What Is DA and PA in SEO? (And Why They Matter More Than You Think)
If you’ve ever checked your website’s SEO metrics, you’ve probably seen two mysterious numbers called DA and PA — and wondered, “Are these scores good or bad?” or “Do they even affect my rankings?”
Don’t worry. You’re not alone. These two metrics — Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) — are like the reputation score of your website in the eyes of search engines. They don’t directly decide your rank on Google, but they strongly predict how likely you are to rank higher.
Let’s break them down in simple, human language.
What Is DA and PA in SEO?
Both DA and PA are metrics developed by Moz, a well-known SEO software company. They help marketers estimate how strong a website or a specific web page is in terms of ranking potential.
🏠 DA – Domain Authority
Domain Authority measures the overall strength of your entire website.
It’s scored on a scale from 1 to 100 — the higher the score, the better your chances of ranking in search engines.
Moz calculates DA based on factors like:
- Number of quality backlinks
- Domain age
- Linking root domains (unique websites linking to you)
- Overall trust and relevance
In short:
DA = how strong your whole website’s reputation is.
📄 PA – Page Authority
Page Authority, on the other hand, measures the ranking strength of a single page on your website.
It’s also scored between 1 and 100, using similar factors to DA but focused on that specific URL.
Example:
- Your homepage might have a PA of 60.
- A new blog post might have a PA of 25 until it gains backlinks and engagement.
PA = how strong one specific page’s reputation is.
Key Differences Between DA and PA
| Feature | Domain Authority (DA) | Page Authority (PA) |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Predicts how well an entire domain will rank in search results. | Predicts how well a specific page will rank in search results. |
| Scope | Measures the authority of the whole website. | Measures the authority of a single web page. |
| Factors Considered | Root domains, total backlinks, domain age, link profile quality. | Page-specific backlinks, on-page optimization, and internal linking. |
| Score Range | 1 to 100 | 1 to 100 |
| Tool Developed By | Moz | Moz |
| Best Use Case | Compare website authority with competitors. | Evaluate the SEO strength of specific pages. |
Importance of DA and PA in SEO
While Google doesn’t use DA or PA as official ranking factors, they are still important indicators that help you understand your site’s SEO health.
🏗️ Importance of Domain Authority (DA)
- Helps you measure your overall SEO progress over time.
- Allows you to compare your site’s authority against competitors.
- High DA increases trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines.
- Influences how new pages on your domain perform — stronger domains get crawled and indexed faster.
📈 Importance of Page Authority (PA)
- Helps identify which pages have the best ranking potential.
- Tells you which pages are link magnets (attract backlinks naturally).
- Useful for content planning — you can strengthen pages with low PA.
- Reflects the impact of backlinks and internal linking on a page.
How to Improve Both DA and PA
Boosting your DA and PA takes time — but the good news is, you can do it systematically. Here’s how 👇
🔗 1. Build Quality Backlinks
High-authority backlinks are the backbone of both DA and PA.
Focus on earning links from reputable websites through guest blogging, digital PR, and link-worthy content.
🧠 2. Create Valuable, In-Depth Content
Content that actually helps people naturally earns links, shares, and engagement — all of which lift your authority.
🔍 3. Fix Technical SEO Issues
Slow load times, broken links, and crawl errors hurt both DA and PA.
Use tools like Google Search Console and Screaming Frog to keep your site healthy.
🔄 4. Strengthen Internal Linking
Link from your high-PA pages to your new or lower-PA pages. This distributes “link juice” across your domain.
🗣️ 5. Avoid Spammy Links
Disavow or remove toxic backlinks. A few bad links from shady sites can drag your scores down.
📅 6. Stay Consistent
DA and PA don’t rise overnight. It’s about long-term SEO habits — regular content, link building, and on-page optimization.
Conclusion
So, to sum it all up:
- DA (Domain Authority) shows how strong your entire domain is.
- PA (Page Authority) shows how strong a specific page is.
- Both are predictive scores, not official Google metrics, but they’re incredibly useful for tracking your SEO growth.
If your DA and PA are low right now — don’t panic.
They’re meant to improve gradually as your content earns links, trust, and relevance.
The real goal isn’t to chase numbers — it’s to build authority naturally by creating content that people love and link to.
Because in the end, that’s what Google loves most too.
Q1: What is DA in SEO?
A: DA stands for Domain Authority. It’s a score (1–100) developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engines based on its backlinks and overall trustworthiness.
Q2: What is PA in SEO?
A: PA stands for Page Authority. It’s a Moz metric that measures the ranking strength of a specific page using factors like backlinks, internal links, and page relevance.
Q3: What is the difference between DA and PA?
A: DA measures the overall authority of your website, while PA focuses on the strength of an individual page. Both are scored from 1 to 100, but DA reflects domain-level trust, whereas PA reflects page-level potential.
Q4: How can I improve my DA and PA scores?
A: Create high-quality content, build backlinks from reputable sites, improve internal linking, and fix technical SEO issues to increase both DA and PA over time.
Q5: Does Google use DA or PA as a ranking factor?
A: No, Google doesn’t officially use DA or PA. However, these metrics are great indicators of your website’s SEO health and can help you understand ranking potential.
Muhilarasan is a Digital Marketing Freelancer specializing in SEO, content strategy, and online brand growth. He helps businesses improve visibility, attract the right audience, and build a strong presence across digital platforms.
Muhilarasan is a Digital Marketing Freelancer specializing in SEO, content strategy, and online brand growth. He helps businesses improve visibility, attract the right audience, and build a strong presence across digital platforms.
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