Definition:
PageRank is a link analysis algorithm that estimates the relative importance of a page within a network of linked pages. Developed in the early days of Google, its name refers to Larry Page, one of its co-founders. Its operation has evolved, and it remains part of Google’s ranking systems.
In SEO, PageRank is not the same as a page’s position in search results. For example, if a website specialising in cars appears among the top five results for the search "cars", that position is not its PageRank. Rankings depend on the query and on multiple systems and signals.
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Factors that affect PageRank
The calculation is based on relationships between pages established through links. To understand how it works, it is useful to distinguish these elements:
- Importance of incoming links: not all links carry the same weight. In the original model, a link from a page with a higher PageRank can pass more value than one from a page with a lower PageRank.
- Number of incoming links: backlinks contribute to the calculation, but their number alone does not determine the result. The value passed by each linking page also matters.
- Outgoing links on the linking page: in the original model, the value a page distributes is divided among its outgoing links. Receiving a link therefore does not mean receiving all of the linking page’s PageRank.
- Site structure: internal links also connect pages and contribute to the distribution of PageRank. A site’s architecture determines which pages are linked and how they relate to one another.
Content quality and updates can encourage other pages to link to it, but they are not direct variables in the original PageRank calculation. Likewise, dwell time, bounce rate and click-through rate are not part of that calculation.
The usefulness of PageRank in SEO
PageRank helps explain why links matter to search engines. However, it should not be confused with a complete measure of a page’s quality, relevance or ability to rank.
Google stopped displaying the public PageRank indicator that was available through its toolbar. Removing that indicator did not mean the system had disappeared: PageRank remains part of Google’s ranking systems.
The authority metrics offered by SEO tools are those platforms’ own indicators, not Google’s internal PageRank. They can help compare link profiles, but they do not reveal its exact value or guarantee a particular ranking.