What Google Thinks Of Your Site?

How Google views your site does matter if you want to succeed online because Google has become the dominant search engine on the web. It now has over 60% of the U.S. search engine market. In other countries around the world that percentage rises to 80% or more. In addition, the Google Brand Name has solidly permeated the popular psyche and any top rankings within Google will bring much weight and prestige along with all that traffic.

If you're a webmaster, you will already know how vital Google is to the success of your site, especially if you rely upon organic keyword rankings for your traffic. This free organic traffic from Google is highly desired by webmasters because it is extremely targeted and delivers high conversion rates.

In trying to reach the highest rankings possible, I (like most webmasters) have to be constantly aware of what Google thinks of my site and content. As a webmaster and marketer I have always geared my onlíne marketing towards Google. I have spent years building my keyword rankings within Google; if you take out the fact that it has nearly driven me insane, it has mostly been a positive experience.

This experience has also shown me it is indeed important for anyone to know how Google views and rates your site or content. The more knowledge you have, the better able you will be to tackle any obstacles and challenges that will come your way.

SERPs Is The Only Opinion That Counts

And like most webmasters, I try to find out as much about Google as is humanly possible, but Google doesn't give up its secrets easily. In fact, many webmasters would argue the only true opinion Google has of your site is shown in their SERPs - if your keywords/pages are ranked in the number one spots in Google's "Search Engine Results Pages" then Google must think your site or content deserves to be there.

However, there are other ways of finding out how Google is viewing your content. Below are several Google webmaster tools and things you can do to discover just how Google views your site or pages. They will give you a better picture of what Google thinks about your site.

Checking Your Content/Keywords In Google

One handy tool that will show you what Google thinks your pages consist of is located here:

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Just type in your URL and tick off website content and you will get a listing of the major keywords Google has for your content. If your targeted keyword or keywords are not listed, then you have to do some re-writing.

Checking Your Backlinks In Google

If you want to find out how many backlinks your site has in Google, just open up Google Search and type in:

link:yourURL

and it will show you the number of backlinks you have.

Since Google doesn't give you all your existing backlinks, many webmasters also use Yahoo! to find a more exact number of links your site has on the web.

Just open Yahoo! and type in: linkdomain:yourURL

Now whether Google is using or considering all these backlinks is the big question? Finding the exact number of backlinks you have in Google has always been a problem because Google is not giving you the exact number or at least this is the general opinion of most SEO experts.

Another way I monitor my links in Google is to place quotation marks around my site name or my name "bizwaremagic" or "titus hoskins" and do a search in Google. This gives me the pages containing references to me or my site. This is usually 50,000 to 100,000 pages, I have also noticed my online income usually correlates as this number goes up or down.

Checking Your Indexed Pages In Google

Obviously, it is very important for you to know what content the search engines have indexed from your site. You can also check to see how your links are displayed and to see if any titles or descriptions are missing from your pages.

You can see how many of your pages are indexed in Google by using the site command.

Just type into Google Search:

site:yourURL

A little while back, having your pages indexed in Google's Supplemental Index caused webmasters much stress as it seemed Google was judging these pages as "second class" pages. Since then, Google no longer uses the Supplementary Label in grading pages but that doesn't mean a supplementary index doesn't exist; just that Google has promised to crawl and consider these pages as well in any search query.

Checking Your Google Cache

You can also check to see the Google Cache of your site by using the cache command. You will also discover when it was last retrieved.

Just type into Google Search:

cache:yourURL

Checking Your PageRank Within Google

Another tricky issue is PageRank. This is supposed to be the heart of Google's ranking system created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; each link is considered a "vote" for your page and the higher the number of "votes" you have, the higher the PR your page receives. However, again Google is using "smoke and mirrors" to conceal your true PageRank mainly to cut out abuse and manipulation of their results. Some experts say PageRank still counts, other say it doesn't.

