How the Duality of PageRanking Works

PageRank is simply a way for Google to measure the relative importance of each web page in its index, based on the frequency they’re referred to throughout the internet. A more technical approach defines PageRank as being a link analysis algorithm.

There are two versions of this system which give rise to the expression: the dual nature of PageRank. In the first instance you have the real PageRank, and in the second instance you have the Toolbar PageRank. The Toolbar version (employed by webmasters) uses values from 1 to 10 to “score” web pages and to simulate the real PageRank ratings.

Both systems operate along the same lines, and that is the measurement of quality back links. The values that the real PageRank system uses are vast and go into millions.

What the 11 level toolbar does is sort webpages from 0 to 10, according to the real page each accumulates after launching.

Looking at two web pages, where one has a PageRank of 2 and the other has 4, the difference is not merely 2. In real PageRank scoring, the difference is multiplied many times higher.

Nobody truly knows just how it is that Google arrives at its PageRank rating of a web page, or what the exact values are from one level to the next.

Still, what we know is that the number of links required for going from a toolbar PR 3 to PR 4 value is Exponentially higher than going from 2 to 3 value. In other words, the amount of back links required to graduate between inferior levels is insufficient for advancing to superior appointing - starting with 4 and above.

Facts to consider when considering improving your website's PageRank:

1. Google ranks webpages and not websites.

2. The same toolbar PageRank level (say 2, e.g.) corresponds to a wide range of real PageRank. So, even though two pages may show the same PR value, their real PageRank amount could be wide apart, or indeed very close.

3. Multiple back links coming from the same domain name only count as one in PR economy.

4. Every webpage has an initial, small PageRank refered to as (1-d), where d is a variable determined by Google named “damping factor” and when was first released it had a value of 0.85. This gives the initial real PageRank of every page a 0.15 value.

5. In order to progress to the top of the toolbar scale, you will have to constantly increase the number of inbound links referencing your site.

6. Every third month, the PageRank Toolbar is amended. However,(and this is another example of the dual nature of PageRank), the Real PageRank undergoes real time updating, with the result that Real PageRank is always totally up to date. This sometimes results in web pages being given a higher placement on search engine report pages, than other web pages of higher merit.

7. PageRank is designed to measure the link structure importance of a web page.

Once Google has accumulated a large number of web pages in its index, it will then scan them for quality and popularity, and it does this by analyzing the number of back links that feed back into those pages.

PageRank Dynamics - The Principles:

- A web page receives PageRank by getting inbound links from other pages.

- PageRank coming from an internal webpage has an equal contribution as PageRank received from a webpage on a different domain as long as these two linking pages have the same PR score.

- Google does not penalize web pages for linking with differing web pages. It encourages genuine efforts at external linking whilst attempting to discourage any PageRank counterfeiting.

- To fully understand the PageRank process, you must also be aware that when a PageRank that is directed on to another web page, it is first divided by the total number of links on the host web page.

- Lastly, owing to the damping factor, an incoming link is only allotted 85% of its value.

Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com