Google - Pr & Backlinks
|
Here are some observations that I have made recently:
1. On several of my own sites, I have some pages with zero page rank despite having links pointing to them PR 5 pages on the same site. These pages are now 2-3 months old. Shouldn't they have PR by now?
2. Most of these pages rank well despite the apparent PR 0.
3. Doing searches on Google show up a lot of anomalies. Many top ranking pages have PR 0.
For example, go to http://www.prsearch.net/
This is that great search tool I mentioned last week which gives you the PR and backlinks of the search results. Do a search for Bratz dolls..
Here are the top 10 sites when I search:
#1 PR 6 Backlinks - 151
#2 PR 7 Backlinks - 5
#3 PR 0 Backlinks - 18
#4 PR 4 Backlinks - 2
#5 PR 0 Backlinks - 0
#6 PR 0 Backlinks - 0
#7 PR 0 Backlinks - 0
#8 PR 0 Backlinks - 0
#9 PR 6 Backlinks - 46
#10 PR 0 Backlinks - 11
4. Backlinks at Google don't tally with known backlinks. This has been reported a lot in various publications recently. Google use to only show backlinks from PR 4 or more sites, but it has been reported that backlinks from lower PR sites are showing and backlinks from some higher PR sites seem to be missing.
Reading through these observations, it is clear that something is going on.
It might look at first glance that PR is not being updated since lots of pages which should have PR don't. I don't think this is the case, and I will explain in a moment what I believe is going on. However, before we do that, let's consider some of the other stuff listed above.
Look at those top 10 results again.
How can it be that 6 pages with PR 0 rank in the top 10 for a competitive term?
Also, how can it be that some of those PR 0 pages don't have PR, yet they do have backlinks? Look at position 10. PR 0 yet 11 backlinks reported by Google. Go look at those backlinks and they all have PR 0 as well. So is Google now reporting backlinks from pages that are PR 0?
It all seems very weird, yet I believe the answer to this is very simple. Google has not updated the Google Toolbar for some time, yet in its own database, PR is largely up to date. This means that pages that appear to have a PR 0 may in fact have much higher PR.
From a webmasters point of view, this is a real pain. Imagine putting up a site, adding a page to get some link partners, but not getting any PR on the links page for several months. You contact other webmasters for a link exchange, but the other webmasters ignore your request because you are PR 0!
Could it be that Google have decided to update the Google Toolbar far less frequently, or not at all, so that webmasters cannot find out the true PR of pages in the index?
If so, why would they do this?
Google use to show only backlinks from pages with PR 4 or more, yet now appear to show backlinks from pages with much less PR, even PR 0. Does this mean that Google have changed their policy on which pages they show as backlinks?
Possibly, though doesn't it make more sense that Google still only shows PR 4 pages as backlinks, but since PR on the toolbar has not been updated, we see these backlinks as significantly less PR than they actually are?
For any search engine to return the most relevant results possible, those engines must try to stop webmasters using techniques that get their web pages better rankings. For Google, this includes manipulating PR.
Google state this clearly in their Program Policies for use for Adsense advertising.
Read through the section "Site Content" and look at the last point in the bullet list. Google specifically mentions PR manipulation. If Google is applying these rules to Adsense advertising, does it not make sense that they also apply these rules in their algorithms?
If Google is trying to:
a) prevent reverse engineering of its algorithm, andb) prevent webmasters from using techniques that might get a webpage ranked higher than it deserves based on its content,
Then surely, not updating the PR on the toolbar is a good thing for Google.
In doing so, it makes it very difficult:
a) for webmasters to find out why top ranking pages rank so well, and b) for webmasters to get links from other webmasters (which is a way of manipulating PR and increasing rankings).
I know Google want to make their engine the best it possibly can be, and they should be applauded for that. It makes it easier for searchers to find things of relevance. I believe that the whole idea of Pagerank was based on the premise that quality sites would get links from other sites because of their quality, not because of artificial linking like link exchanges. Link exchanges have just gotten out of hand and made a mockery of the Pagerank idea.
So what can you do about it? Well, my suggestion is the same as always. Add quality content to your sites. Other sites will naturally link to yours because your site offers value to THEIR visitors. In addition, write some quality articles and submit them with your own resource box that links back to your site. Submit these to sites that reprint articles, and you will naturally grow your own backlinks and PR through quality content. Your rankings will improve, and Google should love your site for the value it adds to the internet.
