Is there something I'm doing wrong? We haven't had any sales in over a week so I'm assuming something is hanky. Any ideas. 
Full Version: Google Page Rank
OK, I have the google toolbar installed that gives you the pagerank of sites. Mine generally has been 2/10 and we've done several sales. A few days ago it went up to a 4/10 which I was estatic about. Then it went back to 2/10 and today it is 1/10! Is there something I'm doing wrong? We haven't had any sales in over a week so I'm assuming something is hanky. Any ideas.
Is there something I'm doing wrong? We haven't had any sales in over a week so I'm assuming something is hanky. Any ideas.
Its just Google being Google, nothing to worry about.
There are quite a few servers, each potentially having slighty different results based on the search traffic that goes through them (apprently). Don't get obsessive about Google page rank, it's a figure that means very little in real terms.
QUOTE(Robsta @ Oct 29 2007, 04:35 PM) 
There are quite a few servers, each potentially having slighty different results based on the search traffic that goes through them (apprently). Don't get obsessive about Google page rank, it's a figure that means very little in real terms.
I've got to disagree with you on this Rob. PageRank is a score that represents how Google view the quality of your website content. The actual mathematics behind it is very complex. In general, how your page ranks for a particular term is determined by the relevance of your site to that term, the number of links to your site that feature keywords that are relevant to the search term, and your PageRank. Let's face it, if Google think very little of your site's content, they are hardly going to rank your site highly for a competitive word or phrase.
As rob said, different servers may register different PageRanks for your site. I'm not sure if this is because your site may be more relevant to certain geographic regions (where the servers are located), or if it just takes time for the servers to synchronize the data.
Google have changed their PageRank algorithm numerous times recently. Many people are outraged as their website that once ranked no.1 is now on page 3! Some websites will allow you to check the PageRank of your website on many different Google servers. If they all show PR1, that's your new PageRank. As I said, it may have decreased due to an algorithm update. Alternatively, you may have lost some links from high PR and relevant websites. It may just take time to get to where you were.
My Pagerank has always been low (2/3), and yet ive always been at the top for some of my most important keywords. I must be lucky i guess... 
I found this info, but I'm not using paid link services so ...
http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/2...07-10-30Bblog1m
QUOTE
The latest Google PageRank update has resulted in some popular blogs and news websites suddenly losing their PageRank. The PageRank penalization looks to be a reaction to websites that use link-building strategies that conflict with Google's webmaster guidelines.
Google does not approve of the use of paid links to raise rank, but until the latest release, has yet to punish any websites that use them. Some of the websites that experienced a drop were the Washington Post and Forbes.com who both had a PageRank of 7.5, now both are on 5.
Not all of the websites that experienced a drop were using paid links. Some of the blogs that lost PageRank are a part of blog networks, which have plenty of internal links between sites. This is a legitimate linking technique, but can in the automated eyes of Google look like an inappropriate linking strategy. Google's stance on link building communities is somewhat ambiguous,
"Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank"
It should be noted that there are a variety of different linking techniques, most of which are accepted by Google. The update looks to be Google vigorously enforcing its webmaster guidelines, which previously the misuse of, only resulted in sporadic punishment for a few websites.
The enforcement of the webmaster guidelines is happening, without any distinction being made between a website that blatantly manipulates the search algorithms, and those that use some paid links and appropriate link building strategies to deliver traffic.
In the case of some blogs losing PageRank, Google looks to have punished those who have used appropriate link building techniques. Controversy still reigns over the use of paid links, the latest response from Google is bound create even more.
Google does not approve of the use of paid links to raise rank, but until the latest release, has yet to punish any websites that use them. Some of the websites that experienced a drop were the Washington Post and Forbes.com who both had a PageRank of 7.5, now both are on 5.
Not all of the websites that experienced a drop were using paid links. Some of the blogs that lost PageRank are a part of blog networks, which have plenty of internal links between sites. This is a legitimate linking technique, but can in the automated eyes of Google look like an inappropriate linking strategy. Google's stance on link building communities is somewhat ambiguous,
"Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank"
It should be noted that there are a variety of different linking techniques, most of which are accepted by Google. The update looks to be Google vigorously enforcing its webmaster guidelines, which previously the misuse of, only resulted in sporadic punishment for a few websites.
