Best Alternatives to Google PageRank

Page rank refers to a link analysis algorithm launched by Google to tell websites whether they are important or not. This score goes from 0 to 10 and is based on an exponential scale.

However, this score seems to be not as relevant as it used to be anymore. Google has been generally updating this algorithm every three months but in recent time, nothing has evolved. When Matt Cutts has been asked whether PageRank is going to be updated before 2014, he replied “ I would be surprised if it happened”. The last update occurred at December 6th 2014. SEO experts tends to say that PageRank is definitely dead but what was it and what are the alternatives now?

Why PageRank was so useful?

This link metric can be pretty useful for link audits because otherwise, PageRanks doesn’t have a real impact on rankings as Google is giving more importance to relationship and relevance.
For link audits, PageRank used to deliver informations about low-value and spammy links with filters like Homepage PR0 or Gray. But since the service is not updating anymore, this tool is becoming less relevant for SEOs.

Alternatives to Google PageRank

As PageRanks is slowly disappearing, other solutions has emerged. Many backlink reporting companies have developed link metric tools to compete with PageRank but not all of them are qualitative. 

Here are the three I recommend:

MOZ Page Authority – This metric is calculated based on data from Mozscape’s web index and numerous other factors. It uses a learning model that predictively will find an algorithm that correlates with rankings across thousands of search results. It is scored using a 100 point system to measure the predictive ranking strength of a single web page. The best way to influence this metric is to improve your overall SEO. MOZ Page Authority is incorporated into several SEO and online marketing platforms, however you can measure it by using Open Site Explorer or the MozBar toolbar.

MajesticSEO Trust Flow – This metric is designed to offer protection to your website. This tool can detect poor quality inbound links. It is important to know that the links being built are reliable and trustworthy. MajesticSEO’s tool measures how influential a website is (citation flow) and how trustworthy a page is (trust flow). Trust flow metrics measure what websites are linking to your website and if they are a trusted source. This tool is only available from MajesticSEO with a subscription.

Ahrefs URL Rank – This metric is very similar to PageRank, in which every page is assigned a rank. It is calculated by the number of DoFollow links pointing to the page. This tool is considered more of an independent tool for SEO analysis, but has a wide range of features. Ahrefs uses an independent database and crawlers to create their indexes. Their indexes are updated every 15 minutes and they are able to show both external links and linked domains. This tool is available exclusively through their website.