There's a lot of confusion about Google Page Rank, so here's the definitive explanation.
What Google page rank is not:
Many people think page rank refers to the position of a particular page on the search engine results. This arises because page rank is from 0- 10 and, when you type in a word or phrase on Google, ten entries appear on the first page. However this is untrue.
The appearance of pages on the search engine results page - SERP for short – depends on a complicated formula, based on the exact words and sequence typed in. These lists are made up on an ad hoc basis, in real time. For this reason, if you type in the exact same phrase later, the chances are the page you will then see will be slightly different.
What Google Page Rank is:
Some of the confusion arises because Google – like Yahoo – ranks pages, rather than web sites. This is good to know, when you are trying to get your business showing up on the SERPs, because every single page on your website can be built around a different set of keywords and, therefore, have a good shot at getting highly listed for that particular keyword.
Each page is rated by a closely guarded formula, which is kept secret to prevent the results being rigged by unscrupulous webmasters. Broadly speaking, they take into account, the page content and how relevant it is to that particular page's keywords.
Of even greater importance are any links that come to that page. Search engine software is pretty cute and – although it can check the contents against the keywords, to see how relevant the content is, it still cannot read and understand a page of text to judge its quality.
Therefore it relies on what we humans think of the contents. Therefore if a page has a link coming to it from another web site, it figures the contents are of some value. A link to your landing page carries slightly more weight than a link to an internal page on your site.
When it decides how much weight to give to that particular link, it looks at the web site making the link to check its page rank. Which leads us to the next section . .
Why is Google Page Rank important:
If you wanted to hire a tax accountant, would you ask your garbage collector or some prominent businessman?
Obviously you'd choose the businessman, as all the garbage guy could tell you was if the accountant kept his trash can clean.
In the same way, Google will give more weight to a link to your site from a web site with a high Google page rank. That's why you need to seek links from high page ranking websites, rather than just any web site, regardless of rank.
So how do you find out the Google Page Rank? Simple, as you'll see in the next section.
Discovering Google Page Ranks:
Google gives you a handy Page Rank tool bar that shows, automatically, the page rank of any page you are viewing. This is great for looking for linking partners or spying on your competition! .
The tool bar is free and there are versions for both Internet Explorer and Morzilla Firefox browsers. Simply go to:
http://www.google.com/downloads
Once downloaded, it will take up residence on your browser window and you'll see a green bar. As you surf the net, that bar lengthens and shortens, depending on the page rank of the page you are viewing. When you want to know the page rank of a particular page, place your cursor over the bar and it will give you a mark out of 10.
If you're checking out the competition, a page rank of four is not too hard to beat. If you are seeking links to a well ranked web site, aim for is six or more. If you can get a link to your site from the likes of CNN (page rank nine), you are well on your way to stardom!
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