Google PageRank vs. SEO

My brother (also in the SEO industry) forwarded this article to me about how Google has removed PageRank from Google Webmaster Tools. It's an interesting article. I've put my favorite lines below and then I have some comments, too...

Why Google Pulled PageRank from Webmaster Tools (www.straightupsearch.com)

Their reason for removing it from Webmaster Tools is that webmasters, site owners, and SEOs often focus too heavily on this one metric.

PageRank should not be an indicator of SEO success. In fact, if I were a site owner that was paying an outside vendor to improve my organic visibility, I would care less about PageRank.

PageRank can provide a level of insight which can be used as a starting point to help solidify targeted search engine real estate.

PageRank is 100% incoming links. That's all it is. It's not an SEO meter. No way. Don't think of it like that. It's one variable, that's it.

If someone came to us and asked us to improve their PageRank, we'd know exactly what to do - get them a ton of incoming links. If someone came to us and asked us to improve their SEO, then there's no simple answer for that. We'd have to look at their industry, what keywords are being used, what good keywords are available, page structure, site structure, internal linking and also incoming links.

Beyond that, the bottom line is sales leads, revenue or whatever goal a particular website has. SEO is a part of that equation but you also have to factor in design, copy, calls to action, navigation, linking strategies and so on. Web design and Web marketing is emotional. There's logic to it but emotion governs the whole process.

If you get a website from a website design company and it does not meet your goals, don't give up. Simply retool it. Tweak it and try something else. Some small changes may be all that you need. Edison didn't start from scratch with every attempt of making a light bulb. He modified what he had and tried something else. Eventually, it worked.

Ok, I sort of got off track... I guess my point is that PageRank is not a meter or indicator of how your site is doing. Not at all. There are a million more factors, so don't get hung up on it. Keep working and tweaking your site until you get to where you want to be. Not enough traffic? Add a blog with RSS. Not enough incoming links? Get some or make them yourself (the right way). Not enough sales? Do some focus group testing - formal or informal - or else try changing some things.

People come to websites. People! Google is a computer. So don't trust a computer that lacks emotion. Trust people. They're the ones with what you want.

-Tony

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