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hacker · 11-26-2007, 03:42 PM

Why are people so interested in Google's PageRank value? It means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with respect to a site's quality or content.

PageRank means one thing: Sites link to you. That's it, that's all it means.

Just because a site links to you, doesn't mean your site has any value at all. With the advent of "paid links" and "purchased traffic", the whole meaning of PageRank is diminished.

Frankly, I'm glad that Google has been considering getting rid of PageRank altogether anyway. The notion of backlinks used to have some meaning, but now (like all abuses of the system), it has been overrun by irrelevant, unrelated links.

SEO 2.0 is where everything is heading, and where it should have headed to begin with. Forget optimizing meta tags (note: I've written a tool to do exactly that), forget focusing on backlinks, paid traffic or affiliate programs.

The only way a site continues to be successful and thrive, is through its content. Quality content, brings quality users, who will either return, or link to your site as "authoritative" in its niche.

Or not.

But you have to keep focusing on it. Marketing your niche is a full-time job. You can't just throw a site out there with AdSense ads and walk away, and expect to just cash the checks every month. You need to constantly tweak, rewrite, add/modify, and encourage people to go to the site for the content you have on it.

SEO 2.0 is about organic page relevance. The search engines are getting smarter, and they're now able to analyze trends in the users and the traffic.

They no longer care how many backlinks you have (one of the sites I run has over 23k backlinks and is a PR7), they don't care what your meta tags say, they care what users are visiting your site, at what frequency, and how often they come back, and from what sites they're coming from.

Focus on content, because content is king.

Market your niche, and bring in users, and let those users advertise for you. This is no different than being in the real world selling products. You're selling your site to visitors. It is no different.

PageRank, while a neat way to say "My PR is bigger than your PR", means nothing, if you don't know how to turn that PR into something useful by marketing to those people who link to you, and marketing to the users who sit behind those backlink sites.

11-26-2007, 03:42 PM	#286
hacker Technology Mercenary Posts: 617 Karma: 2561 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: East Lyme, CT Device: Direct Neural Implant	The Myster of PageRank Why are people so interested in Google's PageRank value? It means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with respect to a site's quality or content. PageRank means one thing: Sites link to you. That's it, that's all it means. Just because a site links to you, doesn't mean your site has any value at all. With the advent of "paid links" and "purchased traffic", the whole meaning of PageRank is diminished. Frankly, I'm glad that Google has been considering getting rid of PageRank altogether anyway. The notion of backlinks used to have some meaning, but now (like all abuses of the system), it has been overrun by irrelevant, unrelated links. SEO 2.0 is where everything is heading, and where it should have headed to begin with. Forget optimizing meta tags (note: I've written a tool to do exactly that), forget focusing on backlinks, paid traffic or affiliate programs. The only way a site continues to be successful and thrive, is through its content. Quality content, brings quality users, who will either return, or link to your site as "authoritative" in its niche. Or not. But you have to keep focusing on it. Marketing your niche is a full-time job. You can't just throw a site out there with AdSense ads and walk away, and expect to just cash the checks every month. You need to constantly tweak, rewrite, add/modify, and encourage people to go to the site for the content you have on it. SEO 2.0 is about organic page relevance. The search engines are getting smarter, and they're now able to analyze *trends* in the users and the traffic. They no longer care how many backlinks you have (one of the sites I run has over 23k backlinks and is a PR7), they don't care what your meta tags say, they care what users are visiting your site, at what frequency, and how often they come back, and from what sites they're coming from. Focus on content, because content is king. Market your niche, and bring in users, and let those users advertise for you. This is no different than being in the real world selling products. You're selling your site to visitors. It is no different. PageRank, while a neat way to say "My PR is bigger than your PR", means nothing, if you don't know how to turn that PR into something useful by marketing to those people who link to you, and marketing to the users who sit behind those backlink sites.