-established resource page with its own accumulated backlinks provides substantial value even from a moderate-authority domain.
I also use page authority to prioritize disavow considerations when cleaning up toxic backlinks. Links from extremely low-authority pages carry minimal positive value anyway, but if those pages also show spam signals, the risk-reward tilts toward disavowing.
E. Kowalski, SERP Analysis Specialist
Page authority helps explain SERP composition when rankings don’t match domain authority expectations, revealing page-level dynamics that aggregate metrics miss.
Sometimes a lower-authority domain outranks higher-authority competitors for specific keywords. Domain authority comparison doesn’t explain this, but page authority often does. The ranking page has accumulated substantial direct backlinks and internal equity, giving it page-level strength that exceeds its domain-level foundation.
I incorporate page authority into SERP analysis alongside domain metrics, content quality assessment, and intent alignment evaluation. A complete picture requires understanding all levels: Is the domain generally strong? Is this specific page strong? Is the content genuinely better? Does it match intent more precisely?
The pages that rank best for competitive keywords typically excel at multiple levels: strong domain foundation, strong page-level authority, high-quality content, and precise intent alignment. Weakness at any level creates vulnerability. Page authority assessment identifies whether page-level strength is present or represents a gap to address.
H. Johansson, Algorithm Research Analyst
Page authority models try to approximate how search engines evaluate individual page strength, but the actual signals search engines use have grown more sophisticated than backlink-centric metrics capture.
The metric’s foundation is link-based: how many quality links point to this page, how much equity flows to it internally. These signals genuinely correlate with how search engines have historically evaluated page importance. PageRank, Google’s foundational algorithm, explicitly modeled link-based authority distribution.
But modern ranking systems incorporate signals page authority doesn’t measure. User engagement patterns, content freshness, semantic relevance, entity associations, and quality evaluation signals all affect how search engines evaluate pages. A page might have high page authority by link metrics but poor engagement signals that suppress its ranking. Another might have modest page authority but exceptional user satisfaction signals that elevate performance.
I use page authority as one indicator among several when predicting page performance. Link-based authority remains relevant, but it’s not the complete picture. The metric’s usefulness is real but bounded by what it actually measures versus the full complexity of modern ranking systems.
Synthesis
Ten perspectives on measuring strength at the individual page level rather than aggregating across domains.
Lindqvist explains how page authority calculations differ from domain metrics by focusing on URL-specific signals and link equity concentration. Okafor uses page authority to diagnose whether link building reaches priority pages effectively. Andersson reveals how accumulated page authority explains ranking disparities that content quality alone doesn’t account for. Nakamura emphasizes internal linking as a controllable factor substantially affecting page authority distribution. Villanueva demonstrates page-level competitive analysis revealing specific gaps that domain metrics miss. Bergström addresses e-commerce challenges getting authority to product pages deep in site architecture. Santos applies page authority thinking to local SEO where individual location and service pages need their own strength. Oduya evaluates incoming link value based on linking page authority, not just domain metrics. Kowalski uses page authority to explain SERP compositions that domain authority comparisons can’t. Johansson situates page authority within broader ranking systems that incorporate signals beyond link-based metrics.
Together they establish page authority as a useful complement to domain-level metrics, providing granularity that aggregate scores miss. The metric helps answer questions domain authority cannot: Why does this specific page outperform or underperform? Where should link building efforts concentrate? Is internal linking effectively distributing authority? How does our page compare to the specific competing page, not just the competing domain?
The appropriate use is targeted analysis at the page level. Page authority helps evaluate specific pages for competitive analysis, link building prioritization, internal linking optimization, and understanding ranking performance for individual keywords. It’s most valuable when domain-level metrics don’t explain observed results, revealing page-specific strength or weakness that aggregate metrics average away.
Like domain authority, page authority is a third-party estimate correlating with ranking factors rather than measuring Google’s actual evaluation. It provides useful directional signal about link-based page strength but doesn’t capture content quality, user engagement, or other factors affecting actual ranking outcomes. Use it for what it measures well while recognizing its scope limitations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between page authority and domain authority?
Domain authority measures overall website strength across all pages, providing an aggregate view of a site’s ranking potential. Page authority measures individual URL strength, assessing how much link equity and ranking power concentrate on a specific page. A page benefits from its domain’s overall authority as a foundation, but its individual page authority determines how it competes against specific competing pages targeting the same keywords.
How is page authority calculated?
Page authority calculations primarily examine backlinks pointing directly to the specific URL, the authority of pages providing those links, and how internal linking distributes equity to the page. The algorithms model how much link-based ranking power concentrates on that particular page. Different SEO tools use somewhat different methodologies, so scores can vary across providers.
Is page authority a Google ranking factor?
No. Page authority is a third-party metric created by SEO tool companies, not a signal Google uses directly. Google has its own methods for evaluating page importance and relevance that don’t rely on external authority scores. Page authority correlates with ranking success because it measures signals that overlap with factors Google considers, but it’s an external estimate rather than a Google metric.
Can page authority be higher than domain authority?
Yes, though it’s uncommon. A single page that accumulates exceptional direct backlinks can have page authority exceeding its domain’s overall authority. This typically happens with viral content, heavily cited research, or popular resources that attract links independently of the site’s general authority level. The page becomes an authority outlier within its domain.
How can you improve a page’s authority?
Build quality backlinks pointing directly to the page through outreach, content promotion, digital PR, and creating genuinely linkable content. Improve internal linking to direct more equity flow to the page from other pages on your site. Ensure the page is prominently accessible in site architecture rather than buried deep. Over time, accumulated links and improved internal equity distribution raise page authority.
Why might a page with high authority still rank poorly?
Page authority measures link-based signals but doesn’t capture content quality, intent alignment, user engagement, technical issues, or other ranking factors. A page might have strong authority by backlink metrics but thin content that doesn’t satisfy user needs. Or it might target keywords where intent doesn’t match the page format. Authority is one ranking factor among many; deficiency elsewhere can override authority strength.
How does internal linking affect page authority?
Internal links pass equity between pages on your site. Pages with more internal links from high-authority pages on your site receive more equity flow, improving their page authority. Strategic internal linking can significantly improve priority pages’ authority by directing more of your existing site equity toward them. This is particularly valuable for pages that struggle to attract external backlinks directly.
Should link building target pages or domains?
Both matter, but page-level targeting often produces more direct ranking impact for specific keywords. Links to your domain provide foundation-level authority benefiting all pages somewhat. Links directly to specific pages provide concentrated authority helping those pages compete for their target keywords. Effective link building typically combines homepage and brand-level links with direct links to priority content pages.
How often does page authority change?
Page authority can change whenever the underlying link data updates, which varies by tool provider. Acquiring new backlinks, losing existing ones, or changes in linking page authority can all affect scores. Internal linking changes on your own site can also shift how equity distributes across pages. Monitor page authority trends over time rather than reacting to small fluctuations.
Does page authority matter for new pages?
New pages start with minimal page authority because they haven’t accumulated backlinks or been established in the site’s internal linking structure long enough to receive significant equity flow. Page authority grows over time as pages earn links and establish themselves. For new pages, focus on creating linkable quality content and ensuring strong internal linking to begin building authority that will accumulate over months and years.