Google's PageRank algorithm and its lasting impact on the world

In 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin publicized the PageRank Algorithm as their website, Google, became official. From that point on, it has been one of the most known and used websites throughout the entire world, known best for its speedy and useful web searches of the entire Internet database.

 

Starting in 1998, Google has been the most popular search engine on the Internet since.

What's an algorithm?
Definition and explanation of algorithms and their importance in the world.

Simply put, an algorithm is a calculation written out in a very detailed, step-by-step procedure. They can be written in conversational language, a list, a mathematical equation or, in this case, computer code. 

Lewis Bell, Computer Science at UMD

The PageRank algorithm and what it does

The PageRank algorithm and how it uses the hyperlink, authority, and random surfer tricks to be as accurate as possible.

The PageRank Algorithm uses a combination of two things. First, the logical ways of reasoning on how to find the most accurate website matched to a specific search phrase from a sea of infinite pages. Second, the technical ways of making a computer do that (coding, programming, etc.) It uses the "hyperlink trick," the "authority trick," and the "random surfer trick" as the bases for how Google's web search works. In his book "Nine Algorithms that Changed the Future," John MacCormick explains the PageRank algorithm and its "tricks:"

The hyperlink trick ranks the potential websites by how many other pages link to them via hyperlinks, words or phrases on webpages that connect you to a different site if you click on them (they usually appear as blue, underlined words.) While very useful because having many sites linking to yours is a sign of reputable content, it doesn't prevent a "cycle" from happening, or constant change of link numbers due to pages linking to each other. 

The authority trick fixes this by assigning every page an "authority score." This is the sum of every other site's authority scores, or number of sites that link to it, that link to that page. So if 2 sites linked to site A and 3 sites linked to site B and both A and B linked to site C, site C would have the authority score of 5. The site with the highest authority score would show up first out of all of the pages that showed up for your search.

The random surfer trick measures the chance of someone randomly clicking on your site at a point of boredom on the web. This was the last and final tweak that Page and Brin had to do in order to make their algorithm complete and usable on the internet. Google was to be launched. 

Google today

How the algorithm is still used as Google continues to expand

Google is the most used search engine on the Internet today. It beats every other possible site by a long shot. 

That large blue area is Google and the rest are other search engines.

The site also uses over 200 varying factors to determine what sites appear where but they are quite secretive about the details nowadays. If you Google search "how does google search work," a humorous explanation written by the Google workers themselves will appear first on the list. They claim that pigeons, with their great recognition skills, go and find the sites for them. Ever since 1998, Google has been growing as a company. They now have Google Maps, Google Images, Google Mail, and more. Of course, they now have many more computer scientists and engineers thinking of all these genius algorithms. Google only continues to improve. 

This PageRank algorithm boosted Google into this glory and they have not left since. There are even websites that apparently check your PageRank for you. Whether or not they are accurate, I am not sure.

Algorithms are in our everyday lives, from tying your shoes to calling someone on your mobile phone. This particular algorithm made a huge impact on our lives. Using Google search has become a huge way of finding necessary information and this would not be possible without the PageRank algorithm.