For those of you not yet aware, Google is currently updating the PageRank they are displaying in their toolbar. Each update causes a stir among the SEO community and webmasters trying to get their websites to the top of the Google Rankings.

What Is PageRank?
Without getting into too much detail, PageRank is essentially a score out of ten as to the “value” of your site in comparison to other websites on the Internet. It is based on two primary factors; the number of links you have pointing to your website and the value of the links pointing to your website. The value is calculated based on the PageRank of the page linking to you and debatably the relevancy of the page linking to you (there is no hard evidence to back up the relevancy factor in regards to PageRank that I have seen, however it definitely is a factor in your overall ranking).

If you are interested in more information on PageRank you would do well to visit the many forums and articles on the topic and also visit Google’s own description on their website at http://www.google.com/technology/ where they give a brief description of the technology.

What’s New?
The most current PageRank update will undoubtedly cause a larger stir than usual in that many sites have shown drops in their visible PageRank while at the same time showing significant increases in their backlinks. This fact reveals that one of three things has occurred in this latest update:

• Google has raised the bar on PageRank, making it more difficult to attain a high level, or
• The way they are displaying their backlinks has changed, or
• The way they calculate the value of an incoming link has changed.

Any of these are possible and has been noted in the past as something they are willing to do. Additionally, it is possible for all to occur at the same time.

As we don’t like to use clients as examples, I will use the Beanstalk site, backlink counts, and PageRank changes as the meter by which the following conclusions are drawn, however this information was attained through looking at a number of client websites and their competitors.

Google Raising The Bar To Lower Yours
In the past few PageRank updates it has become quite apparent that Google is continuously raising the bar on PageRank. In their defence, with all of the reciprocal link building, link renting, etc. going on this was a natural reaction to the growing number of high PageRank sites that attained those ranks simply by building or buying hundreds and thousands of links.

There is no doubt that this is a factor in the changes in this current update. If your site has maintained it’s PageRank, and the PageRanks of your second-level pages, then you have done well in holding steady and, if your competitors have not been as diligent their positions will slip.

New Backlink Calculations
I mention this one only to bring to light that it is a possibility for your future consideration during other updates. The Beanstalk website went from 750 shown backlinks on Google to 864. It should be noted that Google does not show all backlinks (if you want a more accurate backlink count go to Yahoo! and enter “link:http://www.yourdomain.com” (don’t forget the http://)).

When the Beanstalk site showed 750 backlinks on Google we were showing around 12,000 on Yahoo! (about 6.5% showing on Google). The Beanstalk site is currently showing 864 on Google and 15,500 on Yahoo! (about 5.6%). If anything then, Google is showing less links than before which negates the possibility that a website’s PageRank is dropping due to a decrease in links but being hidden by an increased number being displayed.

In short, while the backlinks Google chooses to display has certainly changed over time; it does not appear to be a major factor in this update. If you see an increase in your sites backlink counts during this update, you undoubtedly have an increased number of links.

The Value of Links
Separate from the number of links you have is their value. This appears to be an area of significant change in this update. Areas that appear to have reduced value in regards to affecting PageRank are:

1. Multiple links from the same site or run-of-site links
   

Intelligent and relevant reciprocal links do not seem to have been penalized, probably due to the increased relevancy factor. If you reduce the value of irrelevant links and raise the value of relevant ones, then there is no need to penalize reciprocal links as, done incorrectly, they will penalize themselves.

2. Links with text around them that indicate they are purchased, such as “Partners”, “Advertising”, etc.
   

Google has and is actively trying to reduce the value of paid links. This appears to have been moderately successful where there is clear indication that the link is paid for.

3. Links from sites that hold little relevancy (this factor is based on educated speculation)
   

The relevancy factor appears to have become more important. Links from sites with content related to yours are showing positive results while sites with larger numbers of less relevant links are showing drops in PageRank.

What Does This Mean?
For those of you who have been proactive in your link building, and focused on relevant sites using the Google Directory, searches or a tool like PR Prowler it means, “stay the course”. Those of you who have been building or buying links based only on PageRank with little concern for their location, or how they are presented - you will need to adjust your link building efforts accordingly.

