Page Rank and the Web
The word itself, web, says it all.
No other term better describes the complex world of relationships that exists within the Internet.
All the content you find online when you type a keyword or a query into a search engine like Google is linked to each other by an intricate system of internal and, most importantly, external connections.
In fact, the ultimate meaning of Page Rank is precisely to assign value to the connections between sites.
The Origin of Page Rank
The idea was born from two scholars, Brin and Page, when in the 1990s, at the dawn of the Internet, they realized that if a site included a hyperlink (the link) to another external content, it was as if it was saying ‘Hey, you, Internet user, if you want to dig deeper into what you’re looking for, check out this site too!’
In essence, connecting or linking to an external site expresses a positive value from the page or site that does it.
Therefore, a web page becomes important and worthy of being adequately indexed by a search engine when many pages contain a link to it.
Let’s take an example. You’re a law firm and you’ve written a clear and comprehensive article about the dangers of the 110% bonus and how, based on laws and data, a homeowner can adequately protect themselves.
After Google has indexed your content, you can expect what you’ve written to be linked from sites that talk about renovations, homeowner forums, companies selling design services.
This happens because these sites and users consider your article important, relevant, and fundamental for those who, in turn, will read it.
From this idea, an algorithm was born that, through complex and constantly updated formulas, measures the importance of a site’s pages: Page Rank, indeed.
Page Rank and Google
“” The more pages from different sites link to a page on my site, the more important my page will be and well-evaluated by Google “”, this could ultimately be the definition of Page Rank.
Page Rank has long been the most important parameter that Google used to decide whether to include a page in the top positions of the SERP.
Even currently, although Google uses hundreds and hundreds of other indicators in its algorithm, an excellent Page Rank allows a site to achieve great positioning.
What is Your Page Rank?
Initially, Google allowed the score related to Page Rank to be public.
It was possible, therefore, to know at any time what the precise evaluation of this indicator was by the main search engine.
In fact, all you had to do was search among the extensions of individual browsers, and a small rectangle would appear on your toolbar that would turn green based on the Page Rank of the page.
The score ranged from 0 to 10 and identified Google’s appreciation of our sites’ pages, or those we visited in terms of backlinks.
Google has obscured this possibility because it led to excessive manipulations.
Currently, it’s possible to get an “idea through the detailed analysis of all the links that arrive on the site or, alternatively, by using plugins and tools that calculate an approximate value.”
Page Rank: Not All Links Are Equal
‘If to be in the first position on Google you need to have many links pointing to our page and our site, just do this, at any cost!’ many in the industry have thought, experts or not in SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Of course, the Page Rank algorithm is not only based on the number of links that lead to a specific page, but also on the Page Rank of the page from which the link originates.
If the originating page is poor in content, or excessively generic, with only a long list of external links and, in any case, not relevant to the topic, the received link will have almost no value or even a negative one.
If, on the other hand, the originating page is important, gives few links and all relevant to the topic, with adequate and rich content, then the link will have a high score.
This is why any serious SEO agency advises against a practice that is unfortunately still widely used, namely the bulk purchase of backlinks.
On the web, you can find those who sell Link Building strategies at dirt-cheap prices, strategies that essentially consist of buying links that lead to your site.
You need to be careful with these offers because, in the vast majority of cases, the originating pages have zero Page Rank and this will have negative effects on your score.
Mistakes to avoid
Let’s give an example. You sell services related to the mechanical industry and you have purchased a backlink from a page on a generalist site.
The page turns out to be, in the end, just a long list of names of companies similar to yours, or even sectors that have nothing to do with yours. In this case, don’t expect a great result in terms of Page Rank.
If, on the other hand, a site that deals with mechanics mentions, within an article, only your company and your services and inserts a link with your domain, your Page Rank will have a significant increase in score.
Naturally, it is very difficult, in terms of energy, time and skills, to achieve this result compared to purchasing hundreds of generalist backlinks at the price of a few euros.
How we can improve Page Rank
The techniques to increase Page Rank must always be included in a specific marketing strategy for each type of activity such as a hairdressing salon, a pastry shop, a metalworking company. What do you want to achieve, how, with what resources and in how much time?
When the marketing strategy and objectives are clear, then it is also possible to implement a Link Building strategy, necessary to improve your Page Rank.
1. Improve your site’s SEO
If the goal is to encourage content creators or users of important forums for your sector to insert a link to your pages, the number one rule is to be found.
Being found on the web essentially means being high in the SERP of search engines, possibly in first position. This is the result of techniques related to SEO.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and concerns the optimization of a site to be well indexed, that is, in simple terms, to reach the top positions by search engines.
That’s why the SEO related to the site must be in perfect order.
It’s important to rely on experts, like our Qreativa SEO agency specialized in this field, and ask for a SEO consultation.
For example, the presence of proper meta tags, sensibly constructed meta descriptions, keywords chosen and repeated according to appropriate parameters thanks to good keyword research, h1, h2, h3 that create well-structured articles, the sparing use of bold and underlines, are just some of the elements you need to keep in mind to have a site that has all the characteristics to obtain good indexing.
Moreover, it’s important to remember that a site, in order to be found and linked by important domains, must have rich and relevant content. So, no poor translations from other languages and no plagiarism!
Once the site is perfect both in terms of SEO and from the point of view of appealing content for the target you want to reach, you can think about a real Link Building strategy, aimed at improving Page Rank.
2. Add the Site to Important Directories
A relatively simple Link Building technique is to register the site in popular directories, such as Google My Business, Bing Places for Business and Yelp.
Although they are general in nature, they are still popular directories that allow you to reach a wide audience.
Another way is to identify directories specialized in your sector and request registration.
In these cases, it’s important to provide all necessary information. With just a few minutes and some extra attention, they will allow you to achieve excellent results in terms of Page Rank.
3. Create a Link Exchange Strategy
Exchanging links is a strategy that works but needs to be managed very carefully.
If the only sites linking to a page are the result of an exchange, it’s possible that the Page Rank might not only fail to improve, but could actually worsen.
Therefore, a lot of patience is required in identifying sites to propose the exchange to, and much attention in defining the number of links.
4. Participate in Industry Forums and Social Groups
Being part of forums and groups related to the sector in which you operate is a useful and very profitable strategy in terms of Page Rank.
However, it requires time, resources, and the ability to interact consistently online.
Moreover, many groups have strict policies regarding the presence of links in comments. To avoid being banned, it’s important to know and respect the rules of each group.
In conclusion, increasing Page Rank is a winning strategy to improve your online presence but, like everything related to the world of the Web, it requires attention and skills.
If you want to delve deeper into the topic, contact us!
