Alright, letโs talk about PageRankโthat old Google metric we all thought was dead. Spoiler alert: itโs not. Sure, you canโt see that little green bar anymore, but the concept is still very much alive. PageRank is all about how links connect your pages and how Google decides which ones are most important. And trust me, links are still everything.
What Do PageRank and Links Have in Common?
Think of your website like a map. Your pages are destinations, and links are the roads connecting them. If those roads are well-planned and lead somewhere useful, Google can easily navigate your site and figure out whatโs important. But if your links are all over the placeโconfusing dead ends or unrelated pathsโGoogle gets lost. And if Googleโs lost, your visitors probably are too.
Site Organization: SEO, WordPress, and Links
Let me give you a real example: imagine you run a website about SEO built on WordPress. Your top-level theme is โSEOโ Thatโs your big categoryโthe foundation. Now, under that, youโve got subcategories like โWordpressโ โLink Building,โ and then โTechnical SEO.โ These are like mini-hubs of focused content.
So, letโs say youโve got a blog post in your Link Building category called โHow to Get Quality Backlinks.โ That post shouldnโt just sit there by itself. It should link to:
- Other related posts in the Link Building category, like โAnchor Text Best Practices.โ
- Your main SEO Tips page to reinforce the broader theme.
- Your On-Page SEO section if thereโs a connection, like using internal links effectively.
And, of course, all of these link back to your homepage, creating a logical structure that Google can follow. This interconnected system tells Google, โHey, this site is well-organized, and hereโs whatโs most important.โ
How Links Power PageRank
Hereโs how PageRank ties in: Google assigns value to your pages based on the links they haveโboth internal and external.
- Internal Links: These are the connections you create within your site. They help Google crawl and spread PageRank across your pages. For example, if your homepage links to your โSEO Tipsโ hub, and that hub links to your โLink Buildingโ category, youโre signaling which pages are most important.
- External Links: Backlinks from other websites still matter, but itโs all about quality. A link to your site from a trusted SEO blog? Fantastic. A link from a spammy, unrelated site? Not so much. Google evaluates where those links come from to decide how much authority they pass to your site.
And hereโs a mistake to avoid: having too many unrelated links on a page. If your blog post about โHow to Get Quality Backlinksโ suddenly links to a random WordPress plugin for e-commerce, youโre diluting your siteโs focus. Keep your links relevant and intentional.
PageRank: Evolved but Alive
While we donโt see PageRank scores anymore, the concept has grown smarter. Google now considers context, relevance, and user experience alongside links. Site health also plays a role. Broken links, outdated content, or poor navigation can hurt your rankings.
The Key Takeaway
If you want to win with PageRank today:
- Organize your site with clear themes.
- Build logical, meaningful links between related pages.
- Earn quality backlinks from authoritative sites.
Think of your website as a network of roads and your links as the lifelines. Keep them clear, relevant, and connected, and youโll not only help Google understand your siteโyouโll create a seamless experience for your users. And thatโs the ultimate win.