Puzzled by high ranking page (#2 in SERPs) with zero/low page or domain authority

[seo-lab]

So, I get the smoothie that is page authority and domain authority and the link metrics that Moz uses to predict how well a page will rank for a certain keyword.

I can look at a specific search term where we are on say, page 2 or 3, with a page authority of 1 and domain authority of 26, I get why competitors rank above us.

But then I look at a keyword that is much more competitive, where we rank #2, which is awesome, where the landing page is also showing a page authority of 1, and domain authority of 26. How can we rank higher than competitors with a page authority of 56 and domain authority of 65? Their onpage optimization for the keyword is no worse, and sometimes better that ours but we maintain this ranking. By the way the competition also have hundreds if not thousands more linking root domains than our page.

Any ideas why one keyword is a rockstar and one is a dud, with the same poor PA and DA?

[donsilvernail]

Try doing a private browsing session and see if the rankings are the same. Search engines tend to give local results based upon your ip address. You may rank #2 for that keyword based upon your location if the others on the page are not local the local topic may suite your search needs better. If your ranking drops on a private browsing search then you know it is due to location. There are other factors such as; how many visits you have to a page, if your logged into google while you search, and other metrics specific to you directly.

[seo-lab]

Hi Donald,

My query is based on Moz ranking reports and metrics, so it's not an IP issue.

Thanks

jT

[donsilvernail]

Ok,

Then your answer is simple, Google sees your content as having more value then your competitors on the given keyword. The keyword you are ranking for may not be very competitive  or you have optimized well enough to give you an edge. The keyword you are not ranking for may be more competitive or your content is not seen as having the same value as your competitors. Keep in mind Google's main goal is to give the searcher the best information possible. That in and of itself is not solely based on domain authority, page authority or linking domains. In fact you should take this as good news. Your ranking as #1 may help you get quality back links or increase visits and revenue for that keyword.

[MattRoney]

Donald seems pretty spot-on, but may I ask how old this site is? A DA or PA of 1 usually just means we haven't indexed the site.