Google and PageRank
If you have installed Google’s Toolbar on your site, you will see a new menu bar with a PageRank icon at the top. It returns a value of 0-10 for any page you are viewing in your browser. The implication is that the higher this number, the more important your page is in Google.
PageRank is a value based on Google’s early algorithm for ranking pages. The concept was based on the observation of the founders of Google that in various printed research papers certain papers were referenced more than others. If a papers was referenced many, many times by other papers the referenced paper was considered an authority. The more back references to a paper, the more important the referenced paper must be. PageRank borrowed the same concept. The more web pages referencing a given page, the more important the referenced page must be. This early algorithm was patented and used in referencing web pages and defining authority sites. The more pages of high quality linking to your site, the higher your PageRank.
Unfortunately, those creating web pages were soon abusing this algorithm to force ranking on their own pages. To see the problem, try searching Google on failure. Today the algorithm is only one of over a hundred factors that control the ranking of results in Google. Moreover, the PageRank Google does use is calculated dynamically and is actually has a range much, much larger than the 0-10 you see in the toolbar. Periodically the value is reduced to a 0-10 value and projected in the toolbar. This is a logarithmic reduction - in other words, it’s a LOT harder to get that toolbar from 5 to 6 than from 2 to 3. The actual toolbar value, then, is a delayed value, is not based on any specific keyword phrase, and only one of many factors Google uses in ranking your page. It’s not a red herring and is important, but don’t aim too hard for it to the exclusion of other factors.
For good ranking, be sure you are targeting strong keyword phrases, develop your site as an authority on those phrases so that people link to you naturally, keep the site dynamic and constantly changing, and strengthen the interactive elements of the site.