Do you know how Google ranks pages?

Last updated by Camilla Rosa Silva [SSW] 6 months ago.See history

What has contributed to Google's remarkable success? A key element of Google's search engine success story lies in its Page Rank Algorithm. You can delve into the origins of this algorithm by reading The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine, which sheds light on its early days.

The original Page Rank algorithm looked like this:  PR(A) = (1-d) + d (PR(T1)/C(T1) + … + PR(Tn)/C(Tn)).  

In this formula, PR stands for Page Rank, 'A' represents the number of links emanating from page A, 'd' is a constant damping factor, and 'V' signifies a page that links to our page. The fundamental concept stemming from this algorithm remains unchanged:

When I link to your page, I'm essentially endorsing it, and the more links (endorsements) a page garners, the higher its perceived quality.

This statement alone sent shockwaves through the webmaster community and sent many webmasters on an endless quest for links. All pages begin with an equal page rank, which is then moved around based on the internal and external links to and from that page.

It's crucial to recognize, however, that Page Rank is just one of several factors in the modern search landscape. Today, Google's search process involves the following steps:

  1. Finding all pages matching the search keywords
  2. Ranking these pages based on "on-page" factors like proximity between words, frequency, repetition, etc.
  3. Calculating the relevancy of inbound anchor text
  4. Using the Page Rank, among other factors, to decide what order to display the results in

Therefore, while pursuing backlinks to your site remains important, it's equally vital to excel in the first 3 factors for a comprehensive SEO strategy. Google's search algorithm has evolved significantly, considering various other factors like user engagement metrics, mobile compatibility, and page loading speed to provide users with the most relevant and valuable search results.

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