In class today, we discussed how Google came to be and what PageRank is. Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergei Brinn. They initially called it “Backrub,” because this would evaluate the backlinks to determine the relevance of a site. Inbound links are essential to crafting a site that is optimized. Link popularity is about the number and quality of these links. For example, looking at the website I am working on, Battery Warehouse Plus, it would be really great for my site, if “The Battery Show in North America” linked my site in their website. This company runs battery conventions all over the United States and have credibility. This is the quality aspect of inbound links. Google searches for websites that has these types of links, and this adds to the relevance and importance of the site itself and in relation to the user.
However, this name of Backrub did not stay, as Larry Page did not think this name was very marketable. It changed to Google. Sean Anderson suggested the name “Googolplex.” But, because of a misspelling, the name “Google” was born. Larry Page checked to see if the domain was available, and then bought it on September 15, 1997.
PageRank came from Larry Page. It is an indicator of the relative authority and trustworthiness of a website. PageRank determines the value of the page and it is the method by which SERPs rank the sites. PageRank used to show a site’s rank, but this became abused. People were trying to move their site higher on the SERP by using bad and spammy practices. Therefore, by removing the ability to see the rank, then people were able to focus on improving the content and other SEO practices to better serve the user. Overall, Google uses a complex system to rank pages, and one of which is the focus on and evaluation of inbound links.
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