For details on how to use Articles for better rankings, why not re-read the fr.ee report available to my newsletter subscribers.
*****************************************************
Andy Williams is author of the free, ezSEO
internet marketing newsletter, offering subscribers up-to-date
information on all aspects of internet marketing.
*****************************************************
|
|
|
Press Release + Prweb = Top Google Rank... True Or False?
I've always been a big time press release aficionado.And up until recently I've steadfastly taken the low tech route by sending them out via snail-mail. Yeah, I'm a little old-fashioned when it comes to certain things. But long-time habits are hard to break when they produce great results.Anyway, I was in the midst of launching a new piece of software August 2005. As I prepared to begin my press release prepatory ritual of labeling and stamping envelopes, it occurred to me that since it's the summertime, and people are always in and out on vacation, perhaps I should give online press releases a spin.(Okay the REAL reason I wanted to try it is because I was feeling part...(related: Seo)
Page Rank Purgatory - Simple Things You Can Do To Keep Your Web Site Out Of Search Engine Hell!
Are Meta Tags Really Dead?Right in their Guidelines Yahoo Tells You that Meta-Tags are Not Totally Dead and Buried(The Below Information was Taken Directly From the Yahoo Help File http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/basics/basics-18.html)P...(related: Seo)
Keywords Are The ?key? To A Popular And Profitable Web Site
Keyword Research will reveal answers to 3 critical questions:1. Is there a demand for what your site offers? If not, you need to keep...(related: Seo)
The Search Engine Optimization Secret That Everybody Ignores
Search engine optimization is a very critical task in the success of any website.In recent times search engines seem to have complicated this task further by their frequent changes in rules. This has caused lots of anxiety as some of these changes have seen some sites lose virtually all their regular traffic instantly as their rankings have tumbled.This has furt...(related: Seo)
How Directories Help Search Engines
At the beginning of the web era, users would go to directories to find sites relevant to their interests. In fact, Yahoo!, the web's number one destination, started as a directory. Nowadays, most users rely on search engines, not directories, to find what they're looking for.When search engines started to become popular, they relied on web pages' 'keyword metatags' to determine the topic and relevance of the page (the keyword metatag is a section within a web page's HTML code where webmasters can insert words that are relevant to the page's content). Web...(related: Seo)
Earn With Fun By Simple Seo (search Engine Optimization)
It all happened 3 months back, I have a blog & 1 fine day i saw my blog was ranking on top 10 position for a keyword which is less targeted, but was excited to see that & pl...(related: Seo)
Feed Those Hungry Wiifm Monsters, Get Them To Multiply
Everyone packs their website with keywords in order to feed those keyword-hungry search engines spiders.Just do not starve your potential customers by forgetting to have the food they like:
- ample helpings of benefits
- tips rich in protein (practical)
- automatic weekly feedings (like a newsletter)
Maximize Your Search Engine Traffic - 13 Ways To Pull In More Visitors From The Search Engines
Maximizing traffic from the search engines to your web site is not a difficult task but it does require you to think ahead and plan your Search engine optimization strategy carefully. If you have not yet built your web site and are still in the initial planning stages then you may have an easier time of it. If you already have an existing web site, then you may need to take the time to read up on these SEO strategies and make some changes to incorporate them into your web site.I will discuss 13 ways in which you can improve on your existing web ...(related: Seo)
Affordable Small Business Seo: 5 Common Seo Errors And How To Fix Them
Don't put the cart before the horse.You can't do SEO (optimize your web site for search engines) until you've researched keywords. You can't research keywords without a clear view of your target market, your prospect types, and how your offerings fill their needs.Affordable Small Business SEO Affordable small business SEO not only uses the same old business and marketing basics, but also leverages the depth of accessible metrics for creating increased online traffic and better web site ROI.When small business people ask me how their web site could be improved by SEO, I give them some version of the following list of questions. When...(related: Seo)
Search Engine Tips & Techniques
As you are building your site or getting your site built, you need to do as much as you can to ensure higher rankings in the search engines. There are a variety of little tips and techniques you can use to do this.Meta tags & keywords - Meta tags are included in the section of your site and are read by the searchengines. The two most important kind are "description"and "keywords" Description is a description of the content of your site and keywords is a list of keywordsrelevant to the page.Research what people are searching for and use thosesearches (relevant to your site) in your meta tags. A great little keyword search tool is available here:http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/Find more great info on meta tags here:http://www.metamend.com/search...(related: Seo)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 | You can send your articles and get links. Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved.
| Seo