Glossaire · SEO

PageRank

PageRank is an algorithm invented by Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford, the foundation of the Google search engine. It assigns every web page a popularity score calculated from its inbound links: a page is deemed important when other important pages link to it. Each link passes along a fraction of the source page's value, divided across all of its outbound links. PageRank therefore works like a weighted vote: a link from an authoritative site carries far more weight than a link from an obscure page. Although Google stopped displaying the public PageRank toolbar in 2016, the underlying principle of authority flowing through links remains a cornerstone of organic search. Today it sits within a much broader set of signals, but understanding its logic is still essential for structuring an effective internal linking and link-building strategy.

PageRank laid the foundations of modern search. Grasping its mechanics means understanding why links remain a pillar of SEO, even in the era of AI answer engines.

How it works

PageRank models the web as a graph where each page is a node and each link a connection. The algorithm simulates a user clicking randomly from link to link: the more likely a page is to be visited, the higher its score. In practice, a page distributes its authority across every page it points to. If a page has ten outbound links, each passes along roughly one tenth of its value. A link from a highly popular page is therefore worth far more than a link from an isolated one.

This mechanism has two direct consequences for your internal linking: adding more outbound links dilutes the value passed along, while concentrating links toward your strategic pages reinforces their weight.

A concrete example

Imagine a pillar page on "SEO Strategy" receiving three backlinks from recognized media outlets. This page accumulates authority, then redistributes it to your related articles through internal links. As a result, a secondary guide indirectly benefits from the popularity earned by the parent page, without having attracted any external links of its own.

Why it matters

Key takeaway

PageRank is no longer visible, but its logic still governs how authority circulates across the web. Mastering that circulation is a durable SEO lever.

Thinking in terms of PageRank flow helps you prioritize your site: which pages deserve to capture the most authority, how to channel it, and where to avoid leaks toward secondary pages. This discipline remains valid in 2026, because AI engines still rely heavily on link signals to assess the reliability of a source.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Yes, PageRank remains an internal signal used by Google, even though the public toolbar disappeared in 2016. The principle of authority passing through links still shapes rankings, integrated with hundreds of other factors.

You gain more PageRank by earning quality inbound links from authoritative sites, and by optimizing your internal linking to channel that value toward priority pages. The topical relevance of linking sites matters as much as their popularity.

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