How much does Pagerank really affect SERPS?
The topic of Pagerank an it effects on SERPS is a highly debated topic. Sire of Wassupblog had to go and bring the topic up Pagerank again, so I’m going to blame him for this post.
“Search engine ranking refers to the position at which a particular site appears in the results of a search engine query.”
“Page Rank, is a number assigned by Google which represents to relative importance of a web page.”
“Google combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search.”
You can have a PageRank of five, yet do terrible in the search engines for keywords or keyword phrases.
Yet you can have a Pagerank of 0 and rank really well in Google for a particular keyword.
For example: I Googled “countdown ticker” (without the quotes). At the time of writing this post you’ll see I’m second just below tickerfactory.com, which has a Pagerank of five, but above pageplugins.com, which also has a Pagerank of five.
(There are 632,000 results for countdown ticker.)
My post “Countdown tickers for your blog” does not have a Pagerank and my blog only has a Pagerank of three.
(Click to enlarge.)
Proof that just because your page might have a higher Pagerank doesn’t mean it will rank better in the SERPS.
It seems that some bloggers believe that a high PageRank will get them better placement in Google for their keywords.
While it may be true that PageRank is part of the algorithm Google uses to rank web pages, it isn’t the major factor for determining where your page will rank.
While Google may say “important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results” they don’t always do.
That is because your web site’s position on Google depends on a number of factors.
In fact there are “over 200 SEO factors” that Google uses to rank pages in the Google search results (SERPs).
If a pages contains 2 words, say for example “Outrageous Bras”: right next to one another and discusses “Outrageous Bras” all throughout the post it will be deemed more relevant than a blog post about your day of shopping only mentioning an outrageous bra in passing.
Now if two people wrote a post on “Outrageos Bras” and the post had the same amount of information then Google with give a higher ranking to the page that has more quality links pointing to it.
Again I just used the word Outrages Bras an example. Google uses the example “Civil War.”
(See How does Google collect and rank results? Pay attention to the section Ranking Results)
Quoting from Google:
“PageRank is just one of over 200 signals that can affect how your site is crawled, indexed and ranked.”
On October 14, 2009, Google employee Susan Moskwa confirmed that Google had removed PageRank from its Webmaster Tools section.
Why is that?
Because, Google doesn’t want you obsessing over PageRank.
Matt Cutts from Google can be quoted to say “My advice is not to obsess about PageRank too much; it is one of more than 100 different factors in how we score documents.” (More info on PageRank.)
People need to worry less about Pagerank and start considering the 200 other signals that can affect how your site is crawled, indexed and ranked.
Write for your audience and forget Pagerank.
I like what Lorelle VanFossen says about PageRank in a comment she made on her blog post “How Google Ranks Websites.” (A must read)
“I recommend you stop writing for search engines and start writing for audience. Honestly. Search engines will love you even more if you do. They honor sites with the new Trust Rank that is slowly gaining credibility over Page Rank.”
There you have it folks! I’d love to here your thoughts.
For more information on how Google ranks website in its search results please see
Resources: How does Google collect and rank results?, google.com/newsletter/librarian/librarian_2005_12/article1.html.
Let’s Try to Find All 200 Parameters in Google Algorithm
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(If you came here via Google looking for a post on “Outrageous Bras” that post is here: “Outrageous Bras.”)
Rose DesRochersRose wears many hats. She's a wife, mother, respite worker, proud shih-tzu owner, blogger, published poet, freelance writer, as well as the owner and administrator of Today's Writing Community and Blogger Talk Blog Community. Feel free to contact her with any questions you may have.Rose DesRochers has 1224 post(s) at Rose DesRochers – World Outside My Window
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26 responses so far ↓
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 1:55 am
Absolutely perfect! This obsession with page rank is just the craziest thing; almost the same type of obsession financial people have about credit scores (you’ll have to check my financial blog in the morning to see what I have to say about that mess). People need to start worrying more about their content and their SEO and less about what their page rank is. If you’re doing all that you’re supposed to be doing, things will work out just fine, regardless of page rank.
Mitch´s last blog ..Health, Wealth, And Self Care Online And Off – Guest Post
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 2:16 am
” If you’re doing all that you’re supposed to be doing, things will work out just fine, regardless of page rank.”
Agreed! I now rank in 2nd place for Outrageous Bras. lol
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 1:57 am
Rose,
Spoken like a true SEO professional. great informative post. I have to agree with almost everything you said.
But with Matt Cuts’ quote “not to obsess about PageRank too much”, Does this mean we can obsess about PageRank just a little. LOL.
Seriously I agree with you whole heartedly.
Writing for your readers is what counts. If you write for your readers and not for the search engines, the SERP will come. Just be logical and natural about it. Don’t write drivel and don’t stuff your post with keywords.
Robert Bravery´s last blog ..Screen capture tools for bloggers.
