PageRank and Ranking High in the SERPs

Well, I hope that you guys learnt a great deal from my previous post that was a very simplified version of understanding PageRank. Really, it couldnt get any simple than that. :) So anyways, in this post, I'm going to touch on PageRank in more detail. How PageRank and Links are related and how to use it to your advantage when optimizing your site/page. Hope you are ready for this SEO explaination ;)


Anchor Text

Ok for the benefit of those not in the know, I shall explain this term "Anchor Text". Its very important to know what it means because I will be mentioning it in the coming paragraphs.
So what is anchor text?
Anchor text is basically the text that you use for a link. For example, for the following link :

Young Talented Good Looking SEO Consultant from Singapore

the anchor text in this case is simply "Young Talented Good Looking SEO Consultant from Singapore" while " http://seo-singapore-consultant.blogspot.com/ " is the link that it points to.
That really can't get any easier to understand so if you don't, go hire an seo consultant and standby shitloads of money because you're probably gonna get cheated anyway. :p

Another term that I would be using is "Keyword Authority".

What is Keyword Authority?

Its basically ranking high/having authority (remember my post about links? If not, go read : Search Engines and Links ) for a certain keyword. For example, if your site is about hiring an seo consultant, you rank high for that keyword, and you have links to you from related pages with high PR containing "hiring an seo consultant" as the anchor text or any of its variation, you're said to have Keyword Authority for the keyword "hiring an seo consultant".

That should be simple enough. Still with me?

Good.

Anyway, moving on.. So how are PageRank, Links, Keyword Authority and Anchor Text related to each other?


They all contribute in ranking your page for a certain keyword. How?


LINKS with the ANCHOR TEXT of your keyword, coming from pages with high PAGERANK that are related to your keyword, would give you KEYWORD AUTHORITY for your keyword.


So basically, like I said in my previous post, you might have a PR 10 for all I care, but if the links back to your site contain mostly your name as the anchor text, you're only going to have keyword authority for your name, and not what your website is about.



Now do you understand why I emphasise that PageRank is simply not everything about Google?


Like I said in my previous post, it is the measure of a webpage's popularity on the web, by counting how many links are pointing to it.

BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT,

In order to have KEYWORD AUTHORITY for a certain keyword, then the links back to your site should contain your keyword in the anchor text, and better, variations of it scattered among the links.

That's simply it :D


Summary

Garnering links with anchor text containing variations of your keyword would increase your PageRank as well as your keyword authority, and this can help you rank higher in the SERPs.

And that is what you, me and everyone else wants :D


PS : Be Forewarned though, that because of the complexity of the calculation of PageRank, its not always easy to gain keyword authority for a certain keyword. And also, your on site optimization (your content, coding etc etc) still play a part. ;)

Email or comment if you have any queries!


Till then,

Jasa, Singapore SEO Consultant

PageRank Information Among Singaporeans

First up, I stumbled upon this site that has blogs of thousands of people. I'm assuming they're at least from Singapore if not Malaysia. What's important is, they're from somewhere near me, and sadly enough, the information that they have regarding PageRank is horrendous. I am going to explain in the simplest terms possible what PageRank means or is for.


What is PageRank?

The article regarding PageRank should give you some idea. But for the benefit of those who just can't understand or are too lazy to click on the link, here is my explaination in simplest of terms.

PageRank is an algorithm.

What is an algorithm?
It is a set of methods that one uses for a solution to a problem.

The problem in this case is "the relevancy of results of search queries on search engines is very bad".

The algorithm to solve this problem?
PageRank, developed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.


<PageRank is basically giving a ranking to a certain webpage depending on the number of votes to it.

Read up "Search Engines And Links" to get a clearer idea on what links mean on the web. I mean it. Its important if you're to understand what is going on.


Anyway, so Votes in this case simply refers to links.
A simple analogy to real life : If many people talk about something, that thing has to be good doesnt it? When people talk about something, its referred to as a vote. Which in turn is referred to as a link.

So in layman terms, PageRank is the ranking given to a certain webpage with regards to the amount of links it has connected to it.

So therefore, to answer the question of what PageRank is in simple terms :
The more links to a webpage, the higher its PageRank.

PS : (Of course, the calculation of PageRank is alot more complicated than that. But I'm trying to keep things simple here.)


So you already know what PageRank is. Now I'm going to tell you what PageRank is NOT.


What PageRank is NOT

PageRank is not the ranking given to a webpage with regards to search queries. For example, a website with a PageRank of 8 might not be anywhere in the first or second pages of a certain term. Why? Because the links that are pointing to it are a lot, but come from a lot of sites that are not relevant to the webpage with a PR of 8.

It makes much sense to note now, that if a page has a lot of links, it would get a high PR. But to get a high PR as well as rank high on the SERPs, a webpage has to garner alot of RELEVANT LINKS.


What do I mean by relevant links?


