7 Ways to Improve Page Rank

7 Ways to Improve Page Rank

One of the most popular questions we receive in our seo training class is about how to improve page rank. Though there are several ways to improve page rank, I’m only going to touch on 7. First, let’s define what page rank is and how it was developed.

Page rank is an algorithm created by Larry Page, one of the founders of Google, as a way to denote the quality of a web site. Details of the algorithm can be found at Ann Smarty’s Daily SEO Tip with contribution from Eric Gesinski. Ann and Eric give the full algorithm and talk about the calculations of how it works.

Another thing to note about page rank is that it is like a “democratic vote” for your site. For example, if I have a high quality site and I link to your site, Google will recognize that my high quality site is linking to yours, so you must also have a great website as well, thereby passing on the link juice. The more “votes” you have for your site, the higher your site will rank. You can easily check your page rank with Google’s page rank checker. There are also some great Firefox toolbars that you can add that will also tell you page rank of your site and any others that you browse.

Now that we know what page rank is, let me show you 7 keys to improve page rank on your site:

1. Be aware of who is linking to your site and your competitors’ site. Yahoo! Site Explorer is a great tool to use for this exercise. Be sure to place competitors’ links in the page rank checker to see if those are quality links worth trying to add to your site. Remember quality of the link is more important than the quantity of links on your site.

2. Host a blog on your site. Blogging is a great way to link keywords internally to your site. And, once a blog is posted, make sure to place it on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or whatever social channels that are the best for your business. Also take the time to make meaningful comments on other relevant blogs and posts links back to your site, or related pages on your site.

3. Submit to a variety of directories, including niche directories for your industry. Make sure to drill down to the topics most relevant to your site before you make a submission. Be sure to check the page rank of the directories before you click the submit button.

4. Use link bait to drive people to your site. Link bait can include a debate or statement on a controversial issue, important news item, some type of offer or incentive or ego hook. Be creative and if people like what you’re doing, they will link to you.

5. Consider writing press releases with keywords and phrases linked back to your site or article marketing. Though one is newsworthy and one is informational, they will both provide permanent links, thereby helping to improve page rank.

6. Use social media! Though this seems very logical to me, many still need to take advantage of the various platforms. Whenever you can, sincerely participate in a social community of your choice and leave links back to relevant content on your site.

7. Pay attention to review sites and make appropriate comments back when necessary. Your online reputation is important and responding in a positive manner can really put your business in a great light.

Now that you’ve got a list of ways to improve your page rank, develop a schedule for link building and always, add more quality content to your site. Remember to check for page rank of the site before you “connect” to them and good luck!

Do you use any creative ways to improve page rank on your site? If so, list them below for others to see.