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 2:18 am
I think if Matt had his way PR would be out.
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 1:58 am
Sorry Rose
Anyway, in essence Rose you’re agreeing with me that PR isn’t all that it’s made out to be and should be taken too serious to the extent that it would change the way you blog?
Sire´s last blog ..Dragons Creatures Of Mystery
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 2:09 am
Agreed! Now what was I about to blog about before you brought up PR.
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 2:49 am
To hell with PR! Off with its head!
Write good content and promote it. That’s my free solution.
Gordie´s last blog ..Why Meditation Is The Rocket Fuel For Lifestyle Design And Personal Development.
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
Good advice!
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 2:59 am
@Rose DesRochers: I think it had something to do with womens assorted weird and wonderful knickers
Sire´s last blog ..A Blogger’s Opinion Is Highly Valued
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 4:25 am
I’m starting to think that your blog is about PR
))
My example of ranking with phrase “getting website traffic in 2010″ and my website PR 1 – 1st place competing with 61,500,000 results.
I think it’s all about keyword density, topic relevance and the volume of your post.
iWoodpecker´s last blog ..URL Shortener NXY.IN That Earns Money and Gets Web Traffic
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 11:16 am
“I think it’s all about keyword density, topic relevance and the volume of your post.”
That just may be.
“I’m starting to think that your blog is about PR”
Think again!
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 4:39 am
The most useful think of High Page Rank is when you try to sell a link advertisment or sponsored post. For SERP, it seems the same for my other blog when have PR 3 and now have PR 4.
Dana @ Blogging Update´s last blog ..Email Creation by Using WebHosting Cpanel
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
I still get advertisement offers on my one site though my PR has dropped. Some advertisers look at traffic more then PR.
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 8:56 am
Hi Rose,
Being relatively new to all this SEO stuff I was very surprised to learn about the virtual insignificance of Page Rank – and now that I know a little bit more, I’m also surprised that the myth remains so strong and that people continue to feel the need to obsess a lot ( or a little Robert!)
Cheers
Will
Will´s last blog ..Beginner Blogger.com
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Blame Google! They made everyone obsessive by assigning a number. lol
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 11:08 am
As always, thank you for the information, Rose. I’ve missed reading your blog.
I hope all is well for you. Sorry I’ve been gone for so long. I just haven’t had much time, but hopefully I have fixed that.
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
You’ve been missed Tammy.
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 11:31 am
Of course, you know I had to go to Google to see what was number one; ouch! lol
Mitch´s last blog ..Need Help Setting Goals?
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Of course. lol
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 3:37 pm
I think Page Rank is what is going around right now. I’ve seen a few posts lately. Is this all Sire’s fault? Figures!
Thanks for the explanation, Rose. It really was helpful [sincerely].
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Yeap, Sire’s fault!
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Did you actually read this post as I only used “outrageous bras” as an example to what Google says about different factors:
Quoting from Google:
“For example, if a document contains the words “civil” and “war” right next to each other, it might be more relevant than a document discussing the Revolutionary War that happens to use the word “civil” somewhere else on the page. Also, if a page includes the words “civil war” in its title, that’s a hint that it might be more relevant than a document with the title “19th Century American Clothing.” In the same way, if the words “civil war” appear several times throughout the page, that page is more likely to be about the civil war than if the words only appear once. ”
Hinze the Bra example……..
Now my screen cap of Countdown Ticker was proof that a high page rank does NOT guarantee high ranking!
Had you spent some time actually researching like I did you would know that Google takes many things into factor when it looks at your backlinks.
As Google shows us in its patent it is not the number of links pointing to your website that influences your ranking, but the number of links over a given time. Google indicates that it is better if link growth remains constant and slow.
See: Google’s patent for their search engine ranking technique from 2005 on evaluating historical documents and the latest patent release from 2007.
Thanks for joining the discussion! Bye Bye!
Ps: If I didn’t know what I was talking about why does one of the sites I co-own have a ranking of six, high traffic and a steady increase of incoming links.
Wrote: Jan 13, 2010 at 10:07 pm
@Rose DesRochers: OK ladies, I’m bending over so you can give me that well deserved swift kick up the backside…………TOO LATE! LOL
Sire´s last blog ..The Honest Truth About Blogging For Money
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
I’m afraid I might lose my shoe. lol
Wrote: Jan 16, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Well I think you made your point here better than you did on Sire’s blog. And I agree with you rationale 100%.
Where I disagree (and I suspect Keith too) is statements like “PR has nothing to do with keyword ranking. ” This can be misleading. There is a difference between has a small effect vs no effect.
By the way Outrageous Bras are a lot more interesting than the civil war.
Ned Carey´s last blog..2010 Baltimore Tax Sale Date
Rose DesRochers Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 12:58 am
Ned, I’m not going to get into the whole Keyword PR debate again.
A history buff might find civil war more interesting.