For those of you not yet aware, Google is currently updating the PageRank they are displaying in their toolbar. Each update
causes a stir among the SEO community and webmasters trying to get their websites to the top of the Google Rankings.
What Is PageRank?
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).
If you are interested in more information on PageRank you would do well to visit the many forums and articles on the topic and
also visit Google's own description on their website at
http://www.google.com/technology/ where they give a brief description of the
technology.
What's New?
The most current PageRank update will undoubtedly cause a larger 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:
- Google has raised the bar on PageRank, making it more difficult to attain a high level, or
- The way they are displaying their backlinks has changed, or
- 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 now 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 larger 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. Now, 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.
Now, 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 now 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.
About The Author
Dave Davies is the owner of Beanstalk Search Engine Positioning. He has been
optimizing and ranking websites for over three years and has a solid history of success. Dave is available to answer any questions
that you may have about your website and how to get it into the top positions on the major search engines.
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