Reference sections
Reference sections
The reference is divided into four topics, matching the questions website owners usually ask. The first explains where PageRank came from and why you can no longer look it up. The second covers how search engines find and index pages. The third is about links and their attributes, and the fourth about the official tools search engines provide to site owners. Each topic links to answers, glossary terms and reading lists.
Most search problems are not mysterious algorithms but a forgotten rule in robots.txt or a page that nothing links to.
Selection criteria: the question is one an ordinary site owner or editor actually asks; the answer can be verified against search engine documentation, open standards or the original research paper; the advice requires no paid services, promises no ranking gains and does not suggest getting around search engine policies.
PageRank and the history of metrics
What PageRank is, who proposed it and when, what the 0–10 scale showed and why the public score disappeared. Also: how Yandex replaced its TIC with SQI.
- Answers about PageRank
Where to see PageRank today, what the toolbar number meant and whether links still count.
- The history of search metrics
A reading list: from the 1998 paper to the end of the public score and the arrival of Yandex SQI.
- Former service charts (in Russian)
A note on the old PageRank charts address and why such charts are no longer built.
How search engines find pages
Crawling and indexing, robots.txt and sitemaps: what they do, what they don't do and where people most often go wrong.
- Checking a site before launch
A step-by-step guide: accessibility, robots.txt, noindex directives, sitemaps, internal links.
- Answers about indexing
Why a page isn't indexed, whether robots.txt hides it from search and whether a sitemap is required.
- Search and indexing terms
Crawler, crawling, index, robots.txt, sitemap.
Links and their attributes
Why links matter for search, what nofollow, sponsored and ugc mean, and why buying links violates search engine policies.
- Links without spam
A reading list on how to correctly mark paid and user-generated links.
- Answers about links and metrics
What link attributes are for, whether you can buy links, and what DR and DA are.
- Link terms
Backlink, anchor text, nofollow, sponsored, ugc.
Tools for site owners
Google Search Console and Yandex Webmaster: what they are, why you verify site ownership and how their data differs from third-party estimates.
- For first-time site owners
A reading list of the basics: from pre-launch checks to setting up webmaster tools.
- Metrics terms
Yandex SQI and TIC, third-party domain "authority" metrics and how they differ from search engine data.
- New publications
A feed of reference materials with their preparation dates.
Related sections
- Practical guides
How to check a website before launch, step by step. Plus a catalogue of upcoming articles.
- Questions and answers
Short answers about PageRank, indexing, links and website metrics.
- Glossary
Glossary of terms: search and indexing, links, metrics.
Sources
- S. Brin, L. Page — "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine" (1998)
- Google Search Central — documentation and spam policies
- Yandex Help for webmasters
- RFC 9309 (Robots Exclusion Protocol)
- sitemaps.org
Information is current as of the date of preparation. Search engine documentation, policies and webmaster tools change over time, so always check the latest details in the original sources.