What is Google PageRank | How PageRank Works and Who Invented PageRank?

PageRank is one of the pioneers in the algorithms created by the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in the late 1990s. PageRank was one of the original ranking algorithms for the search engine results pages. The basic principle is the evaluation of the importance of a web page, based on links from other pages in the Internet to it.

What is Google PageRank | How PageRank Works and Who Invented PageRank?



How PageRank Works

1. Link Structure:

 PageRank simply works on the idea that if important pages contain more link-instances from other important pages, then they are supposed to be more important. Every link to a page is like a vote for that page, and the quality of linking pages gives weight to the vote.

2. Damping Factor:

 The algorithm incorporates a damping factor, usually about 0.85. The same factor takes into account the likelihood of a person continuing to click on the links found during a search. Such a factor prevents rank from being influenced to infinity by a small number of highly linked pages.

3. Mathematical Model:

 The PageRank computation is based on a mathematical formula that takes into consideration the number of links pointing towards the page and their quality. It is processed iteratively over the web graph until the ranks stabilize.

Significance of PageRank


Ranking by Search Engine: Although Google applies many other factors in ranking algorithms today, PageRank was the basis on which search engines measure page authority. The higher rank will likely lead to a higher visibility in the list of search results.

Quality Over Quantity: PageRank is more concerned with quality than sheer quantity. A link coming from a well-ranked page provides more value than many links coming from pages of lesser rank.

PageRank Limitations


Dynamically Changing Web: The web is dynamic, that is, constantly changing. New pages are made, some are updated, and others deleted. Such scenarios may influence the PageRank computation process.

Not the Sole Element: Next, it is better to state that modern search engines' algorithms work on consideration of a thousand other elements: content relevance, user experience, mobile optimization, and even others. PageRank is one thing, but it forms only a part of a much bigger ranking system.

PageRank is an innovation in invention for any search engine that rates the web pages. Though its usage in search engine rankings is so dynamic, knowledge about PageRank is essential since it will provide a user with a reasonable understanding of how one approaches rank/link rank and authority on the web.


    Who invented PageRank?

    PageRank was developed as part of a research project by Larry Page of Standford University and Sergey Brin about a new type of search engine. Sergey came up with an idea that information on the World Wide Web can be ranked in a hierarchy based on "link popularity".


    What is link popularity?

    Link popularity is said to be possessed by a page if it has more number of links to it.

    Google describes PageRank:

    Those pages that we think have important contents get more PageRank and come up more frequently at the top of the search results.

    Search engine optimization  is the most important one. Google Inc owns the trademarks of Google search engine and PageRank algorithm. Page ranking algorithm by Google page ranking algorithm provides page ranks for the pages that contain more number of links to it. Its values range from 0 to 10 points. The least has a pagerank value of 0 from 10 possible points but the most page rank value is 10 from 10 possible points then the page is said to be more popular.

    For Example: Most popular websites have a PageRank of 10 from 10 possible point like www.google.com, etc.


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