In spite of two decades of improvements, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of why a page isn’t ranking.

In the world of SEO, Page Authority is an important metric that can help give you a clue. Rated on a 100-point scale, it’s a guideline (not a hard rule) that indicates the potential for a page to rank in search engine results.

And everybody wants to rank.

But what is Page Authority exactly – and how can you improve it? That’s what we’re here to clear up. Keep reading and you’ll be a pro in no time.

What Is Page Authority?

What is Page Authority – really?

Page Authority in simple terms refers to a score created by Moz that predicts how well a specific webpage will rank on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). It’s calculated by taking multiple factors into account – such as the number and quality of links.

The closer your Page Authority score is to 100, the better, and the more likely it is your page will appear higher in search results.

Understanding Page Authority is crucial for businesses. By no means is it the sole metric you should rely on – but it does provide valuable insights into your website’s performance. It condenses the strength of your page in the eyes of search engines into a simple number.

A higher Page Authority often translates to more traffic: Most people click on the top results and don’t explore multiple pages.

The relationship between Page Authority and organic traffic is multifaceted. While a high Page Authority doesn’t guarantee a surge of visitors to your webpage, it does enhance its visibility to users. Search engines are inclined to rank pages with higher authority scores, increasing their chances of being discovered.

How Page Authority Has Changed Over Time

When Moz initially introduced the idea of Page Authority, it was truly groundbreaking.

It brought forth a means to measure something that was previously immeasurable, providing a gauge of a webpage’s potential to rank in search results. However, like any other metric Page Authority has undergone changes and advancements as time has passed.

Originally, it was based solely on link data: How many other websites link to yours?

The thinking is simple. The more external sources point to your pages, the more likely it is that your pages are saying something with merit. It was conceived as a form of social proof.

Yet as Google’s algorithms continued to evolve, so too did the factors influencing Page Authority. As with many algorithms used by tech giants, it has become a bit of a black box – today, it’s calculated using machine learning algorithms that consider over 40 factors.

SEO evolves fast, and the evolution of Page Authority reflects that. It underscores the importance of staying ahead of the latest trends and adapting as needed.

In other words, your website’s Page Authority isn’t static. It will continue to change over time.

Domain Authority vs. Page Authority

Domain Authority and Page Authority aren’t the same thing, though the difference is subtle.

Domain Authority predicts how well your website – as a whole – will perform. It accounts for everything from the total number of links pointing to your site to more intangible factors like user-friendliness.

Page Authority is Domain Authority as a microcosm. It applies to specific pages on your website and your pages can vary wildly in terms of performance.

So, in essence, while Domain Authority gives you a general, broad estimate of your site’s website ranking potential, Page Authority helps you hone in on the specifics.

Understanding both – and mastering them – is essential for your SEO strategy.

Factors That Influence Page Authority

As mentioned before, Page Authority considers dozens of metrics, and many of them are correlated.

The first, and most important?

The number and quality of inbound links to your page. More links from external websites with higher Page and Domain Authority will help your page rank higher and bump its score up.

The SEO of your page itself is another critical factor. Put simply, this includes:

• The quality of your content
• The structure of your website
• Your website’s usability
• Your website’s responsiveness
• The use of keywords
• The use of correct formatting
• The absence of 404 pages
• The absence of broken links

Fast, easy-to-use websites that offer high-quality content are considered “optimized”. Missing pages, disorganized structures, and dead links will lower your score.

Finally, while not as impactful as inbound links and SEO techniques, social signals will also influence Page Authority. Comment sections, likes, and shares all play a role and demonstrate to internet-crawling algorithms that your page is worth seeing.

The Complex Relationship Between the User Experience and Page Authority

User experiences are nuanced and difficult to judge, but they’ve become increasingly important to search engines in recent years. After all, search engines aren’t interested in displaying websites that users spend all of a few seconds on before leaving.

If that’s happening, then the user isn’t satisfied. And if the user isn’t satisfied, the search engine isn’t doing its job properly.

What factors does Google consider for website ranking? Page loading speed and easy navigation are two of the most vital ones. Mobile-friendliness is also central – because a huge proportion of web browsers visit websites on their mobile devices.

If users enjoy visiting your page (and find it useful, engaging, or entertaining), they’re more likely to visit again, link to it, and share it.

All of these things boost your Page Authority.

The Role of Web Traffic

Website traffic is an integral, if paradoxical, part of the equation.

Why?

It seems almost unfair that websites that don’t rank are penalized further with lower authority values – which in turn harm their ability to rank. But simply, more website traffic implies popularity, usefulness, or relevance.

And as with links, the quality of the website traffic matters, too. If visitors leave after arriving (a high bounce rate), your content isn’t satisfying.

So, while website traffic is important, you need to drive the right kind of traffic to your pages. If you’re a business offering bespoke services to a niche group of target customers, you should be focusing on drawing those customers to your website – and not casting as wide a net as possible.

