What Do We Really Know About PageRank?
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Today’s post is written in response to a recent email that I received from a reader asking how they might improve their Google PageRank.
In this question, it’s apparent to me that they are wondering some of the same things that I wondered when I was starting out and it’s probably some of the same things that you are wondering. So let me share with you their question and then I’ll provide you with a basic understanding of Google PageRank.
I have submitted my blog to Google, Yahoo, and MSN. I also verified my site with them through Meta Tags. Google, Yahoo and Altavista are showing my pages as indexed. Yet still my PageRank in Google shows as zero. Can you visit my site and suggest any changes for quality improvement. Thanks
Google page rank has very little to do with any of your on-page search engine optimization. In fact, it probably has nothing to do with it.
The Basics of Google PageRank
Page rank is calculated exclusively based on the number and quality of inbound links. The more links that point to your web page the higher your page rank will be. The higher those sites are that link to you, the higher your rank will climb.
Rather than just focusing on making sure that you have the right plugins installed to optimize your meta title, description and keywords, focus on building relationships with other bloggers and developing link exchanges. Build those links to your website and you’ll see your website begin to climb in page rank.
For the best methods of building inbound links to your website, check out this article: 40 Ways to Build an Army of Inbound Links.
Straight From the Experts
To make it even more clear let me provide a video for you from seoMOZ. In this 8 minute video you’ll be provided with a major crash course on Google PageRank and how it impacts our listings in Google’s search index.
It’s also incredibly important to note that Google only updates their page rank about twice a year and we don’t know the exact dates. They just updated about a month or so ago so don’t expect to see your page rank change for about another 5 months. I hope this helps.
Blake @ Props Blog Reviews said:
I was really disappointed when I saw my page rank didn’t go up when the last update happened. I have a pretty good amount of inbound links (Alexa claims at least 69 different sites), but I’m sure many of them are nofollow by default.
Google swears up and down page rank doesn’t make a huge difference in SERP, so I’m not as worried. It just sucks that many people base website credibility on page rank (which isn’t always a good idea).
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Helmi Asyraf @ Huzzer Magazine said:
I agree with you. People has wrongly base the success of one particular site with it’s page rank.
Sometimes we are too focussed in increasing our pagerank and fail to prioritise important thing first.
For me, readers’ interaction and fan base are more important than pagerank. It is because although one particular site has low page rank, it is not necessarily have low traffic.
The site still can gain massive traffic from social networking sites with the help and support from its loyal readers.
Nicholas Cardot said:
Helmi Asyraf @ Huzzer Magazine –> I think it’s a strange that people keep revisiting the idea that we shouldn’t focus on PageRank but that we should only focus on our readers. I find it strange for several reasons.
1. Why aren’t we appealing to both readers and search engines that bring us new readers? Why choose when it’s very simple to enjoy both?
2. PageRank is determined by inbound links. Inbound links reveal how much others are enjoying your content. Hence PageRank is a revelation of how much your actually appealing to real people. If your PageRank is low then you’re likely not accomplishing SEO or writing for real people.
3. I also find most often that those who oppose working on PR are people with less than desirable websites. I’m not saying that this is the case here, but often those who can’t seem to accomplish the task of creating awesome content in a brilliant design often dismiss it as unimportant.
David Hobson said:
Pagerank is something i dont bother with any more, i dont need it for my website to be succesful, to me its a meaningless number.
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Keith @ Business3.0 said:
I just recently had this discussion in a webmaster forum and discovered this quote directly from google:
PageRank Technology: PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results.
source: http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html
Ultimately though, the PR we all drool over is TBPR (toolbar pagerank) which isn’t necessarily a “true” PR. But Google DOES in fact use PR as one of many factors for SERP’s I just don’t think it is worth obsessing over as we have all seen our pages outrank higher PR sites in the SERP’s.
Personally, I think it becomes more relevant on highly competitive one or two word terms. But that is just from my own research and I am not an expert.
Also, from the quote I provided “PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms” so your analysis of PR being determined solely based on links, doesn’t appear to be completely accurate according to Google, but then again Google is always honest with us aren’t they ;-0
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Glen said:
I assume that page rank is an important factor for a business site but building relationships with those that do visit seems more important to me..