You can check your Google PageRank here:

http://www.iwebtool.com/pagerank_checker

From my own experiences, I have receíved more traffic when my site was at PR4 than I receíved when it was at PR6. What's important is getting high rankings for your targeted keywords... if you get top spots, it doesn't matter if your main index page (site) is PR4 or PR6, you'll still get the same amount of traffic. In other words, don't become too fixated on PageRank because Google in many cases is not letting you see the true PR of a webpage.

I would like to add one point to the whole PageRank issue and that has to do with perception. If you're running an online business, then having a PR8 site does matter for it will bring in more business and customers (especially if you're in the SEO industry) mainly because of the "perceived value" of your site or business.

What Google thinks does matter!

In other words, what Google thinks of your site can play a major role in your success. Mainly because, like it or hate it, Google has become the supreme authority on the web and what they say, counts. Therefore, you should always be paying special attention to just what Google is saying about your site and acting upon that knowledge accordingly.

About The Author
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites. For the latest web marketing tools try: Marketing Tools. Everyone is profiting from Google, find out how you can too! Clíck here: Google Cash File

How to boost your Google rank with free links (Hint: It’s not just all about PageRank!)

You can expand your link network by getting FREE links from other sites.

This process is a little more time consuming… but the links you’ll get will definitely be worth it. (Not to mention all that extra traffic thanks to your improved search engine ranking!)

But before you set off in search of free links that will propel your site to the top of the search engine results, here are 5 things you need to consider:

Pay attention to PageRank — but don’t live or die by it!

When trying to find sites to link to their site, most people tend to look for ones that have a high PageRank.

(PageRank is a function of Google’s toolbar that supposedly measures the importance of a given website.)

However, all this focus on PageRank has resulted in many people looking ONLY at PageRank when evaluating possible linking sites. They also spend a lot of effort trying to improve their own PageRank — without stopping to consider whether their actions are helping their actual ranking in Google’s listings.

And that is not a good thing.

The fact is, no one is really sure exactly how much Google takes PageRank into account when calculating its natural search algorithms.

For example, sites with very little PageRank can be found at the top of the search results, while sites with a high PageRank are languishing on the fourth or fifth page… or even lower!

On top of that, it’s hard to tell exactly what PageRank uses as its criteria to measure a site’s "authority."

Government sites such as FEMA, the IRS, and the FBI all have a PageRank of 8 out of a possible 10. Yet I can’t imagine there’s a more authoritative source of information on the IRS than the IRS itself!

Finally, PageRank "addicts" should know that unscrupulous webmasters can steal another site’s PageRank and use it to manipulate their own PageRank numbers!

(In fact, this is what lots of shady "link sellers" do — they sell links based on their PageRank, but often that PageRank has been artificially inflated!)

So while you should still pay attention to PageRank, it’s certainly not the only thing you should look at. You need to consider what the actual rank of that site is, and how well its content relates to the content on your site.

(More about that in a moment…)

Looking for links from a commercial site? Make sure its products are complementary

There’s no point in trying to get a link from a site selling something that has no relation to your business! You need to look for commercial sites that sell things that go well with your product.

If you sell the cola and I sell the glasses and ice, it could be the beginning of a beautiful joint venture relationship that provides great value to both your customers and mine.

Look for web pages with content that’s closely related to the content on your page

I would argue that this is just as important as a site’s PageRank, if not more so.

You want your links to come from pages whose content is as focused on the content on YOUR page as possible.

It’s not just a matter of getting links pointing from another site’s homepage to your homepage! Try to go deeper and more specific than that.

If you sell used tennis rackets and you find a site that talks about tennis topics in general, try to get a link on a sub-page that talks specifically about tennis rackets.

And if it talks specifically about used tennis rackets, even better.

Also look for web pages that have content related to your product or service, even if the site itself doesn’t have any real relation to your business.

For example, if a popular blogger who typically writes about her daily life writes a post that directly relates to your product in some way, ask her if you can get a link on the page that has that particular blog post.

