| You've just built your website and you want to show | | | | a valuable tool. You can use relevant interlinking to |
| up on the search engines. You start reading about | | | | distribute PR throughout all your pages. |
| SEO and one of the first things that jumps out at you | | | | Huh? Well, just hang on to that thought for a minute. |
| is something called "Google PageRank." You know | | | | For right now, just understand the concept that some |
| about the big dog of the search engines, but what is | | | | pages in your site may earn a higher PR than others, |
| PageRank and why is it important in what you're trying | | | | and that you can use that to your advantage. |
| to do? | | | | PageRank Passes from One Page to Another |
| Any good marketing coach can explain that easily. If | | | | Here's how it works. A page with a high PR passes |
| your site is placing high in free (organic) search results, | | | | some of its value to a low PR page over a link. You |
| you're getting free advertising. Notice the word "free." | | | | can use this to promote your site in a couple of ways. |
| That's always a good thing. Building a strong | | | | When your site's pages are interlinked in a relevant |
| PageRank (PR) by getting good quality links coming in | | | | way, PR gets distributed more evenly throughout the |
| to your site takes time, but it isn't going to eat a hole in | | | | site. Also, you can "court" relevant sites that belong to |
| your pocketbook. | | | | other people through your link-building campaign. This is |
| You want to work on raising your site's PR to get | | | | really how your site starts to gain "authority." |
| "authority" with the search engines. A site with | | | | Start by Building Your Index Page's PR |
| "authority" gets better visibility in search results. Really | | | | Generally, marketing coaches will tell you to begin by |
| understanding the algorithm behind your site's PR will | | | | working on your home page's PR. This can be |
| likely have you reaching for a bottle of aspirin. In the | | | | time-consuming, and not just because you'll be building |
| beginning, just concentrate on understanding the basics | | | | relationships with other site owners. You have to do |
| and how they relate to your efforts to promote your | | | | your time in what's popularly called the Google |
| site. | | | | "sandbox." This just means that new sites like yours |
| How is PR Defined? | | | | probably won't get any PR at all for the first few |
| Google says PR is all about the "uniquely democratic | | | | months you're on the Web. |
| nature of the web" and "using its vast link structure as | | | | How Do I Check My PR? |
| an indicator of an individual page's value." Basically, a | | | | There are a number of free, online tools for checking |
| link from one page to another is a vote for that page. | | | | PR including PRChecker and SearchStatus. At |
| However, not all votes in this democracy are equal. | | | | PRChecker you type in a page's URL to see its PR. |
| Some votes come from higher-quality pages and are | | | | SearchStatus is a FireFox extension that show a site's |
| weighed more heavily. (Other factors in determining | | | | PR at the bottom of your browser. (It also shows your |
| PR include the relevance of search phrases on a | | | | site's Alexa rating, another method to measure online |
| page and actual traffic to the page.) | | | | "importance.") You an also install the Google Toolbar |
| How is PageRank Expressed? | | | | for Firefox or Internet Explorer and enable the |
| PR values are expressed on a scale of 0 to 10. Sites | | | | PageRank function. |
| from 0 to 2 are probably pretty new to the Web and | | | | Is Building My PR All I Need to Do? |
| have few incoming links. Sites that have made it to | | | | A marketing coach will tell you that having a strong PR |
| PR3 to PR5 are fairly well established; PR6 and above | | | | is only one part of your SEO campaign. For instance, |
| are really popular and have a lot of high-quality links. | | | | say you're looking around for a site to link to yours. |
| There are very few sites that make it to the PR7 to | | | | You find one with a high PR, but it's a site that sells |
| PR10 range. | | | | links. Move on. Their high PR number doesn't do you |
| The ones that are ranked that high are usually owned | | | | any good because a link from that site to yours will |
| by big corporations or major media outlets like the Wall | | | | have a lower quality and will pass less authority to you. |
| Street Journal (PR8). Improving your site's PR by | | | | Understanding the basics of PageRank is essential in |
| getting relevant, high-quality, incoming links is one of the | | | | putting together a high-quality link-building campaign for |
| most affordable SEO methods at your disposal. | | | | your site, but don't get fixated on the PR number and |
| Rather than trying to get to a specific number, just | | | | ignore other important facts. Just gain a basic |
| concentrate on improving your number. | | | | understanding of what PR is and how it functions and |
| Is My Site's Index the Only Page with PR? | | | | use that to your advantage in building a reputation of |
| No, each page in your site will be assigned a PR, | | | | authority for your site. |
| something that is emphasized in marketing coaching as | | | | |