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Helmi Asyraf @ Huzzer Magazine said:
Yes I definitely agree with you. For a start-up site, page rank can be crucial as have nil pagerank can give bad first impression to others especially our prospective advertisers.
However, when we have get the first ‘few’ pagerank, I think it is best if we refocussed our effort form increasing our page rank to improve the content and site’s interactivity. It is beause, for me the key of success is site’s loyal fans and visitor – not Google.
What do you think?
Nicholas Cardot said:
Helmi Asyraf @ Huzzer Magazine –> Even though the real visitors are the priorities, why settle for only one? If you follow Site Sketch 101, you’ll learn how to appeal to real people with great content, a killer layout and a powerful online influence but we’ll also teach you how to work on getting your site listed in Search Engines. If we want to be successful we should be doing all of those things and not just one or two of them. Let’s deliver the total package if we really want to drive our websites to the top.
Dave Doolin | Website In A Weekend said:
Nicholas has it right: focus on relationships.
One thing to always remember about page rank (all of SEO, really), is that it’s controlled by an algorithm(s), derived by scientists and engineers, implemented by programmers and engineers, and subject to policy dictated by Google management.
My point is that Google can change anything they want, any time they want, for any reason they want, and not tell anyone about it.
My real point is do what you can with respect to SEO, then don’t worry about it.
All that being said…
Pay most attention to your human company. Google and other search engines spend 10s of millions in research to figure out to express “quality” using mathematics. They have to, without delivering results, they have no business model. Over time, your high quality content and relationships will pay off.
Further advice:
1. Watch and read everything Matt Cutts
says and writes. He’s Google’s public face for search. He’s also pretty cool and approachable in person.
2. Read everything on Google’s Webmaster pages. They have no reason to steer you wrong, and every reason to give you as much accurate information as they can.
Once again, an excellent article from Nicholas.
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Kidgas said:
I think the important point is mentioned here in this comment. If you focus on the human relationships, you will get the links, then get the Page Rank, then show up in the SERPs, get more visitors for more relationships to start the cycle again.
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Gabe | freebloghelp.com said:
Even though Google tells us not to worry so much about PR, advertisers and visitors often judge a site by it.
As folks already stated, building relationships is key for the long run, not just for PR but for a blog’s survival.
I think it’s important to remember that each PR value has a factor of 6 of the next value. Therefore, most sites with a PR will be 0, 1, or 2. This pyramid structure only has a handful at the top and even top 20 sites like Amazon and ESPN currently only have a PR8.
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Helmi Asyraf @ Huzzer Magazine said:
That is the problem – people judge a site with the wrong measurement like judging how tall a person is by measuring it’s weight.
What do you think if we put below kind statement in out blog:
#blog has 0 pagerank but the knowledge that you will get is the best that you can get.#
Will it give impact to our visitors/advertisers?
Nicholas Cardot said:
Helmi Asyraf @ Huzzer Magazine –> PageRank isn’t an inappropriate measure of a site. Since PageRank is strongly determined by inbound links, it reveals how many other webmasters believe that your web content is valuable. It shows the global consensus as to the usefulness of your website. It displays how much you’ve impressed those around you. Those are important factors in building credibility.
Davor Gasparevic @ Cheap internet marketing ebooks blog said:
Very useful info, I actually tend to ignore PR a lot, but I know it would certainly kick up my blog a few positions up for my main phrases, and therefore I would get more visits.
But, I just do it gradually, building links regularly, so the PR will come over time, that is for sure.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Davor Gasparevic @ Cheap internet marketing ebooks blog –> There’s certainly no need hurry but remember that another site that builds them faster than you will pass you up if they are competing for the same keywords.
Chad @ Tech201 said:
PageRank and over-the-top SEO worries are basically a waste of time. Don’t forget your audience is human, at least I assume it is for most of us.
Focus on content and what humans want, the rest will fall into place.
PageRank is determined by the Google BOTs, and BOTs don’t recommend your site to others or click on ads to support your efforts.
I’m not saying to ignore SEO, etc., you should definitely have a solid understanding of how it works and how to benefit from it.
