When it comes to determining the actual worth of a website/blog, the two most important factors that are looked upon are Google Page Rank and the Alexa ranking of the website/blog. But which one really shows the true worth of a website? Techylabs takes a dive down the subject.
Both PageRank and Alexa rankings give a rough estimate of a website’s true advertizing value and traffic level. The reach of the website among people can also be assessed via these two measuring standards.
Alexa Rankings
Alexa is a traffic analyzer. How much traffic your website is getting, how much reach it is having, how much potential it is having, all is taken care by Alexa. Like Google, Alexa also crawls your website automatically and there is no need for any manual submission of url. However, there is a catch in the system. Alexa rank is largely determined and influenced by number of people visiting a particular blog/website with Alexa toolbar installed on their browsers. This makes Alexa, a “not so dependable” measure in determining the true value of a website. However, the influence of Alexa rankings also can’t be neglected.
How Alexa can be cheated
Cheating Alexa is easy. Set up some hundreds of computers (Alexa bots) with Alexa toolbar installed and programmed to visit your site in infinite loops and you’ll see a jump in your Alexa rankings. Bloggers often steal the rankings this way only owing to the fact that most bloggers have Alexa toolbars installed in their browsers. So, when other bloggers visit the target blog, rankings jump rapidly compared to people visiting with no Alexa toolbar installed. So, for Alexa, it’s not always true what’s in front of you.
Google PageRank
Google deploys complex algorithm, to determine the PageRank of a particular page on the internet. With zillions of web page across the internet, each and every page has been assigned a PageRank by Google. PageRank is nothing but Google’s view about a particular page. In other words, what value, in the eyes of Google, a page is having. When someone searches a string or keyword on google, the probability of your result popping up in top results depends on what PageRank your website is having. PageRank depends on number of backlinks your blog/website is having with other blogs. Although PR is in no-way, a measurement to judge the value of a page.
- There are websites with PageRank 6 which hardly get any traffic
- There are websites with PageRank 3 which get millions of visitors
How PageRank can be cheated
Well, to be honest, PageRank cannot be cheated. However, with little SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques, you can increase the probability of getting a higher PageRank by google. For instance, use of anchor text, interlinking web pages, getting good quality and relevant backlinks can be some methods to increase your PageRank
Conclusion
Both PageRank and Alexa are the standards for measuring the true value of the website. However, while determining (in case you’re planning to buy a website), don’t rely solely on PageRank and never on Alexa rankings. After having a rough estimate, contact the webmaster for more detailed information like the analytics data and traffic stats form Google Analytics or Awnstats.
And if you’re the webmaster, there is a quick tip. Your Alexa ranking may rise overnight, but it would take ages and lots of efforts to get a better PageRank.
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A good alexa ranking means you can post about it, display it on your website and do a lot of bragging. A good Google Page Rank means you dont have to do the bragging. Google search engine will do the bragging for you…
And that’s why getting a good PR is not a child’s play and you can’t cheat
Nice article. Though, Google Pagerank does not depend on the number of searches, it depends on the number of backlinks a website has and the importance (pagerank) of those pages.
It is not always true that a page having a good PR has to be shown above the lower PR pages in the search results. Many-a-times, pages with low PR can be seen on the top followed by pages with relatively higher PR, it merely depends on the suitability of the content for the searched keyword, not the PR.
Google has clearly mentioned that the search engine rankings has nothing to do with pagerank and vice versa.
Reference: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/10/15/google-ditches-pagerank-in-webmaster-tools
Thanks for dropping by.
Yep! Completely agreed. And I’ve written the same thing that only high quality, genuine and relevant backlinks you have matter the most. And yes, a low PR website may have a better value than a high PR website.
It is truly a pleasure to read your blog.
By the way, I was referring to this statement from the article:
When someone searches a string or keyword on google, the probability of your result popping up in top results depends on what PageRank your website is having.
Thanks a ton for the appreciation, sir.
And as far as your quote is concerned, I’ll again agree with you. Ranking of a page in google search doesn’t always depend on the PR. However, PR is still an important factor. The true algorithm, no one knows. It is same as the dilemma in the statement that if google uses meta-tags of web pages to rank it. Although google denies the fact, but still, many webmasters recommend and implement keywords filled meta-tags.
In a nutshell, you really can’t predict anything with google. Something that is working today, may not work tomorrow. Google keep on changing algorithms. However, your point on PR is absolutely correct.
I don’t really agree with you. Yes lower PR pages are known to show up above the higher ranked one but that will absolutely never happen with similar content.
Pages with higher PR actually are listed even when the information is not as highly relevant.. that creates an illusion that lower PR can get showup higher…
Example: How to install win7?
Here a lower ranked page with details on installing win7 will show up above a higher ranked page which writes on installation problems. But if you notice the second instance has no business being shown anyways as the context is totally different.
Phew thats a long comment..
What do you find is the most effective method to increasebacklinksto your website?
There are many. However, the most effected can be:
1. Commenting on other blogs of your niche
2. Guest posting on other blogs of the same niche