Google updates PageRank, just in time for Christmas!

PageRank is a Google algorithm that assigns a numerical value to each internet connection in order to establish its importance (rank) within the web. The last time this tool was updated was February 2013. According to Google spokespersons, in particular Matt Cutts (head of the Anti-Spam division) in a post on Twitter, there were no updates to this tool prior to 2014.

The main reason why changes would not have occurred was that the pipeline that deals with PageRank did not work and that the problem would not have been resolved before the new year. The news, it seems, has been disproved because, on the night between 5 and 6 December, PageRank's update took place by surprise. A few years ago, PageRank had a very strong impact on SERP (search engine results page). Currently, the real influence of this algorithm is not yet known, since most websites have not made any substantial changes compared to a couple of days ago. But according to Dave Naylor (head of the Bronco agency that deals with Search Marketing and Web Development), there were more drops of PageRank than growth on hundreds of analysed sites. In fact, many websites with a PageRank of 6 dropped to the first position, but few went from the first to the sixth.

What happened was rather unusual if we consider that in less than a month we will be in 2014 and for 2013 there have not been any substantial changes. In addition, whether this was intentional or not, the update took place a few weeks before Christmas, in full online shopping swing for the typical gifts of this holiday. It seems evident that, for websites that deal with the sale of these products, there will be possible variations. In fact, those who have purchased links (frequently used to get publicity and visibility) from sites that had a high PageRank, with the new update have fallen into positions that may be affected by a decline in visits. In conclusion, what happened makes it clear that the PageRank is not a dead instrument, as the absence of updates for months or the lack of speed in solving the problems of operation had hinted, but Google still bestows on it a lot of importance.