Ask Dave Taylor
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • YouTube Videos
  • Top Categories
  • Subscribe via Email
  • Ask A Question
  • Meet Dave
  • Home
  • Web Site Traffic Tips
  • How does Google figure out what pages are more relevant? Pagerank.

How does Google figure out what pages are more relevant? Pagerank.

May 24, 2004 / Dave Taylor / Web Site Traffic Tips / 6 Comments

A core question for anyone on the Web, and certainly a question you should be asking if you’re trying to monetize your Web site, is how the heck does Google figure out what sites are more relevant to a given search than others?
To get the answer, let’s go back in time a little bit and look at the research papers from a Stanford University project called “BackRub”. You should certainly recognize the authors…

The BackRub project, of course, was done by two Stanford graduate students, Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page, and subsequently evolved into Google, the search site and company we all love and from which we all wish we had IPO stock.
Reading the early research reports is surprisingly informative, particularly The Anatomy of a Search Engine, in which Brin and Page explain that the fundamental idea behind Google is that for any given word or phrase, matching Web sites can be ranked for relevance by using something that they called pagerank.
Here’s what they have to say about this topic:

“The citation (link) graph of the web is an important resource that has largely gone unused in existing web search engines. We have created maps .. [that] allow rapid calculation of a web page’s “PageRank”, an objective measure of its citation importance that corresponds well with people’s subjective idea of importance. Because of this correspondence, PageRank is an excellent way to prioritize the results of web keyword searches. For most popular subjects, a simple text matching search that is restricted to web page titles performs admirably when PageRank prioritizes the results.”

Much more interesting than that, however, is the remarkably simple formula that they use to calculate pagerank in this first generation of Google, which is based almost completely on how many pages point to it.
Simple, but remarkably elegant: the more links that point to a given page, the more relevant that page must be. Further, take into account the words used to link to a site, and add the title tag of the page itself and you begin to have a pretty decent idea of the theoretical relevance and value of a given site.
If you like mathematical formulas, you’ll like this too:

We assume page A has pages T1…Tn which point to it (i.e., are citations). The parameter d is a damping factor which can be set between 0 and 1. We usually set d to 0.85. There are more details about d in the next section. Also C(A) is defined as the number of links going out of page A. The PageRank of a page A is given as follows:
PR(A) = (1-d) + d (PR(T1)/C(T1) + … + PR(Tn)/C(Tn))
Note that the PageRanks form a probability distribution over web pages, so the sum of all web pages’ PageRanks will be one.

Impressive, eh?
Of course, the modern Google pagerank algorithm has over 100 different variables that it takes into account, but the basic concept is still quite true: the more links you have pointing to you, the better your pagerank, and the better your pagerank, the more relevant your site will be for specific searches, and, finally, the more relevant, the higher you’ll show in the search results and the more traffic you’ll garner from Google searches!
There are a number of different ways to get more inbound links, as they’re called, to help boost your pagerank, but an even easier place for you to start if you’re eager to improve your own pagerank is to read my article entitled The hidden importance of your page TITLE.
Another good strategy: subscribe to my XML Feed with an RSS reader (learn more about RSS), and you’ll have my articles come to your computer without any further effort!

About the Author: Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the early days of the Internet. Author of over 20 technical books, he runs the popular AskDaveTaylor.com tech help site. You can also find his gadget reviews on YouTube and chat with him on Twitter as @DaveTaylor.

Let’s Stay In Touch!

Never miss a single article, review or tutorial here on AskDaveTaylor, sign up for my fun weekly newsletter!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

6 comments on “How does Google figure out what pages are more relevant? Pagerank.”

  1. Ask Dave Taylor! says:
    November 3, 2004 at 8:36 pm

    How do I map XX.com to http://www.XX.com in Apache?

    I’ve been keeping an eye on a very interesting discussion about the difference between the Google pagerank of pages on a “www” domain name and the same page without the “www” prefix (e.g. “www.intuitive.com/index.html” versus “intuitive.com/index.html”…

    Reply
  2. Dave Taylor's Booktalk says:
    November 2, 2004 at 5:30 am

    How do I map XX.com to http://www.XX.com in Apache?

