A lot of website owners are upset or puzzled when their
website's Google PageRank goes down or does not rise. Is it
worth losing any sleep over changes in that green line and
number that appear in a Google tool bar at the top of your
browser? I think that excessive worry or thought about
PageRank is not constructive, and it is better to put it all
in perspective by taking a rational look at what PageRank is
and what it is not.
First of all the concept behind PageRank is indeed at the
heart of Google's ranking process. The Google founders came
from academia and they noticed that in many academic
documents some sources were continually cited. They reasoned
that if a particular document such as a book or research
paper was mentioned in many places then it must be
important. They applied this to the web and assumed that if
one website links to another it is in fact, giving a "vote"
for that site. A website that has many incoming links must
have a certain degree of importance. In the current Google
algorithm the quantity and quality of incoming links is
certainly a factor in deciding the ranking of a particular
website for any given search-query.
Think about it. In the early days of the web people would
build websites and then they would tell their visitors to
check out other "cool" sites and they would link to these
sites. This is the process of natural linking and it still
goes on. If you really have good content, people will link
to you without letting you know. Similarly, if your name is
Bob Dylan and your website is www.bobdylan.com, thousands of
people will link to you without you having to send a cheesy
email begging for a link.
Various government agencies, educational institutions,
established companies and anyone else who is "big" in the
"real world" is likely to also be big on the Internet simply
by virtue of their previous fame and accomplishment.
Google's ranking system took this into consideration and
this is one of the reasons why Google is currently the
number one search engine. It gives better results and that
is why people use it.
But, does that mean that only the big players can be seen on
the net? Far from it. While there is a difference between
one guy working in his house with one computer and a
corporate giant with a whole staff, and this is indeed
reflected in rankings, the Internet provides a much leveler
playing field than in yesteryear. Prior to 1995, it would
have been very hard for someone to spread their news and
views far and wide as bloggers do today. It costs millions
of dollars to publish a daily newspaper or to print and
circulate a magazine, but it costs far less to publish a
website or a blog, and lots of "little guys" have taken
advantage of the power of the Internet.
But what about PageRank, how much of it do I really need to
get my site noticed? For those who are not familiar with the
PageRank system. Google supplies a tool bar which you can
download and install on your browser. If you make a complete
installation with all the advanced features, then every time
you open a new website you will see a green and white bar
with the label PageRank. Put your mouse on the bar and you
will see a number from 0 to 10. If a website is not indexed
by Google or banned by Google, the bar may be grey or all
white.
But what do the numbers mean? I had a client who was worried
about his number 3 PageRank figure and based on my
observation I answered him with my unofficial view on the
rankings. Here is how I currently see it:
PageRank 0-2 shows that a site does not have many
links and needs work, However, and this a big "however," it
may not really affect your search engine rankings. I have a
client with a page rank of 2 and his site ranks well, even
number one, for several search terms in a fairly competitive
industrial category. So PageRank is not everything; it may
have an impact on your rankings and traffic, but in some
cases it may not matter. In any case if you have a PageRank
of 0-2, you can work on it through proper link building
activity which I will explain at the end of the article.
PageRank 3 can be OK in some cases but in highly
competitive industries you should work to improve it.
PageRank 4 is quite a normal number and indicates
that you have enough links in either quantity or quality to
make your site competitive.
PageRank 5 indicates that a site has many links or
links from authoritative sites, and that Google has good
"trust" in the site. It is a respectable and attainable
PageRank.
PageRank 6 is very difficult to attain. This rank
indicates that the site has many links and links from
respected places. Remember the example of www.bobdylan.com,
which I mentioned above; it has a PageRank 6, so you can get
an idea of the difficulty involved.
PageRank 7-10 is usually earned by large and
established institutions or websites which have tremendous
authority, due to the quantity and quality of the incoming
links. It is extremely difficult to attain this ranking. You
really have to be special to get it.
So, don't worry excessively about PageRank. First look at
your traffic, then look at your sales and finally at your
bottom line. They are the important numbers to watch. If you
want to increase your traffic and also PageRank, then here
are a few steps that you can take:
1. Add content to your website. Make your website
so good and so useful that people will link to you
without you asking for a link.
2. Write articles and get them published on other
websites and blogs with a link back to your site.
3. Distribute online press releases
4. Judiciously exchange links, or even better,
exchange content (containing links back to your site)
with other websites.
5. Get your site listed in online directories.
These efforts will certainly help you to build targeted
traffic, and they most probably will also help you to increase
your PageRank as well.
Go Back
