There has been a lot of news and blog buzz this week about PageRank changes at Google. Everybody’s PageRank bar is a little less green and mass hysteria has ensued. I can’t say I blame anyone for this, as there is a lot of misinformation about PageRank …with the worst offender being Google itself!

If you are that guy who is freaking out, this is really going to surprise you: PageRank is not as important as you think. Here’s why…

Back in the beginning of time, the good old boys of Google figured out a smarter way to measure the value of a page. It worked so well, that they decided they had too much of an advantage over the other engines, so they released it to the public so it would be easy to measure and manipulate, and that would level the playing field, right? Wrong!! Google is not that charitable.

Why would Google release PageRank in their tool bar? What advantage is that to them? What other factor has Google allowed us to measure from their point of view? If these questions alone don’t get you questioning the real value of PageRank, I don’t know what will.

As far back as the day Google released its PageRank data to the public, it has not had much value associated with it. Would you release your secret sauce if you wanted a competitive advantage? I wouldn’t either …and either would Google.

The Real Truth

There are a lot better ways of determining the value of a page than by measuring the sheer quantity of links pointing to it. Here are three:

1. How many page views is that page getting,
2. How often do visitors return, and
3. How long do people stay on that page, with the third holding the most value.

The problem for Google is, how do you get that data if you are not the hosting or analytics provider? The answer is quite simple. Convince the world that PageRank is the most important ranking factor, and release a tool that allows the end user to access that data.

Here’s the kicker! Most people don’t realize the mechanics behind that magical green bar that is supposed to answer all of our SEO ranking questions.

How Google Collects Traffic Data with the PageRank Toolbar

When you visit a page, Google can’t give you the PageRank data unless you first tell them what page you are viewing. This is exactly what the toolbar does. It tells Google, “I am looking at amazon.com/1.html.” Google then replies with, “amazon.com/1.html has a PageRank of 6.” Google then waits for the next PageRank request. From that simple conversation, Google has collected a huge amount of data on page views, repeat visits, and time-on-page.

And That’s Just the Beginning…

Google knows a lot more about you think. It even knows if you are a web developer and what sites you own. Don’t believe me? If I see you visiting a page with the URL “domain.com/cpanel”, I would know you are a web developer. Why wouldn’t Google? But it’s not just developers …any common URL pattern can be used to tell Google who you are.

Anyway, I’ve gone way beyond the point of this post. The important thing to remember is that PageRank is just one ranking factor …and not nearly as important as many other factors. Search engine rankings of tomorrow will be based on user experience. There’s no escaping it. The factors that are most important, and will be even more so down the road, are the factors that answer the question, “Does this page provide the best value to the user?” Does it answer the searchers questions? Is it engaging and/or helpful? These are the types of questions that the top ranking factors are trying to determine.

If you want to rank well into the future, you will need to shift your focus from “What is my PageRank?” to “How can I build content and functionality that provide real value for my visitors?”

Categories: Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing ~ ~ Trackback