HomePage PageRank is the Best Indicator of Competition Strength For a Keyword in SEO - New Verifiable Theory

Published Article EzineArticles.com

Google revolutionized search positioning by including backlinks into its algorithm. Before Google, search engines determined positioning by on-page factors alone. On-page factors include the placing of the targeted keywords in page title tags, header tags and the body of the page. Off-page factors relate to backlinks.

The PageRank of a page depends on the backlinks it receives. Several factors influence the value of each backlink including:

1. A link from a high PageRank web page is more valuable than one from a web page with lower PageRank.

2. The more links on a web page, the less the value of each outbound link.

3. A backlink from a page or website that is closely related in content to the receiving page carries more weight than one from an unrelated page; a link from a golf course website to a professional golfer's web page would be more valuable than a link from a restaurant.

4. Backlinks have greater influence if keywords are in the anchor text, the text used in the link.

PageRank has a range of 0-10 and is on a logarithmic scale. Every new page starts with a PageRank of zero but this can increase over time as it acquires backlinks. A backlink from a page with a PageRank of zero has no voting power.

Google provides a toolbar with a PageRank indicator available for Internet Explorer and Firefox web browsers. Positioning the cursor over the indicator reveals the statement "PageRank is Google's view of the importance of this page" followed by the PageRank of the page. We are presented with a single number whereas Google has access to the many decimal places.

The leading search engine optimisers believe that off-page factors are more important for positioning than on-page factors but they unanimously hold that PageRank is meaningless in positioning and SEO.

During a webinar on 14th May 2010, the author put the following question to Howie Schwartz, one of the top experts in the field. "I believe that PageRank is the number one factor for Google. Agree or disagree?" Howie replied, "Disagree. PageRank is dead. There are so many things that are going on that it is irrelevant. I don't have a Google toolbar. It will ruin your life. It is a waste of time. I will show you countless examples of PageRank zero outranking any PageRank cited."

The major argument against PageRank in SEO is that pages with zero PageRank can be in the top positions even for highly competitive keywords. However, we are left with requiring an explanation as to why "PageRank is Google's view of the importance of this page."

It becomes apparent that either Google is misleading us or we have all been misinterpreting Google's statement. It is, therefore, particularly noteworthy that we are not told which page's PageRank Google is referring to. A second option to consider is that it is a different page's PageRank that "is Google's view of the importance of this page." The obvious second choice page would be the home page.

From extensive evaluation of the top Google search engine results pages for hundreds of keywords, the author observed that those high positioned web pages with PageRanks of zero have a home page with higher PageRanks, usually three or more. There were two explicable exceptions. The first exception is that some home pages have high positioning despite having zero PageRank. These are clearly receiving a boost which has previously been referred to as G-Factor-2 (EzineArticles - 2009). The second exception is explained by the fact that the PageRank information provided by Google is out of date by at least three months. Rechecking the PageRanks of these anomalies a few months later reveals higher PageRank.

The hypothesis that PageRank is effectively the best indicator we have for Google's assessment of off-page factors for a web page is readily verifiable and in practice proves to be well supported. For internal pages, it is the PageRank of the home page (G-Factor-1) that is the indicator of its authority. Home pages competing for a keyword are effectively receiving a boost to their PageRanks.

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