Everyone is talking about PageRank and do you really understand what is the meaning of PageRank 8? How about PageRank 3?
I come across an article today and it gave me more understanding on Google PageRank. For those who are not clear about the story of PageRank (like me), below are the article from the author Donald Nelson.
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A lot of website owners are upset or puzzled when their website’s Google PageRank goes down or does not rise. Is it worth losing any sleep over changes in that green line and number that appear in a Google tool bar at the top of your browser? I think that excessive worry or thought about PageRank is not constructive, and it is better to put it all in perspective by taking a rational look at what PageRank is and what it is not.
First of all the concept behind PageRank is indeed at the heart of Google’s ranking process. The Google founders came from academia and they noticed that in many academic documents some sources were continually cited. They reasoned that if a particular document such as a book or research paper was mentioned in many places then it must be important. They applied this to the web and assumed that if one website links to another it is in fact, giving a “vote” for that site. A website that has many incoming links must have a certain degree of importance. In the current Google algorithm the quantity and quality of incoming links is certainly a factor in deciding the ranking of a particular website for any given search-query.
Think about it. In the early days of the web people would build websites and then they would tell their visitors to check out other “cool” sites and they would link to these sites. This is the process of natural linking and it still goes on. If you really have good content, people will link to you without letting you know. Similarly, if your name is Bob Dylan and your website is www.bobdylan.com, thousands of people will link to you without you having to send a cheesy email begging for a link.
Various government agencies, educational institutions, established companies and anyone else who is “big” in the “real world” is likely to also be big on the Internet simply by virtue of their previous fame and accomplishment. Google’s ranking system took this into consideration and this is one of the reasons why Google is currently the number one search engine. It gives better results and that is why people use it.
But, does that mean that only the big players can be seen on the net? Far from it. While there is a difference between one guy working in his house with one computer and a corporate giant with a whole staff, and this is indeed reflected in rankings, the Internet provides a much leveler playing field than in yesteryear. Prior to 1995, it would have been very hard for someone to spread their news and views far and wide as bloggers do today. It costs millions of dollars to publish a daily newspaper or to print and circulate a magazine, but it costs far less to publish a website or a blog, and lots of “little guys” have taken advantage of the power of the Internet.
But what about PageRank, how much of it do I really need to get my site noticed? For those who are not familiar with the PageRank system. Google supplies a tool bar which you can download and install on your browser. If you make a complete installation with all the advanced features, then every time you open a new website you will see a green and white bar with the label PageRank. Put your mouse on the bar and you will see a number from 0 to 10. If a website is not indexed by Google or banned by Google, the bar may be grey or all white.
But what do the numbers mean? I had a client who was worried about his number 3 PageRank figure and based on my observation I answered him with my unofficial view on the rankings. Here is how I currently see it:
PageRank 0-2 shows that a site does not have many links and needs work, However, and this a big “however,” it may not really affect your search engine rankings. I have a client with a page rank of 2 and his site ranks well, even number one, for several search terms in a fairly competitive industrial category. So PageRank is not everything; it may have an impact on your rankings and traffic, but in some cases it may not matter. In any case if you have a PageRank of 0-2, you can work on it through proper link building activity which I will explain at the end of the article.
PageRank 3 can be OK in some cases but in highly competitive industries you should work to improve it.
PageRank 4 is quite a normal number and indicates that you have enough links in either quantity or quality to make your site competitive.
PageRank 5 indicates that a site has many links or links from authoritative sites, and that Google has good “trust” in the site. It is a respectable and attainable PageRank.
PageRank 6 is very difficult to attain. This rank indicates that the site has many links and links from respected places. Remember the example of www.bobdylan.com, which I mentioned above; it has a PageRank 6, so you can get an idea of the difficulty involved.
PageRank 7-10 is usually earned by large and established institutions or websites which have tremendous authority, due to the quantity and quality of the incoming links. It is extremely difficult to attain this ranking. You really have to be special to get it.
For full article, you may refer SiteProNews.
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2 Comments
Hi Barrett Luarie,
I thought you can search it from the top right corner “FIND” button? Anyway, i added you to my viral matrix, thanks for your comment and looking forward for your net visit. thks
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Hey there, i know it’s rude to post to the wrong article. But I can’t find your viral tag matrix ANYWHERE! The good news is I got to read some of your posts along the way! Great stuff! Anyway, i added your url and tag to my viral matrix, and I was hoping you would return the favor by adding my url-http://humab.blogspot.com and tag-Huma B~ to your matrix. Thanks and good luck! i will be back soon to see what’s new!
Comment by Barrett Laurie on June 27th, 2007 @ 6:22 pm