Or maybe a general information site has an article that relates to your product. THAT’S where you want your link — right on the article page itself.

Links from general information sites can still be valuable, provided they’re heavy traffic-sites with a great search engine rank.

But in general, it’s more effective — and in many cases, much easier — to try and get a link on a web page whose content directly relates to your own, even if that site is lower down in the search engine rankings and doesn’t get the same volume of traffic.

Is this a good page for a link? Consider it from the user’s perspective

When you’re debating whether a web page is a good link source, think about it from the perspective of the visitors to that site.

They’ve come to a page, and on it they see a link to a site they’ve never heard of before. It’s got intriguing anchor text and it’s embedded in content they’re interested in.

Now… if they click on that link, are they going to be happy?

If they don’t find what they expect to find — based on the content of the page that led them there — they’re going to be disappointed, and they’re going to leave.

And they’re going to think less of the site that sent them there.

So if you’re going to try and get links from other sites pointing to yours, make sure the people who click on that link are going to find something valuable to them!

Offer them free information — maybe something they can download, like a free report. Because if you don’t send them to a page that makes that click truly worth
their while, you’re just gaming the system.

When you ask for links, emphasize what’s in it for THEM

The days when you could email people and ask, "Please link to me" are long gone.

When you approach other sites owners to ask them to link to your site, what you’re really asking is for them to share some of their traffic with you.

Smart website owners are jealously protective of their traffic. They’re not going to share it with just anybody. The sites they recommend reflect back on them. If they tell people to go to a low-quality site, their visitors aren’t going to like them very much for it!

That’s why you need to emphasize the benefits of linking to your site — both for their visitors and for them.

How will you provide value to the visitors they send you? Are you a great source of information? Will your product help their visitors solve a problem you know they’re experiencing? Do you offer something the other site owner simply can’t provide — something you know their visitors want?

That’s what you need to tell them in order to convince them to link to your site.

Never forget: when you ask for a link from a site, you’re essentially borrowing that site’s credibility, and you need to be respectful about that.

Building a network of free links definitely takes some time… but you have to remember the benefits…

Not only will you enjoy the indirect benefit of better search ranking and the traffic it’ll bring you, you’ll also get the traffic sent directly from the links themselves!

And all that extra traffic will make all your efforts worthwhile.

[Ed. note: Andrew Mallory is one of our top Internet Entrepreneur Club experts.]

Written by Andrew · Filed Under Search Engine Marketing

What Do You Think About Paid Links?

WebProNews catches up with the Head of Google’s Webspam Team and Software Engineer, Matt Cutts and the Features Editor of Search Engine Land, Vanessa Fox at PubCon 2007 in Las Vegas. The interview spans a number of topics from two of the top names in the field. Both discuss page rank reduction, site hacking and how you can stop it.

They also talk about subdomain changes, especially related to Google. Fox tells us about her current endeavors and what she looks forward too in her career. Cutts and Fox talk about the changes in WebMasterTools as well and how they are expanding to different languages all over the world. For all of the details of the interview, check out the video right here on WebProNews.



By: Mike McDonald

What's interesting to me though is the reaction we see from our readers. Some are vehemently opposed to what they consider Google strong arm tactics and then there are those of you who think Google is performing a service to the internet community by cracking down on paid links.

What Do You Think About Paid Links?

As such, I wanted to post some of the more interesting comments we've received to the issue so far and basically ask for some more feedback from WebProNews readers on the subject.

Are paid links a necessary evil? Are they necessary at all? Is Google taking a proper stance when they say 'NO', or should they maybe try to find some middle ground? Keep in mind, Google has created the 'link economy' with it's algorithmic emphasis on links=quality... so is Google really serving the 'greater good' or just looking out for number one here?

» Natural Products Says:

Great interview. Seems like big brother is putting the hammer down on paid links. Thanks for the video.

» Submitted by Bill Inman

Google decided to become a dictator a long time ago. Trying to control every aspect of our web sites, where we now spend more time worrying about what Google is going to do with our web site, than we do trying to design a site that will best serve the needs of our potential customers.

