What Does a High DA but Low PA Link Actually Mean for SEO?

You landed a backlink from a DA 80 site, sounds solid, right? But then you run it through a Bulk DA PA Checker and see the PA is just 10. Now you're wondering: is this link even helping my SEO?

This happens more than you think. Many links come from powerful domains but sit on weak pages. That gap between DA and PA confuses a lot of SEOs. Some ignore it. Others overreact. 

But if you want real results from your backlinks, you need to understand what this mismatch means and how to act on it.

In this post, I’ll explain the difference between DA and PA, why this mismatch happens, and how to spot these links fast using a Bulk DA PA Checker tool. 

You’ll also learn when these links matter and when they’re just taking up space in your backlink profile.

Let’s clear this up and make smarter link decisions.

DA vs PA — What’s the Difference?

Before you dig into the numbers, you need to know what they actually mean.

• Domain Authority (DA) is the overall strength of a website. It’s based on how many quality backlinks point to the domain as a whole.

• Page Authority (PA) measures the strength of a single page on that domain. It’s based on the links going directly to that page, not the site overall.

Both are Moz metrics. And while they don’t come from Google, they’re still widely used in SEO to gauge link quality.

Why a Page Can Have High DA but Low PA

You’ve seen it — a backlink from a strong domain, but the page linking to you has weak stats.

Here’s why that happens:

1. New Page With No Links: The page might be brand new. It hasn’t earned any backlinks yet. So, even though the domain has high authority, the PA stays low.

2. No Internal Links: If that page isn’t linked from other strong pages on the site, it won’t gain much value. No internal links = no authority passed.

3. Low-Value Placement: You might be linked in a footer, author bio, or forum post. These spots rarely get crawled or indexed properly, and usually don’t pass much SEO value.

4. Subdomain or User-Generated Content: Sites like Medium or Quora have high DA, but your link might be on a low PA subpage or user post.

This is exactly what the Bulk DA PA Checker helps uncover: links that look good on the surface but offer little SEO value.

Does That Link Still Help Your SEO?

Now the big question: If a link has high DA but low PA, is it actually helping your SEO?

Yes — in some cases

A low PA link can still help if:

• The page gets crawled and indexed over time.

• It’s a dofollow link placed in the main content.

• The site internally links to that page later.

In short, low PA doesn’t always mean low value; it just means the page hasn’t gained strength yet.

But not always

That same link is useless if:

• The page never gets indexed.

• It’s buried deep in the site’s structure.

• It’s a no-follow or spammy placement.

How to Spot These Links Using a Bulk DA PA Checker

If you want to filter out weak links fast, this is where the Bulk DA PA Checker tool earns its keep.

Step 1: Export Your Backlink Data: Use a tool like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console. Download a list of all your backlinks with URLs.

Step 2: Paste into the Bulk Checker: Drop the URLs into the Bulk DA PA Checker. It will scan each link and return both DA and PA for every page.

Step 3: Filter the Results

Now look for patterns:

• High DA (60+)

• Low PA (<20)

These are the links you need to look closer at.

Step 4: Manually Review: Open a few of those pages. Are they indexed in Google? Are they buried on profile pages or forums? This tells you if the link is worth keeping or not.

What You Should Do About Low PA Links

Once you spot a link with high DA but low PA, don’t just delete it or disavow it right away. Here’s what I do:

1. Track the Page Over Time: Use your Bulk DA PA Checker monthly. Check if the PA improves as the page ages or gains links.

2. Build Tier 2 Links: Send backlinks to the page linking to you. Yes — build links to your backlinks. That boosts the PA and passes more value to your site.

3. Request a Better Placement: Reach out to the site owner. Ask them to:

• Add internal links to the page.

• Move your link to a higher authority page.

4. Ignore or Disavow (When Needed): If the link is from spam, thin content, or never indexed, drop it. There’s no SEO win in holding on to dead weight. Be smart. Keep what matters. Fix what you can. Remove the rest.

Final Take

A backlink from a high DA domain sounds impressive,  until you realize the PA of the linking page is low. That’s where many SEOs go wrong. They assume the domain's authority will automatically pass value. 

But that’s not how it works. If the page linking to your site has no strength, the actual SEO benefit might be close to zero.

That’s why I always rely on a Bulk DA PA Checker tool. It helps me scan hundreds of backlinks fast, find mismatches between DA and PA, and focus only on the links that can move the needle. 

Once I spot weak links, I either track them over time, build Tier 2 links to boost their authority, or reach out for better placement.