What Do I Do - My PageRank Dropped?
The first thing not to do is panic. Take a deep breath, PageRank is one factor of dozens that Google uses to determine the ranking of your page, it is not the only thing. Visit your main competitors’ sites - there’s a good chance you’ll see that they too dropped PageRank. The plus side to these kinds of updates is that they’re universal. It’s not as if Google has it in for you specifically and so when they do an update, the positive and negative impact is felt by all.

If you’ve noticed that everyone around you has stayed the same or increased in PageRank try to remember this, there’s nothing you can do about where you’re currently positioned in regards to PageRank and it will probably be another 3 months before Google updates the public PageRank again so … start building some good quality (high relevancy, solid PageRank) links. Work towards an increase in the next update.

Panicking won’t help, intelligent reaction will.

What Happens Now?
Traditionally the search engine results will begin to fluctuate based on the new visible PageRank 3 to 7 days after they are visible. This does not have to be the case as Google’s had these numbers all along but its worked this way in the majority of cases in recent history. So monitor your search engine positions over the next week or two and watch for changes. Try to hold back on making major changes to your site during this time as often the final positions will differ from those that can be viewed during the shuffling. In a couple weeks time evaluate where you stand and tweak your site as necessary but don’t spend too much time on that … you have a solid link building effort to undertake.

By Dave Davies

All too often I find site owners are confused (or in denial) about how to achieve the search engine rankings they desire on the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). So, I am pleased to offer you my version of “Organic Listings 101.”

Several times each day I get approached by site owners wanting to be in the top 5, 10, top page for organic (free) listings. The organic results are those that display to the left and below “Sponsored Sites” or “Sponsored Results” at Google, MSN and Yahoo!. These “Sponsored” advertisement boxes are part of Pay-Per-Click programs where site owners bid for positioning.

What we’re going to discuss today are the free listings that are gained by how your site is ranked based on a combination of unique variables (algorithm) of each search site. Which, to muddy things up further, evolve without notice.

“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.”
~Aldous Huxley

Let’s first set the stage so that we have realistic expectations here. When I started my consulting practice back in the early 90s, it was relatively easy to get found. The volume of sites and the level of competition were not one iota of what they are today. Fast forward to 2005 and you have close to 12,000,000,000 (yes, that’s billion) pages with a good 10,000,000 being added daily.

So how do you get visibility in the SERPs? Shuffling or adding keywords in your Meta tags won’t do it. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn’t the end-all-be-all either. You have to have a well rounded, smart, long term marketing plan for your site that includes certain basics for you to rise in the organic rankings.

Issues for consideration to gain improved organic listings:

• Look at your Web marketing plan as a long term effort. New sites are in Google’s sandbox for 6 months or more, and it will take time and effort to be viewed as more relevant than the sites that are already online in the fr�e positions you seek.
• Part of putting your plan together is to do a search with your top keyword phrases on the various search engines so that you are aware of the competition and the volume of sites already successfully ranking for the terms you are targeting. This gives you a real-world understanding of the level of competition you will be up against.
• Understand that how your Web site ranks has nothing to do with how good you are at what you do. It has to do with how good your site is and how good others including the search engines think your site is. That requires a long term realistic marketing plan to grow your site to be the best most comprehensive resource on your product or service for your site visitors. It doesn’t happen overnight or just because you say you want it to.
• Forget about trying to rank for one-word keywords - much too difficult and in some cases downright impossible. Concentrate and target 2-3 word phrases instead of one-word keywords and you’ll get more targeted visitors as well. There are several tools to assist you in investigating what keyword phrases your target market is actually using. Use these tools to your advantage!
• Make sure each page within your site targets and is optimized for only one or two, 2-3 word keyword phrases each. Niche is what works for organic listings! The more you are about; the less you are about any one thing. Search results are based on numerous factors; one being relevancy for the terms the searcher is using. If you are targeting 10, 20, 30 terms per page, that page is not strongly about any given topic vs. another site that has a page or pages concentrating on just one or two phrases each. Keep in mind that less is more when it comes to targeting keyword phrases on a page by page basis.
• To “top” the sites already out there, you have to do just that! Top them! What makes your site better and more valuable to your site visitors? If you don’t have anything unique and of quality or value to offer, you’ll never push those who already hold these positions out of your way.
• Plan on adding new information to your site on an aggressive basis. Daily, weekly, minimally monthly! Resources, white papers, “how to” not only add value but will naturally work wonders as keyword targeted pages. Offer the type of information those seeking your product or service will find useful and search for and that other sites will want to link to. Don’t even think of cheating and using content generating software…You’ll get nowhere with that approach. You need to have well written content of value; not keyword stuffed ramblings.
• Plan on having lots of patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day and attaining great organic listings no longer happens in a day, a month, or even a year. Any business that hopes to succeed needs to take a consistent and informed long-term approach. This applies to organic listings ten-fold.

