DA / PA (Domain Authority / Page Authority)

Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) are metrics created by Moz, scored on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100. They're built primarily from a site's backlink profile — how many other sites link to it, and how authoritative those linking sites are — and are designed to predict how well a domain or a specific page is likely to rank in search results.

A few important caveats:

• DA and PA are not metrics Google itself uses or publishes — they're Moz's own model
• Other tools (Ahrefs' "Domain Rating," Semrush's "Authority Score") measure something similar but calculate it differently, so the numbers aren't directly comparable across tools
• A higher score doesn't guarantee a higher ranking for any specific keyword

Why it matters

DA/PA are useful as a rough, relative comparison — is this potential link-building target more authoritative than that one — but they shouldn't be treated as a direct ranking factor or a KPI to chase for its own sake. Real rankings depend on relevance, content quality, and Google's own (undisclosed) algorithm, not a third-party score.

DA vs PA

Common Misconceptions

• Believing DA/PA are metrics Google itself uses — they're entirely Moz's own third-party model, not part of Google's actual ranking algorithm.
• Assuming a higher DA guarantees higher rankings for every keyword — DA is a general authority estimate, not a per-keyword prediction.

Use Cases

• Quickly comparing the relative authority of several potential link-building targets.
• Benchmarking your own site's authority growth over time as you build more backlinks.
• Filtering out clearly low-quality sites during outreach research.

Real-World Examples

Best Practices

• Use DA/PA as one directional signal among several, not the sole factor in link-building decisions.
• Compare DA within the same tool consistently, since scores aren't directly comparable across different providers' metrics.
• Prioritize topical relevance and real traffic over chasing a high DA number alone.

Frequently Asked Questions