PageRank Calculations
Google’s PageRank algorithm revolutionized the way search engines ranked web pages. The algorithm assigns a score to each page based on the number and quality of links that point to it. However, as the internet grew, PageRank became more susceptible to manipulations by webmasters. To provide better search results and avoid manipulations, Google refined the calculation of the PageRank score. In this post, we’ll discuss the changes that Google made to the PageRank algorithm.
Link Quality
Initially, PageRank considered all links to be of equal quality. This made it easy for webmasters to manipulate the algorithm by creating link farms and exchanging links with other sites. Google realized that not all links are created equal and started giving more weight to links from authoritative sites. This meant that links from popular sites such as Wikipedia or The New York Times would have a greater impact on a page’s PageRank than links from less popular sites.
Link Relevance
Google also realized that not all links are relevant to a page’s content. Pages with many links pointing to them could rank higher than pages with fewer links, even if the latter was more relevant to the search query. To address this, Google started to give more weight to links that were relevant to the content of the page. This meant that links from pages with similar content to the linked page would have a greater impact on a page’s PageRank than links from pages with unrelated content.
TrustRank
Google also introduced TrustRank to address manipulations by spammers. TrustRank is a measure of how trustworthy a site is based on the number and quality of links that point to it. Pages on trusted sites would receive a higher PageRank score than pages on untrusted sites. This made it difficult for spammers to manipulate the algorithm by creating fake sites and links.
Social Signals
Google also started to consider social signals such as likes, shares, and comments on social media platforms. Social signals provide an indication of the popularity and relevance of a page, which can affect its PageRank score. Pages that have many likes, shares, and comments would have a higher PageRank score than pages with fewer social signals.
Conclusion
Google has made significant improvements to the PageRank algorithm to provide better search results and prevent manipulations. By considering link quality, relevance, trust, and social signals, Google ensures that the best pages rank higher in search results. These changes have made it more difficult for webmasters to manipulate the algorithm, leading to fairer search results for users.
