Google Rank - Is PageRank Still Relevant?

Yes, Pagerank is still relevant however big changes in how it is calculated have been made at Google. They recently updated the display of Pagerank in the Google toolbar yet many feel this is not accurate. It could be however, that the displayed PR is accurate and reflects a topic or theme related PR. They are also not displaying backlinks in their entirety either but this may be due to the pages not being considered "on topic." These are difficult actions to monitor and no one in the industry knows what Google is doing. They don't publish it of course!

Google has new index algorithm elements which are very complex in how they are applied. Most SEOs now operate in a fog in that the relationship between content, linking and rankings is obscured. The new indexing methods they're using are difficult to understand and even more difficult to optimize for. Bay Street SEOs Gord Collins has successfully optimized for these filters.

New database filters come in the form of latent semantic indexing, authority-based link analysis, and topic sensitive Pagerank.

SEO is not A Get Rich Quick Solution

The sandbox delay will be a continuing part of Google's algorithm as the company is looking for ways to make it more difficult for SEO companies and spammers to manipulate the results. These changes are very effective in disrupting the relationship some SEO companies have with their clients. A proper client relationship should be a long term, legitimate and solid presence in Google's SERPs. If you are willing to take time to gain presence just as you would with any other business marketing venture, you won't be disappointed with the results Bay Street SEO will achieve for you. Professional planning and service yields respectable results.

Google Strikes Back

Another reason for Google's Pagerank delay is that blogs and paid link ads have presented Google with a serious threat to their search result quality. What Google is doing is to reorganize how PageRank is calculated. They appear to want to make PR relevant to keyword themes. That means you need relevant link partners not link exchanges. This requires more planning, Web site content and partnerships.

The hilltop algorithm appears to be their choice in creating this emphasis. By emphasizing the PageRank of certain sites (authority sites) that are important on particular topics, they can prevent the undue influence of links from sites with a purely high PR.

If you're lucky enough to acquire a link from a site with a very PR, it won't have the same effect it used to, unless your site and the linking site are on similar topics. The difficulty now is in acquiring links from sites you may be competing with or which you share same keyword focus.

Pursuing Relevant Links

The obsession with acquiring high numbers of links is being replaced with the pursuit of targeted relevant links. Link exchanges are not given the emphasis they once were either. Some links pages are shut out and may actually become the basis of a site penalty. Since penalties are applied as demerit points, it is difficult to know if your site has received a penalty. And, penalties can be applied to specific keyword phrases, not just a site's overall PageRank.

Whatever link reputation is applied to a link may either boost or lower your search engine rankings.

Even with the devolution of Google PageRank, it is still an important basic concept in modern search engine optimization.

As a client, site optimization concepts such as PageRank may be too time-consuming for you to learn. However, having an appreciation for them, makes collaboration easier and more productive. Perhaps the most important issue to understand is the need for precision.

Google PageRank theory is complex in application. It exists as potential only, until you apply it creatively and strategically on your Web site. It is an essential component of search engine optimization.

What is PageRank?

Yes, everyone wants the easy way out and to avoid learning the complexity of search engine copywriting and linking. PageRank mania has everyone obsessed with joining link farms and sending out hundreds of e-mails to get strangers to "vote" for their site. Affiliate programs are being set up not because sales will result, but only to establish rank boosting links. Links are important, but there's more accessible PageRank power right inside your Web site.

Even after months of link building, you might only have generated a hundred poor quality incoming links. There is a better way.

Huge PageRank - Make Good Use of it

Take a look at any big corporate Web site and you'll see that most of their thousands of links are from within their own site. They are internal links. That tells you that you if you channel the PageRank within your site, you are generating significant PageRank power. Forget about doorway pages and risky link farms. Don't take chances like that with your business. You can rank high in Google if you do it right.

PageRank Expert

How can I claim to be a Google PageRank Expert? Well, my clients enjoy very high rankings and their Web sites have few links pointing to them. One has visitors from over 3000 unique keyword phrases and the traffic is exceptional. Another client dominates all six of the top keyword phrases for their industry. It's all done through a keyword positioning strategy that works. I

There are experts like Chris Riding, and Phil Craven of Web Workshops that offer excellent insight into the mathematics of Google PageRank. PageRank however, is only one part of the Google ranking scheme. It's how you use PageRank by distributing and channeling it that creates high rankings. In the book at right, on writing for search engines, I explain how to manage PageRank on your site. This is the science of designing keyword relevance in Google. It sounds tough, but it really isn't. This book is at a level most web designers, Internet marketers and copywriters can understand.

This book can be a great ally for you in your quest for an Internet marketing budget. Search engine marketing does work.

Google is King

When you talk Web promotion and e-commerce, you're talking search engines and you're talking Google. Google is the preeminent search engine claiming a growing percentage of all searches done on the web. Focusing on Google oddly enough, produces excellent results in the other search engines too. If you're unable to optimize your Web site for Google you can only rely on pay per click and a handful of low traffic search engines. Since pay per click advertising rates are rising, that avenue may soon be available only for the wealthiest companies.

The PageRank Revolution

Google's rise to power has only been recent. PageRank, their revolutionary search algorithm processed the text information in their Web page database differently and faster than previous search engines. Google's much touted PageRank algorithm is based on the number of links that lead to a Web page. Ranking is from zero to ten.

PageRank is only one element of their indexing scheme. As time as passed their algorithm has matured, partly in response to a desire for delivering better search results and partly because of the improving skill of search engine optimization experts.

Google sees its search engine as a democratic one where everyone gets vote. The truth however, is that big sites do have some extra power to obtain high rankings. It's a power they're now leveraging to the hilt. That's because high rankings on Google can deliver a lot of traffic to a Web site. Google's results are published on Yahoo, Netscape, Sympatico.ca, AOL and a number of other search properties.

With many top executives blind to the promotional power of search engines and search engine optimization, there are some great opportunities for those in the know to build a very successful search engine presence.

Do you need a Google PageRank expert?

Well, if millions of dollars in sales are at stake, it makes sense. What you really need however, is a Google expert since there are factors other than PageRank to analyze.

A Google expert understands each aspect of the search engine's index. This takes study and it's something that each SEO practitioner must do on their own. This search engine is easy to win on single word keyword phrases. However, when a company needs high rankings in hundreds of search phrases and well qualified traffic, the optimization task reaches a high level of difficulty.

Strategy is extremely important to be successfully positioned for that many targeted keyword phrases. Technically-oriented people become frustrated at the level of creative wording needed. Creative copywriters are stymied by the technical sophistication of a high ranking Web site. Marketing managers have trouble understanding either.

The modern Web site serves many masters and it's put together by a diverse group of contributors. Working within this high powered environment can be very demanding and stressful. Compromise is a key requirement of successful Web site development, yet the people involved might feel their contribution is inhibited by the search engine optimization process. The result can be a lack of enthusiasm for it, despite the monetary returns.

Only someone with the capability of understanding technical, creative and marketing issues and who is at ease with such a complex matrix of hyperlinks as paths and words as nodes.

We hear a lot about the power of Web teams and the need to work as a team. That may be true, but ultimately it comes down to individuals and their capabilities. That's especially true when budgets are limited and teams have to be paid.

Google PageRank is an essential thing to know if you're a serious search engine marketer. If you don't have time to read the book then maybe you should contact Bay Street Search Engine Optimization to perform your search engine marketing. The surest path to develop high Google rankings is via Bay Street SEO.