Google page rank

The Death Of Google PageRank – What Does This Mean?

Posted by Cucumber Helen |

Amidst the big changes in mobile search SEO, comes the dismissal of an ancient Google SEO factor. That’s right – PageRank is gone for good.

What’s Google PageRank?

Google PageRank was a factor supplied by Google that indicated the “authoritative power” of a website – mostly affected by how many people link to the page. This was supplied by Google in their toolbar since the early 2000’s, and was indicated by a score out of 10. It’s Google’s way of saying “hey, we think your website is pretty good because a lot of people link to it.”

That’s good, right? Not really. Following the introduction of PageRank came a bunch of illicit link “farmers,” which Google didn’t like. Over the years, Google’s release several updates to their search algorithm which penalized sites for partaking in any “SEO-generating” activities.

What Does This Mean To Me?

If you work with a marketing agency, chances are you may have heard about PageRank. We provide PageRank numbers and comparisons in our SEO optimization process (which we include in all of our custom-coded websites). Are we sad to see PageRank go? Not particularly.

Like how a teacher would grade your homework, PageRank is a number that indicates what we already know. While the grade itself is now gone, what’s important is what we’ve learned from the process. We should already know good work when we see it. So, since you’re reading this in a future where PageRank doesn’t exist, here’s what we’ve learned:

  1. Google likes links. They don’t like links that are falsely generated (link-farming), but it’s definitely a strong factor of authority.
  2. Google sees the web as democratic. This is how PageRank was introduced – positioned as “votes” cast by the denizens of the web.
  3. Google wants to keep things a secret. This isn’t limited to just PageRank, but to their search algorithms in general.

Based on Google’s recent algorithm changes, we see two reoccurring trends: the focus on mobile and the promotion of quality content. This is great news for you!

Content, As Always, Is King

We’ve always outlined the importance of content marketing, but we’re seeing more and more proof that Google wants to promote sites that genuinely create awesome content. Removing PageRank is merely a sign that Google doesn’t want marketers to be guided by an arbitrary number, but rather guided by their audience and what they want.

Best of all: content marketing is fair game. If you’re making awesome products, providing amazing service, and generating lots of real buzz, success will follow. Google is trying to tell us – no more numbers, gaming the system or farming for links. Go out there, do something great, and make things awesome.

We’re truly glad that marketing is going in this direction. Do you agree? Or are you mourning the loss of PageRank? Let us know on Facebook or contact our marketing agency on Robson! We’ve love to hear what you think. Come by and chat! We always have chocolate.