What
is PageRank?
PageRank
is a ranking system from Google that is used to value the content
of a page or site on a scale of 0 to 10 (often referred to as "PR0"
to "PR10"). Google itself describes PageRank as "the
heart of our software" (http://www.google.com/technology/)
as it forms the basis of the ordering of search results on Google.
For
this reason, a high PageRank is sometimes seen as the Holy Grail
for web developers and site owners, a sign that Google holds them
in high respect, and that they will be returned high in Google search
results.
The
formula behind PageRank is regularly updated to improve Google search
results and prevent developers managing to cheat their way to the
top of search results. The formula remains a trade secret of Google.
At
its most basic level, PageRank is calculated from 2 main factors:
- Inbound
Links
Sites with most inbound links appear more popular to Google, and
hence will naturally gain a higher chance of a high PageRank.
PageRank than just volume of links though, the importance of the
page linking to your site is a heavy factor... a link from Microsoft.com,
for example, would be weighted higher than a link from a less
well known site.
- Page
Contents
Unsurprisingly, it's important to have good, and relevant, site
content. Google checks the words used on the page. Google is looking
to see that the content of the page is consistent (i.e. there
is a volume of material on the page), it also looks at inbound
links (sites/pages linking to the page) to check that these are
related in content, links between sites with related content are
seen as more important (e.g. a link from a software directory
to a software company site is a more important link than a brewery
linking to a software company site (this essentially makes site
owners, subject-matter experts in their field).
It is worth noting that, although the PageRank
of your pages is being constantly updated, Google only however publishes
snapshots of PageRank. Even the PageRank displayed by Google's toolbar
when visiting a site is the PageRank at the time of Google's last
snapshot. This means changes made to your pages will not effect
the visible PageRank until the next "PageRank Export"
(roughly every 3 months). A history of PageRank exports can be found
here.
Ultimately PageRank is Google's competitive
advantage, it's the way it ranks sites, and is why people value
Google search results so highly. Google will always seek to keep
the formula a secret, to ensure the best search results for its
customers, and therefore ensure its dominance in the search engine
industry.
How do I improve my PageRank?
PageRank has become a very heavily watched
statistic for site owners and developers. It's understandable to
want to increase your site's PageRank, so here's a few tips on how
to improve your PageRank:
- Be Realistic
Ask yourself what a realistic PageRank for your site is. Don't
expect to be able to get your personal blog on garden sheds to
a PageRank of ten (to "PR10"), its just not going to
happen!
- Get Listed on Google
Only sites listed in Google's directory gain a PageRank. You can
check if your site is listed by Google here.
If you're not listed on Google, then make sure you make regular
submissions (about every 3 months) to Google's submission service
(either through a multiple Search Engine
submission service, or through Google's
submission page).
- Get Content
Review your page contents, is it useful content? and does it contain
the kind of words people would search for to find your page contents?
Consider writing additional pages to your site with complimentary
content.
- Get Inbound Links
Visit similar sites and exchange links with webmasters. Visit
forums and blogs on your subject area and mention your website
in any discussions that maybe relevant. Add your URL to your signature
on forums.
- Don't Try to Cheat
It maybe hugely tempting to use page cloaking techniques, or dump
a huge list of keywords at the bottom of your pages, but Google
knows this too! They're out to ensure PageRank really reflects
the quality of the page, to ensure their search results are the
best. As a result, you're likely to find a negative impact on
your PR rating if you attempt to cheat...even if you don't consider
it cheating yourself!
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