Google Toolbar Page Rank Update September 2008

Well, it’s that time of the year again, it seems that Google has updated their toolbar page rank once again.

With over 8 billion websites in their index, the mass amounts of computing power to consolidate this task is nothing less than immense. One thing I have noticed however is, pages are flowing page rank to internal pages much faster than typical time lines.

For example, we have pages that are just a few weeks old that jumped to page rank 4 that attracted links from high page rank pages. Not to say that this metric alone is significant as a means to determine authority, it does however add more buoyancy to your search engine result pages when pages with stronger links are referencing your website.

When considering how to improve the performance of your pages from the standpoint of Page Rank, just think of it as a tiered system.

Page Rank Flows From:

• the pages that are tied into the navigation on your site which receive sufficient linkage
• the pages that are receiving one way link weight from external pages from other websites
• the pages that are receiving one way and reciprocating link weight from internal links

Since the Page Rank metric is all about link popularity, make sure you map out page rank through how your site architecture and links to pass value amongst themselves.

Instead of just having a rock star homepage and feeble pages suckling from it, consider ways to elevate landing pages or pages in your site that could stem off and supplement the home page by passing more link weight to the rest of the site. The stronger each page in your site is, the stronger your site is.

To cap page rank from diffusing in your own pages, you could for example “no follow” your privacy page, contact forms or 301 redirecting old pages into existing pages.

You could also pay more attention to how many links per page a site attracts or receives.

If you think from the perspective of the required link weight threshold that a site needs to have from other sites to be considered an authority or rank significantly higher for its main terms, you can then systematically build each page up by increasing internal linking to achieve this common goal.

For example if a website has 1000 quality inbound links from other sites and the page in question has 25-30 links to that page with anchor text linking to the page from a variety of sources, such a page and a site are contenders for more competitive / national terms.

Each industry, keyword and site as we know are unique, so this is not a one size fits all methodology, but it is a way of benchmarking SERP performance based on page and off page popularity and if you are engaging in deep links (links to other pages other than the homepage) or still relying on the old way of hoping the links to the homepage will find their mark and rank the entire site.

What I am suggesting is, 5 pages are better than 1 if you are attempting to funnel traffic to your website for a specific range of keywords. There is no simple way around it, if you want to rise to the top of the SERPs (search engine results pages), you simply have to do the work and add the content, look for link opportunities (social bookmarks, editorial links from bloggers or related sites, niche directories, etc).

However, the real significance occurs when all of those off page and on page factors unify and your page makes it to the elite (top 20 results which eventually can grace the top 10) or fails to impress the algorithm for lack of better terms and plummets.

With all of the link schemes and shady tactics failing as fast as reward is realized, the obvious solution is to focus on quality and specialize in your industry to such a degree that instead of you having to consider link building from a level of desperation, others will link to you, because you offer something of value.

The longer each page is online (if it is supported by a healthy site) the more opportunity it has to gain its own authority and eventually pull its own weight.

The moral of the story is, put things in motion now that will blossom in 60-90 days and continue to layer the content, deep links (from your older pages to new pages or vice versa) to reduce the dependency your site has on other sites to provide a high ranking position.

Page rank is just a measurement, it serves to inform you of what Google thinks of your page (not your site). So, by keeping that in mind, it does not have to be an issue that creates a mental meltdown if it rises or falls.

Just use it for what it was designed for, to provide guidance for increasing the popularity of your pages online. The overall contention about what significance it has on your search engine results are arguable, but much like a badge of authority, a site with a higher page rank is obviously better for trust and perceived value to potential visitors.

Often, the entire debate about page rank and its true impact is really about saving face which is really the main concern for those who live or die by its presence or lack thereof, at least for those looking to buy or sell links.

In closing, create quality content, focus on quality links, strengthen your own site from within so it requires less from other sites to rank higher for specific phrases and above all, just remember it is only one metric and is not worth losing sleep over.

Chances are in 3 months what you lost will return on the next update and new pages can sprout new life if you focus on quality instead of link quantity.