Ah, PageRank, the granddaddy of search engine algorithms. It’s like that wise old professor who once ruled academia but now spends most of his time feeding ducks at the park.

PageRank was the brainchild of Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two Stanford PhD students who would later go on to create a little-known company called Google (you might have heard of it).

Back in the late 90s, when the internet was basically a chaotic mess of Geocities pages and animated GIFs of dancing babies, search engines were… let’s say, not great.

Most early search engines ranked pages based on keyword stuffing.

If a page had “buy cheap sunglasses” repeated 10,000 times, it was the top result—even if the page was just a poorly designed nightmare of text and flashing colors.

Page and Brin decided to fix this mess. Their idea? Rank web pages based on importance, not just keywords. And thus, PageRank was born.

How PageRank Worked (In a Nutshell)

PageRank was based on a simple but powerful idea: the importance of a webpage is determined by how many other important pages link to it.

Think of the web as a giant university. If one professor cites another professor’s paper, that paper must be valuable.

If many professors cite it, then it must be even more valuable.

That’s essentially how PageRank worked, except instead of professors, it was websites linking to each other.

Each link to a page acted like a “vote” for that page’s authority.

But not all votes were equal.

A link from a highly respected site (like a major news website) carried more weight than a link from Bob’s Blog About Buttered Toast.

Google used this system to determine which pages were actually useful and which were just keyword-stuffed garbage.

The result?

Much better search results, and the beginning of Google’s domination of the internet.

So, Is PageRank Still Relevant ?

Ah, the golden age of AI-generated content, TikTok search results, and way too many SEO “gurus” trying to game the system.

The short answer? PageRank still exists, but it’s no longer the superstar it once was.

Why PageRank Has Faded Into the Background

1. Google Has Become More Complex
   Google’s search algorithm has evolved beyond just PageRank. It now uses hundreds of ranking factors, including user engagement, site speed, mobile-friendliness, and, of course, AI-powered “helpfulness.”

2. Link Manipulation Became a Huge Problem
   Once SEO experts realized how PageRank worked, they exploited it. Link farms, paid backlinks, and shady “SEO experts” selling thousands of backlinks for $9.99 made the system easy to game. Google had to adjust.

3. The Rise of AI and User Behavior Analysis
   Google now relies more on machine learning and user behavior. If people quickly leave a page, it’s probably not good, no matter how many backlinks it has.

4. Social Media and Other Signals Matter More
   In 1998, links were the best way to measure authority. Nowdays? Not so much. Google now considers brand mentions, social media engagement, and even AI-generated summaries when ranking pages.

Is There Any PageRank Left?

Yes, but it’s buried deep in Google’s ranking mix. PageRank is still one of the factors used, but it’s no longer the dominant force.

It’s like an aging rock star who still tours but isn’t topping the charts anymore.

Should You Care About PageRank Today?

If you’re in SEO, kind of, but don’t obsess over it.

Instead, focus on what actually works:

• Create genuinely useful content (Google loves it when people stay on your page and engage with it)
• Get quality backlinks (not from spammy link farms, but real, authoritative sites)
• Optimize for user experience (fast-loading, mobile-friendly, easy to navigate)
• Leverage social signals (Google pays attention to brand mentions and engagement outside of links)
• Stay updated (SEO is an ever-evolving game, and what works today might not work next year)

PageRank had its time in the spotlight, but now it’s just a small piece of Google’s ever-growing puzzle.

Key Ideas

References

1. Google’s original PageRank research paper: http://infolab.stanford.edu/~backrub/google.html
2. How Google’s algorithm has evolved: https://moz.com/google-algorithm-change
3. Latest SEO trends in 2023: https://searchengineland.com/
4. Google’s Webmaster Guidelines: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/basics/