It is not out of the norm for Google to make substantial changes in the way that their search engine rankings, as well as other aspects of their search algorithms, operate.

And in the 1990s, there was a tool that they had implemented known as Google PageRank. There have been rumors that Google PageRank has died off, no longer implemented by the search giant in any way, shape, or form.

The short answer, according to Google itself, is that Google PageRank is still used internally. We will get more into what Google PageRank is, its importance, and any other pertinent issues surrounding its existence.

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What is Google PageRank?

Putting it simply Google PageRank is a mathematical formula that is used to judge the value of a page by looking at the quality and quantity of other pages that link up to it. This method is meant to determine the relative importance of a given page in a network like the World Wide Web.

Google PageRank was created in 1997 in a research project at Stanford University and was created to improve the quality of web search engines. And that is because search engines back then were nowhere near as efficient as what Google is today.

The aim of Google PageRank was to solve the problem of indexing and washing out “junk” results that didn’t have anything to do with what the user was looking for. It attempted to do this by making use of the “citation (link) graph of the web”.

The inspiration for Google PageRank was derived by the way that scientists gauge the importance of a scientific paper or the number of other papers that referenced them. This ideal became

How Does Google PageRank Work?

We won’t give you the formula and explanation provided in the original paper from back in 1997, instead offering a little bit simpler of an explanation. Essentially, Google takes three factors into account when calculating the PageRank for a web page.

Those three factors are the quality and quantity of inbound linking pages, the PageRank of each linking page, and the number of outbound links on each of the linking pages.

Google PageRank also has what is known as a “damping factor” that is meant to simulate the probability of a random user continuing to click on those links as they browse. The perception here is that it will decrease with each link that is clicked.

Put it another way: Google PageRank thinks of links as votes and a page linking to another page is essentially like casting a vote. This makes linking to relevant content important and the pages with more links tend to be a lot better resources than those pages that nobody links to.

Google PageRank also looks at the importance of the page that contains said links. Pages that have higher a higher Google PageRank will carry a heavier weight in their “voting” than pages that rank lower. But don’t think that more links means a better rank. Pages with fewer links actually have a higher weight than those with a ton of links to them.

How is it Important?

Here’s the thing: Google PageRank is just one of many factors out there that will determine where your page appears when it comes to search results ranking. If all things were considered to be equal, PageRank actually could have a pretty significant impact on all of your rankings.

That being said, there are certainly flaws within Google PageRank. Whenever there are implementations in the ranking system, people will inevitably exploit the data involved. You may have heard of Google Bombs; this is a form of Google PageRank manipulation and Google acts to take precautionary measures to change their ranking formula.

There is also the method of “link farming” in order to manipulate the Google PageRank listings. This is the practice of linking without considering the relevance of the pages being linked. Not only that, link farming is generally automated as well.

You may have run into a webpage in your time on the web that seemed like a random collection of links to other websites; this is exactly what a link farm looks like.

Seeing and Increasing Your PageRank

Everything in Google PageRank is measured on a 1-10 scale. Not only that, it is assigned to individual pages instead of whole websites. It is a rarity to find a page that has a Google PageRank of 10, especially when you consider the ever-increasing number of pages on the internet.

In order to increase your ranking on Google PageRank, you need to have relevant backlinks from other relevant websites around the web. The best way to achieve this is to have quality content that others around the net want to click on. This is often not something that can be achieved overnight and takes consistency to pull off.

Google has admitted that they do not use PageRank as they originally did back in the 1990s. They use it more for internal measures, though just how much it is used is still a bit unclear. Google’s John Mueller has said that they use Google PageRank more as an internal signal than anything else and that they use it in accompaniment with other aspects.

While there are certainly a wide array of measures that determine the overall Google ranking, it appears as though Google PageRank has maintained a level of importance, though it appears to be dwindling with time.

The general principles are still important – creating backlinks from other relevant websites around the net, a practice that can’t be manipulated quite like it could back in the early days. Still, it isn’t a perfect system and it is just one factor in a plethora of factors that determine where a webpage and website rank in Google’s search rankings.

Adhering to the principles set forth by Google PageRank is a great idea for web pages as a general practice to ensure that the right practices are being implemented to allow for the best possible page rankings.

Google is an ever-changing beast, one that consistently makes updates to various things to ensure that it is functioning optimally. One such change has occurred in the Google Partner requirements.

