Recently Google did a major PageRank update where a
lot of sites were downgraded. Many experts believe this
PageRank update was Google’s response to link selling
- sites which sell links lost points in their PageRank.
Google measures all web pages on a scale of importance
from 0 to 10, which is shown in a small green pixel bar
on browsers carrying the Google Toolbar. PageRank is
“supposedly” measured by the number of backlinks to
your site.
Online democracy in action, a link is a vote for your site.
The more votes you have the higher your site is ranked.
At least that’s how it was supposed to work until a lot
of high PR sites started selling links and put a monkey
wrench into the whole system.
The latest update may be a smart move on Google’s part
to curtail this practice; who’s going to buy a link from
a PR2 or even a PR4 site? Besides this could be more than
a warning that your site will go down even further if you
continue to sell links.
Now this is more of a cosmetic change in PageRank than a
real change in your true rankings in Google. Just because
your PR goes down doesn’t mean your keyword rankings or
traffic from Google also goes down.
I saw some of my sites go up, some stayed the same, but
my major site took a big hit - falling from PR6 to PR4.
This was more of a devastating blow than I expected mainly
for psychological reasons than actual consequences. After
years of building the best content you can muster and
constantly getting quality one-way links, to see that
PageRank drop was very disappointing and hits to the core
of your online work.
I have been around for a while so I have experienced many
Google Updates - anyone remember the Florida Update? I also
keep my ears peeled to discussions of the latest updates
in Webmasterworld and Stompernet, and I even read Matt Cutts
when I get real nervous… so I knew not to panic just
because of the sudden drop in PageRank.
I also knew what most of the SEO experts were saying was
true because my major keywords stayed the same and my Google
traffic actually went up. But that’s little comfort when
you’re talking about Google; you immediately go into overdrive
and try to figure out where you went wrong. What caused the
drop - because whether PageRank is meaningless or not, you’re
still going in the wrong direction.
I saw many of my competitors drop too, but many stayed the
same and even a few increased in PageRank. What are they
doing right; what am I doing wrong? I don’t sell links but
does Google think I am selling links was my main concern?
I even moved one external link from my main page to another
part of my site, just in case Google is mistaking that as a
paid link.
Welcome to webmaster’s paranoid hell!
For SEO reasons I have very few external links on my main page.
Can’t see why Google downgraded my main site. I have been at
PR6 for years.
Herein lies my main beef, with Google you never really know
where you stand; you are constantly walking on eggshells. No
matter how good your content or your site is - one misstep and
you could be in the doghouse. All your hard work can be taken
away in a heartbeat.
It wouldn’t matter so much if it was one of the other two major
search engines downgrading your site but this is Google.
Free organic traffic from Google is vital to any online site or
business. I would take traffic from Google over any other source
of traffic on the web, except for traffic coming from my articles
on other sites, and even that traffic probably originated from a
search in Google.
Google and Google PageRank have always been important to me
- that’s one of the reasons a sudden large drop causes so much
concern. There’s another important reason Google PageRank is
important to me.
Most SEO experts mistakenly believe PageRank is meaningless
because Google is not giving us the true ranking of any site
or revealing all the backlinks, which is supposedly one of
the major factors in how Google ranks sites. While this fact
is obviously true, it has caused many to jump to another
conclusion.
Because Google is not giving us the real ranking, many webmasters
have dismissed PageRank as a vital element in their sites.
Don’t make the same mistake.
Google PageRank is extremely important if you’re doing business
on the web. The higher PR you have, the better. But it has nothing
to do with keyword rankings or first page SERPs.
What many SEO experts fail to realize (not really their business)
is the whole “perceived” value of PageRank.
Google, hate it or love it, has become the most respected
company on the web in the eyes of the majority of the web’s users.
It carries enormous weight and prestige. The “perceived” value of
a high PR7 or PR8 is extremely valuable.
We are not talking about link selling; we are talking about how
a perspective business partner or customer will treat your site
or business.
Say you have two identical sites you want to do business with
online and you discover one is a Google PR2 site and the other
is a Google PR8 site - which one would you choose to do business
with? Honestly?
From first-hand experience, I know any online company or marketer
will get more business offers and be offered more partnerships/joint
ventures if you have a high Google PR site than a low one. It will
make a difference to your bottom line.
PageRank is important. PageRank has meaning. Even if it has little
bearing on your SERPs rankings or Google traffic, PageRank can
greatly influence the success of your online site or venture.
Don’t ignore or dismiss PageRank as a meaningless relic that didn’t
quite work out as Google had planned for it in the first place.
High PageRank will always be valuable.
The day Google gives its own site a PageRank of PR1 or PR2
instead of the current PR10 - that’s the day you can dismiss
PageRank as truly meaningless.
…
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites,
including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest and most
effective web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools
or why not try these excellent free training manuals and videos:
Free Marketing Courses
Copyright © 2007 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed
if this resource box stays attached.
