Google PageRank (one word) is the measure of an Internet page based on the number and importance of a site’s incoming links. It is expressed as a numerical value, from PR0 to PR10, with PR10 being the highest possible PageRank (PR). Very few websites achieve that PR 10 level, of course.

Each level is more difficult to reach than one previous. The system is based on an exponential scale, similar to the earthquake Richter Scale. The only difficulty with the Google PageRank scale is no one is entirely certain how the numbers are calculated.

Incoming links for web pages are, in the opinion of Google, votes in favor of that page. On the other hand, Google considers some votes to be more important than others. The simple number of incoming links to a page is calculated by Google, but the relative importance of the “voting page” is given even more weight in the mathematical formula.

The pages that are considered to be more important votes, in turn increase the importance of the page they link. More important pages pass along more voting power. This is measured numerically as PageRank. Higher the PR higher the Search Engine Ranking

Note carefully, that PageRank is for each individual web page, not the entire web site as a whole. Every page in the Google data base has its own PageRank. Sites don’t have “rank”. Every separate page, however, on your website has its own PageRank.

Always keep in mind that PageRank is not the same thing as your site’s ranking on the search engine results pages (SERPs). They are entirely separate items. PR is the relative importance of a page on the web, expressed as a number. The SERPs are where your site appears on a search for your keywords.