Dear SEO Guru —
My Google Page Rank is 3. I have worked very hard to get more and more links. I will never get better placements in Google until my Page Rank improves! I am very frustrated. Please visit my site at {site removed}. My competitors have better Page rank and better placements. What can I do? What am I doing wrong?
Sincerely,
Kathleen
Dear Kathleen,
Thank you for your question! PageRank has been a source of confusion for many — but it’s actually quite simple to understand if you have all the facts. So, let’s get to it.
First, let’s define PageRank (PR). PageRank is a “vote” by all the other pages on the Web, about how important a page is. If you have an incoming link from a website, it is looked at as a vote of support. I explain it as an “online popularity contest” — if websites are pointing to you, Google understands this to mean that your website is active, popular, and current. Why else would somebody link to you? Makes sense …
If you are lacking the incoming links, it doesn’t count AGAINST you, it just doesn’t count at all.
Regarding the incoming links — you need to make sure that you’re not just trying to get as many sites to link to you as possible. It does make a difference when you solicit high-quality websites that are relevant to yours (but non competing!). If you are a Bed and Breakfast in New York City, it would make sense for you to contact businesses in or around New York City as well as other Bed and Breakfasts across the country to participate in your link exchange. Look for websites that are professionally designed and have quality content.
One final thought … you CAN still obtain high rankings with a lower PR. There is not anything that mandates that only sites with a PR greater than 6 can hold the #1 position, etc. If you go to Google and search for the keyword lanyards, you’ll see that the #1 site has a PR of 4 … and he held the position when he had a PR of 3 as well.
I hope this information helps you understand the mystery that is behind PageRank and gives you some clarity to continue searching for high quality, relevant links that would be willing to point to your website.
