Finding The True PR Of A Page?

I had an email "conversation" this last week which I feel others may benefit from "listening in" on. Here it is in summary:

"Andy

Why is it that xxxxxxx ranks so well on Google for the phrase xxxxxx xxxxxx when it has a PR of 0. The other top results have PRs of 5 and 6. Is Page Rank becoming less important?

Graham"

My answer to Graham was to go back and read a previous newsletter where I discussed just this. In issue 48 I discussed anomalies in PR and backlinks. You can read it online here:

http://ez-search-engine-optimization.com/issue48

In reply, Graham wrote back:

"Andy

If Google are not telling us the real PR values, how can we find out the PR of a site? This is making link exchanges much more difficult. How are we supposed to know whether a link partner is good if we don't know their true PR?

Graham"

and my reply went something like this:

"Graham,

Google released backlinks and Page Rank data to the webmaster community. However, in doing so, they unleashed a monster.

SEOs quickly reverse-engineered the Google algorithm which showed how important both backlinks and PR really were to high rankings.

Every SEO and his cat went out to increase backlinks, and increase PR to their sites. Knowing the Page Rank of another site was fundamental in "manipulating" the PR of your own site. Knowing the linking structure of other sites was fundamental in beating the system and getting your link structure just right for top rankings.

SEOs were manipulating the results using information that became available as soon as Google released PR and backlink data.

Why does Google dislike this? Well, Google wants the best pages to rise to the top of the rankings. A best page might be described as the page with the most relevant content for the search query that was run at google.com.

As webmasters became better at manipulating PR and backlinks, more and more rubbish began to surface in the top results, and that remains today. Pages ranking well only because a good SEO did his or her job, not because the page is the most relevant.

This is why Google have removed your privileges and no longer gives accurate PR or backlink data. They don't want you to have it any longer. They have it in their database and use it for ranking purposes, they just don't tell you that information any more.

As to your question about how to find the real PR if Google toolbar does not show it - there is no way. This is information that Google own, and they have no obligation to give it to you. By hiding this information, Google probably hopes that webmasters will give up the obsession of PR and backlinks, and concentrate on providing quality content that searchers will find interesting - content that adds value to the net.

So how do you know if a link partner is a good one? Simple. Look at their website and see if it is quality or rubbish. A quality site will always be a good link partner, a rubbish site will never be a good link partner.

This is how Google always envisaged PR and backlinks working together to pick the best pages for search results. Sites vote for others based on quality of site, not because of what benefits you might get for providing the link."

*********************************************************
Andy Williams is author of the free, ezSEO internet marketing newsletter,
offering subscribers up-to-date information on all aspects of internet
marketing. His search engine optimization website offers unique, no
BS information, for free.
*********************************************************

---

Get Traffic You Need - Make Your Links Work

So you have built a nice web site with good... Read More

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy - Navigating the Dark Waters of Website Promotion

Creating a well-designed website is the first step in your... Read More

7 Essential SEO techniques

1) Title Tag ? When we're talking about SEO Technique,... Read More

Finding Profitable Keyword Phrases

So you have a site concept developed that you are... Read More

Build Link Popularity The Smart Way

A Brief Introduction To Link PopularityAs webmasters research various ways... Read More

How To Improve Your Search Engine Ranking

With search engines like Google currently indexing over 8 billion... Read More

Google PageRank Explained

1. What is PageRank? Here is what Google says:" PageRank... Read More

Things You Must Realize When Searching

For the uninitiated, searching for web pages can seem a... Read More

All You Need to Know About Your Website Traffic is Contained in 5 Key Stats

You built that content rich web page optimized for your... Read More

Give the Folks at Google What They Want

Recent developments on the Google front have web marketers and... Read More

Hens Lay Eggs (HLE) by Silke Stahl

"HLE" is a bit of a joke term, (or possible... Read More

How to Avoid Getting OOPed On by Google?

Earlier this year, I was having trouble getting good search... Read More

Top 10 Little Used SEO Strategies

There are millions of web sites trying to get listed... Read More

Google Rankings ? Achieving a Top 10 Position in Google ? Part 2

Achieving a top ranking position in Google is every webmasters... Read More

Google Patent Application - SEO Highlights

The recent patent application filed by Google details numerous items... Read More

How You Can Easily Compile A Gigantic Keyword List

It doesn't matter what kind of marketing you are involved... Read More

3 Deadly Search Engine Marketing Sins

My inbox this week provided glaring examples of three all... Read More

Search Engine Optimization For Blogs

Blogging software is really a simple Content Management System (CMS)... Read More

Ten Steps To A Well Optimized Website - Step Seven ? Website Submissions

Welcome to part seven in this ten-part search engine positioning... Read More

Google Page Rank - Important Or Just Another Number?

In my last newsletter I wrote about how your websites... Read More

The Life Blood of Internet-Based Home Businesses...Search Engines

Anyone involved in an Internet-based home business will soon come... Read More

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) - Houses on Sand

Do you depend on free search engine traffic for your... Read More

Link Popularity - Basic Overview

There are many techniques that SEM/SEO experts use to optimize... Read More

Search Engine Marketing: Choosing Keyword Phrases

Selecting the right keyword phrases is the key to a... Read More

Page Rank Purgatory - Simple Things You can Do to Keep Your Web Site Out of Search Engine Hell!

Are Meta Tags Really Dead?Right in their Guidelines Yahoo Tells... Read More

Search Warrant

So, you've just paid £300 - £10,000 for a new... Read More

Why Does The Link Page Have A PR Zero?

For beginners, link exchange campaigns can be a minefield of... Read More

Stuck on Keywords

Keywords have turned into big business on the internet. If... Read More

Google Has No Content On Page

One of the post from My SEO world Meet Up... Read More

How Do I Submit My Site To Search Engines?

You've built up a good site, put in a lot... Read More

If You Could Submit Just One Page To The Search Engines Which Should It Be?

Listen. Some make submitting pages to search engines sound like... Read More

Search Wars! - MSNs Opening Salvo

With all the recent publicity given to Google as the... Read More

How Do I Improve My Web Site Conversion Rate? Part 2

Question 1Does it help to track visitor behavior on websites... Read More