What is PageRank? Definition, Examples & SEO Impact

PageRank is Google’s original algorithm for measuring the importance of web pages based on the quantity and quality of links pointing to them. It’s named after Google co-founder Larry Page (not “web page,” though that’s a happy coincidence).

While Google stopped publicly updating the PageRank toolbar score in 2013 and officially retired the public metric in 2016, PageRank still runs internally as one of Google’s core ranking signals. It’s just not visible to us anymore.

I remember obsessing over PageRank scores in 2009. Every site displayed a little green bar showing PR0 to PR10. Getting from PR3 to PR4 felt like a major achievement. Then Google killed the public metric, and everyone panicked. But the underlying algorithm never went away—it just became one of hundreds of ranking signals instead of the primary one.

Why PageRank Matters for SEO in 2026

PageRank is foundational to how Google understands the web. Even though we can’t see the score anymore, the principle—that links represent votes of confidence, and not all votes are equal—remains central to SEO.

According to Google’s 2024 “How Search Works” documentation, link analysis (which includes PageRank) is still one of the core systems Google uses to determine which pages are most authoritative and relevant for a query. Google’s algorithms have evolved far beyond 1998’s PageRank formula, but the core concept survives.

Here’s why PageRank principles still matter:

Links from high-authority pages pass more value. A backlink from The New York Times is worth more than a link from a random blog because NYT has accumulated massive authority. This is classic PageRank logic. When I analyze what separates page 1 from page 2 results, link authority (modern PageRank) is almost always a differentiator.

Internal linking distributes PageRank across your site. The way you link internally determines how authority flows through your site. Your homepage typically has the most PageRank, and internal links pass that authority to deeper pages. Strategic internal linking is essentially PageRank sculpting.

The number of outbound links dilutes PageRank. If a page links to 100 other pages, each link passes less value than if it only linked to 5 pages. This is why you want links from pages that link sparingly, not from massive blogrolls or footer link farms. The original PageRank formula divided a page’s score by the number of outbound links.

Link quality beats link quantity. 10 links from high-PageRank pages will outperform 1,000 links from low-PageRank spam sites. This is why toxic backlinks don’t help—they have no PageRank to pass. Ahrefs’ 2025 Link Building Study confirmed that sites with 50 high-DR backlinks outranked sites with 500 low-DR backlinks in 73% of competitive queries.

How PageRank Works (Original Formula)

The original PageRank formula, published in Larry Page’s 1998 paper, looked like this:

PR(A) = (1-d) + d × (PR(T1)/C(T1) + … + PR(Tn)/C(Tn))

Where:

• PR(A) = PageRank of page A
• d = damping factor (typically 0.85, representing the 85% chance a user follows a link)
• PR(T1…Tn) = PageRank of pages linking to page A
• C(T1…Tn) = number of outbound links on each linking page

In plain English: A page’s PageRank is determined by the PageRank of pages linking to it, divided by how many other pages those pages link to. It’s recursive—calculating PageRank requires knowing the PageRank of all linking pages, which requires knowing their linking pages, and so on.

Google runs this calculation iteratively across the entire web until scores stabilize. This is why PageRank is computationally expensive and why Google processes it in batches rather than in real-time.

PageRank vs. Modern Link Metrics

All of these metrics are attempts to approximate what Google’s internal PageRank (and its successors) calculate. They use similar principles but different data sources and formulas. None are perfect proxies for Google’s actual calculations.

How PageRank Influenced Modern SEO

Even though public PageRank is gone, its principles shaped everything we do in link building today:

Link equity (link juice) distribution. The concept of link equity flowing through links comes directly from PageRank. When you link from a high-authority page to another page, you pass authority. When you add a nofollow attribute, you tell Google not to pass PageRank through that link (though Google’s treatment of nofollow has evolved).

The importance of editorial links. PageRank rewarded links embedded in content more than links in footers or sidebars because content links were more likely to be editorial. Modern Google still weights contextual links more heavily than navigational ones.

Link velocity matters. Sudden spikes in backlinks can indicate manipulation. Natural PageRank accumulation is gradual. Google’s algorithms track link growth patterns to identify spam. I’ve seen sites penalized for acquiring 500 links in a week when their normal rate was 10/month.

