Positive Search

Google Page Rank is a system that Google uses to determine the order that web pages appear in their search engine. It was first developed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were at Stanford University. The project began in 1995, and was not completed until 1998. The system is based on the same criteria that were used for citation analysis when writing traditional papers. Page rank tries to determine how likely a person using links from other sources is to arrive on a particular page. The page rank is shown as a numeric value between 0 and 10, with 10 being the best.

In the beginning, Page and Brin made a list of all sites that almost anyone would consider authoritative. Sites like CNN, ESPN, and important newspapers along with other very informative sites were used. Page and Brin looked to see how many times those sites linked to other sites. If the web page was linked to from the informative site, then it was given a high page ranking. If it was not, then it was given a low page ranking.
Eventually, Google changed its page rank system. Soon, Google saw links as votes and each vote raises the page rank for that site. However, not all votes are considered evenly. Like the early analysis, those votes cast by authoritative sites carry more weight in determining the page ranking.

Next, search engine optimization entered the picture. The owner of a web page had to determine the exact word or phrase that a searcher would look for. Then, instead of just the linking system, search engine optimization became important. The right words had to be used in the correct amount for the page to rank high. This was combined with the right links from important sources.

Google has never publicly released how they determine the exact page ranking. SEO companies continue to make educated guesses. Recently, Google changed the way these rankings were determined. Now, much more emphasis is placed on having original fresh content. Google can take up to four months to determine the ranking of a traditional text page. Google determines the page rank of a site containing video much faster.
Page rank will always be an important consideration. It will help viewers find a particular page. Profit follows traffic making page ranking very important.