Page authority is a metric (most notably Moz’s PA score, 1–100) predicting how well a specific page will rank in search results — based primarily on the quantity and quality of links pointing to that individual page, distinct from the overall domain’s authority.
Page authority vs. domain authority
- Domain Authority (DA): Strength of the whole domain based on its entire backlink profile
- Page Authority (PA): Strength of a single page based on links specifically to that URL
A high-DA domain can have pages with varying PA depending on how many external links point to each individual page. Cornerstone content tends to have both high PA (many direct links) and benefit from high DA.
Page authority and AI retrieval
For RAG-powered AI engines that incorporate web authority signals into retrieval ranking, page authority at the individual URL level influences retrieval frequency. A page on a high-DA domain with many direct inbound links will be retrieved more often than a page on the same domain with no external links pointing to it.
This is the technical argument for building links directly to your most strategically important pages — not just to your homepage or domain root. Direct links to a page increase both its page authority and its AI retrieval priority.
Practical implications
Identify your highest-PA pages: These are your most-retrieved pages — make sure they’re also your highest-quality pages for AI citation purposes.
Build links to strategic content: When pursuing link-building campaigns, prioritize earning links directly to your key guides, glossary pages, and comparison pages — not just to your homepage.
Track PA trends on priority pages: A PA drop on an important page (e.g., another site removed a link) can reduce its AI retrieval frequency; monitoring PA changes is an early warning system for retrieval authority changes.