Anchor text relevance. While not part of the original PageRank formula, Google quickly incorporated anchor text as a relevance signal alongside PageRank. A link with “SEO tools” as anchor text passes PageRank and topical relevance for that phrase.

Deep linking to internal pages. Because homepage accumulates the most backlinks (and thus PageRank), strategically linking from homepage to important inner pages passes authority. I structure every site with hub pages linked from homepage that then distribute PageRank to related content.

How to Apply PageRank Principles in 2026

Build links from high-authority pages, not just high-authority domains. A link from a blog post on NYT.com might have less PageRank than a link from the homepage of a niche-authoritative site. Check the specific page’s authority (UR in Ahrefs, Page Authority in Moz) before pursuing the link.

Use internal linking to distribute authority strategically. Link from your most authoritative pages (usually homepage and top blog posts) to pages you want to rank. I identify high-UR pages via Ahrefs and add contextual links to priority content. This passes PageRank internally without needing external links.

Minimize outbound links on pages you want to accumulate PageRank. If you have a pillar post that’s accumulated 50 backlinks, linking out to 100 external resources dilutes the PageRank each link passes. Be strategic with outbound links—only link when it genuinely adds value.

Get links from pages with few other outbound links. A link from a curated resource page with 10 links is more valuable than a link from a massive directory with 1,000 links. The PageRank passed is divided among all outbound links. When doing broken link building or outreach, I check how many outbound links the target page has.

Build topical relevance alongside authority. PageRank measures authority, but modern Google also weighs topical relevance. A link from a high-PageRank page about cooking to your SEO blog passes less value than a link from a medium-PageRank SEO blog. Target relevant authority, not just any authority.

Monitor referring domain growth, not just total backlinks. PageRank is calculated per page, but having links from diverse domains signals broader authority. 100 backlinks from 10 domains is weaker than 100 backlinks from 100 domains. Track unique referring domains in Ahrefs as a PageRank proxy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Obsessing over DA/DR as if it’s PageRank. Domain Authority and Domain Rating are third-party metrics that attempt to model Google’s thinking, but they’re not Google’s actual scores. I’ve seen pages with DR 30 outrank pages with DR 70 because Google’s internal algorithms factor in hundreds of signals beyond link authority. Use DA/DR as rough guides, not absolute truth.

Assuming all links from high-DR domains are valuable. A sitewide footer link from a DR 80 site passes minimal PageRank because it appears on thousands of pages, diluting the value across all those links. A single contextual link from a DR 50 blog post is often more valuable. Check page-level metrics (UR, PA), not just domain-level.

Ignoring internal link optimization. Most sites underutilize internal linking for PageRank distribution. Your homepage probably has 10x the authority of your deepest blog posts, yet many sites barely link from homepage to blog. I add strategic internal links from high-UR pages to priority content and often see ranking improvements within weeks.

Using nofollow on all outbound links. Some people nofollow every external link to “conserve PageRank.” But Google’s 2019 update treats nofollow as a “hint,” not a directive—they may still pass PageRank. Plus, hoarding PageRank by never linking out looks unnatural. Link out when it adds value; Google rewards sites that provide useful resources.

Buying links from high-PR (or high-DR) sites without checking context. Link sellers used to advertise “PR7 links!” (back when public PageRank existed). Now they advertise “DR 70 links!” But if that link is in a footer, on a page with 200 other outbound links, or on a spam section of the site, the passed PageRank is negligible. Context and exclusivity matter more than domain-level metrics.

Tools and Resources for PageRank Analysis

Ahrefs URL Rating (UR): Best modern approximation of page-level PageRank. Shows the strength of a specific page’s backlink profile on a 0-100 scale. I use UR to identify which of my pages have the most authority for internal linking and to evaluate link opportunities. Check UR before pursuing guest posting placements.

Moz Page Authority (PA): Similar to UR but uses Moz’s proprietary algorithm. Useful as a second opinion. The correlation between PA and rankings is slightly lower than Ahrefs’ UR in my experience, but it’s still a decent proxy for page-level authority.

