DA vs PA: What’s More Important for SEO?

What Is Domain Authority (DA)?

Domain Authority is a score developed by Moz. It predicts how likely a website is to rank in search results. The score ranges from 1 to 100. Higher is better.

DA is based on link data. This includes the number of linking domains and their quality. Moz uses a machine learning model to match search rankings.

DA is not a Google metric. It is a third-party prediction of potential SEO performance.

What Is Page Authority (PA)?

Page Authority works the same way, but focuses on a single page. Like DA, it ranges from 1 to 100. It also uses link data and predictive modeling.

PA helps you understand how strong an individual page is. This matters if you’re trying to rank specific blog posts or landing pages.

How Do DA and PA Differ?

Scope: DA looks at the whole domain. PA looks at one page.
Influence: DA improves overall trust. PA affects specific rankings.
Growth: New pages benefit from a high DA. High-PA pages pull their own weight.

Example: Your homepage might have high DA, but a new blog post might have low PA until it earns links.

Which Matters More for SEO?

You need both.

DA is useful for long-term authority building. PA is critical for content-focused strategies.

If you want your site to rank overall, improve DA. If you want individual pages to rank, focus on PA.

Real SEOs track both, and optimize accordingly.

How to Check Your DA and PA

Use trusted tools:

Track scores monthly. Use link building to increase both.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Google use DA or PA?

No. Google does not use these metrics. They are Moz metrics used for SEO analysis.

Can DA and PA drop?

Yes. If you lose backlinks or competitors improve, your score may go down.

What is a good DA or PA score?

Over 40 is strong. Over 60 is excellent. But scores are relative to your niche.