Does Google PageRank really matter?
Posted by admin in Google, Linkbuilding on June 21st, 2009
Does Google PageRank matter?
The short answer is yes. But is it the end all? No.
Google’s PageRank is just one of hundreds, probably thousands of factors that Google now takes into consideration when ranking a website in their listings.
Way back when, Page Rank was crucial, one would base their strategy around trying to obtain the higher PR. Over time, Google built upon their algorithm, adding more and more factors, both positive and negative, that play into the overall strength, or weakness, of a particular website.
Some of those factors that could help or hinder a website included the age of a domain, the domain name, and anchor text.
So, if it’s just one of several attributes, then why do SEOs and site owners care so much about it?
Technically, it gives you an idea of a site’s inbound link power… meaning how powerful a website’s inbound links are; the higher the PR pages, the better that will factor in Google’s search results.
Also Google PageRank can be used generally to equate one’s AdSense EPC (Earning Per Click); the higher the PR, the higher earnings through Adsense.
BUT I think the biggest reason people flock to PageRank is it’s ability to quickly give you a website’s grade, an overall website evaluation by the biggest search engine in the land, all in just one number.
People, not just SEOs, love tangible things. Whether it’s a grade in school, how much money one makes, mpg, how many points one scored… it gives us an idea of our status and it helps us to determine our goals.
Review: Linktive (Private Beta)
I recently took a quick look at Linktive, a company that helps webmasters build “good neighborhoods” of links around their one’s own website. So basically, it’s a link exchange application.
A great idea, I added my website and tried searching on anything related that I could add links that surrounded my topic, but the unfortunate thing is that Linktive doesn’t have very many sites just yet.
Given, it’s in private beta, and in the words of the company - they realize that things aren’t running as smoothly yet: Linktive it not perfect yet so please bare with us while we finish fixing the little bugs. During the Beta stage there may be changes taking place however this stage is intended for not only for us to test the website but also for your valued feedback.
I give the user interface a B- as it’s not quite as user-friendly as I would like. That’s the only real grade I can give out as yet. It’s a smart concept that is still in private beta, so until they fully go live, I’ll withhold my judgement.
I received a private beta invite rather easily, so perhaps you would like to give the site a shot too and let me know what you think?
What’s the deal with the huge difference between Google and Yahoo backlinks?
For you seasoned SEOs out there, this may be a simple question, but I know that many site owners aren’t aware of the answer to the question: Why is there such a huge difference between the amount of backlinks reported between Google’s search engine and Yahoo’s and there is such a significant difference?
For example, one of my sites has 7,294 links reported by Yahoo’s site explorer, while using Google’s “link:” modifier only yields roughly 153?
The simple answer is that Google does not report all backlinks…. at least not to just anyone.
However, if you are the site’s owner and have a Google’s Webmaster Tools account, you can verify you are the site owner and see all the links that Google takes into consideration when ranking your site.
So for that particular website I used as an example above definitely has more than 153 links pointing to it. In fact, it actually has 6,094 backlinks according to Google Webmaster Tools.
The big G does not allow this for public consumption for two really good reasons.
First off, Google only allows this data to be viewed by the webmasters because if they published all the backlinks and allowed anyone and everyone to see them, it would be easy (well, not easy)… it would be transparent to a site’s competitors as how to replicate the success by going after the same links.
Secondly, backlinks are Google’s bread and butter; they are the lifeblood behind Google’s competitive edge in providing the most relevant results.
If backlink data was readily available, it would allow for someone to start scrubbing the data, matching it up the Page Ranks, and looking for patterns; thus giving away some of the secrets behind Google’s algorithm.
That’s why Google doesn’t allow website backlink data to just anyone that is looking for it because they are protecting site owners that trust Google’s search power, and it’s not all altruistic - Google is looking out for itself, too.
LinkedIn SEO: Use your Profile for linkbuilding
Posted by admin in Linkbuilding, SEO on June 5th, 2009
LinkedIn is a great tool for creating and maintaining professional relationships, but there is an SEO benefit to this site that many do not use, or underutilize.
In the additional information section of a LinkedIn profile allows for three links to be placed in the section, and this information is public and as of this writing, are not nofollow. Use these three links to your advantage.
The default anchor text is “My Website”, but you can change that text into anything by selecting “Other…” from the dropdown menu.
From there, it’s pretty self-exlanatory. Don’t only use LinkedIn for networking and looking for jobs, but use the power of your profile to bring in additional linkjuice to any site you choose.