PageRank Tools
Google PageRank is very much like the size of a man's you-know-what. Everyone thinks it's important, no one admits it's important (unless they have a huge one) and everyone is interested in the size of everyone else's.
In researching website optimization, I came across PageRank size for the first time and was amazed about how many people obsessed about it. Obviously everyone wants a larger one and there are various methods of increasing it - some proven, some painful, and some downright silly.
But let me explain what PageRank is first.PageRank is one of the many factors Google takes into account when it returns the results for a search term. It is, in effect, Google's evaluation of how important a site is. The main element in this is the number of sites linking to your site and their PageRank size. This can be viewed as a popularity contest with the sites with the bigger PageRanks getting bigger votes (ain't that always the way).
The upshot of this is that sites with, a small PageRank cannot get close to the top of the results when popular keywords are searched upon, and have to rely on more specific keywords to get traffic from search engines.
PageRank is measured from 0-10. Sites can be out into three categories: PageRank 0-2 - New websites that are just starting out. Websites that have come to terms with the size of their PageRank and have given up trying to increase it (but secretly hope it'll still grow over time). Bad boys who have broken the rules.
PageRank 3-6 - Established websites that have proven they can perform. Niche websites that have a big enough PageRank to do what they need it to do.
PageRank 7-10 - Some of these guys' PageRank is so big it'll knock you over if they turn too quickly. In order to compete with this PageRank, one needs to develop other techniques to establish your own area of specialist expertise.
In order to not get their PageRank laughed at, webmasters are constantly looking to increase it. Here are a few ways to stretch that PageRank.
Increase the Size of Your Site - By increasing the number of pages on the site, it increases the amount of PageRank the webmaster can play with. If those pages point internally then it can increase the PageRank of those pages for instance. However, you should be careful that you don't create pages with no real value or content, as one can be punished for that.
Exposure - Advertising your website is a core piece of your strategy. However, to really increase that PageRank, you need incoming, permanent, links not occasional pay-per-click ads or banners that can change day-to-day or week-to-week. Ways to do this include, writing high quality articles that get published on a number of sites , being active in forams associated with the subject of your website, and forming a group in one or more of the social websites. But beware! Over-exposure can be detrimental to your PageRank too, if you are deemed to be spamming.
There are also a number of things you should avoid that may shrink your PageRank. Getting caught with your pants down - Anything that Google prohibits (and there is a lot) can adversely affect your PageRank if they catch you in the act. So keep your nose clean and make sure you understand the rules.
Gratuitous Linking - Simply exchanging links with other sites doesn't really have an effect on your PageRank (although it still might generate traffic) and using "link farms" can have a negative effect.
There is a small but vocal group that says you shouldn't worry about the size of it and just concentrate on providing good content for your visitors. This is the equivalent of "the size doesn't matter, it's what you do with it". The reality is that people visit your website because of what's on it, but they won't visit if they don't know it's there - so a balance is needed.
In summary, PageRank is a very important aspect but to obsess over it means you won't satisfy your visitors in other areas, which might be important to them. If it is that important to you, you need to get out and meet people!
If it's big enough to do the job, be happy.
WHAT IS PAGERANK
Google Toolbar
An example of the PageRank indicator as found on the Google toolbar.The Google Toolbar's PageRank feature displays a visited page's PageRank as a whole number between 0 and 10. The most popular websites have a PageRank of 10. The least have a PageRank of 0. Google has not disclosed the precise method for determining a Toolbar PageRank value. Google representative Matt Cutts has publicly indicated that the Toolbar PageRank values are republished about once every three months, indicating that the Toolbar PageRank values are historical rather than real-time values
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