Dec

Downplaying Google’s PageRank Numbers May Not Be A Good Idea

By admin

Image representing Google Toolbar as depicted ...

Image via CrunchBase

A few weeks before, WebProNews wrote a story regarding Google discarding PageRank from Webmaster Tools. Susan Moskwa, a Webmaster Trends Analyst at the important search engine said, “We’ve been telling people for a long time they shouldn’t focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it’s the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true,” she pointed out. “We removed it because we felt it was silly to tell people not to think about it, but then to show them the data, implying that they should look for it.” To date, PageRank has been taken out of Google WebMaster Tools and only appears in the Google Toolbar.

I’m not sure why Google believes that we shouldn’t count so much on the numbers reflected in PageRank when it’s unmistakable to every one that most of us bank on these statistics when gauging the outcomes of our search engine optimization and marketing strategies and since we acquiesce to the concept that a high PR results in more popularity for our website then, Page Rank should be taken note of when evaluating the results of our efforts.

Titus Hoskins, a Search Engine Marketer and author of ‘Does Google Page Rank Count Anymore?’ disclosed in his article that, “For years, Google has been downplaying the importance of Page Rank and states that it’s only one of about 200 ranking factors which determine how Google ranks its index for keywords”, pointed out the results of obtaining high PR popularity on web companies, and I suppose that many of what he wrote are very enlightening.

Titus Hoskins spoke about the upshot of a better page rank stating that, “Obtaining a high PR7 or PR8 simply means more business and revenues. Placed against a PR1 site, a PR8 will win more respect in the eyes of potential clients and can produce enormous profits for the site owner.”

So where does this prospective client respect emanate from? It comes from their respect of Google indeed. Titus Hoskins addressed the credibility and brand recognition Google has by saying, “Google has established an unmatched credibility and brand recognition in the eyes of potential customers visiting your site. Web users trust Google for guidance and direction”, and as an web marketer, Hoskins is astonished with the way Google impacts the online community. Regarding this he said, “I am completely amazed each day at the marketing power Google now commands with web surfers and with the general population.” Hoskins continued, “Google is the king of online search and no other search engine even comes close to Google.”

I interpret that to signify that if Google, gives a web-based business a high PR, then look ahead to Google’s influence to have a positive effect on how many purchase from that site. So how can we blame these online businesses from assigning such a big importance to Google PageRank statistics?

“Regardless of what Google wants to happen,” added Hoskins, “PageRank is still extremely important to anyone marketing on the web, especially if you’re selling SEO services or operating a web business.” In closing, he summarizes people’s assessment of PageRank as a marketing tool that, “still wields tremendous influence and power” and universally, this appreciation has stayed valid up until recently. “By default, PageRank is Google’s opinion of your site,” Hoskins stressed. “Web users can count (at least to 10) and if Google believes people are still not counting when it comes to PageRank, then they are fully mistaken.”

Despite what Google has expressed as their opinion it is my opinion that there is still a purpose for Google’s PageRank feature. I am in agreement with the writers quoted above, and intend to continue to use Google’s PageRank in my evaluation of my own search engine optimization efforts as well as other people’s.

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