Yes, without a doubt, all of the above recommendations require your time, effort and a realistic understanding of how organic listings are accomplished. But this is the reality of how great listings, over time, are attained. It is really quite simple - strive to make your site the best it can be; THE site for your product or service and your rankings will improve!

There are no short cuts or trickery for fast top 5, 10, top page organic results. If someone tells you otherwise, they are trying to use what you don’t know to get into your pocket book. Make a commitment to continually build your site to be the best it can be to your site visitors and your organic rankings will happen. Web sites and rankings are a work in progress after all!

Without implementing the above, you are left with only one choice in order to get visibility to those searching for your product or service. You will need to invest in a well planned Pay-Per-Click program and the corresponding budget necessary to reach your goals.

By Judith Kallos

Online marketing and advertising are moving in opposite directions. Rich media ads and other graphical animated advertising appear more frequently on sites and in e-mail. Much online image-based advertising is primarily used to communicate branding and educational messages first, then to drive traffic to the advertiser’s site. As average consumer bandwidth increases, so do the use of animated, audio, video, and large-format image ads. Ad agencies and marketing departments are set to communicate branding objectives online as they do offline.

Search engine marketers, on the other hand, use the text links in search results to drive traffic to Web sites. Paid listings, while subject to editorial guidelines, are very controllable. Organic listings provide marketers with partial control. Nearly every search campaign’s primary objective is to drive site traffic. A secondary (often ignored) objective is the text ad’s branding impact.

The destination Web site often contains a wealth of content on dozens, hundreds, even thousands of pages. Searchers are on a mission and in a very impressionable state of mind when they engage in search behaviour. What better time to present educational brand messages? Given the limited copy space in a search ad, marketers can’t educate or persuade much in the ad itself. Both brand and direct-response marketers should consider the branding and communication impact of the landing page, as well as the site as a whole.

For each and every paid ad event (the click), a searcher is exposed to at least one page of your site: the landing page. The site becomes an extension of the ad. It’s the element with the most effect on a potential customer. To ignore the site’s value as a brand communications vehicle is to ignore search most powerful aspect for the brand marketer.

Traditional retailers know signage inside and outside the store, as well as displays, are part of a branded shopping experience. Airlines, shipping companies, and fast-food outlets all use heavy branding messages on vehicles and uniforms and within their facilities. Don’t ignore the importance and power of the Web site as part of your ad campaign.

There are several ways a brand marketer can measure search campaign results when the site itself serves a critical ad element. Web and campaign analytics are more than a reporting method; they’re a means to more effectively manage ad campaigns.

Factors to use when measuring campaign success through experiential branding:

• Time on site. The longer a visitor stays on the site after arriving via a search ad, the better you’ve done as a marketer.
• Page views. The greater the number of pages with which the visitor interacts, the greater the likelihood she’s absorbed your marketing message. That’s a lift in branding metrics (awareness, purchase intent, etc.).
• Registrations. Registration means the visitor gives your brand permission to engage in a dialogue. The ongoing conversation provides the opportunity to further build your brand and move the customer closer to purchase.
• Download/view. If your brand has a reputation for highly informative (e.g., movie or political ads) or highly entertaining (e.g., GEICO or Carl’s Jr.) advertising, visitors may actually choose to play your video or audio advertising.
• Configuration or comparison. If your brand stacks up favourably against the competition and you provide a comparison page, it can have significant value. Product configurations are also brand immersive (e.g., automotive, washing machines, computer, appliances and furniture).
• Targeted link to retailers. Many marketers don’t directly sell products, but their sites support retailers by linking to them. If search listings ultimately result in a link to a retailer, that’s enhanced purchase intent. No branding metric is better than purchase intent.

By closing the data loop and adjusting a search campaign based on site-side factors that correlate with branding, you can take the mystery out of search marketing for branding. You can allocate a branding budget efficiently. You’ll pay less attention to ad position and more attention to the post-click part of your ad — your site.

By Kevin Lee