Discovering PageRank
PageRank is one of Google’s founding concepts, and it lies behind the company’s meteoric success in the 2000s. Designed as a ranking algorithm based on the popularity of web pages, it allowed Google to stand out by delivering more relevant results than its competitors.
Although PageRank has no longer been publicly displayed since 2016, its core principle remains active within the algorithm of the search engine. It continues to influence how pages are positioned in the results, taking into account the quantity and quality of the links pointing to them.
Understanding PageRank means grasping the key mechanisms of SEO: why backlinks are so important, how internal linking can boost certain pages, and why not all links carry the same weight. In this article, let’s explore this discreet but still powerful pillar of organic search.
What is PageRank?
Origin and definition
PageRank is an algorithm developed in the late 1990s by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google. At the time, the revolution this system brought lay in its ability to assess the popularity of a web page not on the basis of its content alone, but according to the number and quality of the links pointing to it. The principle was simple: if many websites find it worthwhile to link to a page, then that page deserves special attention in the search results.
Each link received is interpreted as a vote of confidence. But these votes are not all equal: a link from a recognised, popular and thematically relevant site carries far more weight than a link from an unknown or off-topic site. In this way, PageRank introduces the idea that a page’s reputation can be passed on to others, and that this transfer happens through hypertext links.
How it works in theory
The original model rests on a concept of random browsing: a fictional user clicks on the links of web pages at random, and the more likely they are to land on a page, the more important that page is considered to be. To simulate this behaviour, Google assigns each link a fraction of the authority of the source page, which it passes on to the target page.
This means that every page holds a certain amount of PageRank, which it shares with all the pages it links to. For example, if a page A links to B, C and D, each of these links will receive roughly a third of A’s PageRank (according to a simplified version of the calculation).
In practice, PageRank is therefore a mechanism for transmitting popularity, in which links play a central role. It is this logic that explains why, even today, backlinks and internal linking remain such powerful levers for improving a site’s visibility in the search results.
How is PageRank calculated?
The simplified mathematical formula
Calculating PageRank relies on a probabilistic mathematical formula, which models the behaviour of a fictional user browsing from page to page by following links. At each step, they have a certain probability of clicking on a link or of setting off towards a completely different page. This behaviour is represented by the formula:
PR(A) = (1 – d) + d × (PR(B)/L(B) + PR(C)/L(C) + …)
In this equation:
- PR(A) is the PageRank of page A.
- PR(B) and PR(C) are the PageRank values of the pages that point to A.
- L(B) and L(C) represent the number of outbound links from pages B and C.
- d is the damping factor, generally set at 0.85, which simulates the probability that a user keeps clicking on links rather than starting their browsing over.
The key idea is that the more links a page receives from pages that are themselves popular, and the less diluted those links are (that is, the fewer other links they are shared with), the more PageRank the page accumulates.
The importance of internal linking
PageRank does not apply only to external links (backlinks). It also works internally, between the pages of the same site. This is why internal linking is an essential strategy: it lets you redistribute SEO authority intelligently across the site’s various pages.
By linking to your most strategic pages from the most visited or most popular pages, you can channel PageRank towards the content you want to push up the search results. This is achieved through a clear structure, a logical hierarchy of content and a thoughtful use of links in your articles, menus and footers.
Does PageRank still have an impact today?
The disappearance of the public indicator
For several years, PageRank was an indicator accessible to the public through the Google Toolbar, shown as a score out of 10. This let SEOs quickly gauge the “authority” of a page according to Google. But this visible version of PageRank was abandoned in 2016, notably because it was often misinterpreted or overvalued, encouraging artificial netlinking practices.
The end of this visibility does not mean the algorithm disappeared. Google simply stopped making it public, in order to reduce abuse and push webmasters to focus on the overall quality of their content and their site rather than on a numerical score.
A building block still present in the algorithm
Although Google no longer displays PageRank, many official spokespeople for the search engine (such as John Mueller) have confirmed that the PageRank principle is still built into the ranking algorithm. It is now combined with other, more modern signals: semantic relevance, user behaviour, mobile experience, loading speed, and so on.
However, the basic logic remains the same: links continue to transmit popularity, and therefore influence over rankings. This is why SEO platforms have developed their own alternative metrics (such as Domain Rating, Trust Flow or Citation Flow) to estimate the strength of links in the absence of Google’s official score.
PageRank and netlinking: what strategic connection?
How backlinks influence PageRank
Netlinking rests on a fundamental principle inherited directly from PageRank: inbound links carry value. When a site A links to a site B, it passes on a portion of its authority, provided that the link is dofollow and comes from a relevant context. The more popular the linking site (high PageRank), the more powerful the link it sends is considered to be.
An effective netlinking strategy therefore consists of obtaining quality backlinks — that is, links placed on well-ranked, active, high-authority sites within a topic close to yours. Conversely, low-quality links — from link farms, off-topic or penalised sites — can dilute the relevance of your link profile and even harm your rankings.
The significance of PageRank dilution
The PageRank passed on by a page is not unlimited. It is shared between all the outbound links it contains. In other words, the more links a page has, the less SEO juice each link receives. This phenomenon is known as dilution.
This is why it pays to be strategic: placing your links on pages that have few outbound links, ideally within relevant editorial content, lets you maximise the SEO gain. Internally, this means avoiding pages that drown links in endless lists, and instead giving weight to links towards your key pages through targeted internal linking.
PageRank sculpting (and its limits)
The concept of PageRank sculpting was born from this logic. It once involved channelling PageRank towards certain pages by using nofollow tags on links deemed “secondary”. For example, links to the contact page or the terms and conditions were prevented from transmitting authority in order to concentrate the SEO juice on commercial pages.
However, Google has since changed the way it treats nofollow: today, nofollow links do not retain PageRank but instead lose it, which makes this tactic less effective. That said, it remains worthwhile to prioritise internal links in a logical way, giving more weight to strategic pages, both for the search engines and for users.
Best practices for making the most of PageRank
Structure your site around strategic pages
Making the most of PageRank starts with a well-thought-out site architecture. Each page should have a logical place in the tree structure and be connected to the others according to its thematic relevance and strategic importance. Your key pages (such as those targeting high-potential keywords or conversion goals) should receive more internal links to capture more PageRank.
Reducing the depth of these pages — that is, the number of clicks needed to reach them from the homepage — also helps increase their visibility in Google’s eyes. In short, effective internal linking acts as a distribution network for PageRank across the site, favouring your priority pages.
Take care of your backlinks
On the external side, the quality of your backlinks remains an essential lever. It is better to obtain a few well-placed links from authority sites than dozens of weak or off-topic ones. It is therefore essential to aim for trusted sources, to publish content with high sharing potential, or to use specialised netlinking platforms that provide a good level of control (quality of domains, topic, indexing, metrics such as Trust Flow or Domain Rating).
The diversity of sources, anchor types and formats (guest post, contextual link, brand mention, etc.) also contributes to a natural link profile, which reinforces the credibility of your SEO strategy.
Avoid over-optimisation
Too many internal links pointing to the same page, or excessive repetition of optimised anchors (with exact keywords), can send artificial signals to Google. You need to strike a balance between optimisation and smooth navigation. Using varied anchors that are contextual and natural lets you transmit PageRank while maintaining a quality user experience.
The same applies to backlinks: avoid buying links in bulk on low-quality sites. Google values consistency, gradual growth and relevance in the acquisition of popularity.
