PageRank is a link analysis algorithm, named after Larry Page^[1] and used by the Google Internet search engine, that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of “measuring” its relative importance within the set. The algorithm may be applied to any collection of entities with reciprocal quotations and references. The numerical weight that it assigns to any given element E is referred to as the PageRank of E and denoted by PR(E). – Wikipedia

If that quote from the Wikipedia article about PageRank doesn’t make any sense to you, then this article is for you. (And if you did understand it, I think that this article will benefit you as well – but in a different way. )

In it’s simplest form, Google PageRank is a lot like democracy. Websites are both the candidates AND the voters, and he who gets the most votes wins; in the form of top placements within SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). To put it more simply – if a lot of other sites have a link to your site, you have a good chance of showing up within the top ten results of a Google search. Now, that is a VERY basic way of putting it, and there are a lot of gotcha‘s in there to trip you up – but that is what it all boils down to.

How is PageRank calculated?

PageRank is calculated using a patented algorithm that is constantly being tweaked, so no one can really say for sure how, but there are a lot of good ideas out there about it. What we as webmasters DO know is this – the more sites with relevant content and PageRank that link to your site, and the more relevant sites that your site links out to, the better your site’s PageRank will be. Also, it seems like Google is working on a much more dynamic / live pagerank system – we’ve seen PageRank for a specific site fluctuate up and down a whole point in the matter of a couple weeks, and then back to where it was. Now, remember I said there were some gotcha’s?

So what are some of the gotcha’s with PageRank

PageRank can be manipulated. It used to be VERY easy to do, but Google has consistently improved their algorithm to combat some of the common tactics that people use.

1. Bad links – Years ago – when I first got into SEO, PageRank, and all that jazz – I used to think that bad links were just dead links on your site that didn’t go anywhere. While those should be avoided at all costs, since they effect text to code ratio with no benefit to your site, there is an even more sinister side to bad links than that. You as a webmaster need to be careful what sites your website chooses to link to. If you knowingly link to a bad site that has nothing to do with the gist and content of your site, Google knows this, and will ding your PageRank a little. To follow the political reference – if you vote for a crooked candidate, it makes you look bad. Resolution? Avoid linking to websites that do not offer valuable content that is related to the purpose of your website.

2. Spamdexing – Spamdexing is a complicated subject – and has caused a lot of controversy in the past. There was even a lawsuit about it. It consists of automated “link generation” tools, hidden text, keyword stuffing, cloaking, and page hijacking for the sole purpose of increasing a sites PageRank, among other things. It’s kind of like stuffing the ballot box or rigging the election. You might win, but once you’re found out, it ain’t pretty. Resolution? Don’t do it! Use legitimate methods to build your sites PageRank – the long-term results are MUCH greater than the short-term rewards.

3. Duplicate Content – Duplicate content is a big problem these days. There are content farms galore feeding the same or highly similar articles to autoblogs all over the internet for the sole purpose of increasing their advertising revenue and amount of content on their site. Google is smart enough to know if your site consists of nothing but content scraped from other websites, and will adjust your PageRank accordingly, or simply drop you from search results all together. Resolution? Focus on creating unique, relevant content for your readers that they think is good enough to share or bookmark, and Google will see your site as increasingly more relevant for your topic of choice and reward you accordingly.

If you as a website owner and content creator knowingly participate in these practices, you’ll get what’s (unofficially) called a “Google Slap” where one day you’ll be at the top of results for whatever you are targeting, and the next day you’re nowhere to be found. That is why it is imperative that you play by the rules and do things the right and respectable way.

There are many more facets to PageRank that could be covered, and will be covered in the future here on this blog, but I think you’re starting to get the picture. While relevant, PageRank isn’t the be-all end-all factor when it comes to a successful website. Creating unique, engaging content that interests readers and offers value is what the web and Google is all about. Follow that, and you’re site will get ranked in no time.