Just don’t forget the human factor is most important.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Chad @ Tech201 –> If you’ve followed this blog, you would see that I place SEO as a very low priority and I spend a lot of time teaching the readers here how to actively engage their readers, build relationships, improve the quality of their content and design, and focus on real people. That having said, it’s not a complete waste of time. We should still actively be knowledgable of SEO. Just because it’s a lower priority doesn’t mean that we should ignore SEO completely.
Chad @ Tech201 said:
I have followed this site for a while now, you may be thrown off by my recent name change though. And I’m well aware of what you teach others (I find it valuable too).
If you notice in my comment I said that you need to have a solid understanding of SEO and how to benefit from it. I wouldn’t call that ignoring it, or even having it as a lower priority.
My commentary was really aimed more at the uselessness of worrying about PageRank. For example, this site appears to be unranked by PR, yet Alexa has it in the 26K range (very good). Given that huge difference, how useful is PR, really?
Keep up the good work here.
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Lee Ka Hoong said:
Google used to update pagerank very frequent this few days, about 3 months once or less than that. My blog’s pagerank stuck at PR3 for quite some times but it didn’t climb up higher, PR4 would be great for me. I have no idea how to improve it, I just do whatever I can naturally, not urge for the pagerank that much right now.
Merry xmas Nicholas!
Cheers,
Lee
Nicholas Cardot said:
Lee Ka Hoong –> You’re right. They used to update it much more often than they do. I’m sure it has to do with the increased load on their servers or something why they don’t update it that often. But I’ve also heard it said that the PageRank that we see is not the actual page rank of our sites. That is only the PageRank of our sites on the day that they updated it but that the true PageRank continues to evolve every day on Google servers.
Dana @ LetUpdate said:
For me, page rank is mystery but of course, we can do our part by try to do link building for our site.
We can also pay for Angela service for easy link building.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Dana @ LetUpdate –> Google frowns on paid links. Besides, that can be deceptive. Instead of actually building a quality site and developing the organic links that promote a site on Google you are talking about artificially inflating a less than stellar website by paying enough people off. I’m not a fan of paying for page rank.
scheng1 said:
That’s not really true. Pagerank is not just dependant on incoming link. Grizly’s blog, make money for beginner, has many incoming links, yet only PR2. There are many unknown factors, such as frequency of update etc.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
scheng1 –> Frequency of update of what? The website? Because I build PR 3 pages inside this website with nothing but inbound links from hundreds of websites without ever updating them. Besides, isn’t PageRank based on a per page basis and not on a per site basis?
Vikas| vikas-gupta.in said:
Nicholas,
Are you affiliate links (like bluehost and Elegant) no follow? Probably not? You know Google penalizes you (@PR) if your affiliate links are not nofollow!
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Vikas| vikas-gupta.in said:
Sorry, I think they are nofollow. I just checked the properties again. Ignore the comments.
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chandan said:
I like that you put the video from SEOmoz, yes the guy of SEOmoz are very smart for teaching on link building, SEO topics. I am a regular reader of SEOmoz blog and I like their every post.
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creative_blondes said:
You know what I really wanna know about PageRank.. Why does Google have it open for everybody ? Matt Cutts always says people shouldn’t worry about PageRank, and lot’s of other SEO guru’s say PageRank is becoming less important (tough, still very important).. Then why would Google openly share the PR with everybody ? Hmm.. makes me wonder
Nicholas Cardot said:
I’m becoming more convinced that it’s not becoming less important due to the fact that it’s no longer relevant because PageRank is very relevant. I think that it’s becoming less important solely based on the fact that there are now so many other factors that are used to determine our website’s rank in the listings.
But rather than showing PageRank less attention, we should be figuring out what some of the other, newer factors are and along with our PageRank, we should start focusing on those factors as well. If there are 100 factors and we are able to figure out 90 or them and do the best that we can in all of them then I believe we can begin to see better listings.
John @ myiphone4case said:
For me, a good leader is also a good follower. For he/she can’t lead an organization if they are not a good follower. Everyone has a capability to be a leader if he/she is qualified to be a leader. If they are responsible enough.