Does Google PageRank Still Matter?
Back in the early days of search engine optimization, there was one factor that determined if your SEO efforts have been effective or not: it would be the almighty Google PageRank. If you don't have an idea as to what PageRank is, it is a link analysis algorithm that assigns a numerical weighting to each website on the internet to measure its relative importance. PageRank can go from 0 and all the way up to 10. Basically, the higher the PageRank of a site, the higher it will show up on search results.
It makes sense, really. The modern search engine landscape has been shaped mostly by Google and their mysterious PageRank algorithm. Most of the rules that we are following now regarding, for example, getting quality backlinks, are mostly based on what worked on Google and PageRank. The thing is, the internet has moved way beyond the early days of Google and SEO. In the age of the Real-Time Web, does PageRank still matter?
Remember this: the website's PageRank is subject to the whims of Google. It's a factor totally outside of my control. I can spend a hundred hours straight working on a site's PageRank, but in the end, it's up to Google if they'll award me with a higher number for my troubles. Some SEO specialists even go as far as to say that PageRank doesn't matter. There are others, however, who feel that PageRank should still have an influence on your optimization techniques. It's no longer the most important thing to consider when working on your site's rankings, but it still an important variable that warrants attention.
Here's a rule of thumb I often follow when doing SEO on a site: optimize for keywords first, and search engines second. Don't get too carried away by trying to raise your site's PageRank in the fastest way possible and that your site ends up being unreadable in the end. You can't control how PageRank works anyway, so why bother? I've had my share of sites with irregularly fluctuating PageRank and I'm telling you now, it doesn't make any sense at all.
In fact, even Google is telling people to stop focusing too much on PageRank: according to Google employee Susan Moskwa, "We’ve been telling people for a long time that they shouldn’t focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it’s the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true." They've even removed PageRank from Google's Webmaster Tools section.
If that doesn't give you any indication of what is going to happen, consider the fact that Google changed its indexing engine to Caffeine, which indexes the web pretty close to real time. Frequently update your website with fresh and original content on a regular basis, and you'll see a huge difference in your SERPs. Leaving your site stagnant will result in it sliding down the rankings.
Again, it's not really a secret. Focus more on your content and getting backlinks, and Google gives back. Your PageRank might even improve as a result.
Vic Carrara
Masterwebsoftware.com
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