If your webpage is regarding "Cats", dont go to a "Dog" webpage and get a link with the anchor text, "Dogs" pointing to your page. Gaining a high PageRank it will do, but placing your webpage high in the SERPs for the term "Cats" it will not.

Get what I'm saying now?


I would not deny that having links pointing to your site is important in Search Engine Optimization but from what I've read on Singaporean blogs, the idea is that PageRank is the all important factor that determines your ranking on the SERPs. Which it is definitely not.


I will repeat this one last time.


PageRank is the measure of how popular a webpage is on the web. Through counting the amount of valid links (non-paid) to it.
PageRank is NOT the measure of your ranking on the SERPs.



That is basically the simplest form of PageRank I can provide for beginners. If you still have doubts or queries, dont be afraid to leave a comment or email.

I will talk about how to increase your PageRank AS WELL as your rankings on the SERPs in the future posts.



Read the post before this to understand how its possible to rank high on the SERPs without having any PageRank at all. ;) Hope that this post helps fellow Singaporeans to understand PageRank.

Till then,

Jasa, Singapore SEO Consultant

Search Engines and Links

I know how people must be itching to get their hands dirty and start on Search Engine Optimization. So without further ado, here's some important information that you have to embed into your heart.


Similarity between the Major Search Engines

There is but one main similarity that lies among the major search engines (namely Google, Yahoo! and MSN Live) and it has been the core root of what the internet or "the web" is all about.


So what is it?

The essence of the internet, LINKS.


I do not wish to explain what links are but just for the benefit of those not in the know here's a good site to read up on links (or hyperlinks) : Hyperlinks.


Links interconnect one site with another and that site with another till it forms a whole loop, or a web as what we call the internet today. They've been around since the start of the internet and take note of this next sentence :


LINKS ARE GOING TO STAY AS A CRITERIA IN THE RANKING OF IMPORTANCE, IN THE SEARCH ENGINES IN TIME TO COME.


That sentence above is probably the only one you'd need to read in this post but nevertheless I'll provide you with further details.


Google uses the links to a webpage as a criteria in ranking that page in the SERPs.
Yahoo uses links to a website as a criteria in ranking that site in the SERPs.
MSN Live uses links to a website as a criteria in ranking that site in the SERPs.

Those sentences alone are enough to tell you how important links, or hyperlinks are in Search Engine Optimization.


SEO Myth of Links/Hyperlinks

As a Singapore SEO Consultant, I am very much obliged to tell you about the myths currently spreading out on the web regarding Search Engine Optimization. One popular myth is this :

A Large Amount of Links Pointing to Your Site From Anywhere is Going to Increase your Ranking.

Wait, I am wrong about that. There are in fact 2 myths in that!

1. A Large Amount of Links Pointing to Your Site
2. Links Pointing to Your Site From Anywhere

For the easiest of understanding, I am going to use an analogy for links.



Link Analogy of this Singapore SEO Consultant


Search Engines treat links as "trust sources". They want to rank a certain page high in the SERPs if that webpage has lots of trusted sources linking to it.

Let's take for example you're selling Computer Software. (Your website / webpage)



Do you think your customers ( visitors to your site ) are more willing to buy from you if :

1. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs gave a say that your software is good and recommended
2. Your local computer store endorses your software and recommends it to their customers
3. Your relative told her friends that your software is good and recommends it
4. A Classified Advertisement regarding your software shows : "Best Computer Software Buy Now!"

Its common sense that your customers are more likely to buy your product if the above happens in order from 1 to 4. That is what links are basically about! As simple as that. I'll explain in more detail.

• Bill Gates & Steve Jobs are the equivalent of "Authority Sites" in your niche and what they say (Links) have a very high weightage. These authority sites differ between search engines but a similarity is that Wikipedia and Dmoz are good authority sites for any of your niches.

• Your local computer store is equivalent to another site that is related to your niche and when they recommend it their customers (Links), their recommendation is of much weightage as they know what they're talking about and when they recommend something (links), there is a likelihood that it is a good recommendation.

• Your friends are equivalent to the other sites on the web linking to your and recommending your product. They MAY or MAY NOT know what they're talking about so the search engines cannot really place much importance on them.

• The Classified Ads are equivalent to the spam sites (websites that do not help the user, no relevant content, no useful solution) and when since they are a dubious source, what they recommend (link) has a high likelihood that it is not as useful as described in the ad.

From the last part above, it is the emergence of spam sites that has caused search engines to need trusting sources to link to a new site to ensure that it is indeed a "trustworthy" source as well.


That is basically what links are all about in Search Engines and Search Engine Optimization. Understand this is of utmost importance because its the core basic of Search Engine Optimization and you need this if you're going to understand the more in-depth terms later in this Singapore SEO blog.


Hope you understood the lesson,

Till then,

Jasa , Singapore SEO Consultant