What can an SEO firm do for your PageRank? To answer this question we need to take a quick look at surfer models. I’m not talking about babes with boards hanging around a surf shack, I’m talking about how the original PageRank algorithm reflects what is known as the random surfer model, which is a room full monkeys with Internet-connected laptops type of scenario in which a page’s rank is determined by the probability that at least one of the monkeys will visit a desired page by clicking links at random. This random business is misleading though – surfers do not as a rule randomly visit webpages – instead, they pursue links that match their own interests and intentions. Enter the intentional surfer model in which a page’s rank includes, and is partially based on, how many real users actually visit the page. Now we are beginning to venture into the territory of search engine optimization because under the intentional surfer model, the x-factor is the identification and matching of keywords and keyword phrases.
Another way in which SEO firms can help with your page rank, is link management. Basically, there are three types of links to be concerned with here, dangling links, inbound links, and outbound links. A dangling link can be either a dead-end (a page without outgoing links), or a link to a page that has not been indexed by Google. There are no adverse effects to a site’s optimization if you leave the dangling links alone because they are not a factor in PageRank calculations, but they should be removed when performing optimization because they are dead weight. To increase your PageRank, you’ll have to lean on the services of an inbound link. An inbound link is simply a link into a site from an outside site. Because webmasters have no control over who is linking to their site, it matters very little where inbound links originate but what is considered worthy is the linking page’s PageRank. To capitalize on this arrangement, the pursuit and landing of link real estate on heavily weighted sites is a featured item on the menu at most SEO establishments.
The inverse of the inbound link gain, is the outbound link loss. Outbound links are like mid-winter colds – they can sap the life out of an otherwise healthy site’s PageRank, or to say in SEO speak, outbound links leak PageRank. The first line of defense against the lag associated with outbound links is to reciprocate the links wherever possible but this strategy can also leak PageRank if the site at the other end has links with sites of a dubious nature. As a result, proper research must be conducted before engaging in link swaps.
Do yourself a favor, and let the pros take care of the PageRank – unless you know which things are more important than other things. To find out more about Web Analytics, visit the Web Analytics World blog.
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