What is Google’s PageRank? If you have ever done any reading about search engine optimization or were just curious how you can get your site to the top of the Google search engine results, understanding PageRank is vital. I’m going to introduce you to the basics of PageRank and also provide a brief discussion on how much you should really worry about PageRank if you are running a website or Internet business.
Google’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, invented PageRank and it forms the basis for how Google works. Google didn’t become the best search engine in the world by chance, it became the best search engine because it provided the best results. PageRank is in fact the technology that gave Google its competitor-killing edge, a way to greatly improve the accuracy and validity of a search response to a user query.
In essence PageRank provides a means to determine the value of a website for any given search term or keyword phrase. This value is determined by how websites link together with the more popular (and theoretically better) sites receiving more links. It’s these incoming links that help the site have a high PageRank value and thus display higher up in search results.
Let’s read how Google explains their PageRank system:
PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value. Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves “important” weigh more heavily and help to make other pages “important.”
Important, high-quality sites receive a higher PageRank, which Google remembers each time it conducts a search. Of course, important pages mean nothing to you if they don’t match your query. So, Google combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search. Google goes far beyond the number of times a term appears on a page and examines all aspects of the page’s content (and the content of the pages linking to it) to determine if it’s a good match for your query.
The key rule to understand is that it is a combination of variables that determine how well your site performs in Google. These are the most important variables to worry about:
- Incoming links to your site.
- The relevancy (to your site’s theme) of the pages linking to your site and the PageRank of these pages.
- The keywords that other sites use to link to your site.
- The keywords on your website in particular in places like page titles and headlines.
Some of those factors you can control, others you can manipulate but not directly control. The important thing to understand regarding PageRank is that all those variables will determine how high your site shows up in search engine results. PageRank is the name for the technology that ranks sites and includes all those variables and many more.
PageRank Numbers - The Little Green Bar
If you install the Google Toolbar into your browser you can choose to switch on the PageRank display (it’s in the options). This will make a little green bar appear above web pages you visit. The green bar represents the PageRank of the page you are viewing in your browser. The ranking starts at 0 (no ranking) up to 10, the highest ranking and can be blanked out completely if the page has been banned from Google. If you don’t want to use the toolbar you can try this free PageRank lookup tool to find the ranking for any web address.
Google created quite a storm when it launched its green PageRank bar. Webmasters became obsessed with methods to increase their PageRank and high PageRank sites started selling text links for hundreds of dollars. A link from a high PageRank page, from a PageRank 7, 8, 9 or 10, has been known to make lower PageRank pages increase a full number, even two if the incoming link is from a PageRank 10, and there is no doubt it is good for search engine rankings.
The problem with PageRank being displayed in a little green bar is that it is very hard to really gauge how valuable a ranking is. The Google PageRank technology is complex containing many variables, some of which I mentioned above, and to interpret a number from 0-10, especially when only Google really knows how it works, is difficult. Worse still, the visible representation, the green bar that the public can see, only changes on a quarterly basis, while the real PageRank of a page changes on a daily basis. Most of the time you are looking at a very outdated ranking value.
PageRank paranoia is an issue that every webmaster may fall victim to. There are rumours that Google will be changing the PageRank system because they are not happy with how it is being manipulated and interpreted. As a rule of thumb, watch the green bar with interest but don’t take it too seriously or spend too much time trying to force it to increase (staring and yelling at it will do you no good, trust me on that one).
The Randomness Of PageRank
Search engine optimization experts actively track PageRank and investigate things like page backlinks to try and work out what the top search engine ranked sites are doing right so they can replicate and then surpass them in the rankings. This is a very good strategy for any person running a web business looking to improve their search ranking. There is no need to reinvent the wheel - copy what works and do it slightly better than the competition.
This is all good in theory, but unfortunately there is a good amount of randomness in PageRank and search engine results. Google of course would argue that it’s not randomness and their PageRank system is merely using algorithms that we don’t understand, and no doubt that is true, but for the human webmaster trying to get traffic, PageRank and Google can be baffling sometimes.
There are instances of high PageRanked sites having little to no backlinks. Given that incoming links are one of the most important variables used in PageRank calculations you have to scratch your head and wonder how a site with no links could have a big green bar. Google’s own backlink lookup tool (see this article - Beginners Guide To Backlinks - for details) is another phenomenon that search engine experts often choose to ignore rather than try and evaluate.
Thankfully the randomness of PageRank can result in positive outcomes as well, with your sites jumping high into search results in places where you wouldn’t expect it. The only consistency is randomness but there is logic that can be followed and smart search engine optimization practices that when implemented well will work. Just don’t expect it to work precisely how or when you want it to.
What You Should Know And Do About PageRank
This advice I offer from experience as an avid PageRank chaser and search engine optimizer. The key to gaining PageRank is to ignore it and focus on the variables that control it.
Having people link to your site has always been a good thing and PageRank was in fact a result of this. Don’t get confused with the order of things, first came the Internet and links and then came PageRank. Focus on amassing quality incoming links from quality sites relevant to your site. This practice will naturally improve your PageRank and also increase the amount of visitors coming to your site. Don’t get bogged down chasing links from only high PageRank sites or waste energy adding links from just any site willing to link to you. Do things naturally and your site will grow naturally.
