Page rank Still needs to be priority for small business

With all the talk of Facebook advertising, Twitter, Pay per click and other  online adverting options for small business it may be easy to forget about the importance of Search engine optimization. Featuring high on Google for relevant search term is still the most desirably form of any online marketing campaign. So no surprise then that within any business plan or marketing plan this element will normally feature in a significant manner.

Why does PageRank matter?
PageRank is quite important to some sites, not because it brings in more links, but because the links you’re getting are valuable inbound links. If your PR is good it could mean you have a lot of inbound links, sometimes from major reputable sites. If your PR is bad, it may mean you are not receiving relevant links from other sites. Having a strong PR matters because it means you are bringing more leads to your site, as well as creating conversions.

The Benefits of PageRank
In terms of SEO, a high PR is like getting a huge check in the mail. It means your search engine campaign is working. The further you go up the ladder, the more traffic you get. Because of this, preparing an SEO campaign to build PR is important.

The Downsides of PageRank
Some businesses could care less whether they have a PR of 2 or 8 because it’s no guarantee of success. Some believe Google controls too much in terms of online marketing. Google can shut down your efforts to improve your PR if for some reason it thinks you are trying to control the system and boost your PR. For example, some bloggers get paid to publish company reviews, not impartial, and then publish links. This builds inbound links for the buyer, and gives money to the blogger, but Google is able to figure this out and lower both site’s PR.

Why not the middle ground?
Many question whether Google PR is still relevant today, and if it actually helps. For companies who focus on search engine traffic, it may be a boon, but only if you go up the ladder. Other businesses get high PR without even trying, and therefore focus on results they can control. The middle ground would be to acknowledge PR as part of an SEO campaign, but because you have millions of other businesses to compete with, to consider it rather as only one piece to the puzzle.

You may wonder why you are getting all this traffic and still making pennies instead of dollars. This is because Google PageRank is about dollars and cents, not traffic. The problem may not be your SEM and PageRank, but rather your product. If on the other hand you have strong sales, but your PageRank is quite low, PR may not be an influencing factor at all. If this is the case we suggest looking at other options to promote your site and increase traffic and sales.