The Lowdown: How Page Authority Affects Google Rankings

We mentioned Moz above – and they’re the brains behind Page Authority.

But it still affects your Google ranking. Google’s algorithms are complex. It’s no one-to-one relationship, but generally speaking, a high Page Authority correlates with a high Google ranking.

So, while improving your Page Authority is a step in the right direction, it’s no guarantee. Instead, you should focus on improving it alongside a comprehensive strategy to bolster all of your marketing strategies.

The Easy Way To Check Your Page Authority

Since its invention, multiple services have created their own variants of Page Authority checkers. Moz has the MozBar, while Ahrefs has the website authority checker.

These tools not only show your Page Authority but also provide other valuable SEO insights, such as the number of links pointing toward each of your pages. All you need to do is input the URL of one of your pages into an online tool and you’ll have an estimate in seconds.

However, remember that Page Authority is relative.

It’s most useful when comparing the score of one page with another. This helps you zoom in and focus on the pages with the highest potential to rank – and identity the ones which need the most improvement.

Upping Your Game: Building a Strong Backlink Profile

Backlinks (or inbound links) are the tried-and-true method of improving your Page Authority. Backlinks are links from other sites that point to your page. They’re like votes of confidence in the eyes of search engines.

One of the favored methods of generating backlinks is to author guest posts. Guest posts are blogs and articles written for other websites that include one or more links back to your pages. It’s a win-win deal where the host website receives free content and the authoring website generates traffic.

How do you get started with guest posting? You can approach it from a few angles:

• Write guest posts yourself
• Hand guest posting to your marketing team
• Outsource to agencies like https://authority.builders/guest-posts or https://www.guestpostingexpert.com/

Remember that quality matters. A few links from high-authority sites are worth far more than dozens from low-authority sites.

Focus on building relationships that matter – and creating content that other websites will want to link to.

Attracting New Visitors With High-Quality Content

“Content is king” is a mantra bandied about a little too much in the world of SEO, but it’s still relevant today. High-quality content attracts visitors, keeps them around, and makes them either remember your website, bookmark it, or both.

Over time, as you grow your user base, you will slowly begin to reap the rewards. Longer sessions, lower bounce rates, and more shares: all of which boost your Page Authority and website ranking.

But what is “high-quality” content? Mostly, it focuses on one of three things:

1. It entertains
2. It solves a problem
3. It answers a question

So, focus on the needs and interests of your audience. What burning questions do they have? What problems are they stuck trying to solve?

Use your content to answer their questions and keep them entertained, and they’ll keep coming back for more.

On-Page Optimization Techniques

On-page optimization is essential. A poorly performing website isn’t attractive to search engines.

Many businesses prefer to outsource their on-page SEO because of its technical nature. Even so, the four core elements of good on-page optimization are:

1. Strategic keyword use
2. Optimized images
3. Fast page loading speeds
4. Internal linking and good navigation

Keywords help web crawlers identify relevant content. Your target keywords should be included in the title tag, meta description, page headers, and throughout your content. There’s a fine art to it, too – overdoing it (known as “keyword stuffing”) will harm your website ranking instead of helping it.

All of your images should include descriptive file names and alt text. This helps search engines understand the purpose of your images and know when your page is more likely to be relevant to a search term.

You can use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to identify and fix issues that slow down your pages. Common culprits include bad HTML code and websites that are crammed with too many plugins that slow down loading speeds.

Finally, linking to other relevant pages on your own website helps search engines understand the context. It also improves the user experience by making it easier to navigate and find desired content more quickly.

Socials and User Engagement

Your Page Authority can be influenced by social signals and user engagement, leading to an increase in online visibility and site traffic. Although they aren’t “direct” ranking factors, they have an impact as discussed above.

Likes, shares, and comments on social media are the bread and butter of social signals. If you’re able to get more of them, your content will have more potential backlinks, more potential website traffic, and greater reach.

User engagement is the “how”, describing the manner in which users interact with your website. Long session durations, multiple user clicks, and low bounce rates suggest your content is valuable.

How do you encourage users to interact with your pages?

Besides optimizing them using the tricks we outlined above, you can encourage users to do things themselves, such as:

• Using search bars to navigate
• Subscribing to mailing lists
• Using interactive calendars to book appointments
• Using integrated Google Maps to view your location
• Interacting with chatbots and customer service reps

Boost Your Page Authority for Better Performance

So, what is Page Authority?

It’s a crucial indicator of how well you can expect individual web pages to perform in the SERPs. By focusing on creating high-quality content, building an impressive backlink portfolio, and optimizing your on-page SEO, you can boost your chances of ranking higher and increase your Page Authority.

Did you find our article informative? Why not browse others in our SEO and marketing categories if you have a few minutes to spare?