Page Rank

What is PageRank?  

PageRank is a Google trademark.  A numerical value is assigned to web pages based on a mathematical equation with the purpose of “measuring” its relative importance.   PageRank measure’s a web page’s importance.

What makes a Web Page Important?

The theory is that the most important pages on the internet are the pages with the most links leading to them. When another site links to your site, PageRank looks at that as a vote in your favor.   PageRank is not the only measurement by which search engines value your site, though. PageRank merely tells a search engine your site is popular, but keywords in the links themselves tell the search engine why.  They tell what your site is about; PageRank can’t do that.

PageRank is used as a tie breaker when all other factors are equal. In that case, PageRank can have a significant impact on your Google rankings.

How to Increase your PageRank:

Links, Links and more Links!  

On-Page Linking – use phrases and keywords in links on your website that match the search queries you want to score highly on:

1.  In URL’s: use phrases and keywords in the naming of pages on your site. Create back-links by linking to relevant pages within your own website.
2.  Keyword links:  If you sell balsamic vinegar, the clickable link within a descriptive paragraph should be “the best balsamic vinegar” instead of “click here” for the best balsamic vinegar.
3.  Use keywords in title tags
4.  Use keywords and phrases in H1 tags
5.  Use lots of keywords in the body of your website

Off – Page Linking – find other websites to link to your website.  The more links to your site, the more value is given to your site. Here is a list of the best ones to get:

• Text Links: use important keywords to your business (text links are better than image links).
• Static Text: links should be embedded in static text (coming from the server) rather than dynamically generated.
• Descriptive Links: links should describe your product or service
• Relevant Links: links coming from a site that relates to your product of service is more valuable than one that is not.  If you are selling socks, a footwear company would be more relevant than if your link came from a website selling clocks.
• Trusted Sites: your link becomes more valuable if it is placed on a trusted site such as .edu or .gov sites.
• Highly Ranked Sites:  votes cast by pages that are themselves “important” weigh more heavily and help to make other pages “important.”
• Embedded Links: links that are within paragraphs have more value than when part of a long list of links.
• Blog rolls and footers: when your link is placed in a blog roll or footer, you get the advantage of having your link appear on every page of that particular site.

Website Traffic:

Last but not least, PageRank also considers the number of monthly page views, visits, and unique visitors to a web page when formulating a numerical ranking for that page.

Produce compelling web pages with interesting content and other businesses will want to link to your site!