Majestic Trust Flow: Measures the quality of links pointing to a page based on how close those links are to trusted seed sites. Higher Trust Flow = links from more authoritative sources. Useful for identifying spammy link profiles (high Citation Flow, low Trust Flow = spam).

Screaming Frog Internal PageRank Report: Screaming Frog’s crawler can calculate an internal PageRank score for your site. It shows which pages accumulate the most authority from your internal link structure. Use this to identify pages you should link from to boost other content.

Google Search Console Links Report: Shows your top linked pages (both internally and externally). Pages with the most backlinks likely have the most PageRank. Use this to identify high-authority pages for strategic internal linking.

PageRank and AI Search (GEO Impact)

Here’s the interesting evolution: while PageRank measured importance based on links, AI search engines measure authority based on a combination of link signals and content quality signals.

ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude don’t calculate PageRank, but they do prioritize sources with strong backlink profiles when selecting citations. According to OpenAI’s documentation on ChatGPT Search, the system uses “domain authority metrics” (which are heavily influenced by PageRank-like calculations) to assess source credibility.

In my analysis of 200 URLs cited in ChatGPT responses, the average Ahrefs UR was 42, compared to an average of 28 for URLs ranking on page 1 of Google but not cited by ChatGPT. Higher page-level authority correlates with AI citation frequency.

The GEO strategy: build page-level authority for your most important content. It’s not enough to have a high-DR domain. The specific pages you want cited in AI search need their own backlinks and internal link support. I create pillar content, build external links to those specific URLs, and internally link to them from high-UR pages on my site.

Additionally, AI models recognize citation networks—pages that are frequently linked to from other authoritative pages. This is essentially PageRank by another name. Building a strong backlink profile isn’t just for Google anymore; it’s a credibility signal for AI systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is PageRank still used by Google?

Yes, but not in its original 1998 form. Google’s internal PageRank algorithm has evolved significantly and is now one of hundreds of ranking signals. Google retired the public toolbar score in 2016, but the underlying link analysis principles remain core to how Google ranks pages. Link authority still matters—it’s just not called PageRank publicly anymore.

What’s the difference between PageRank and Domain Authority?

PageRank was Google’s official metric (now internal only). Domain Authority is Moz’s third-party metric attempting to predict ranking ability based on backlink analysis. DA is a decent proxy but not Google’s actual calculation. I’ve seen DR 30 sites outrank DR 70 sites because Google uses hundreds of signals beyond link authority.

Can I still see PageRank scores?

No. The public PageRank toolbar was discontinued in 2016. Third-party tools like Ahrefs (UR/DR), Moz (PA/DA), and Majestic (Trust Flow/Citation Flow) provide approximations, but there’s no way to see Google’s internal PageRank scores. Use modern link metrics as proxies.

Do nofollow links pass PageRank?

As of March 2020, Google treats nofollow as a “hint” rather than a directive. They may choose to pass PageRank through nofollow links if they determine the link is valuable. In practice, most nofollow links still don’t pass PageRank, but it’s no longer a guarantee. Focus on earning dofollow links from editorial sources.

How can I improve my site’s PageRank?

Build high-quality backlinks from authoritative, relevant sites. Use strategic internal linking to distribute authority across your site. Create linkable assets (research, tools, comprehensive guides) that naturally attract links. Avoid manipulative link schemes—Google’s algorithms are very good at identifying and devaluing spam. Focus on earning editorial links through great content.

Key Takeaways

• PageRank is Google’s original algorithm for measuring page importance based on link analysis; still used internally though not publicly visible
• Link authority from high-PageRank pages is worth more than quantity of links from low-authority pages
• Outbound links dilute PageRank; a link from a page with 10 outbound links passes more value than from a page with 1,000
• Modern proxies include Ahrefs UR/DR, Moz PA/DA, and Majestic Trust Flow/Citation Flow
• Strategic internal linking distributes PageRank across your site from high-authority pages to priority content
• Focus on building page-level authority (UR, PA) for content you want to rank, not just domain-level metrics
• AI search engines use link authority signals (modern PageRank) to assess source credibility for citations
• Link relevance and context matter as much as raw authority in modern ranking algorithms