Google PageRank

What Is Google PageRank?

Even though the public PageRank toolbar disappeared in 2016, the underlying principle remains highly relevant: backlinks from trustworthy, topically relevant websites pass ranking power to your pages. Understanding PageRank allows you to use internal linking and link building strategically rather than blindly collecting links. Quality and topical relevance of a link matter far more than sheer quantity.

Google PageRank is Google’s historic algorithm for evaluating web pages based on the link structure of the web — named after Larry Page, one of Google’s founders. PageRank was one of the core elements of the original Google algorithm and treats links as votes: a page with many high-quality backlinks is considered more important and trustworthy. Although Google discontinued the public PageRank metric (previously shown in the toolbar) in 2016, the PageRank concept remains highly relevant internally and influences Google’s rankings to this day.

PageRank’s mechanics are based on a mathematical model: every link from page A to page B transfers a portion of A’s PageRank to B. A link from a high-ranking page is more valuable than a link from a low-ranking page. Pages that link to many other pages pass on a smaller share of their PageRank than those linking to just a few (which is why a link from a page with few outbound links is more valuable). Google uses PageRank today as one of hundreds of ranking factors, combined with content quality, RankBrain, and other signals.

For practical SEO, this means backlink quality is central. Links from trustworthy, topically relevant websites with high authority (measured by metrics such as Domain Rating in Ahrefs or Domain Authority in Moz) are more valuable than links from arbitrary pages. Link velocity (the rate at which new links are acquired) and link velocity patterns also influence Google’s assessment. When building links, SEO professionals should focus on natural, topically relevant links and avoid manipulative tactics, as Google devalues obvious PageRank manipulation.