As
you might have noticed, Google wasn't
displaying the PageRank information
from 27 May to 30 May. The PageRank
bar in the Google toolbar was grayed
out for every web page.
Many webmasters speculated that
Google might have discontinued
the PageRank information. However,
it seems that this was only a temporary
glitch and that Google will keep
the PageRank display for some time.
Is the green PageRank bar really
that important?
We explained it in the past in
this newsletter. The official PageRank
value that Google displays in the
toolbar has little value for your
ranking.
A Google employee even said that
the PageRank meter was only
for entertainment purposes.
Many web sites with low PageRank
have high rankings on Google.
What would happen if Google
didn't display the PageRank information
anymore?
If the PageRank information wasn't
available anymore, webmasters wouldn't
concentrate on a little green bar
in their web browser but on more
substantial factors.
For example, you could ask yourself
the following questions if you
want to optimize your web site:
- Does my web site has enough
content that is interesting to
web surfers and search engines?
- Is my web site linked to other
web sites that have similar content
that might be interesting to
my web site visitors?
- Do other web sites with related
content link to my web site so
that people who are interested
in what I have to offer can find
my web site?
- Does the web page I want to
trade links with offer interesting
content (no matter what PageRank
it might have)?
Ironically, that is exactly what
Google expects from webmasters.
On its official webmaster pages
Google writes: "Make pages
for users, not for search engines.
[...] Would I do this if search
engines didn't exist?".
What does this mean to your
web site?
The PageRank of a web page shouldn't
be the determining factor when
optimizing your web site and choosing
link partners. A link partner with
a low PageRank that has a similar
topic like your site will bring
you much better visitors than an
unrelated link partner with a high
page rank.
If you see a good web site with
good content that has a low PageRank
you
should trade links with that site if that web site is useful for your
visitors. One day, that page might have a higher PageRank and it will
still link back to you.
In addition, the PageRank you
see in Google's toolbar is not
the PageRank that Google uses for
its algorithm. High Google rankings
are the result of optimized web
page content and good incoming
links.
If you focus on your web site
visitors, optimize
your web page content and get
good incoming links from related
web sites, you'll get high rankings
on Google and other important search
engines (for details see recommended
resources below).
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