All of the recent discussion about the Google PageRank update has stimulated a few questions from my readers. Let me take a swipe at answering the questions that have come up, and a few others to fill in the gaps and get everyone up to speed.
- What is PageRank ?
- How can I see my PageRank ?
- What is the impact of a higher PageRank ?
- What does a given ranking mean ?
- How do I use PageRank , then?
Q. What is PageRank?
A. PageRank is a 0-10 ranking/rating system used by Google to indicate the relative importance of a page as compared to all pages currently indexed. Every time Google recalculates its indices, the counters start back at zero and get recounted from scratch. The PageRank rating is computed based upon the number of links to the page from other pages, and the PageRank of those pages which link to it. Simply stated, the more links to a page the higher the PageRank of that page. The higher the PageRank of the pages that link to a page, the higher the PageRank of the target page. Combine those two for maximum chewing satisfaction.
Q. How can I see my PageRank?
A. The easiest way to do this is to download the Google Toolbar . There are quite a few other tools out there to do this online, either through a toolbar or on a website. These sites come and go so frequently I don’t really want to risk putting this on here and having to fix the link in a few weeks.
Q. What is the impact of a higher PageRank?
A. Each ranking value is 10x higher than the value one below it. So, a PageRank of 1 is ten times as “important” as a page with a PageRank of zero. A web page with a PageRank of 5 is ten times as important as a web page with a PageRank of 4.
Q. What does a given ranking mean?
A higher PageRank does not mean a page will come up more often in search engine result pages. If that were the case Google would come up first for everything because of it’s ultra-high PageRank. Instead, it is simply the amount of force that a given page has relative to the content on that page.
So, a page with a PR of 10 with a little content about hamsters may come up later in the search engine results than a PR4 page ALL about hamsters. Further, a home page with a PR3 with content about hamsters may appear earlier than the aforementioned PR4 page. And to take that one step even FURTHER, a PR2 home page about hamsters, on a 50 page site about nothing but hamsters may come up before any other the previously mentioned examples.
Q. How do I use PageRank, then?
If you can get a link to your site from a page:
- with high PageRank
- featuring content on a topic that matches yours,
- with the right keywords in the link text, and
- very few links to sites other than yours…
You will have struck gold. This is the Google equivalent of an incredibly important authority figure making a speech before an audience of thousands, and in that speech, saying “you need to go HERE if you want to learn about hamsters.” A PR7 or 8 site doing this for you would have the equivalent impact of being mentioned as Oprah’s recommended reading for the week. As a result, when Google has to figure out where to send people who typed in the word “Hamster” – your site comes up closer to first than if it did not.
To summarize with some examples and real world examples of how to use PageRank:
- 200 links from PR0 pages have the equivalent value and impact on both PageRank and Search Engine Results as that same link would from 20 similar pages with a PageRank of 1, or one link each from 2 similar pages with a PageRank of 2.
- If you have the change to get a link on a PR4 site that has nothing to do with your site, don’t waste your time. Similarly, it’s worth 100x the effort to get a single link from a PR3 site than a PR1 site with the same content.
- If you are considering linking to a page with a blank (or grey) PageRank, you may be linking to a page which has been blacklisted by Google. You are at considerable risk in doing such a thing. Google realizes that you have absolute control over the pages you link to. If you link to a page which has been blacklisted, you may wind up getting your page and/or entire site blacklisted. The only time a it’s a reasonable risk to link to a blank PR page is if the page is relatively new, and Google may not have updated its view of the page’s rank yet.
This whole PageRank thing ONLY matters if you’re using search engines for traffic. If you’re getting people to your site through off-line methods, referral-programs, pay-per-click, or what-have-you that is NOT search engine based, you can ignore all of this mumbo jumbo and just keep focusing on your current method for driving traffic to your site.
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6 comments ↓
Nice post bro!!!
I have both models online, word of mouth and search engine traffic and to be honest with you I make more money via word of mouth than I do search engine traffic lately…
The golden rule is get 40 quality people talking about your site/service/product and you’re set!!!
“If you are considering linking to a page with a blank (or grey) PageRank, you may be linking to a page which has been blacklisted by Google. You are at considerable risk in doing such a thing.”
Does this also include allowing Tracbacks for other sites? Possibly ones that have been black listed? It is not always easy to know whether it is ok to allow a trackback to be displayed if this is the case.
Excellent in depth explanation of page rank. It’s worth noting that page rank does become increasingly more important as the competitiveness of your niche increases. In other words if you are in a less competitive niche sometimes on page optimization is enough but for more competitive intdustry page rank becomes more important.
GREAT post title. And what a great pick up line. Depends on the locale I guess, and the end results you’re looking for.
Thanks for the explanation. One open question is whether it matters which page on another site links to to your site. For example, if a site’s homepage has a PR of 6, but the page in which they list their partners (and where our site would be referenced) is a PR of 2, will Google count that as linking to a site with PR of 2 or 6? Thanks in advance. Also, do you know of a tool where you can find all the links that currently come from other sites to your own?
Each page has its own unique PageRank. If a site has a high PageRank on the homepage, but poor PR on an internal page, this generally means that they’re not linking very effectively from their homepage to the rest of the site. A well intra-linked site would have around the same PageRank on most of the pages – generally excepting the privacy page and similiar “overhead” pages not intended to attract traffic.
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