With a new Google Partners program launching this year, that could mean changes for current partner companies. And in order to maintain their partner status with Google, they have to make those changes that will go into effect in June 2020.

Currently, Google is sending emails to their partner companies in order to help them determine whether they will maintain partner status under the new Google Partner requirements.

Breaking Down the Email

The Google Partner program, as stated above, is sending out emails to current partners to let them know what their current status is and what it will be as of June 2020 if those Google Partner requirements are not met.

This includes a few different things. The first is performance. This is based on revenue growth and retention of client’s that a company sees as well as the growth in overall revenue and the number of advertisers that the company gets.

Meeting Google Partner requirements also means hitting a certain spending threshold. This means spending at least $20,000 on Google Ads within a 90-day period, whereas old Google Partner requirements stated that the number should be at least $10,000.

Google Ads requires certifications to be achieved as well. This is broken down in a bit more detail through links provided in the email, but these are the Google Partner requirements that must be met in order to retain partner status in June 2020. It is safe to say that these certifications apply to display, video, search, and shopping.

What Comes with the New Requirements?

So, what exactly does a company get for meeting the Google Partner requirements? With a steep uptick in the requirements necessary, especially from a Google Ads standpoint, it is helpful to know what is entailed in maintaining partner status.

Companies that meet the new set of Google Partner requirements will get access to a couple of new features and program benefits.

The first is a new partner badge. This includes more advanced requirements, more transparency, and even more guidance than ever on the actions that you need to take to earn that badge. That badge can mean greater potential traffic and even more eyeballs on your service or product.

There are also new status and product capabilities categories that are meant to help your company stand out. This is achieved by showcasing areas of proficiency in your company and providing more exclusivity in the market.

There are also more benefits that have not been elaborated on but claim to help business needs and the ability to drive overall customer success.

Understanding the New Requirements

A further, deeper understanding of the Google Partner requirements can help those looking to maintain their partner status or perhaps allow a new addition to the group. Without that understanding, it can seem confusing as to what needs to be done.

The first thing is hitting the aforementioned spending threshold. In previous incarnations of the Google Partner requirements, this meant spending $10,000 in a 90-day span across all clients under your manager account.

This number has gone up to $20,000 in that same 90-day span. This is not an insignificant jump up in cost and it could have a dramatic impact on certain consultants’ ability to qualify for that partner status.

Next up is that more users will now need to get certified in order to meet those Google Partner requirements. Having just one user Google Ads certified will no longer meet the cut. Agencies will need to have half of its users at the very least who have admin or standard access to the manager account and pass relevant certification tests. This applies for display, search, shopping, and video.

This could be a huge change for mid-sized agencies and under. Google has added some further certifications and a detailed help page to clarify what needs to be done and by when.

Optimization Score Evaluations

From now on, agencies are going to have to pay closer attention to the recommendations tab. In order to determine whether an agency is meeting the Google Partner requirements, Google says that it will start evaluating the optimization score in your manager account that is currently located over on the recommendations tab.

Google has suggested that agencies use this tab to review any current recommendations in order to “see the actions you can take to improve your performance.”

It may be more transparent than anything else that Google is emphasizing its own machine-learning generated recommendations. Since Google already evaluates client accounts in order to determine which agencies are meeting Google Partner requirements, it isn’t that big of a change.

What Lies Ahead for Google Partners?

It is no secret that maintaining partner status with Google is an important benchmark for businesses of all sizes. But for the small- to mid-sized businesses, that partner badge can make a world of difference. Being able to meet the new Google Partner requirements could mean a substantial shift in the way that marketing dollars are spent by these companies.

Google, sensing the shift, is trying to make that partnership more valuable with certifications and badges that will benefit the companies in the long run.

Still, as they do with their frequent search algorithm updates, it is a wonder how long these Google Partner requirements last before a new set is ushered in with completely different guidelines. If nothing else, Google certainly keeps users on their toes with the plethora of changes that come down the pike on a yearly basis.

Keeping current partner status means taking these new Google Partner requirements into account and determining if meeting them is completely feasible. The focus on optimization score as well as the recommendations are fascinating and it will be worth keeping an eye on those changes to see what impact they will have in the long term for businesses of all sizes.

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Does Google Still Use PageRank in 2020?