Google created the whole issue of "links" which has resulted in all the silly link pages everyone created, and now thew paid links.

My advice to Google is to get out of the role, and the opinion, that the world should revolve around them, and controling everything about our web sites.

Google is a good idea gone mad!

» Submitted by Dave Robinson

I think Google's stance on the whole link debate is fair and honest. The reason for linking being seen as a measure of a sites importance has it's roots in academia where peer reviewed papers would reference other works of note. Google wasn't playing some game, it created a system that rewarded hard work. Now this has been circumvented it's only right that Google tries to address this.

IMHO

» Submitted by SEO book Uk

There us a way to get even with google just pull adsense from your sites if 1 Million website pulled adsense for just a day google would notice a drop in revenue and will think twice before make webmaster angry again

» Submitted by David Jenkins

I'm all for the demise of paid links having spent over seven years building an information site that has never paid for a link and never will.

I am delighted that Google is taking this stance and would be glad to see "content is God" dominating the search results again.

» Submitted by Jim

In reference to Google's insistence that they are a private company and can do what ever they want. Les we forget, the power of Google is granted by the web users and masters. Currently web masters are the biggest users of the Google browser. It is web masters pages posting Google adds, and Google searches that built Google's popularity. The foundation of Google rest with the web master, combined we propelled Google to the top, and combined we can kick the feet out from under it. Change you adds to Yahoo, Change your search engines. In short, stop using Google, and Google shall fall.

» Submitted by Nicole on Tue, 12/11/2007 - 14:53.

As a small business web-site owner, AND as an in-house SEO writer for a large company, I frankly am happy that Google is downgrading paid-link sites that pass on link juice. When wearing my small biz hat, I can't afford to buy paid links and it gives bigger companies an advantage I can't yet afford. I think Google is indeed living up to their 'do no evil' company motto by doing this.

» Submitted by Kevin Hillman

People that support Google in any way just further the scam. Every link on any Google site is there because Google was paid to place the link there. They just like to make every site conform to their heavy handed rules. They want to own the entire internet and will crush any website they don't agree with.

Do you agree or disagree with the above comments? Are paid links just part of business, or are they something evil when they influence search results?

Five FAQ About Google PageRank

This is another article of interest to follow-up Google PageRank

by Patrick Carlow

1. What is PageRank and why should I care about it?

PageRank is a formula that assigns a value to every page in the Google index. Google displays search results based on an algorithm which includes the value of PageRank. So the higher your site's PageRank, the more likely it is that you will receive a top listing on the search result page when someone types in the keywords for your site.

2. How can I view the PageRank of my own or other websites?

It's very simple to see anyone's PageRank. Just download and install the Google toolbar. It's a very quick and easy install. Just be sure to choose the Advanced option during the install so the PageRank of each site you visit will be displayed on the toolbar.

3. How is PageRank calculated?

I've seen a formula for PageRank posted on Internet websites and forums but have failed to see anyone give a satisfactory explanation of the formula. The formula appears so complex you would probably have to be a mathematician to even have a chance to decipher it anyway. It looks something like this:

PR(A) = (1-d) + d(PR(t1)/C(t1) + ... + PR(tn)/C(tn))

I will attempt to explain it for you in plain English. Basically it works like this. The more links that point to your website the higher your PageRank will be. The higher the PageRank of the referring page that has your link on it, the more PageRank you receive from Google. For every outgoing link that a page has, the value of those links drop. So for example, a link from a page with a PageRank of 4, and only 3 other links, is worth more than a page with a PageRank of 5 and 100 links. It is also believed that Google assigns more value to a link that comes from a site with similar content. So as you can see, there are many variables when calculating PageRank.

4. How do I increase my PageRank?

Again, PageRank can be increased by the number of incoming links to your website from other sites on the Internet. In addition, it requires anywhere from five to seven times more to get from one level of PageRank to the next.

