Google PageRank - Does It Matter?

In the SEO community, there are numerous debates on many aspects of process and methodology. One of the most heated of which is the validity of Google's PageRank system. Does it even matter? IS it even worth having the Toolbar on your browser? First, we should take a small look at what the PageRank system is, and then we can look at whether or not it's worth our worry or not.


The Google PageRank is a link analysis algorithm, giving a measure of importance on a scale of 0 - 10 (10 being best, of course). Scores are determined by the amount and quality of links pointing to a website. This is a very simple explanation of the PageRank system. There are a great number of other factors that can be considered when discussing the PageRank (PR) of a site. So, how does this relate to our websites?

The tricky thing to remember about PR is that it does NOT determine your rankings. You can see this for yourself by conducting a few searches on Google and looking through the top ten results of each search. You will often see pages outrank other pages with higher PR. However, the same thing that makes a big impact on your PR, also impacts your rankings (I told you it was tricky)--that is, both the quantity and more importantly, the quality of the links pointing to your site. This fact alone constitutes the need for attention by most website owners. But I believe there should be just a bit more consideration.

As stated, the PR number itself does not determine your rankings. But it does serve a different purpose. You see, there are a number of services that offer website owners the ability to sell text links on their site for a commission of the sale price. Now, the price offered to a site is largely determined by your site's PR. This, yet again, is another tricky topic. You see, selling links on your site can, and usually will result in a penalty in your site's rankings in Google (See their guidelines, and a little history on the recent onslaught from Google).

For this reason, we strongly suggest that our own sites do not sell links. If you sell links, you probably want to explore traffic sources outside of Google (or at the least outsmart them in the delivery). If you don't sell links, the PR has little to no impact on your site, and there is no reason to give it much of your attention.

So, the answer. Does it matter? Yes and no. I know, it's a horrible answer, but that's SEO for ya. Every aspect has more than one answer or method, and 90% of the time both answers and methods are at the same time correct and incorrect. In short, for our clients (the hotel and hospitality industry) PR doesn't "matter." For some blogs and other sites out there, it can mean the difference between a good and bad advertising check.

The PR bar can still be fun to look at though. So, if you're still interested in it, I'll try to get a detailed post on the Google Toolbar itself, along with some screen shots.



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800 x 600 Design - A Thing of the Past?

I hear many debates on whether a designer should create their websites for an 800 x 600 resolution or break the mold and cater to 1024 x 768. It’s always been a standard practice for me to design a small width site to cater to the majority. However, according to the resolution stats from w3school.com, about 80% of the market are not using an 800 x 600 resolution. Things are now changing…

But what does this mean for the hotel industry?

With higher resolutions, more information can be presented above the fold on your website. (above the fold is in reference to the information displayed on your website before you scroll down your page).

With a higher resolution, hotel websites can now:

* Showcase larger photography while still displaying important content
* Allow websites to display information with more variety
* Be unique – most hotel websites are still designed for smaller size resolutions

In the hotel industry, it’s all about standing out. Presenting more information to the end user will help your website stand out from the competition. A website enhancement this simple could really bring some additional business to your hotel.


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Natural and Paid Search for a Winning Team

Many SEO technicians take pride in the work they do to get their customers websites to the top of the search engines. It’s been mentioned that PPC (pay per click) ads are the easy part, there is no challenge to PPC, just pick a word and go, and that it’s only as useful as your budget allows it to be. While some of that may be true, I can tell you that our PPC team works just as hard as our SEO team, and when done right, both online marketing techniques require diligent research, reoccurring analysis of consumer trends, search engine changes, and traffic stats for your site.

Studies show that ideally websites looking to maximize their visibility should have both organic and PPC working together in a strategic fashion to complement each other.

Bottom line with SEO, is that while organic results are considered most relevant by search engine users, they take time to achieve, and can fluctuate due to various outside factors (search engine algorithm change, other websites using “black-hat” techniques, etc). This is where using a PPC campaign that is monitored regularly will help. Not only can PPC give you instant results, but the data gathered by those click through rates can give you some insight as to whether the keyword theme of your site is considered relevant by actual users. While we may use several tools to predict keyword values, nothing beats real clicks to your site monitored on a regular basis. Utilizing a flexible spending plan with your PPC can help target slow periods when seasonal factors may have less people searching for specific terms, helping you grab a broader search audience. Or alternately, save PPC funds by not overlapping heavy seasons when natural search provides plenty of web traffic on its own. Overall any placement on screen is beneficial to your site, at the most it’s a click through by a potential customer, and at the least it will help train customers to associate the terms you’re targeting to your site by repeatedly showing your web address with those keyword terms. When done right an Organic/PPC combo will help your website achieve maximum visibility in both the short and long term.

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