In one of our SEO online courses, we discussed PageRank briefly. But many of our students asked its significance and how it affected their websites.
What is PageRank
Google search engine used PageRank to measure a page’s authority. The algorithm’s details are proprietary. However, many experts believed that inbound links to that page are considered an important factor.
It is said that PageRank was the reason for Google’s inception. The concept was based on the system of citation. That is, if a paper received several citations from other papers, then it is regarded as authoritative or more important than a paper with no or few citations.
But the main question now is if Google is still using it.
According to this news, Google has not used this algorithm since 2006. However, Gary Illyes from Google contradicted this news and stated that Google is using it even today. But its use has changed or upgraded.
Of course, Google will not confirm or deny it. But for us here at SEO Academy, we believe that PageRank still matters. It may still be a part of Google’s algorithm. However, the public score is no longer available.
How to Optimize Site for PageRank
Even though PageRank score is no longer visible to the public, you may use other tools to calculate the exact PageRank score.
Publish Useful Content
The number one driver of search engine ranking is quality content. Every post you have on your site should offer value to your users. When you do this, your site’s traffic will increase. Other websites will link to your content, which will improve your site’s relevance and authority.
Update Regularly
After publishing your content, make sure to update it, whenever necessary. When you regularly update it, Google will view such content as relevant. Thus, keep your content fresh, if it is applicable.
Focus on Relevant Links
Links are vital to SEO. But they have to be high-quality links. When you do create links, make sure that you add them within the relevant text. Do not use “click here” because it has no search engine value. Add the link to a keyword to improve your search engine ranking. But you must only use descriptive links.
Use Metadata
Metadata would include title, description, and keyword. The title is the most vital metadata on your page. When you add a meta description, it has to be appealing and includes the main keywords.
However, the search engines do not always use it. Then again, it is a vital option. For the keyword metadata, you must include a few key phrases. Try to use up to 8 phrases.
Apart from metadata, you must not forget about alt tags. Also known as alternative text description, these tags enable the search engines to find your page. They are vital especially for text-only browsers.
Enroll in Our SEO Online Courses
Our SEO Academy focuses on providing our students with updated SEO techniques. Besides building quality, which is vital for PageRank, we also guide you on how to create content that people will actually read. To know more about our SEO online courses, please contact us at (877) 503-8231.