So for example, (and this is not a true formula) if 100 PageRank 3 sites with a link to your page give you a PageRank of 4, then it would take around 500 more PageRank 3 sites to link to you before you became PageRank 5. However if you had 1 link from a PageRank 8 site, that might be enough to give a higher PageRank all by its self. It's really all relative and trying to figure it out will simply drive you mad, so don't bother. :) The best thing you can do is obtain as many quality incoming links from other sites with similar content as you possibly can.

Another important factor is the number of pages on your site. The more pages on your site, the higher potential you have to gain in PageRank. More pages doesn't mean you will get a higher PageRank only that you won't hit a ceiling. Apparently Google has a cut off point somewhere on the highest PageRank it will give to sites with a low number of pages.

5. When will my PageRank be updated or change?

According to the Google website, they update the index about once a month. However if you spend any amount of time reading search engine forums, you will find that results vary for every webmaster. PageRank may not update or may change drastically for a long period of time which is often times unexplainable. Usually as long as you follow good web site optimization techniques and maintain enough quality incoming links, the index will eventually assign your website PageRank and adjust any changes which may have been made in error.

About the Author:
Patrick Carlow
Most Relevant Links Directory
http://www.most-relevant-links.com/

The Big Google PageRank Slap - Perception Is Everything

Follow up the posting of Google pagerank on
yesterday, I found an article related on
Google pagerank from SiteProNews


By Titus Hoskins,

Recently Google did a major PageRank update where a lot of sites
were downgraded. Many experts believe this PageRank update was
Google's response to link selling - sites which sell links lost
points in their PageRank.

Google measures all web pages on a scale of importance from
0 to 10, which is shown in a small green pixel bar on browsers
carrying the Google Toolbar. PageRank is "supposedly" measured
by the number of backlinks to your site.

Online democracy in action, a link is a vote for your site.
The more votes you have the higher your site is ranked.
At least that's how it was supposed to work until a lot
of high PR sites started selling links and put a monkey
wrench into the whole system.

The latest update may be a smart move on Google's part to
curtail this practice; who's going to buy a link from a PR2 or
even a PR4 site? Besides this could be more than a warning
that your site will go down even further if you continue to sell
links.

Now this is more of a cosmetic change in PageRank than a real
change in your true rankings in Google. Just because your PR
goes down doesn't mean your keyword rankings or traffic from
Google also goes down.

I saw some of my sites go up, some stayed the same, but
my major site took a big hit - falling from PR6 to PR4.
This was more of a devastating blow than I expected mainly
for psychological reasons than actual consequences.
After years of building the best content you can muster
and constantly getting quality one-way links, to see that
PageRank drop was very disappointing and hits to the core
of your online work.

I have been around for a while so I have experienced many
Google Updates - anyone remember the Florida Update?
I also keep my ears peeled to discussions of the latest
updates in Webmasterworld and Stompernet, and I even
read Matt Cutts when I get real nervous... so I knew not
to panic just because of the sudden drop in PageRank.

I also knew what most of the SEO experts were saying
was true because my major keywords stayed the same
and my Google traffic actually went up. But that's little
comfort when you're talking about Google;
you immediately go into overdrive and try to figure out
where you went wrong. What caused the drop - because
whether PageRank is meaningless or not, you're still
going in the wrong direction.

I saw many of my competitors drop too, but many stayed
the same and a few even increased in PageRank. What are
they doing right;what am I doing wrong? I don't sell links
but does Google think I am selling links was my main concern?
I even moved one external link from my main page to another
part of my site, just in case Google is mistaking that
as a paid link.

Welcome To Webmaster's Paranoid Hell!

For SEO reasons I have very few external links on my main
page. Can't see why Google downgraded my main site.
I have been at PR6 for years.

Herein lies my main beef - with Google you never really
know where you stand; you are constantly walking on
eggshells. No matter how good your content or your site
is - one misstep and you could be in the doghouse.
All your hard work can be taken away in a heartbeat.