The enforcement of the webmaster guidelines is happening, without any distinction being made between a website that blatantly manipulates the search algorithms, and those that use some paid links and appropriate link building strategies to deliver traffic.
In the case of some blogs losing PageRank, Google looks to have punished those who have used appropriate link building techniques. Controversy still reigns over the use of paid links, the latest response from Google is bound create even more.
http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/2...07-10-30Bblog1m
Personally I focus on:-
top positions on niche keywords instead of page rank,
qualified visitors instead of hits,
profit instead of sales,
etc...
page rank can be a useful indicator if you are selling or buying sites, apart from that, they are an amusing distraction and good topic of conversation.
As for google not liking "paid for" links... most links are "paid for " in some way or another (not always with money though). I think google might be trying to cut down on irrelivent links and link farms but it is still controversial.
Saying that, the way google adds a quality score to your "google ads" may be linked to page rank, so I can see why some may worry more about page rank.
If you want to focus on something, focus on getting more backlinks (links TO your site) any way you can.
Ben
top positions on niche keywords instead of page rank,
qualified visitors instead of hits,
profit instead of sales,
etc...
page rank can be a useful indicator if you are selling or buying sites, apart from that, they are an amusing distraction and good topic of conversation.
As for google not liking "paid for" links... most links are "paid for " in some way or another (not always with money though). I think google might be trying to cut down on irrelivent links and link farms but it is still controversial.
Saying that, the way google adds a quality score to your "google ads" may be linked to page rank, so I can see why some may worry more about page rank.
If you want to focus on something, focus on getting more backlinks (links TO your site) any way you can.
Ben
The lesson here is to avoid link exchanges! I.e. Google won't like it if you link to a site and they link back to you. You want 1-way links from relevant sites that don't have pages of external links.
I think link exhanges are fine, as long as the page linking to you does not have a whole load of unrelated links to other sites.
How many is "a whole"? I'd say a page with more "links" than actual "content".
How many is "a whole"? I'd say a page with more "links" than actual "content".
QUOTE(bennyuk @ Oct 31 2007, 02:59 PM)
I think link exhanges are fine, as long as the page linking to you does not have a whole load of unrelated links to other sites.
How many is "a whole"? I'd say a page with more "links" than actual "content".
How many is "a whole"? I'd say a page with more "links" than actual "content".
I'd read somewhere that Google effectively ranks each link's value to your site. A good link is one-way (inbound) is much better than 'back links' (exchanges). I would suggest that you do not participate in link exchanges. Google will pick up on the fact you have 50 links to your site but also link to those 50 websites from your site. Is it worth being penalized? You can read about Google's page rank formula by doing a Google search - 'Google PR formula'. You should see what I'm talking about.
I'd say try and keep the number of external links to 5 (max) per page and avoid site wide external links.
Think of it this way. Google's aim is to suggest pages relevant to a search term and rank the pages according to which it feels has the content the user is searching for. Therefore, Google will penalize your site by trying to purposely manipulate your ranking. Having a site with good unique content will get your natural inbound links. That's all you need. Get the word out about your site by placing a link in forum signatures, using AdWords, submitting a Press Release etc. If your site has quality content that people find useful and enjoy reading, people will link to you from forums, blogs, websites etc.
This is probably a dumb question, but do you suppose my drop in sales/rankin has anything to do with my site becoming 'secure'? I recently had someone do this for me and my sales have dropped in the last few weeks.
QUOTE(prissanna @ Nov 2 2007, 07:34 PM)
This is probably a dumb question, but do you suppose my drop in sales/rankin has anything to do with my site becoming 'secure'? I recently had someone do this for me and my sales have dropped in the last few weeks.
Possibly. You need a dedicated IP address to install a SSL certificate. Therefore, it is likely that you did not have a dedicated IP address before and so your IP address has changed. If this is the reason why, your PageRank should go back up to where it was eventually.
Well that makes me feel better that there 'might' be an actual reason. Is there any way I can fix this now or do I just have to wait for the search engines to find me again?
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.