Dame Olivia Newton-John R.I.P.

[Justin Smith]

Did I read somewhere that Google`s Page rank score isn`t actually updated/in use any more ?

The reason I ask is I come across websites which I can`t belive get anywhere near the traffic mine gets, yet they`re ranked higher on Google page rank ! ? !

[Justin Smith]

I`ve just spotted something even more weird.

 

We don`t even do TV service manuals anymore, so the page just says that and redirects people to Irwin`s (not via a link). It`s only got 6 inbound links and 3 from other pages (using Yahoo Site Explorer), hasn`t been updated for months and only gets about 150 visits per month.

Its got a Google page ranking of 3 !

 

On the other hand our "Splitters and Amps" page, gets updated every few weeks, has 40 in bound links and 88 from other pages, plus it`s a main page and gets about 15,000 visits per month.

It has a page rank of 2 ! ! !

 

How does that work ? ! ?

[pcvlicence]

Google is a strange creature that likes to promote its own products.

[Andy-TWDG]

Hey guys.

 

im Andy Morley, i have been a Search Engine Optimisation consultant for 6 years.

 

Google PR score is still updated by Google. You have to be careful when paying attention to the PR of your website. This value is always changing, but the google tool bar will only update every 6 months or so, so you have no real idea of what your true PR score is.

 

also it is a common misconception that the higher the PR score of your site the higher it will rank...

 

PR score is simply one of many smaller "jig saw" pieces that make up the entire picture of SEO.

 

Justin, your competitors might not get the same traffic you get, but still have a higher PR score due to the higher quality of sites which link to their site.

 

If you want to directly increase your PR score you need to try and get back links from sources with high PR themselves and low numebrs of outbound links. PR gets watered down with the number or outbound links from that specific page.

 

Also.. PR scores dont represent the entire website... they simply tell us how much PR each individual page on a site has... remember Google ranks pages not sites.

 

A far more accurate method of tracking the effectiveness of your site is to use SEOMoz's Domain Trust, Domain Authority, Domain Rank, Page Authority, Page MozRank And Page Moz Trust.

 

I highly reccomend you check out seomoz . org for further information.

 

To make sure you start ranking higher than your competitors, try to forget all about PR scores, and concentrate on creating useful content for your website. Content which people will naturally want to link to.

 

The secret to ranking top of the SERPs is to obtain backlinks, from a wide diversity of sources.. Blogs, Directoryies, Forums etc... and try not to just concentrate on high quality links only, your goal for link building should be to gradually build a "natural" looking link profile, Its common sense when you think about it that google finds links which are all from high quality sources there is something "fishy" going on, as natural link building has a nice spread of high quality and low quality links, even spelling mistakes!!

 

Hope this helps guys... give me a shout if you want to discuss.

 

cheers

 

Andy

 

P.S. Your backlink in your footer seems to be a dead link

Edited November 9, 2011 by Andy-TWDG

[margarete]

Isn't 'obtaining' back links a form of cheating?

 

This is a website that gives some interesting free information and advice.

[Andy-TWDG]

The entire theory of Search Engine Optimisation goes against Google's guidelines, and business model, they would much rather you spend your money on PPC advertising... Plus there are no "rules" as such, Google is a website after all, and doesn't make the Rules for the internet... I know they are big and powerful, but they aren't that powerful... yet...

 

Google's own Matt Cutts often discusses the benefits for back linking...

 

If you "buy" back links, thats a whole different kettle of fish... Often these bought links are seen as low quality, and Google can and has detected these in the past, and sites have been punished for it.

 

Back link building its self is an art... its not easy, but when done correctly can work really well.

 

But i have a sneaking suspicion you already know this, hence the linkbuilding for "website grader" (oddly enough i used this site about 2hrs ago to grade one of my blogs)... Spooky

[margarete]

Hi Andy

 

I know that back links are very desirable. But I have never sought to 'obtain' or buy any. I've got lots of links to my website and blog simply from visiting and leaving comments and being visited by people who have clicked on links or found my sites by googling, etc.

 

I'm not very techie, but even though I'm not techie I have found the website grader helpful. - I only use it to see how my sites are doing. I haven't done any of its training courses.

[Andy-TWDG]

Hi Andy

 

I know that back links are very desirable. But I have never sought to 'obtain' or buy any. I've got lots of links to my website and blog simply from visiting and leaving comments and being visited by people who have clicked on links or found my sites by googling, etc.

 

I'm not very techie, but even though I'm not techie I have found the website grader helpful. - I only use it to see how my sites are doing. I haven't done any of its training courses.

 

If you build great content you wont need to "obtain" links, you are right there i totally agree. i run a non-profit blog (http://www.ukepilepsy.com) and this gets tons of natural backlinks purely on the content which me and my bloggers produce.

 

But.. if you are a plumber or a builder.. its very difficult to produce high quality content. In this instance to succeed in the search engines there would be some sort of SEO campaign required.

 

Its great that you have content people naturally link to.. these are the best sorts of businesses / sites to have...

 

Blogging is a different situation, as each time you blog.. you are adding fresh content to your site which will keep it ranked (provided you include your keywords). Also.. blogs tend to get syndicated onto other websites... which in its self is a form of link building..

 

You can also submit your blog RSS feeds to these syndicator sites... you will gain tons of links this way potentially.

 

 

(im jelous)

[margarete]

Thanks, Andy.

 

I must admit I hadn't previously thought about the difficulties of plumbers and builders wrt getting links by producing high quality content. Getting help with SEO seems a good idea for them if they are looking to the internet to help them expand their business.

[Andy-TWDG]

Thanks, Andy.

 

I must admit I hadn't previously thought about the difficulties of plumbers and builders wrt getting links by producing high quality content. Getting help with SEO seems a good idea for them if they are looking to the internet to help them expand their business.

 

Yeah, each business has its own set of circumstances, a lot of my clients are the small businesses. To get them to rank in search results can be time consuming. They are also often too busy fixing taps or building houses to have any input in their websites... which is why they employ people like me.

 

All the best,

[david25]

Very true good content is the key for getting good results and having a lot of posts about your company in different blogs or direcotories will increase your rank in google.

 

I do Search engine Optimising for companies and so far we have ranked them high through good content, tidy coding and relevent links.

[Andy-TWDG]

Very true good content is the key for getting good results and having a lot of posts about your company in different blogs or direcotories will increase your rank in google.

 

I do Search engine Optimising for companies and so far we have ranked them high through good content, tidy coding and relevent links.

 

100% agree.

 

Tidy coding is essential, speeds up download times etc... im not sure how much relevance it has to google these days, i know they like fast loading sites they have thier own "Page Speed" tool so it has to have some relevance.

 

I usually code everything to XHTML 1.0 Strict too, this ensures the coding is top notch.

 

There is another post on here which discusses using DIY site builders... Its difficult to make people understand the importance of a Professional site over a DIY mash up.

 

loving your site by the way

Edited November 9, 2011 by Andy-TWDG