A singular perturbation approach for choosing PageRank damping factor

Abstract

The choice of the PageRank damping factor is not evident. The Google's choice for the value c=0.85 was a compromise between the true reflection of the Web structure and numerical efficiency. However, the Markov random walk on the original Web Graph does not reflect the importance of the pages because it absorbs in dead ends. Thus, the damping factor is needed not only for speeding up the computations but also for establishing a fair ranking of pages. In this paper, we propose new criteria for choosing the damping factor, based on the ergodic structure of the Web Graph and probability flows. Specifically, we require that the core component receives a fair share of the PageRank mass. Using singular perturbation approach we conclude that the value c=0.85 is too high and suggest that the damping factor should be chosen around 1/2. As a by-product, we describe the ergodic structure of the OUT component of the Web Graph in detail. Our analytical results are confirmed by experiments on two large samples of the Web Graph.