Google Page Rank
Google uses a complex algorithm to determine the value, or Page Rank, of each and every web page that is published on the Internet. The Page Rank for each page is prominently displayed in the Google toolbar. Google ranks pages from a value of 0, the lowest, to 10, the highest. You'ill notice that large authoritative and commercial sites have the highest Page Rank. Page Rank for these upper-level sites is mostly determined by the sheer number of backlinks or outside links coming into the site.
The higher the value of Page Rank for each page does influence your position in Search Engine Results. Higher rated pages get spidered and indexed more quickly than lower rated pages.
Page Rank fluctuates daily on a mathematical algorithm, however, it's not publicly reported very often. On average Google updates their Page Rank Toolbar to show a new value every 4 to 6 months. This timeline always fluctuates.
The little green meter bar in the Google ToolBar that shows your current Page Rank is actually the Page Rank from the time of the last update, not today.
Here's a brief look at the history of Page Rank updates:
Year Date Info Days (between last update)
2005 Apr 22 Page Rank Update 111 Days
2005 Jan 1 Page Rank Update 87 Days
2004 Oct 6 Page Rank Update 106 Days.
2004 Jun 22 Page Rank Update 22 Days
2004 May 31 Page Rank Update 38 Days
2004 Apr 23 Page Rank Update 16 Days
2004 Apr 7 Page Rank Update 22 Days
2004 Mar 16 Page Rank Update 50 Days
2004 Jan 26 Page Rank Update 15 Days
2003 Dec 23 Page Rank Update 17 Days
From the chart above we can see the frequency with which the public display of Page Rank is changed. If you're concerned about a low PR you usually have 2-3 months' time to improve your Page Rank before its next public unveiling.
The factors that influence your actual Page Rank are a highly guarded secret. The mathematical formula, or algorithm, changes often, and the weight of key elements in the formula change as well.
Here's a brief history of the Google algorithm changes or updates.
Year Date Info
2005 Feb 03 Algorithm Update
2004 Feb 11 Algorithm Update (Known as Brandy)
2004 Jan 11 Algorithm Update (Known as Austin)
2003 Nov 16 Algorithm Update (Known as Florida)
With each update in the algorithm, Google changes the weight or percentage value of some factors in its formula. These changes have a dramatic effect on Page Rank and on Search Engine Results.
One thing is known about the Page Rank calculation. It is largely based on the internal linking of your site, as well as off-site incoming links, or backlinks.
You can control the internal linking of your site by using a strong navigation system. You can control the number of outgoing links from your site as well. The real way to increase Page Rank is to receive more off-site backlinks to your web pages.
A simple formula is to have more off-site links (or backlinks) coming into your site than links going out from your site. It's also important that your backlinks come from different IP addresses instead of just linking between several of your own sites on the same server. Google also seems to weigh backlinks from sites with content related to your site's content more than links from non-relevant sites.
Increasing your Page Rank is done by increasing the number of backlinks to your site, and by having sites with higher Page Ranks than your site does link to you.
To improve your Page Rank, see the related topics of gaining
backlinks and non-reciprocal links.