Giacomo - 5:09 pm on Feb 2, 2002 (gmt 0)

First of all, please let me spend a few words to thank the senior members for their often brilliant and sometimes passionate contributions. I think this forum really is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the SE world and its current leader. Or at least, one of the very best Google-oriented discussion boards I've seen so far. So let's keep up the good work.

Now, back on topic.

I've spent a fair amount of time reading previous posts here, and one thing that really struck me is the fact that about 99% of the assertions about Google's ranking mechanism(s) in this forum are nothing more than realistic hypotheses. After all, the only publicly-available official documentation of the PageRank algorithm appears to be the famous recursive formula from the early paper The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine [www-db.stanford.edu]. Just about everything else I've been reading so far about PageRank seems to be mere inference based on personal (=limited) experience, if not plain speculation.

About PageRank, the best independent analysis that I've been able to find is PageRank Explained [goodlookingcooking.co.uk] by Chris Ridings, who --while illustrating some really interesting theories indeed-- clearly states that "There is, at this point in time, not enough information for us to be 100% certain about anything. I am merely presenting theories, based upon the best information available, which seem to largely hold true".

What's perhaps even more important, from what I've been able to observe from several web site rankings (including my own), PageRank is obviously a single part of a wider, more complicated and partly obscure mechanism. As Chris intelligently argues, "PageRank has its place in the ranking process. That place is not as big as many might imagine. Its significance in the ranking algorithm is less than many other factors [...]".

So, let's be honest: what do we know about what's really going on inside the Google black box? Very little, IMHO. I find it really funny to read about some SEO geek hacking, reverse-engineering, spoofing or otherwise exploiting the Googlebar just to see the actual PR values associated with each URL. Besides, I'm pretty sure the guys at the GooglePlex have lots of fun reading our posts, too. :)

Google's engineers have always been very careful about giving away potential hints (let alone detailed explanations) about the way the SE really works. And they have justified their reserve saying that such information may seriously harm Google's search quality (and thus its users' experience) if disclosed. I deeply respect and appreciate that position, which I think reveals a very mature and responsible corporate philosophy. One may argue that Google's secrets are mainly aimed at retaining their current leadership in the SE market, but then how many other SE's do you know of which are so constantly focused on providing oustanding quality search results, and so genuinely concerned about spamming, cloaking, and other unethical so-called "SEO" practices?

About self-appointed SEO professionals, I really wish those guys could learn something from the WebSeed incident [webmasterworld.com]. Let aside the questionable ethics of behaviours such as setting up a link farm in order to boost a single web site's ranking, and even looking at things from a strictly opportunistic point of view, following Google's tips on how to get a good ranking has proven to be the most effective web page optimization strategy by far. From a fresh interview with Google software engineer Matt Cutts [clickz.com]:

When asked how to gain high rankings, Cutts replied, "The guidelines are pretty simple: Stay away from hidden text, hidden links, cloaking, sneaky redirects, lots of duplicate content on different domains, and doorway pages. [...] The best use of a Webmaster's time is building good content."

So why not just stick to Paul Boutin's wise SEO guidelines [hotwired.lycos.com] instead?

One last thing: I'd like to be proven wrong about the lack of information regarding Google's actual ranking mechanisms, so if anyone knows of any official (or equally reliable) resource about obscure subjects such as theme assessment and the way Google extracts contextual information from web pages and hyperlink structures, please post it here. Although I have hardly any interest for SEO techniques, I am about to write my graduation thesis on Google, so any additional references would be welcome. Thanks.

Giacomo