Whether you are an internet novice or expert, chances are you have heard of Google. Further to this, if you have peeked into the world of SEO (Search engine optimisation) then chances are you have come across the term PageRank. With that said, what exactly is PageRank and is it even important?

In a nutshell, yes it is important.

For those of you new to SEO, it is the process of optimising a website for search engines, like Google. Optimising bascially means increasing the ranking of your website for certain key terms in search engines.

Why would you want to rank high in search engines? Simply because this is a cost-effective and measureable way for businesses to generate qualified website traffic. Anyway, I digress, this is a topic in itself, back to PageRank.

The Google PageRank

Most of us have heard of the coveted 'Google Search Algorithm' (how Google ranks web pages). Although this is very complex what it comes down to, in simple terms, is that your search ranking is made up of Relevance and PageRank.

By relevance I mean that Google tries to measure how your site is relevant to the search phrase entered. There are many key factors that Google assesses here, such as key word density and positioning, page titles, meta tags, page names, and many more. From here Google will decide what your pages focus is, based on the content and comparing with other similar sites to yours, and then decide how 'relevant' your web page is for a key term or key phrase.

By PageRank I mean something entirely different. This is a measure of how Google preceives the quality/credibility of a web page. The crucial point is that PageRank does not depend on a search phrase. The important point to note here is that if your web page has the same relevance as a competitors, then the PageRank will determine which website is ranked higher. That is the importance of PageRank.

How does Google calculate PageRank?

Again, there is a sophisticated process to this, but what it comes down to is this: The major influence in calculating PageRank is how many other web pages are linking to you. It isn't just about 'how many links', it is also about 'the value of the links'. So as usual, it is about quality not quantity. 

And to complete the circle, how is the value of a link calculated? Well, by the web pages PageRank!

So in summary, if high search engine rankings are important for your website then a Google PageRank is a factor that you need to consider, and the earlier the better.