Learn about the importance of keywords. My SEO articles will help you with this. Keywords play a crucial role in bringing the right type of traffic to your site but you should never spend half an hour in front of a computer trying to come up with the perfect title for your article. Name your content logically and think about what search words your audience would use to find your article and you can very quickly and easily develop good keywords without spending hours and hours tweaking every little phrase and heading. See what your competitors do in regards to keywords if you are completely lost.
If you build a good website with good content, always keep in mind your important keywords and proactively work every day to earn and create new backlinks to your site you will improve your PageRank. The best sites with the highest PageRank never worry about PageRank, they simply keep churning out content that people love to link to. This is a strategy that every webmaster and Internet entrepreneur should emulate for success online.
Yaro Starak
Internet Business Coach
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I came across this not long ago: a PageRank prediction tool. I don’t know how it works, but it does gather it’s data straight from Google. Fascinating stuff!
Even though I am not personally concerned with PR, I am a tinkerer and love finding out how things work. It still is a fascinating subject! - Nards
Hi Andy - thanks for the tool link. I’m not so sure how accurate it is but it’s the first tool I’ve found that seems to be trying. I like it’s result for this blog too!
Also of interest, it predicted a PR 7 for the million dollar homepage. I’d believe that.
Hi Yaro,
Nice article.
I was going to write about this subject myself, but now I think I will just link to this post instead.
It does tie in quite nicely with an article I wrote the other day about the use of link exchanging to boost page rank.
Link Exchange Madness!.
Great article once again yaro.
To Andy, do we know how this prediction works? Do we also know how often google updates pageranks?
[…] Yaro at Entrepreneur’s Journey explains all about Google PageRank and how it can influence your search engine ranking. […]
Yaro,
Do you know how often Google updates it PR? I have heard that it is about once every 3 months.
I’m curious to know because my darvastrade.com website fluctuates between results 5 and 10 for a search on ‘Nicolas Darvas’.
I don’t understand how it can appear ahead of pages with a higher PR.
Any ideas?
James - I’m only making a wild guess here - maybe the PageRank Prediction tool uses the Google API to get its info. If you click the (check) link next to the results (here’s an example of this site), you’ll see the address points to Google’s domain. The PageRank Prediction tool probably looks for the largest value as its basis of the prediction.
If I can chime in here Dominic, you shouldn’t confuse search engine rankings with actual page rank and toolbar pagerank. Although I believe Google only reindexes the web every 3-4 months, your SERPs can fluctuate within that time frame. Brad Fallon has some good stuff on explaining the difference between PR and SERPs and how they inter-relate.
Dominic - what Will said. Your PageRank effects how well your site performs in search results pages. Visibly the toolbar seems to update about every 3 months (but no doubt behind the scenes it changes constantly). The results in search engine pages are completely dynamic, hence your site is always moving up and down in search engines.
I am not sure how important the PR numbers on the little green bar are. People overemphasize this too much IMO. Sure, it’s one factor - but Google uses over 100 factors in its algorithm. If all other factors are equal, it may put your site above others but keywords and the website text content are more important for me.
[…] PageRank Explained Top […]
[…] Yaro Starak’s article, “PageRank Explained” explains the basics of Google’s PageRank system and discusses how much you need to worry about the PageRank of your site. […]
Thanks for the article! As a full time developer, this information is exceedingly useful to me.
QuickBits: October 7, 2005
Another eventual week in the life of this serial internet entrepreneur whose gone blogging mad
On Monday I launched my newest blog, BlogNetworkWatch, which as you might have guessed watches the goings on of the blog networks. A nice and quite week …
PageRank does not play a part in keyword ranking. This is why high PR sites do not dominate off-topic keyword areas. Actual PageRank is unknowable (the green bar ‘aint it).
PR is yesterdays news. Instead, think in terms of longevity and community. Search on “Mike Grehan”
[…] This article of Yaro Starak’s explains the basics of Google’s PageRank system and the importance of churning out content that people love to link to! Entry filed under: […]
Thanks for explaining google page rank.
Links of the Week
Great starting article! I recommend reading everything you can about this. You can’t afford to ignore online marketing opportunities.
I have a lot more information on my website. This stuff can get really tricky, and it’s important to not just go out and get a ton of links overnight. My site tries to network people and link related sites.
This site is still in beta, but there is some good information available:
Natural Link Exchange
Great article Yaro, interesting read, thanks.
[…] PageRank Explained - Keeping SEO Simple […]
Nice Article. Do you by any chance know how the paerank formula can be calculated? I understand that it takes the PR of all sites to the equation. But what determines that?
Yaro, I’d have to argue (as Mike Grehan does), that PageRank is now nothing more than green fairy dust with virtually no value at all to a webmaster, SEO or content builder.
If you probe a little deeper into the SEO/M world, you’ll see that this is, indeed, widely known among community members and professionals alike. PageRank was once a very important part of Google’s ranking algorithms, but has gone the way of the Dodo bird and stuffed meta tags.
