PageRank is the score that the search engines give to each Web page based on how long the site has been around, how many backlinks it has, the quality of the backlinks and many other factors.

So, why is PageRank important? The higher the PageRank of a Web site, the more value it passes to the links and Web pages throughout the entire site. As such, if you have your links on a high PageRank Web site, there is a better opportunity for you to derive some value from that Web site. For example, let's say you were to get a text link on Yahoo's homepage, which has a PageRank of 9. This means that you are going to receive some of that 9 value on your Web site and as such your own PageRank should increase.

Is PageRank the key to improving search engine rankings? PageRank is an important factor, but you also need text links on sites that are strong in highly reputable backlinks and that have been around for quite some time.