It wouldn't matter so much if it was one of the other
two major search engines downgrading your site but
this is Google.Free organic traffic from Google is vital
to any online site or business. I would take traffic from
Google over any other source of traffic on the web,
except for traffic coming from my articles on other sites,
and even that traffic probably originated from a search
in Google.

Google and Google PageRank have always been important
to me -that's one of the reasons a sudden large drop causes
so much concern. There's another important reason Google
PageRank is important to me.

Most SEO experts mistakenly believe PageRank is
meaningless because Google is not giving us the true
ranking of any site or revealing all the backlinks, which
is supposedly one of the major factors in how Google
ranks sites. While this fact is obviously true, it has
caused many to jump to another conclusion.

Because Google is not giving us the real ranking, many
webmasters have dismissed PageRank as a vital element
in their sites. Don't make the same mistake.

Google PageRank is extremely important if you're doing
business on the web. The higher PR you have, the better.
But it has nothing to do with keyword rankings or first
page SERPs.

What many SEO experts fail to realize (not really their
business) is the whole "perceived" value of PageRank.
Google, hate it or love it, has become the most respected
company on the web in the eyes of the majority of the web's
users. It carries enormous weight and prestige. The
"perceived" value of a high PR7 or PR8 is extremely valuable.

We are not talking about link selling; we are talking about how
a perspective business partner or customer will treat your site
or business.

Say you have two identical sites you want to do business
with online and you discover one is a Google PR2 site and
the other is a Google PR8 site - which one would you
choose to do business with? Honestly?

From first-hand experience, I know any online company
or marketer will get more business offers and be offered
more partnerships/joint ventures if you have a high Google
PR site than a low one. It will make a difference to your
bottom line.

PageRank is important. PageRank has meaning. Even if it
has little bearing on your SERPs rankings or Google traffic,
PageRank can greatly influence the success of your online
site or venture. Don't ignore or dismiss PageRank as a
meaningless relic that didn't quite work out as Google had
planned for it in the first place.

High PageRank Will Always Be Valuable
The day Google gives its own site a PageRank of PR1 or
PR2 instead of the current PR10 - that's the day you
can dismiss PageRank as truly meaningless.

==============================

The author is a full-time online marketer. For the latest
web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools
(http://www.bizwaremagic.com) or why not try these:
Free Marketing Courses (http://www.marketingtoolguide.
com/ free_marketing_tools.htm). Copyright © 2007
Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed
if this resource box stays attached.

==============================

Surprise, surprise, my blogs got good PR!

Me and two of my friends were at Petronas Kafe Corner, which we used to meet and chit chat. But the place is different now and it has no more internet access for the customers. As bloggers,the PageRank issue became a major topic of our discussion .

It seems like an angry headmaster with a big cane is on a rampage because some naughty students
are up to some no good pranks. And it's got something to do with paid links.

Google has openly forewarned that there might be a crackdown on paid links like Text Link Ads and PayPerPost, so it has come true.

More reports are coming in about blogs getting the PR chop. PR6 blogs are demoted to PR5. PR4 down to PR3 and so on.

The high-profile site The Stanford Daily took a big dive from PR9 to PR7 and to PR5. Some well-known blogs that also got hit are JohnChow.com,
Entrepreneur's Journey and Niche Marketing Blog.

Every webmaster wants to see good PageRank because a high PR does bring along many advantages, including raising your position in the SERPs.

For the internet newbiz like me, frankly I am not so concerned about the Google pagerank. But it was very encouraging being a blogger to have a good Google pagerank. At least someones recognise you. To my surprise, my Golden Opportunitie$ blog was suddenly upgraded from PR0 to PR4.

My VisualLens ( WordPress photography blog ) site also surprised me by attaining a PR3. I only started this blog just less than three and a half months ago and now it has a total of 6160 visitors as I write this post.

My other blog, OnlineHomeBiz, with few postings has PR1.