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| Without
getting into
too much detail,
PageRank is
essentially
a score out
of ten as to
the "value"
of your site
in comparison
to other websites
on the Internet.
It is based
on two primary
factors; the
number of links
you have pointing
to your website
and the value
of the links
pointing to
your website.
The value is
calculated based
on the PageRank
of the page
linking to you
and debatably
the relevancy
of the page
linking to you
(there is no
hard evidence
to back up the
relevancy factor
in regards to
PageRank that
I have seen,
however it definitely
is a factor
in your overall
ranking). |
|
| Explaination |
| PageRank
relies on the
uniquely democratic
nature of the
web by using
its vast link
structure as
an indicator
of an individual
page's value.
In essence,
Google interprets
a link from
page A to page
B as a vote,
by page A, for
page B. But,
Google looks
at more than
the sheer volume
of votes, or
links a page
receives; it
also analyzes
the page that
casts the vote.
Votes cast by
pages that are
themselves "important"
weigh more heavily
and help to
make other pages
"important." |
|
| Important,
high-quality
sites receive
a higher PageRank,
which Google
remembers each
time it conducts
a search. Of
course, important
pages mean nothing
to you if they
don't match
your query.
So, Google combines
PageRank with
sophisticated
text-matching
techniques to
find pages that
are both important
and relevant
to your search.
Google goes
far beyond the
number of times
a term appears
on a page and
examines all
aspects of the
page's content
(and the content
of the pages
linking to it)
to determine
if it's a good
match for your
query. |
|
| Integrity |
| Google's
complex, automated
methods make
human tampering
with our results
extremely difficult.
And though we
do run relevant
ads above and
next to our
results, Google
does not sell
placement within
the results
themselves (i.e.,
no one can buy
a higher PageRank).
A Google search
is an easy,
honest and objective
way to find
high-quality
websites with
information
relevant to
your search. |
|
| What's
New |
| The
most current
PageRank update
will undoubtedly
cause a largër
stir than usual
in that many
sites have shown
drops in their
visible PageRank
while at the
same time showing
significant
increases in
their backlinks.
This fact reveals
that one of
three things
has occurred
in this latest
update: |
1.
Google has raised
the bar on PageRank,
making it more
difficult to
attain a high
level, or
2. The way they
are displaying
their backlinks
has changed,
or
3. The way they
calculate the
value of an
incoming link
has changed.
|
|
| Any
of these are
possible and
has been noted
in the past
as something
they are willing
to do. Additionally,
it is possible
for all to occur
at the same
time. |
|
| As
we don't like
to use clients
as examples,
I will use the
Beanstalk site,
backlink counts,
and PageRank
changes as the
meter by which
the following
conclusions
are drawn, however
this information
was attained
through looking
at a number
of client websites
and their competitors. |
|
| Google
Raising The
Bar To Lower
Yours |
| In
the past few
PageRank updates
it has become
quite apparent
that Google
is continuously
raising the
bar on PageRank.
In their defense,
with all of
the reciprocal
link building,
link renting,
etc. going on
this was a natural
reaction to
the growing
number of high
PageRank sites
that attained
those ranks
simply by building
or buying hundreds
and thousands
of links. |
|
| There
is no doubt
that this is
a factor in
the changes
in this current
update. If your
site has maintained
it's PageRank,
and the PageRanks
of your second-level
pages, then
you have done
well in holding
steady and,
if your competitors
have not been
as diligent
their positions
will slip. |
|
| New
Backlink Calculations |
| I
mention this
one only to
bring to light
that it is a
possibility
for your future
consideration
during other
updates. The
Beanstalk website
went from 750
shown backlinks
on Google to
864. It should
be noted that
Google does
not show all
backlinks (if
you want a more
accurate backlink
count go to
Yahoo! and enter
"link:http://www.yourdomain.com"
(don't forget
the http://)). |
|
| When
the Beanstalk
site showed
750 backlinks
on Google we
were showing
around 12,000
on Yahoo! (about
6.5% showing
on Google).
The Beanstalk
site is currently
showing 864
on Google and
15,500 on Yahoo!
(about 5.6%).
If anything
then, Google
is showing less
links than before
which negates
the possibility
that a website's
PageRank is
dropping due
to a decrease
in links but
being hidden
by an increased
number being
displayed. |
|
| In
short, while
the backlinks
Google chooses
to display has
certainly changed
over time, it
does not appear
to be a major
factor in this
update. If you
see an increase
in your sites
backlink counts
during this
update, you
undoubtedly
have an increased
number of links. |
|
| The
Value Of Links |
| Separate
from the number
of links you
have is their
value. This
appears to be
an area of significant
change in this
update. Areas
that appear
to have reduced
value in regards
to affecting
PageRank are: |
1.
Multiple
links from the
same site or
run-of-site
links
Intelligent
and relevant
reciprocal links
do not seem
to have been
penalized, probably
due to the increased
relevancy factor.
If you reduce
the value of
irrelevant links
and raise the
value of relevant
ones, then there
is no need to
penalize reciprocal
links as, done
incorrectly,
they will penalize
themselves.
2.
Links
with text around
them that indicate
they are purchased,
such as "Partners",
"Advertising",
etc.
Google has and
is actively
trying to reduce
the value of
paid links.
This appears
to have been
moderately successful
where there
is clear indication
that the link
is paid for.
3.
Links
from sites that
hold little
relevancy (this
factor is based
on educated
speculation)
The relevancy
factor appears
to have become
more important.
Links from sites
with content
related to yours
are showing
positive results
while sites
with largër
numbers of less
relevant links
are showing
drops in PageRank. |
|
| What
Does This Mean? |
| For
those of you
who have been
proactive in
your link building,
and focused
on relevant
sites using
the Google Directory,
searches or
a tool like
PR Prowler it
means, "stay
the course".
Those of you
who have been
building or
buying links
based only on
PageRank with
little concern
for their location,
or how they
are presented
- you will need
to adjust your
link building
efforts accordingly. |
|
| What
Do I Do - My
PageRank Dropped? |
| The
first thing
not to do is
panic. Take
a deep breath,
PageRank is
one factor of
dozens that
Google uses
to determine
the ranking
of your page,
it is not the
only thing.
Visit your main
competitors'
sites - there's
a good chance
you'll see that
they too dropped
PageRank. The
plus side to
these kinds
of updates is
that they're
universal. It's
not as if Google
has it in for
you specifically
and so when
they do an update,
the positive
and negative
impact is felt
by all. |
|
| If
you've noticed
that everyone
around you has
stayed the same
or increased
in PageRank
try to remember
this, there's
nothing you
can do about
where you're
currently positioned
in regards to
PageRank and
it will probably
be another 3
months before
Google updates
the public PageRank
again so ...
start building
some good quality
(high relevancy,
solid PageRank)
links. Work
towards an increase
in the next
update. Panicking
won't help,
intelligent
reaction will. |
|
| What
Happens Now? |
| Traditionally
the search engine
results will
begin to fluctuate
based on the
new visible
PageRank 3 to
7 days after
they are visible.
This does not
have to be the
case as Google's
had these numbers
all along but
its worked this
way in the majority
of cases in
recent history.
So monitor your
search engine
positions over
the next week
or two and watch
for changes.
Try to hold
back on making
major changes
to your site
during this
time as often
the final positions
will differ
from those that
can be viewed
during the shuffling.
In a couple
weeks time evaluate
where you stand
and tweak your
site as necessary
but don't spend
too much time
on that ...
you have a solid
link building
effort to undertake. |
|
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