Google Panda and PageRank Updates: Top Two Ranking Factors in SEO Unchanged 

 (Published Article EzineArticles.com)

Keyword difficulty is a crucial concept in SEO (search engine optimisation). It aims to identify those keywords that are in range for a website to achieve first page positioning on search engine results pages (SERPS).

The author believes that the most effective parameter that can be used for keyword difficulty is HomePage PageRank - the #1 factor on Google. Furthermore, Google assumes that the HomePage of a website has the greatest authority of all the pages on the website. Accordingly, HomePages competing for a keyword appear to receive a boost to an adjusted maximum PageRank 5 (# 2 factor on Google).

The HomePage PageRank keyword difficulty (HPR-KD) on a specific Google domain (Google.com., Google.co.uk etc.) is calculated by finding the HomePage PageRank of each of the top 10 webpages for the keyword including the #2 adjustment. The HPR-KD is the average value of the top 10 webpages for the keyword.

Google published a PageRank update on 18th January 2011 after a nine month gap. An analysis of HPR-KD for a set of 1000 keywords on 31st December 2010 was compared to a re-analysis on 24th January 2011. These keywords were obtained from a variety of SEO projects on themes ranging from health, vacation, website design and marketing and all the analyses used Google.com. The sum of the HPR-KDs for the 1000 keywords on 31st December 2010 was 5847 (average 5.8 - range 3.2 to 8.6) and on January 24th it was 5878 (average 5.9 - range 2.8 to 8.8). There was no change in HPR-KD for 197 keywords and there was a change in HPR-KD for 803 keywords. The mean change in HPR-KD was only 0.36.

It is remarkable that the mean HPR-KD for these thousand keywords remained stable even though there was a nine month gap between Google supplying a PageRank update.

More recently, HPR-KD for the same set of 1000 keywords was compared before the first Panda update (analysis - 24th January 2011) and following the latest Panda update (5th July 2011 - analysis - 15th July 2011). The sum of the HPR-KDs for the 1000 keywords in January was 5878 (average 5.9 - range 2.8 to 8.8) and in July it was 5871 (average 5.9 - range 3.3 to 8.0). HPR-KD did not change for 121 keywords - 879 keywords changed their HPR-KD. The mean change in HPR-KD was 0.36.

The above analyses could have been performed manually which would have been extremely time consuming. The author used the only keyword difficulty tool that performs the required analyses and for a long list of keywords.

There has been a PageRank update between the two analyses (January 2011 and July 2011) and more than one Panda update. Again it is remarkable that the average HPR-KD for these thousand keywords has remained stable.

It has been estimated that about 10% of websites have received major changes in one direction or the other in SERP positioning following Panda. However, it is apparent that the primary determining factor for feasibility for top page positioning remains the HomePage PageRank. With the available data for this study, it is not possible to determine those webpages that have fallen out of top page positioning and those that have achieved top page positioning. It is clear, however, that those that have lost position have been replaced by alternative webpages with similar HomePage PageRanks.

Google revolutionised SEO by including visitor approval of webpages into its algorithm. Initially, approval was measured solely by the total value of backlinks to a webpage as indicated by PageRank.

Time has moved on and the 'Panda' updates to the Google algorithm have been introduced from March 2011 to place greater emphasis on a variety of user approval signals and decrease the benefits of artificial backlinking. Panda, named after the Google engineer who developed it, incorporates machine learning. Essentially, the program learns on the job figuring out and fine-tuning the weight of user signals indicating approval or disapproval. This results in on-going re-arrangement of positioning of webpages on Google's SERPs.

Panda examines a number of user signals including time spent on the website, 'bounce rate' (the number of visitors who fail to click on internal website links) and probably returnees. Even the consequences of the information displayed on results pages are analysed: Positioning on results pages will be changed according to click through rate.

In practice, the range for HPR-KD is small. A HPR-KD of 4.0 equates to low keyword difficulty whereas 5.0 is difficult. This is due to the approximate number of average value backlinks to achieve PageRank of 4 is 2,500 whereas for PageRank of 5 it is 70,000. The relationship between PageRank and number of average value backlinks is exponential: PageRank 6 requires 250,000 such backlinks. A keyword with HPR-KD of 5.5 or more would be out of range for the vast majority of websites.

How should SEOs react to Panda?

Panda sets out to improve positioning of top quality websites' webpages. Greater emphasis will be placed on excellent content, outstanding presentation and attention to detail. There will be even less potential benefit to those who participate in strategies considered to be cheating such as backlinking campaigns. SEOs who have advocated excellent quality as the means to success should be encouraged. Seeking natural backlinks to increase PageRank will continue to be an essential part of SEO but this should be with search engine approved techniques, such as link-baiting.

The objective of SEO is to maximise the number of targeted new visitors to a website. The starting point is keyword research which involves producing a list of potential keywords that targeted visitors would use to find the information a website provides. Niche keywords will have the largest number of targeted visitors where there is a reasonable possibility of top page positioning on search engines and in particular on Google. Niche keywords are found by determining their HPR-KD and knowing the HomePage PageRank of the website.

Matt Cutts, who heads the Google anti-spam unit, refers to a 'Katamari' technique for website authority development based on the Japanese game which starts with a small object and which gradually rolls up ever larger ones.

In terms of keyword difficulty and developing webpages around appropriate niche keywords, the objective remains to start slowly with 'low hanging fruit' keywords and gradually increase HomePage PageRank by natural means so that more lucrative keywords come into play.

SEO should be seen as an ever broadening horizon for each website as its authority grows.

It is vital that webpages, and in particular the HomePage, are optimised for the limited number of niche keywords that are in range. This will enable the website to be found and for natural backlinks to be accumulated. Gradually, the HomePage PageRank will increase and more desirable keywords will come into range.

Guidelines have been issued to indicate the minimum HomePage PageRank a webpage requires to have any chance of achieving top page positioning for a keyword on the chosen Google domain's SERPs. Website owners who set out to optimise for keywords that are out of range will not have their websites found for their keywords and so their website's authority will, at best, develop slowly.

A new, recently indexed website has a HomePage PageRank of 0 and this seriously restricts the keywords it can successfully compete for. Even then, this is effectively confined to the HomePage which will receive the #2 boost. Experience has shown that for a completely new website, niche keywords with HPR-KD of no more than 4.3 should be targeted. Internal pages on a new website are unlikely to accomplish top page positioning for any meaningful keyword.

(The Data for the Panda and PageRank Updates article is available here:

 http://keywordseopro.com/PageRank-Articles-1000kws-data-3sets.pdf)

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