Anchor text, on-topic links, subject-specific communities and link poularity within them are all much bigger parts of the ranking equation.
However, I like your writing style and blog - keep digging and you’ll find some great stuff in the world of SEO.
Randfish - yes I agree with you that most SEO experts and marketing professionals will understand that we shouldn’t be devoting too much energy to PageRank, however because of it’s visibility and popularity (regardless of value) I still consider it an important factor.
If for nothing else, a high PageRank demonstrates credibility. I have plenty of friends that will look at the greenbar as one of the first things to evaluate a site. If they see a PR 3 or less then they may surf away on that stat alone. If they see a PR 6 or more they pay extra attention.
Yes it’s only a certain type of (perhaps misguided) browser that reacts this way, but that’s the way it is (no doubt Google didn’t intend the green bar to work that way). Until a new green bar comes along or if Google drops in popularity I don’t think PageRank is ever going to be something worth ignoring, despite what the traffic figures tell you or the SEO experts understand.
The fact that this article on PageRank doubled the amount of visitors to this blog demonstrates it’s influence, in a sort of indirect way.
[…] The Following is an excerpt from Yaro Starak’s article on Page Ranking in Google. It is reprinted with permission from the author. […]
Does the text in , etc.. tags have a great effect on page rank?
Thanks,
Anthony
I disagree with Randfish. It’s true that many or most SEOs consider PageRank to be only a tiny ranking factor these days, but that view has evolved through the years more as a “probably”, and even rumour, than as anything based on evidence. To the best of my knowledge, there has been nothing to suggest that the weight given to PageRank when scoring the rankings has been reduced to being almost irrelevant. Having said that, there’s also no evidence to suggest that its weight hasn’t changed through the years. I disagree with assuming that it’s changed without anything to back it up other than what people say.
I agree completely with the idea of not chasing PageRank, though. Chase IBLs, and the PageRank will take care of itself.
Thought readers might be interested in this blog entry about PageRank and SEO as a web comic -
http://www.nevndave.com/2005/11/28/top-search-engine-optimization-tips/
[…] If you read my blog you should be well and truly familiar with PageRank. Most of my SEO posts are laden with the term but just in case you don’t know about PageRank head over and read this article to get yourself introduced to the topic - PageRank Explained - Keeping SEO Simple - this is one of my most popular articles and it should answer your basic questions. […]
[…] PageRank Explained - Keeping SEO Simple […]
…There are rumours that Google will be changing the PageRank system because they are not happy with how it is being manipulated and interpreted….
Are you sure?
I believe, google would be more interested in making their search results more relevent than worrying about how people misuse it. Also, that ‘nofollow’ thing being recommended by google shows how helpless they are in this regard.
[…] The PageRank update (learn about PageRank) has been occurring over the past 24-48 hours. My friend Alborz, who manages the MyWeblog free blog hosting service has been jumping up and down with glee as his blog went to a PageRank 5. Regardless of what you think about PageRank, an increase can really put a smile on a webmaster’s face. […]
[…] PageRank Explained - Keeping SEO Simple […]
[…] It’s all speculation am I’m fairly certain it will calm down and settle like usual. When Google plays with PageRank, just like when it was offline for nearly a month last year, all kinds of speculation goes on. It shows despite that fact that we shouldn’t pay too much attention to PageRank it really still has an impact on us Webmasters. We just can’t help but chase the little green bar. [ | Add Your Comment ] […]
I understand that google takes into consideration the realevant links to your site when assesing Pagerank, but how long does it take to regognise your links as realevant?
Im currently running a pagerank experiment to sEE if its possible to get a new PR0 site to a P10 in 2 years.
You can view its progress at http://www.pagerank10.co.uk
Lee
[…] Months later I wrote a pillar article on my blog introducing the concept of Google’s PageRank and explaining how much attention we, as website owners, should pay to it. (You can read it here - http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/275/pagerank-explained/) […]
Page rank has been the focus of many web developers as sort of a benchmark to how popular the site is even though page rank by many accounts is starting to be devalued and keyword density etc are more important to having your site listed at the top of the engine. With all that said I would still love to have a higher page rank and also for google to update the rank more frequently.
I am also running an experiment with Google Page Rank; I’m trying to see how fast I can get my site up to 5 from initial launch of my site:
AdSimple
I’ll come back with updates.
Well only after 3 weeks my site had a predicted pagerank of 5 in the next update using the future pagerank tool.
http://www.pagerank10.co.uk/pagerank_prediction.php
Although this is only a prediction it shows it can be possible.
Hi Yaro,
Excellent article.
I was going to write an article on this subject but after reading your article i just link your article from my blog website. Nice Job..
Jimmy
http://www.calligraphy-experts.com
[…] Of course factors such as how much traffic you have, what industry your site is in, your site’s PageRank (What is PageRank?) and where you place the add code will determine how much you make, but as I said, anything is better than nothing, so it’s worth a try. […]
Jimmy - Sure, by all means link to this article as an explanation for PageRank, I appreciate the vote of confidence. Cheers!
it really warms my heart to read a post like this. Thanks for explain about pagerank!