What is PageRank?

Google’s PageRank algorithm was a fundamental part of their search engine ranking system when it was introduced in the late 1990s to calculate the importance of a page on the web.

Is it still relevant in 2025?

Google has not publicly declare updates to PageRank since 2016, and it is widely believed that the algorithm is no longer used in the same way it once was. However, Google has stated that PageRank is still a part of their overall ranking system.

PageRank is now just one of many factors that influence search rankings. The development of AI and other modern technologies has enabled a variety of factors to be considered too, including content quality, user experience, mobile-friendliness, and more. This has improved the effectiveness of search rankings, and reduced the ability for SEO techniques that could inappropriately manipulate rankings.

So, while PageRank may still play a role in Google’s ranking algorithm, it is no longer the dominant factor it once was. Whilst it is worth considering your pages likely PageRank, it’s best to focus on creating high-quality, relevant content and optimising your site in-line with the latest SEO best practices instead.

How does PageRank work?

Put simply, PageRank views links between pages as “votes” for that page. In its first iteration this simply means the most heavily “voted” for (linked to) pages are seen as the most “important” in the Google index.

In reality,  this simple image is however played over-and-over, with each iteration taking account of the previous iterations page “importance” to give “important” pages a more heavily weighted “vote”. This, in essence, means a link to BeachyUK.com from a relatively unknown site has less impact on our PageRank than a link from Microsoft.com… which seems fair enough really.

But, there’s one more thing that makes PageRank such a heavily watched area… and it’s a secret.

No, really, it is a secret. The formula behind PageRank is a constant secret by Google, and cerftain back in the 1990s it was often changing, preventing even the best Search Engine Optimisers (SEOs) from reverse-engineering it.

So how do you get a good PageRank?

Back in the day, you used to be able to lookup a pages PageRank on a scale of 1 to 10. This obviously created a lot of focus on PageRank, and SEO (which was often more about PageRank manipulation than genuinely making a page better quality). With PageRank now a small part of the equation, it’s best to focus on creating high-quality, relevant content and optimising your site in-line with website best practices instead.

• Write consist content: Search engine’s seem to like sites with a consistent theme/related keywords. Logically humans do too, as it feels like we’re getting knowledge from an expert that way.
• Fool nobody: If you try to fool a Search Engine, you’re very likely to be caught out and poorly rated as a result.
• Get good, relevant Backlinks: Backlinks are links from other sites, to yours, they are the “votes” in Google’s eyes (and other search engines!). Backlinks from sites with similar keywords are likely to still count for more, so find relevant sites if you’re going to do this.
• Write good content: This is the best advice I can give anyone. Good content attracts visitors, some of whom will spread the word, creating backlinks to your site organically. Search engines also seek to mimic visitor attraction to pages, so focusing on this is a win-win.
• Search Engine Optimisation: Don’t forget to make sure your site is easy for a search engine to read, as well as your human visitors. Good basic Meta Tag use, structured data etc is essential.

Summary

Since this article was first written PageRank has become less critical to Google, becoming just one of many factors considered in the ranking of search results.

With the advent of improved layout and content understanding through artificial intelligence technologies, it has become more obvious than ever for website owners to focus on making good quality content, and following good data structure and setup practices.

Related links

8 cost-free top tips every website owner should be following
Zero-cost tips to make sure your site is secure, functional and search engines friendly.

Google Technology Overview – http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html
The official Google statement on PageRank. This page is linked through the web archive at archive.org, as Google has since deleted it from their live site.