Web Developers

Why Google PageRank Is Irrelevant

Posted by on Feb 1, 2011 | 11 Comments

So all of that work you did trying to build your PageRank, guess what, it doesn’t matter. And I say this simply because the fact that the evidence is all over the place that low or no PageRank Web sites can outrank those in organic search results with a little time and quality content posted. Sorry, but yes, all of that work you did to build your PageRank is pointless. So to all of the misguided people claiming that you need to get listed with every directory of high ranking value, it might pay to stop drinking the Kool-Aid and instead just read what Google has to say once in a while.

Quote from Google Corp: “Today we use more than 200 signals, including PageRank, to order Web sites, and we update these algorithms on a weekly basis. For example, we offer personalized search results based on your Web history and location.”

To further explain my point, I have two completely unrelated Web sites that have “meh” PageRank and yet, oddly, will rank well in organic results so long as the topic at hand is one for which the site has some authority. Obviously, for me, this would include PC repair, Linux, malware removal, etc. So it seems that understanding that more important factors such as domain age, design of an article, context of an article, and of course, quality of the article/site play a much bigger role.

Why Google PageRank Is Irrelevant
Photo by Fabio Premoli

How to win in Google organic results

Most of it’s not rocket science, but the nuts and bolts come down to decent keyword usage (lower competition is good), making sure Google is aware you exist (sitemap submitted) and does the article presented provide some level of value? When they read it, will some of the readers come away learning something or otherwise having a question answered? Obviously some sites merely exist to entertain, but those that serve clear value are much easier to maintain and develop in my honest opinion.

Why are people still building PageRank checkers, then?

Because people are morons, in my honest opinion. I mean, how many times must we hear Google state “writing quality content is the secret code to good ranking?” It gets pretty darned old, if you ask me, and anyone who still hasn’t gotten this must have a lot of extra time on their hands. As for the sites that host these “PageRank checkers,” they are brilliant as this is a honey pot for people who live in another universe of reality. Think about it, with the prevailing idea that people still believe PageRank matters somehow to SEO causes the flock of visitors to head over to any and all PageRank checkers appearing in Google search results. It’s really quite funny.

Fine, why does Google still have PageRank, then?

Remember this little nugget of data from earlier? More than 200 signals in determining a page value. So would it not stand to reason that in conjunction to the other 199 signals Google is using to rank pages, PageRank might still have some value? The thing is, PageRank is something that should be taking place naturally. Because often, it’s not, we have the other 199 signals to pick up the slack.

So there you have it. Yes, PageRank exists. No, it’s not worth having a heart attack every time it drops or let your heart flutter when it rises. It’s a number — get over it already.

  • Dave

    Amen Brother! However, pagerank does matter to the searcher… most people never go past the first page of results on Google or any other search engine.

  • http://www.jportfolio.com jportfolio

    As a visually focused designer, I’m so happy to hear this! It feels as if we could be at an interesting precipice in web design. Continue on what has been a predominantly technological path or change to a design inspired web. An even better situation would be a split in focus. Jobs for those that program functionality and jobs for those that create design and content. SEO and Google rankings has distracted companies’ marketing goals for too long.

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    All: Just to be clear, pagerank plays *nearly no roll at all* in placing your page on Google’s first page of results.

    Keyword competition (HUGE consideration), how well the article was written and making sure your titles/subtitles/body are reflecting the same thing. Also, site authority in a particular area. Like jportfolio might rank well for portfolios and photography due to the strength in their domain name and a consist history of demonstrating expertise in the trade.

    Also ensuring your titles are what people searching for vs being “social media friendly”.

    101 great ways to make a rockin’ _____

    vs

    How to make a ______

    That, not page rank…is why I have multiple sites of my own, some with less than PR1 ranking for popular stuff. And I mean in 99% of the instances, too. ;) Pagerank is a waste of time. Let Google worry about that, you worry about quality content and relevant keywords/titles.

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    What also helps is using Digg and other sharing tools, for nofollow links as they help things to get moving a little faster. Generally speaking though, a new article isn’t going to start ranking worth beans for at least a week or so. Maybe longer.

    It may rank on day one, but it will fall back some in most cases to its new “home”.

  • Ashley Cooper

    I originally disagreed when I was told that PageRank doesn’t matter, but now I’m not sure. Perhaps I’m sat on the bench a little.

    I know a PR1 can rank on the first page of Google for a popular topic, but are you sure PR doesn’t play a roll in the backlinks? I used to make use of a PR7 blog to get my blog posts ranked highly, without the help of any other backlink sources at all. But when I use lower PR backlinks, I tend to need more links the lower the PR gets.

    I understand that all of the other aspects you mentioned are important, but they’re not reasons as to why PRs don’t matter, they’re just other things that matter.

    What are your backlinks like for your PR1 blogs?

  • http://www.videodigest.tv Sam

    Matt,

    Spot on with the article, it’s so hard to tell clients that they need to have relevant articles to their target audience other wise they will fail on getting a good search spot.

    The other think you’ve mention is nofollow links, the more Google see’s your name on other websites the more of an importance it will see your website and content. Hence pushing up your ranking.

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  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    Ashley: Fantastic analysis. Basically, I let pagerank do what it’s going to do. If it builds, awesome, as it is involved a “sliver-bit” in ranking. Basically, let karma handle PR while you worry about content. :)

    But in the grand scheme of things, digg, reddit, etc, anything producing nofollow or dofollow links means Google is cycling through your stuff. Your Google sitemap is your friend, too. Pay attention to Google Webmaster tools, watch for trends, just come up with a plan on becoming an authority on a subject and then own it. And yes, domain names are very powerful. If I own free.com and talk about free stuff, I will own ranking most likely as my post titles, blog titles, etc, reflect the search term free.

    The single biggest piece of advice though is this: is this something someone is searching for. Second, how competitive are the keywords. Finally, have you made sure your site has established authority. In other words, the pvrblog.com would be wasting time blogging about toasters. ;) But blogging about a new settop box is a sure bet. ;)

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    Sam: Slam dunk! :) You got it.

  • http://www.cure4apathy.com Colin Mattis

    I was under the impression that great content was the basis for SERP position but backlinks suggested credibility and authority. The degree to which Google perceived you as credible and authoritative was highly impacted by the page rank and type of your incoming links (one way being best). The idea being that great content drives backlinks at the most basic level. Thoughts??

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    Colin: Great question. The weird thing is that the old way of thinking of backlinks appears to be dying. It used to be that creating a blog that was credible and authoritative meant plenty of dofollow backlinks, as you said. Then the Google updates started rolling in. I watched pageranks drop across the board, include on two my own sites. Undetered, I kept writing content that was providing some level of value to the reader.

    Then something cool happened: Google started dropping some of the content farms my sites that were previously competing with my own websites. My stuff started ranking big time.

    Even before this though, I have noticed that I was able to build legitimate authority on subjects not only written on my own sites, but on stuff I am writing elsewhere, too. By providing clear, obviously value on a topic, it seems that Google realized that I could offer legitimacy based on something besides backlinks…which are all a big game these days anyway.

    Cannot prove the latter yet, but my gut tells me this is where we’re at.

    My new formula: Quality, consistency, discovery and legitimacy. I also keep the trolls off my comments section(s) as well. I have zero tolerance. Always welcome constructive criticism though. :)