    I’ve been keeping an eye on a very interesting discussion about the difference between the Google pagerank of pages on a “www” domain name and the same page without the “www” prefix (e.g. “www.intuitive.com/index.html” versus “intuitive.com/index.html”…

    Reply
  3. Dave Taylor says:
    August 30, 2004 at 3:14 am

    Agreed, but I imagine it’s just a matter of time before people are trying to disassemble and reverse-engineer MSN’s BlockRank too. And we’ll write about that here at http://www.free-web-money.com/ too. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Anthony Parsons says:
    August 30, 2004 at 2:17 am

    MSN’s BlockRank algo will be a little more interesting than PageRank IMO, once they have it up and running.

    Reply
  5. aaron wall says:
    June 12, 2004 at 2:13 am

    PageRank actually is not weighted very heavily in Google’s current ranking algorithm. When they talk about PageRank all they are talking about is the equasion you listed above.

    When they talk about 100 factors in their ranking algorithm it is a bit more complex than just PageRank.

    Currently the #1 most important ranking factor for competitive terms is inbound link text.

    that is why mr vi-agra and mr phen-tamine have probably visited your site a few times (I know they have mine)…

    Reply
  6. The Intuitive Life says:
    June 1, 2004 at 3:35 am

    Learn more about Google in the Houston Business Review

    Alright, the article is actually one that I originally wrote for Free Web Money with the cheery title of How does Google figure out which pages are more relevant? Pagerank., but I’m pleased that the Houston Business Review picked it up for their May 20…

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • How to Check Energy Recommendations on your Windows Laptop
  • How Do I Customize New Tab Windows in Safari for Mac?
  • Can AI-Generated ChatGPT Text Be Accurately Identified?
  • How to Perform a Microsoft Account Security Audit and Checkup
  • How Can I Customize My Linux Dock / Taskbar?

On Our YouTube Channel

How to: Replace a Switchbot Door Sensor Battery

EMEET Luna vs INNOTRIK Studio Bluetooth Speakerphones -- DEMOS & REVIEW

Categories

  • AdSense, AdWords, and PPC Help (106)
  • Amazon, eBay, and Online Shopping Help (163)
  • Android Help (226)
  • Apple iPad Help (147)
  • Apple Watch Help (53)
  • Articles, Tutorials, and Reviews (346)
  • Auto Tech Help (15)
  • Business Advice (200)
  • ChromeOS Help (31)
  • Computer & Internet Basics (778)
  • d) None of the Above (166)
  • Facebook Help (383)
  • Google, Chrome & Gmail Help (188)
  • HTML & Web Page Design (247)
  • Instagram Help (49)
  • iPhone & iOS Help (623)
  • iPod & MP3 Player Help (173)
  • Kindle & Nook Help (99)
  • LinkedIn Help (88)
  • Linux Help (173)
  • Linux Shell Script Programming (89)
  • Mac & MacOS Help (911)
  • Most Popular (16)
  • Outlook & Office 365 Help (33)
  • PayPal Help (68)
  • Pinterest Help (54)
  • Reddit Help (19)
  • SEO & Marketing (82)
  • Spam, Scams & Security (95)
  • Trade Show News & Updates (23)
  • Twitter Help (220)
  • Video Game Tips (66)
  • Web Site Traffic Tips (62)
  • Windows PC Help (947)
  • Wordpress Help (206)
  • Writing and Publishing (72)
  • YouTube Help (47)
  • YouTube Video Reviews (159)
  • Zoom, Skype & Video Chat Help (62)

Archives

Social Connections:

Ask Dave Taylor


Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram


AskDaveTaylor on Facebook



microsoft insider mvp


This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to our terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. Our lawyer says "Thanks for your cooperation."
© 2023 by Dave Taylor. "Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.
Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions - Accessibility Policy